There are thousands of free WordPress themes out there; that's a fact. But, unfortunately, it isn't easy to navigate and especially to distinguish the good from the less good.
This is why we invite you to discover our ranking of the best free WordPress themes in 2023.
Whether you want to create a blog, an online store, a single page to present your CV, or even a showcase site, you are bound to find a shoe at your foot as a result.
The Best Free WordPress Themes
One thing is certain: it is unnecessary to increase your website's cost with a paid theme. Especially if you are starting, it is quite possible to find good, totally free WordPress themes and templates.
We will prove it to you below to list the ten best options that we could find and test.
1. Astra
Astra is arguably the most popular free WordPress theme in 2023.
By opting for the latter, you will be able to count on many templates already created and adapted to various needs: blog (for us, this is the best theme to create a quality blog on WordPress), showcase site, shop online, etc.
The advantage that Astra has over the competition is in the level of performance it offers. The theme is light, very customizable (in terms of colors, menus, etc.), and above all, extremely fast!
Having tested it on our site, it is in our eyes the fastest and most efficient free theme for WordPress. There is no doubt about it.
We would also like to point out that Astra perfectly integrates tools to help with site creation, such as Elementor, BeaverBuilder, or WooCommerce.
Its free theme still has some limitations because a premium version exists. With the latter, you can better manage your navigation menus, customize your site's appearance, etc.
2. Neve
Neve is another great free theme available on WordPress. With an overall rating of 4.9 / 5 out of over 200,000 active installs, it is top-rated.
The basic template is simple, user-friendly, and will suit small businesses and web agencies.
Like Astra, Neve is light and, therefore, super-fast. On top of that, it turns out to be flexible and easy to use. So if you are starting and want an easy-to-use free WordPress theme, Neve is a great choice.
In just a few minutes, you will be able to create a professional WordPress site. Obviously, Neve is compatible with mobile phones and perfectly supports the AMP format. Everything is done according to the rules of the art so that the SEO optimization of your site is perfect.
3. OceanWP
OceanWP has long competed with Astra for the title of the best free WordPress theme.
Moreover, although we find it a little less practical to use than its direct competitor, it still is. Nevertheless, OceanWP is one of the most popular templates with over 3,000,000 downloads.
Like any good free theme, it offers various templates that will allow you to be as close as possible to the theme you are targeting with your site.
You will also be able to use Divi, Elementor, BeaverBuilder, or even Visual Composer to customize your OceanWP theme as much as possible.
On the other hand, to take advantage of all the features offered by this theme, you will have to turn to its paid version. The latter includes access to premium extensions, better management of widgets and menus, and access to even better templates.
However, the free version of the OceanWP theme will suit the needs of the greatest number.
4. Hestia
Hestia is a free WordPress theme that will meet the expectations of beginners in the world of site creation.
In addition to having access to very professional templates and especially pleasant navigation, you will be able to benefit from a simple configuration and administration.
Here you will not need to burden yourself with a page builder to achieve beautiful things. Instead, from the control panel of the Hestia theme, you can customize the home page of your WordPress site as you wish.
And even if you on paper don't need a page builder with Hestia, you can still pair it using the Elementor plugin. It's for you to see. All possibilities are, in any case, open.
5. GeneratePress
GenerationPress is a great free WordPress-compatible theme. On the other hand, unlike Astra, Neve, or OceanWP, we found it more limited in its free version.
This is, in short logical since GenerationPress wants at all costs to make you switch to its paid offer.
Know in any case that by choosing the free WordPress theme from GenerationPress, you will be able to benefit from a light site, good performance, optimization for search engines, as well as maximum compatibility with the set of plugins that you will be able to find on WordPress.
For your information, the paid version of the GenerationPress theme will give you access to all premium modules, templates already created, and personalized customer support.
6. Airi
Airi is another very good theme suitable for WordPress and available for free.
