AstroPress vs WordPress : Why Modern Bloggers Are Switching in 2025:

If you’re researching blogging platforms in 2025, you’ve likely narrowed it down to two options: WordPress (the traditional giant) or AstroPress (the modern alternative).

I’ve built dozens of sites on both platforms, and in this comprehensive comparison, I’ll show you exactly why serious bloggers are making the switch to AstroPress.

Spoiler: AstroPress isn’t just faster—it’s fundamentally different. It comes with a GitHub-powered CMS and Cloudflare hosting that eliminates the security nightmares, plugin chaos, and performance issues that plague WordPress.

Let’s dive into the complete comparison.

The Core Difference: Database vs Git-Based CMS

This is the fundamental architectural difference that affects everything else:

WordPress: Traditional Database Architecture

WordPress stores everything in a MySQL database:

• All your posts, pages, and content
• User passwords and login credentials
• Plugin settings and configurations
• Comments and user data
• Media library references

The Problems:

• Database is the #1 target for hackers
• Requires constant backups or you lose everything
• Gets corrupted, bloated, and slow over time
• Needs expensive managed hosting to perform well
• Difficult to version control or track changes

AstroPress: Git-Based CMS with GitHub

AstroPress stores everything as files in a GitHub repository:

• Posts are Markdown/MDX files (human-readable)
• Products, categories, and settings are JSON files
• All content is version-controlled automatically
• No database to hack or corrupt
• Free unlimited backups via Git

The Benefits:

• Unhackable: No database = no SQL injection attacks
• Version control: Every change is tracked, rollback anytime
• Free hosting: GitHub stores your content for free
• Developer-friendly: Edit locally with any code editor
• True ownership: All your content in plain text files you control

Security: AstroPress Wins by Default

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: WordPress security is a full-time job.

WordPress Security Challenges

Daily WordPress Reality:

• Update WordPress core every month or risk exploits
• Update 10-30 plugins constantly (each a potential vulnerability)
• Install security plugins (Wordfence, Sucuri, iThemes Security)
• Configure firewalls and malware scanners
• Hope your theme developer patches security holes
• Regularly scan for malware
• Deal with brute force login attempts
• Manage user permissions carefully
• Backup database daily (and hope backups work)

Stats that should worry you:

• 90,000+ WordPress sites hacked daily
• 29,000+ vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins since 2020
• Average cleanup cost: $500-$5,000 per hack

AstroPress Security: Sleep Peacefully

AstroPress Security Model:

• ✅ No database to hack - Most common attack vector eliminated
• ✅ No admin login - No brute force attacks possible
• ✅ No plugins - Zero third-party vulnerabilities
• ✅ Static files only - Nothing to execute or exploit
• ✅ Cloudflare protection - DDoS and bot protection included
• ✅ Git version control - Instant rollback if anything goes wrong
• ✅ Automatic HTTPS - Free SSL certificates via Cloudflare

The result: AstroPress sites are effectively unhackable. There’s simply no attack surface.

The CMS Experience: WordPress Dashboard vs AstroPress GitHub CMS

Both platforms need a way to manage content. Here’s how they compare:

WordPress: Admin Dashboard

Pros:

• Familiar WYSIWYG editor
• Click-and-edit interface
• Extensive plugin ecosystem
• Visual customizers

Cons:

• Slow, bloated admin panel
• Breaks with plugin conflicts
• Limited version control
• No offline editing
• Requires constant plugin updates
• Admin dashboard is itself a security risk
• Locked to WordPress ecosystem

AstroPress: Built-in CMS at app.astropress.pro

How it works:

1. Your content lives in a private GitHub repository
2. Manage everything through app.astropress.pro - AstroPress’s visual CMS
3. Edit content two ways:

• AstroPress CMS at app.astropress.pro (visual, no-code interface)
• Local code editor (developers: VS Code, Cursor, etc.)

1. Push changes and site rebuilds automatically via Cloudflare

AstroPress CMS Features (app.astropress.pro):

• ✅ Visual editor - WordPress-like editing experience
• ✅ No coding required - Manage posts, products, categories visually
• ✅ GitHub integration - Connects to your repository automatically
• ✅ Full version history - See every change, revert anytime
• ✅ Live preview - See changes before publishing
• ✅ Media management - Upload and organize images
• ✅ Product management - Add affiliate products visually
• ✅ Settings control - Change colors, fonts, site settings
• ✅ Fast interface - No database queries to slow you down

For Non-Technical Users:

AstroPress CMS at app.astropress.pro provides a familiar admin panel experience—just like WordPress, but faster and more secure. No coding knowledge required.

