Best Free WordPress Themes: The Master List (2025 Update)
Do you want to build an impressive website without breaking the bank?
This guide will show you the best free WordPress themes available and which one is the perfect fit for your needs.
Here’s what you will get from this article:
- Using a free WordPress theme
- The best free WordPress themes
- Key details of each theme
- My final recommendations
Let’s dive in!
Why a Free WordPress Theme
When it comes to themes, the options can be, well, a tad overwhelming. 😥
Premium themes with their flashy features might seem tempting, but sometimes, simplicity is key.
And that’s where free themes come in:
- Beginner-friendly: Starting out on a tight budget? Opt for free themes. Save your money for other essential website or business needs.
- Quality isn’t compromised: Don’t underestimate free themes; many are created by top developers and designers, offering sleek, responsive designs.
- Highly customizable: Most provide ample customization options, allowing you to personalize colors, fonts, and layouts to match your vision.
- Community support: Popular free themes have vibrant communities ready to assist. Join forums or groups for quick help with any issues you encounter.
If you’re looking for a solid foundation without the hefty price tag, free themes are your ticket (and many are in the WordPress repository).
They offer a perfect balance of functionality and design, ensuring your website is up and running smoothly.
Best Free WordPress Themes This Year
Free themes are leveling up their game, bringing premium-like features without the price tag.
If you’re on the lookout for a modern, user-friendly, and feature-rich theme that you can start with, you’re in for a treat.
1. Blocksy Theme
Blocksy might be the best free WordPress theme out there that caters to the modern needs of website design.
It’s engineered to offer blazing-fast load times, scoring impressively with a 95% Google PageSpeed Score and a 100% score on GTmetrix PageSpeed Score.
Blocksy (the free version) is actively installed on over 100,000 WordPress sites, showcasing its reliability and user satisfaction.
Described as innovative, Blocksy provides a platform where simplicity meets functionality — enabling users to build anything from simple to complex websites effortlessly.
With Blocksy, you get the following options in the customizer:
👉 Related: Blocksy Theme Review: The Peak WordPress Theme?
💻 Key features
- 25+ Importable demo sites: Kickstart your website design by importing any of the 25+ pre-built top-notch demo sites
- Detailed customizer options: Control your blog layouts, colors, typography, headers, and footers among others
- Header and footer builder: Customize individual header rows and elements to match your brand with the drag-and-drop builder
- Page-level controls: Exercise full control over the layout of your posts/pages on an individual level
🔎 Best for
- Blogs
- Online Stores/E-commerce
- Business Websites
- Corporate Firms
- Landing Pages
- Business Agencies
👑 Difference with the pro version
The free version of Blocksy is a powerhouse of features in itself, offering a plethora of customization options and several importable demo sites.
However, for those seeking to extend the theme’s functionality, Blocksy Pro comes in as an add-on plugin providing:
- Content blocks (hooks) and custom layouts
- Multiple conditional headers, footers, and sidebars
- Mega menu support
- Advanced WooCommerce features such as off-canvas filters and a floating cart among others
Blocksy continues to make waves in the WordPress theme space with its rich feature set even in its free version, coupled with the option to upgrade to Pro for more advanced functionalities.
Naturally, Blocksy is also one of the best premium WordPress themes out there.
After exploring Blocksy’s features, the importance of a good theme is evident. Yet, are you tired of regular theme updates and ongoing support costs?
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2. Neve Theme
The Neve WordPress theme is one of the highly-rated and popular free WordPress themes among users.
It’s a multi-purpose theme making it a flexible choice for a variety of WordPress website types.
With a perfect 5-star rating on WordPress.org and over 300,000 active installations, it’s a trustworthy and reliable theme for building a professional website.
With Neve, you get the following options in the customizer:
👉 Related: Neve Theme Review: Speedster or Smoke and Mirrors?
💻 Key features
- Page builder plugin compatibility: Works seamlessly with page builders like Elementor, allowing for easy customization and design alterations
- Importable demo sites: Provides a variety of demo sites that can be imported to kickstart your website design process
- Detailed WooCommerce compatibility: Offers detailed WooCommerce compatibility, though some ecommerce features are restricted in the free version
- Header and footer builder: Customize the header and footer of your site with ease using the drag-and-drop builder
- Mobile-first design: Has a mobile-first design, ensuring your site looks great and performs well on mobile devices
🔎 Best for
- Blogs
- Small Businesses
- Startups
- Agencies
- Firms
- Ecommerce Shops
- Personal Portfolio Sites
👑 Difference with the pro version
The free version of Neve provides a solid foundation with essential theme features like page builder compatibility, importable demo sites, and basic customization options.
