I have tried a lot of different WordPress Themes, and if you read my Thrive Themes review you know that I am a big fan of it. But I also use Genesis quite a bit on my other websites. That’s why I’ve decided to do this Genesis Vs Thrive Themes comparison.
Which one comes out on top? Let’s have a look at the features each and then decide, shall we?
Genesis offers a range of different child themes that you can buy to help create a site that looks original and professional. You are also able to custom-build your own theme.
The framework does take some getting used to and, while you don’t need to be a computer programmer to use it, some programming experience will serve you well here.
To get around this, you can opt for the Genesis Design Palette Pro, but if you don’t mind playing around with the customization options, you can use the child themes effectively.
What I don’t like here is that if you want to really go into in-depth customization, or if you will be using other third-party plugins, the Design Palette Pro is essential. And that means extra expense.
Also, the more customization you want to do, the more plugins you will need to consider installing if you don’t have much experience with programming.
Thrive, on the other hand, offers a much more user-friendly interface. You can choose from one of the ten inbuilt themes or build your own. Again, you will benefit if you have some knowledge of programming, but it is not essential.
In terms of usability, Thrive wins in this contest. Both software applications are simple to install, but Genesis takes longer to learn and can be a little challenging.
In terms of appearance, Thrive beats Genesis when it comes to building a site that looks great and works really well. It is also better for those who are not all that tech-savvy because the user-interface is a lot more intuitive in nature.
Genesis does win in terms of the number of themes that you are able to access overall. While there are a lot to choose from, it could work out pricey for you if you want two or three different ones. In that case, the Pro-Plus plan would work out more cost-effective.
Both programs perform very well, with Genesis ultimately being more lightweight in terms of coding. You would think that this would mean that Genesis would load faster, but you would be wrong about that.
Thrive has been built to load super-fast and so outperforms most of its rivals, including Genesis in this area.
Neither option is particularly heavy on system resources, although Genesis does perform slightly better in this regard.
With the Genesis Pro-Plus theme, you get unlimited lifetime support and all the themes that they offer. You also get access to all themes they have in the future.
If that is a little to rich for your blood, you can choose the main program and pay for child themes separately, or you can just buy the software and build your own. In either respect, there are no ongoing licensing fees, so it really is just a once-off fee to pay.
With Thrive, you pay a monthly fee, but this also entitles you to unlimited support and all the themes that they will release in future. You can choose to pay once a year or once a quarter. The yearly option is more attractive because it offers you significant savings.
Genesis does come out on top in terms of pricing because you can use the themes on an unlimited number of sites. You do have to consider the cost-savings in terms of the time cost of learning how to use the software, though.
With Thrive, you can use one license on twenty-five sites. But, to be honest, unless you are offering some kind of professional web-design service, how many sites do you actually need? Installation and design of future sites is a lot simpler, and so you will spend less time on the actual setting up of your sites.
Studio Press, the company behind Genesis, does also offer website hosting for a monthly fee. You can choose to pay annually and save on fees that way but, to be honest, the savings are not that great.
Both companies do offer excellent customer service and support but Thrive does offer more options in this regard. In addition to the standard email support and knowledge base, you also have access to a user forum.
That means that you can often find the answers that you are looking for much faster.
When it comes to learning the programs, both companies offer extensive free tutorials to help you get started on the right foot.
Thrive comes out on top here because it is simpler to use and loads a lot faster. The Thrive Headline Optimizer allows you to choose the very best title in a matter of minutes – no guessing needed and this is a significant advantage if you want to get attention for your posts.
Overall, both companies offer good products, but I prefer Thrive Themes. If you need a website that looks professionally designed and you need it quickly, it is my go-to WordPress Theme.
Or learn more about it on the Thrive Theme Website.
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