For Developers:

Edit files locally with any code editor, commit to GitHub, and changes deploy automatically.

Hosting: WordPress Hosting Costs vs Cloudflare Free Tier

This is where AstroPress saves you serious money every month.

WordPress Hosting Costs

Budget Hosting ($5-15/month):

• Shared hosting (Bluehost, HostGator, etc.)
• Slow performance (shared server resources)
• Limited security
• Frequent downtime
• Poor customer support
• Result: Slow site, security risks

Good Hosting ($30-100/month):

• Managed WordPress (WP Engine, Kinsta, Flywheel)
• Better performance
• Automatic backups
• Decent security
• Result: Decent performance, expensive

Enterprise Hosting ($300-1,000+/month):

• Dedicated resources
• Premium support
• Advanced security
• Result: Great performance, very expensive

Annual WordPress hosting cost: $360 - $12,000

AstroPress: Cloudflare Pages (Free!)

What you get with Cloudflare Pages free tier:

• ✅ Unlimited bandwidth - No traffic limits
• ✅ Global CDN - 300+ edge locations worldwide
• ✅ DDoS protection - Enterprise-grade security
• ✅ Free SSL - Automatic HTTPS certificates
• ✅ 500 builds/month - More than enough for most blogs
• ✅ 99.99% uptime - Better than most WordPress hosts
• ✅ Instant cache invalidation - Updates go live immediately
• ✅ GitHub integration - Push to deploy automatically

Annual AstroPress hosting cost: $0

Even with paid plans:

• Cloudflare Pages Pro: $20/month (5,000 builds/month)
• Still 90% cheaper than good WordPress hosting

Performance: It’s Not Even Close

Let’s talk about the metric that matters most: how fast your site loads.

WordPress Performance Reality

Fresh WordPress install:

• Base WordPress: ~100kb
• Default theme: ~50kb
• Total: ~150kb, loads in 1-2 seconds

Typical WordPress site after 6 months:

• WordPress Core: 100kb
• Theme: 200-500kb
• Plugins (10-30): 1-5MB total
• Database queries: 30-50 per page
• Third-party scripts: Google Fonts, Analytics, etc.
• Total: 2-8MB, loads in 3-8 seconds

Common WordPress Performance Issues:

• Database queries slow down with content growth
• Plugins conflict and add HTTP requests
• Shared hosting throttles resource usage
• Images aren’t optimized by default
• No built-in CDN
• Requires caching plugins (which break things)

Typical WordPress Lighthouse Score: 60-80/100

AstroPress Performance: Static Site Generator Power

Every AstroPress page:

• Pure HTML, CSS, and minimal JavaScript
• Zero database queries (it’s static!)
• Images auto-optimized with modern formats (WebP, AVIF)
• Global CDN via Cloudflare (300+ locations)
• Aggressive caching by default
• Critical CSS inlined automatically
• Lazy loading built-in
• No render-blocking resources

Typical AstroPress Lighthouse Score: 95-100/100

Real-world comparison:

Metric	WordPress	AstroPress
First Contentful Paint	2.5s	0.8s
Time to Interactive	4.2s	1.1s
Total Page Size	2.5MB	180kb
HTTP Requests	45	12
Lighthouse Score	72/100	98/100

Why it matters:

• Google uses speed as a ranking factor
• Faster sites = better SEO = more traffic
• Better user experience = lower bounce rates
• Mobile users especially benefit

Monetization: Built-in vs Plugin Hell

Both platforms support monetization, but the implementation is vastly different.