However, the premium theme version extends the functionality significantly by offering:
- Booster features
- White label
- Full access to woocommerce features
- Additional header/Footer options
The Neve WordPress theme serves as a robust starting point for anyone looking to create a professional online presence without a steep learning curve.
3. Rishi Theme
The Rishi theme is a relatively new yet rapidly growing WordPress theme known for its stellar speed and performance.
The developers have made speed and performance the top priorities, claiming that websites using Rishi load in less than a second.
The theme is described as highly optimized and suitable for various types of businesses and niches due to its rapid load time and free responsive demo content.
With Rishi, you get the following options in the customizer:
💻 Key features
- Optimized for speed and performance: Very lightweight with a default WordPress install being less than 75 KB
- Essential performance tweaks: Features like disabling WordPress-generated RSS feeds and self-pingbacks
- 50+ Ready to import sites: Over 50 templates suited for various niches such as blogs, businesses, corporates, portfolios, and restaurants
- Header and footer builder: Facilitates easy creation and customization of headers and footers without the need for coding
- WooCommerce ready: Compatibility with WooCommerce for the easy setup of ecommerce stores with various shop layouts and customization options
🔎 Best for
- Blogs
- Magazines
- Businesses
- Corporates
- Portfolios
- Restaurants
👑 Difference with the pro version
The free version of Rishi provides a solid range of features necessary for building a fast website. However, the Pro version takes it a step further by offering more advanced features.
In terms of differences, pro users enjoy benefits like:
- Pro starter sites
- Desktop off-canvas drawer
- Duplicate header/footer items
- Advanced blogging
- Hooked elements
- White label
This theme, serves as a reliable choice for individuals and businesses looking to establish a professional online presence swiftly.
4. Phlox Theme
Phlox is a versatile and stylish WordPress theme known for its powerful features and impressive speed.
It’s a popular multipurpose WordPress theme compatible with popular page builder plugins like Elementor, Site Origin, and WP Bakery.
Phlox has over 50,000 active installations, and its flexibility makes it suited for professional website solutions across different niches.
With Phlox, you get the following options in the customizer:
💻 Key features
- Page builder compatibility: Fully compatible with Elementor, Site Origin, and WP Bakery page builders
- Wide range of demos: Provides demo sites that can be imported with a single click to fast-track the design process
- WooCommerce ready: Fully compatible with WooCommerce, featuring special WooCommerce demos
- Header and footer layouts: Offers a variety of header and footer layouts for a personalized look and feel
- Professional portfolio features: Comes with professional portfolio features for showcasing your work
🔎 Best for
- Blogs
- Online Stores
- Portfolio Websites
- Corporate Websites
- Creative Agencies
👑 Difference with the pro version
The free version of Phlox provides a robust set of features for building a professional-looking website.
In terms of differences, pro users enjoy benefits like:
- More ready-to-use page templates
- Premium elements for Elementor
- Premium bundled plugins
5. Spectra One Theme
The Spectra One theme is a modern, versatile, and block-based WordPress theme ideal for crafting a visually pleasing site with a professional look.
Developed by the same creators of the popular Astra theme, Spectra One is tailored for the WordPress Full Site Editing (FSE) feature for a smooth site editing experience.
With this feature, users can design page templates on their site — from the header to the footer — by simply using blocks.
With Spectra One, you get the following options on the page editor:
💻 Key features
- Full Site Editing (FSE) support: Design every part of your page using blocks, catering to a variety of content and design needs
- Block patterns: Pre-designed block arrangements that can be imported to expedite the design process
- SEO optimized: Built with best SEO practices in mind to help rank your WordPress site higher in search engines
- Regular updates: Updated regularly to remain compatible with the latest WordPress version
🔎 Best for
- Blogs
- Portfolios
- Small business websites
- Personal websites
👑 Difference with the pro version
The Pro version of Spectra, dubbed Spectra Pro, extends the functionality of Spectra One with several advanced features.
