Side-by-side comparison · 24 data points
Sell more with these announcement bar banner types: carousel, scrolling, sliding, rotating & sticky!
| Astra Announcement Banner/Bar | Essential Announcement Bar | |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | ||
| Description | ||
| Screenshots | images | images |
| Languages | ||
| Platforms | ||
| Developer | ||
Engage customers with branded banner/countdown timer. Highlight promotions, coupons, and alerts!
| Metric | Astra Announcement Banner/Bar | Essential Announcement Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 5.0 ★ | 5.0 ★ |
| Total reviews | 1 | ★ 1.3k |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Free | Free plan available |
| Built for Shopify | — | ★ Yes |
| Pricing tiers | — | 4 tiers |
| Listed features | 5 | 5 |
| Languages | 1 supported | 19 supported |
| Listed since | Mar 2025 | Aug 2023 |
Astra Announcement Banner/Bar and Essential Announcement Bar are evenly matched on rating (5.0★ vs 5.0★) — the differentiator comes down to pricing fit, feature breadth, and which app's interaction pattern suits your team's workflow.
Pricing entry tiers: Astra Announcement Banner/Bar at Free, Essential Announcement Bar at Free plan available. Check each app's tier structure for the capacity limits you actually need before deciding — the headline number is the same shape, but the gating shape per tier (seats, usage volume, integrations) varies.
Essential Announcement Bar has the larger user base (1,306 reviews vs 1), which usually maps to broader integration coverage, faster bug-fix cadence, and a deeper bench of community workflow patterns. Astra Announcement Banner/Bar's smaller cohort can be an advantage for niche workflows where the bigger app has accumulated bloat.
Recommended evaluation path: install both apps' free tiers (where available) and run them in parallel on a small cohort for 7-14 days before committing. The data tables below show the per-feature breakdown — for most merchants the deciding factor will be a single integration or workflow detail that's hard to compare from listing pages alone.
This verdict is generated from the live marketplace data on this page — rating, review count, pricing tier, and category position all refresh from the canonical Shopify App Store listing every 24 hours. AppRanks does not accept payment to influence comparison outcomes; the methodology is documented on the About page and applies identically to every pair on the site.
Read each app's audit: Astra Announcement Banner/Bar audit • Essential Announcement Bar audit
| Listed |
|---|
| Last updated | — | — |
|---|
| Keyword | Astra Announcement Banner/Bar | Essential Announcement Bar |
|---|---|---|
| scrolling announcement bar | Not ranked | #2 |
| announcement | Not ranked | #2 |
| banner | Not ranked | #4 |
| media icons | #21 | Not ranked |
| social media icons | #24 | Not ranked |
Both Astra Announcement Banner/Bar and Essential Announcement Bar offer paid plans only. Astra Announcement Banner/Bar starts at Free; Essential Announcement Bar starts at Free plan available. Compare the per-tier features in the Pricing section above before committing.
Astra Announcement Banner/Bar (5.0★, 1 reviews) and Essential Announcement Bar (5.0★, 1,306 reviews) are essentially tied on rating. Look at review velocity and individual reviewer quotes — both visible on each app's detail page — to differentiate.
AppRanks cannot separate these two on rating — both sit at 5.0★. Essential Announcement Bar does carry the larger published review base (1,306 vs 1). Read both apps' detail pages for the feature breakdown and recent listing changes.
Both apps are one-click installs from the Shopify App Store. Essential Announcement Bar has the deeper published review base (1,306 vs 1), which often — though not always — accompanies better-tested setup docs. AppRanks doesn't measure setup time directly: read the recent reviews on each app's detail page for user-reported install experience.
Astra Announcement Banner/Bar typically suits early-stage and growth-mode teams based on its published review base (1 reviews). Essential Announcement Bar typically suits early-stage and growth-mode teams based on its published review base (1,306 reviews). A larger review base generally means the app has been exercised at scale — relevant if you are processing high volume or handling enterprise compliance requirements.
Migration support varies by app and category. Astra Announcement Banner/Bar and Essential Announcement Bar both publish their export options on their marketplace listing pages (or in their support docs); some apps offer one-click import from competitors, others require CSV. The fastest check: search "import from Astra Announcement Banner/Bar" in each app's help center. AppRanks does not track migration tooling directly — this is a category-specific capability worth verifying before commitment.