WordPress Monetization: Plugin Stacking

What you need:

• Ad management: Ad Inserter, Advanced Ads ($50-100/yr)
• Affiliate links: ThirstyAffiliates, Pretty Links ($97-297/yr)
• Product tables: AAWP, Lasso ($79-299/yr)
• Comparison tables: TablePress + plugins (free-$50)
• Schema markup: Rank Math Pro, Yoast Premium ($99/yr)

Total plugin costs: $325-$845/year

Problems:

• Plugins conflict with each other
• Each plugin slows your site
• Constant updates required
• License management nightmare
• Different UIs for each plugin

AstroPress Monetization: Everything Built-In

Included in AstroPress (zero cost):

✅ 7 Product Block Styles

• Multiple layouts for showcasing affiliate products
• Automatic schema markup for SEO
• Mobile-responsive designs
• No coding required

✅ Comparison Tables

• Beautiful product comparison blocks
• Automatic price/rating displays
• Schema markup included
• Easy JSON configuration

✅ Shortcode System

• Dynamic sidebar product injection
• Article-specific product targeting
• Centralized management
• No manual editing required

✅ Ad Management

• Strategic ad placements
• Banner ad system
• HTML ad support (AdSense, etc.)
• Placement-based targeting

✅ Automatic SEO Schema

• Product schema for rich snippets
• Article schema with ratings
• FAQ schema for featured snippets
• Organization/Author schema

✅ Category Product Blocks

• Automatically display best products by category
• Multiple display styles
• Filter and sort options

Total AstroPress monetization cost: $0

SEO: Both Are Good, But AstroPress Has the Edge

Let’s compare the SEO capabilities:

WordPress SEO

With plugins (Yoast, Rank Math):

• ✅ Meta tags and descriptions
• ✅ XML sitemaps
• ✅ Schema markup (with premium versions)
• ✅ Social media integration
• ❌ Fast page speed (requires separate plugins)
• ❌ Core Web Vitals (requires optimization)
• ❌ Mobile performance (theme-dependent)

Issues:

• SEO plugins add bloat
• Premium features cost $99+/year
• Conflicts with other plugins common
• Speed optimization requires technical knowledge

AstroPress SEO

Built-in (no plugins needed):

• ✅ Perfect Lighthouse scores - 95-100/100 default
• ✅ Automatic schema markup - 6 schema types included
• ✅ Fast Core Web Vitals - LCP < 1s, CLS near 0
• ✅ Mobile-first design - Responsive by default
• ✅ XML sitemaps - Auto-generated
• ✅ Clean URLs - SEO-friendly structure
• ✅ Image optimization - WebP/AVIF automatic
• ✅ Internal linking - Easy to manage
• ✅ Meta tags - Full control in frontmatter

Automatic schema types:

1. Article/BlogPosting schema
2. Product schema with ratings
3. FAQ schema for rich snippets
4. VideoObject schema
5. BreadcrumbList schema
6. Person/Organization schema

SEO advantages:

• Speed is #1 ranking factor - AstroPress wins by default
• Rich snippets increase CTR 20-40%
• Mobile performance crucial for rankings
• Zero technical debt from plugins

Content Creation: Markdown vs Gutenberg

How you actually write content differs significantly:

WordPress: Gutenberg Block Editor

Pros:

• Visual, WYSIWYG interface
• Drag-and-drop blocks
• Preview while editing
• Familiar to non-technical users

Cons:

• Slow and buggy with large posts
• Blocks break with theme changes
• Limited version control
• Can’t edit offline
• Copy-paste often breaks formatting
• Locked to WordPress

AstroPress: Markdown + MDX

What is Markdown?

Simple text formatting that looks like this:

markdown
# Heading 1
## Heading 2

**Bold text** and *italic text*

- Bullet point
- Another point

[Link text](https://url.com)

![Image alt](image-url.jpg)

Pros:

• ✅ Portable - Works anywhere, not locked to platform
• ✅ Fast - No waiting for editor to load
• ✅ Clean - No hidden HTML mess
• ✅ Version controlled - See every change
• ✅ Offline-friendly - Edit anywhere
• ✅ Future-proof - Plain text files never become obsolete
• ✅ Professional - Used by developers and technical writers

MDX = Markdown + Components:

You can embed rich components in your Markdown:

mdx
Regular paragraph text here.

More text here.

Best of both worlds: Simple writing + powerful components.