Some of these include:
- Popup builder
- Loop builder
- Animation effects
- More premium blocks
The Pro version, therefore, is more suited for individuals or businesses that require additional customization and functionality beyond what the free version offers.
6. Astra Theme
Astra is a highly popular, lightweight, and customizable WordPress theme, with over 2.4 million users and an average 5-star rating.
It’s versatile, offering design flexibility and speed which are vital for any website or blog.
With Astra, you can easily design a website to your liking while ensuring it loads quickly for your visitors.
With Astra, you get the following options in the WordPress customizer:
👉 Related: Astra Theme Review: Popular Choice or Just Overhyped?
💻 Key features
- Multipurpose theme: Suitable for a wide range of websites including blogs, portfolios, businesses, online stores, and more
- Page builder compatibility: Works well with popular page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder
- Pre-built starter sites: Provides pre-built starter sites to help you get started quickly
- WooCommerce integration: Fully compatible with WooCommerce, making it easy to set up an online store
🔎 Best for
- Bloggers
- Small to medium-sized businesses
- Online retailers
- Portfolio websites
- Educational platforms
👑 Difference with the pro version
The free version of Astra is quite robust, providing essential features needed for creating a successful blog, eLearning platform, or online store.
However, upgrading to the Pro version unlocks additional features and functionalities that can significantly enhance your website’s design and performance:
- More design options
- More layout options
- Enhanced typography, colors & backgrounds
- Extended woocommerce options
- Hooks & filters
7. OceanWP Theme
OceanWP is a free, multipurpose WordPress theme known for its ease of use and many customization options.
It’s particularly praised for its WooCommerce integration, making it an excellent choice for online stores.
The theme also boasts a high overall quality rating from various reviewers, reflecting its well-regarded status in the WordPress community.
With OceanWP, you get the following options in the customizer:
👉 Related: OceanWP Theme Review: Overrated or Genius? (Updated 2023)
💻 Key features
- Customization: Offers extensive customization options, allowing users to tweak theme panels, headers/footers, typography, etc.
- WooCommerce integration: Robust WooCommerce integration, with features like an integrated shopping cart popup and quick-view mode for products
- Demo import: Users can import a variety of demo themes to give their website a professional look without starting from scratch
- Page builder compatibility: Compatible with various page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and WPBakery, among others
- Extensions: OceanWP offers both free and paid extensions to extend the theme’s functionality further
🔎 Best for
- Ecommerce websites
- Small business websites
- Individuals or hobbyists
👑 Difference with the pro version
The free version of OceanWP comes with a few free extensions and demos to enhance your site’s functionality.
OceanWP also has paid plans, which include:
- Premium extensions
- Pro website templates
- Elementor sections library
The premium extensions offer more customization and functionality options, allowing for a more refined and feature-rich website experience.
8. Suki Theme
Suki is a multipurpose WordPress theme known for its speed, flexibility, and lightweight nature, making it a preferred choice for different online purposes.
Its notable attributes are speed and performance which have made it a favorite among many users.
It’s known for being highly customizable according to user needs, and its flexibility of use makes it easy to achieve various design goals.
With Suki , you get the following options in the customizer:
💻 Key features
- Complete typography control: Offers control over post title, headings, content paragraph, menu, button, sidebar, and other elements and footer
- 900 Free fonts: Provides a variety of font settings including thin, italic, bold, upper-case settings, font size, line height, and better spacing
- WooCommerce integration: Optimized for WooCommerce, indicating its suitability for ecommerce projects
- Lightweight: Known for its lightweight nature which contributes to faster page loading times
🔎 Best for
- Multi-purpose websites
- Ecommerce projects
👑 Difference with the pro version
The Pro versions come with powerful modules that allow for more advanced customization and functionality.
This includes:
- Layout modules
- Assets and branding modules
On the bright side, with Suki’s free version, you still have access to over a thousand design options, SEO optimization, and basic WooCommerce integration.
9. CosmosWP Theme
CosmosWP is a dynamic, elegant, and lightweight WordPress theme that empowers you to build unique websites with ease.
Its impressive design, powerful features, and easy customization options make it a solid choice for various website types.
The theme boasts a range of creative tools that aim to simplify the design process while still providing flexibility and control.