For non-technical users:

• Use GitHub’s web editor (visual interface)
• Use TinaCMS (WordPress-like editor)
• Use Decap CMS (admin panel)

Maintenance: Set It and Forget It vs Weekly Updates

WordPress Maintenance Burden

Weekly/Monthly tasks:

• Update WordPress core (critical security patches)
• Update all plugins (10-30 plugins to manage)
• Update theme
• Test site after updates (things break often)
• Fix plugin conflicts
• Scan for malware
• Check broken links
• Optimize database
• Review error logs
• Backup database
• Clear cache
• Monitor uptime

Time investment: 2-5 hours/month

Common issues:

• Plugin updates break site
• “White screen of death” after update
• Conflicting plugin versions
• Theme compatibility issues
• Database corruption
• Hacked sites needing cleanup

AstroPress Maintenance

Monthly tasks:

• Update npm packages (optional, automated)
• That’s it.

Time investment: 10 minutes/month

Why less maintenance?

• No database to maintain
• No plugins to update
• No security patches needed
• No theme conflicts
• Static files don’t break
• Cloudflare handles infrastructure
• Git version control = easy rollbacks

Cost Comparison: 5-Year Total Ownership

Let’s calculate the real cost of running each platform for 5 years:

WordPress Total Cost (5 Years)

Hosting:

• Good managed hosting ($50/month × 60 months) = $3,000

Plugins:

• Ad management plugin = $400 (5 years)
• Affiliate link plugin = $500 (5 years)
• Product table plugin = $1,000 (5 years)
• SEO plugin (premium) = $500 (5 years)
• Security plugin = $400 (5 years)
• Backup plugin = $300 (5 years)
• Caching plugin = $250 (5 years)
• Total plugins = $3,350

Premium Theme:

• One-time purchase = $59-199 = $150 average

Miscellaneous:

• SSL certificate (if not included) = $50/year × 5 = $250
• CDN (optional but recommended) = $20/month × 60 = $1,200
• Malware cleanup (once every 2 years) = $500 × 2 = $1,000

TOTAL 5-YEAR WORDPRESS COST: $8,950

AstroPress Total Cost (5 Years)

Hosting:

• Cloudflare Pages (free tier) = $0
• Or Cloudflare Pages Pro if needed ($20/month × 60) = $1,200

CMS:

• GitHub (free) = $0
• Or TinaCMS/Decap CMS (free) = $0

Monetization:

• All features built-in = $0

Theme:

• AstroPress (included) = $0

SSL, CDN, Security:

• All included with Cloudflare = $0

TOTAL 5-YEAR ASTROPRESS COST: $0 - $1,200

Savings with AstroPress: $7,750 - $8,950 over 5 years

Developer Experience: WordPress PHP vs Modern JavaScript

If you ever need custom features or want to hire a developer:

WordPress Development

Tech stack:

• PHP (legacy language)
• MySQL database
• WordPress-specific APIs
• Theme/plugin architecture
• jQuery (outdated JavaScript)

Developer challenges:

• WordPress-specific knowledge required
• Legacy codebase
• Plugin conflicts
• Security considerations
• Database optimization needed
• Difficult to test locally

Developer rates:

• WordPress developer: $50-150/hour
• Finding good developers: Harder (many are outdated)

AstroPress Development

Tech stack:

• Modern JavaScript/TypeScript
• Astro.js framework
• React components (optional)
• Git version control
• Modern CSS

Developer advantages:

• Standard web development (not platform-specific)
• Modern, well-documented stack
• Easy local development
• No database complexity
• Type-safe with TypeScript
• Simple to test

Developer rates:

• Modern JavaScript developer: $75-200/hour
• Finding good developers: Easier (modern stack)

Even better: Most customizations don’t need developers—just edit JSON files.

Migration: Can You Switch from WordPress to AstroPress?

Short answer: Yes, but it requires some work.

What Transfers Easily

✅ Content: Export posts, convert to Markdown

✅ Images: Download and import media library

✅ Categories & Tags: Map to AstroPress structure

✅ SEO data: Meta descriptions, titles transfer

✅ URLs: Can preserve permalink structure

What Requires Reconfiguration

⚠️ Plugins: Replace with built-in features

⚠️ Custom post types: Restructure as collections

⚠️ Widgets: Rebuild with components

⚠️ Theme customizations: Rebuild in AstroPress

Migration Tools Available

• WordPress to Markdown converters
• Media download plugins
• URL redirect tools
• Database export utilities

Migration time: 1-5 days depending on site complexity

Who Should Choose What?