With CosmosWP, you get the following options in the customizer:
💻 Key features
- Starter sites and demo library: Dozens of professional and beautiful starter sites and demo templates created by skilled web designers
- Ecommerce ready: Seamless integration with WooCommerce, providing a robust set of customization options
- Header and footer builder: Drag-and-drop functionality to build unique site headers and footers with various customization options
- Advanced typography and colors: Over 915+ Google fonts and advanced typography options
- Performance and speed: Load times of less than half a second (206ms) on a default WordPress installation
- Compatibility: Best fit with Gutenberg and major page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi, and Visual Composer
🔎 Best for
- Ecommerce websites
- Business websites
- Blogs
- Portfolio websites
- Educational websites
👑 Difference with the pro version
CosmosWP’s Pro version essentially provides a broader range of customization options and design elements to enhance your website’s functionality and aesthetics.
It extends the theme with more features including:
- Extended header and footer builder
- Premium starter demos
- Advanced Banner, blog, page, and post layouts
- More customization options
10. Kadence WP Theme
Kadence WP Theme is a lightweight yet highly featured WordPress theme designed for creating visually appealing, fast-loading, and accessible websites with ease.
It’s particularly known for its easy-to-use drag-and-drop header and footer builder that allows you to craft any type of header in a jiffy.
Moreover, Kadence comes with a full library of striking starter templates, which are easily modifiable thanks to intelligent global font and color controls.
The theme’s core focus is on providing a modern, performance-oriented user experience without sacrificing usability.
With Kadence WP, you get the following options in the customizer:
💻 Key features
- Header and footer builder: Enables drag-and-drop customization for headers and footers
- Global colors: Manage the color scheme across your website effortlessly
- Typography controls: Customize the fonts and typography settings to match your brand’s style
- Starter templates: Comes with six fully customizable starter templates to help you get started with your website design
- WooCommerce compatibility: Basic WooCommerce features to kickstart your online store
🔎 Best for
- Small businesses
- Blogs
- Portfolio websites
- Online stores
- Educational websites
👑 Difference with the pro version
While the free version of Kadence is robust and packed with essential features, upgrading to the pro version unlocks a realm of advanced functionalities.
Some notable differences include:
- Transparent and sticky headers
- Advanced typography settings
- Woocommerce enhancements
- Support for LMS plugins
- Dark mode switcher
Kadence WP Theme’s free version is a great starting point for individuals or small business owners looking to create a professional online presence without a hefty investment.
Yet, if your project demands more advanced features, especially regarding WooCommerce or header/footer customization, the pro version is certainly worth considering.
Using Free Themes in WordPress
Free WordPress themes offer a plethora of options for users, regardless of their website needs.
From ecommerce to blogging to portfolios, there’s a theme tailored to fit almost every requirement.
These themes provide not only an affordable way to create a website but also ensure high quality, speed, and ample customization options.
Here’s a table that shows my recommendations:
| Needs | Recommended Theme | Explanation |
| Fast Loading | Blocksy | Achieves 95% on Google PageSpeed and 100% on GTmetrix |
| Ecommerce | OceanWP | Known for robust WooCommerce integration and ecommerce focused features |
| Customization | Kadence WP | Comes with drag-and-drop header/footer builder and intelligent global font/color controls |
| Multipurpose | Astra | Versatile with over 2.4 million users, suitable for a wide range of websites |
| Business | CosmosWP | Offers creative tools, compatibility with major page builders, and a range of starter sites suitable for business profiles |
| Blogging | Neve | Known for speed, ease of customization, and has a 5-star rating on WordPress |
| Portfolio | Phlox | Provides professional portfolio features for showcasing work |
| SEO Optimization | Spectra One | Designed with best SEO practices in mind, ensuring better ranking in search engines |
| Lightweight Design | Suki | Known for its lightweight nature, which contributes to faster page loading times |
| Header/Footer Design | Kadence WP | Known for its easy-to-use drag-and-drop header and footer builder |
The best theme for a user ultimately depends on specific requirements, personal preferences, and the desired level of customization.
For those who might find the free versions limiting, there’s often a Pro version available with advanced features and functionalities.
With the wealth of free WordPress themes available, you’re now equipped to make an informed choice.
But if you’re seeking even more streamlined design options, consider this: Are you weary of frequent theme updates and support costs?
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