Choose WordPress If:

You need:

• ✅ Existing massive site (10,000+ pages) with complex database
• ✅ E-commerce with WooCommerce (thousands of products)
• ✅ Multiple user roles with complex permissions
• ✅ Non-technical team that refuses to learn anything new
• ✅ Specific WordPress plugins with no alternatives

Choose AstroPress If:

You want:

• ✅ Maximum security (no database vulnerabilities)
• ✅ Best performance (100/100 Lighthouse scores)
• ✅ Lower costs (free hosting, no plugin fees)
• ✅ Better SEO (speed + automatic schema markup)
• ✅ Less maintenance (no weekly plugin updates)
• ✅ Built-in monetization (no plugin costs)
• ✅ Modern workflow (Git, Markdown, version control)
• ✅ Future-proof tech stack (not legacy PHP)

Perfect for:

• New blogs (starting fresh)
• Content-focused sites (blogs, magazines, portfolios)
• Affiliate/review sites (built-in monetization)
• Marketing sites (performance matters)
• Technical bloggers (love Markdown and Git)
• Security-conscious publishers (no hacking worries)

Real-World Success Stories

Blogger A: Switched from WordPress to AstroPress

Before (WordPress):

• Page load time: 4.2 seconds
• Lighthouse score: 68/100
• Monthly hosting: $79/month
• Plugin costs: $400/year
• Hours spent on maintenance: 4 hours/month
• Security incidents: 1 hack per year

After (AstroPress):

• Page load time: 0.9 seconds
• Lighthouse score: 98/100
• Monthly hosting: $0 (Cloudflare free tier)
• Plugin costs: $0
• Hours spent on maintenance: 15 minutes/month
• Security incidents: 0

Results:

• 78% faster page loads
• 50% increase in organic traffic (better SEO)
• $1,348/year saved on hosting and plugins
• 3.75 hours/month saved on maintenance
• Better sleep (no security worries)

The Verdict: AstroPress Wins for Most Bloggers

After this exhaustive comparison, here’s my recommendation:

WordPress still makes sense for:

• Enterprise sites with complex databases
• Large teams with established WordPress workflows
• E-commerce sites heavily invested in WooCommerce

AstroPress is the better choice for:

• 90% of bloggers, content creators, and affiliate marketers
• Anyone starting fresh
• Publishers who value security and performance
• Developers who want modern tooling
• Anyone tired of WordPress maintenance

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Factor	WordPress	AstroPress
Security	Vulnerable	Virtually unhackable
Speed	60-80/100	95-100/100
Hosting Cost (5yr)	$3,000	$0-$1,200
Plugin Cost (5yr)	$3,350	$0
Total Cost (5yr)	$8,950	$0-$1,200
Maintenance	4 hrs/month	15 min/month
Monetization Setup	$500+ in plugins	Built-in
Learning Curve	Medium	Medium
SEO Performance	Good	Excellent

Getting Started with AstroPress

Ready to make the switch? Here’s how to start:

1. Purchase AstroPress theme (one-time cost)
2. Connect GitHub account (free)
3. Deploy to Cloudflare Pages (free)
4. Choose your CMS (GitHub editor, TinaCMS, or Decap CMS)
5. Create your first post (Markdown or visual editor)
6. Configure monetization (product blocks, ads, etc.)
7. Customize colors/fonts (settings.json)
8. Publish and watch your Lighthouse score hit 100/100

Time to launch: 1-2 hours

Final Thoughts: The Future is Static

WordPress revolutionized blogging in 2003. But it’s 2025 now.

The web has evolved:

• Modern browsers are incredibly fast
• CDNs are everywhere and cheap (or free)
• Static site generators deliver better performance
• Git-based workflows are industry standard
• Security threats are more sophisticated

AstroPress represents the modern approach: Combine the performance of static sites with the ease of a CMS, powered by free infrastructure (GitHub + Cloudflare), and eliminate the security, cost, and maintenance burdens of traditional platforms.

The question isn’t whether static site generators will replace WordPress—it’s whether you want to make the switch now or wait until your WordPress site gets hacked, becomes too slow, or costs too much to maintain.

Choose wisely. Your future self will thank you.

Ready to join the future of blogging? Welcome to AstroPress.