Like all of our selections, Airi is lightweight and therefore offers excellent performance. By opting for it, you have in front of you a theme that will absolutely not clutter and slow down your website.
We are specifying this because it is really an important aspect, whether from an SEO point of view or user experience. For example, a user who has to wait more than 2-3 seconds before fully viewing your site will tend to leave as quickly as they came.
With Airi, be reassured that you will not have this problem. This free WordPress theme is particularly suitable for professional use. And whether you are a freelancer or a business.
For any question or problem, you can count on support as well as numerous documentation.
And of course, we still want to point out that Airi is perfectly compatible with Elementor and WooCommerce.
7. Sydney
Sydney Free WordPress Theme is a good choice for starting a personal blog or something more professional.
With Sydney, it is possible to rely on templates already created (and very successful!) Or to create your own. Elementor indeed recommends Sydney.
Otherwise, this free theme adapted to WordPress is obviously compatible with mobiles, offers more than 600 Google Fonts, and facilitates its translation. Updates are also provided regularly to add new features or correct small bugs.
Like most of the themes listed so far in our ranking, Sydney is also available through a paid version. With this, you will benefit from additional features such as advanced customization of the pages and articles of your site, the provision of different templates, and other options in the theme configurator.
8. Storefront
Are you looking for a totally free WordPress theme for your online store? Then, the storefront is highly likely to appeal to you.
This is indeed the official theme used by WooCommerce. Storefront is flexible and, above all, intuitive.
If you want at all costs to rely on WooCommerce to set up your online store, we can only advise you to opt for Storefront.
The theme is responsive and suitable for building an e-commerce site, and you will be able to rely on various templates to customize your online store even more quickly.
However, you should know that you will have to pay to have access to additional features. However, in most cases, you will be able to get by with the completely free version of the Storefront theme.
9. Shapely
Are you looking for a free WordPress theme that will allow you to customize many aspects? Shapely may be for you then.
Shapely is responsive, compatible with WooCommerce, and automatically manages the loading of images (what is called Lazy Load).
By going to the configuration parameters of this free theme, you will be able to modify the colors of your site, customize the footer, and the header, etc.
Feel free to take a tour of the Shapely theme site to see what the demo looks like. Then, you will see better if there is a free theme for WordPress that you need.
10. ColorMag
Want to start a news blog or website on WordPress? In this case, you might enjoy the free ColorMag theme.
With its particular design, it adapts perfectly to the theme of the news. Fifteen different templates are offered with the free version of the ColorMag theme, which will definitely allow you to find a look that suits you. To have access to more themes, you will have to pay a premium subscription. The latter will also allow you to benefit from advanced technical support.
The performances offered are very good with a loading time below second and certain compatibility with the main web browsers.
If you want to use a page builder, know that ColorMag is compatible with Gutenberg, Beaver Builder, Elementor, SiteOrigin, and Brizy.
Which WordPress Hosting to Choose for Your Theme?
Now that you have a better idea of which free WordPress theme to use on your site, maybe you need hosting.
If so, we strongly recommend that you look at our comparison of the best WordPress hosting. You will find the right hosting for your particular blog and great value for your money.
To quickly summarize our thinking, the best hosting for WordPress, in our opinion, is Bluehost.
With its different offers, you are sure to find accommodation that meets your site's needs and especially your free theme.
Do not hesitate to read our full Bluehost review to find more information about it. And if you were to be convinced by its advantages, know that you can benefit from a reduction of 7% thanks to our promotional code valid on the whole Bluehost site.
No matter which Bluehost WordPress hosting you choose, you will, in any case, be entitled to a free domain name, free SSL certificates, anti-DDoS protection, 99.99% uptime, as well as plugins.
Conclusion
Through our comparison and ranking of the best free themes available on WordPress, we hope that you will be able to find a template that suits your needs and especially your desires.
As a reminder, our top 5 best free theme for WordPress is:
- Astra
- Neve
- Ocean WP
- Hestia
- Airi
To find more information and test the demos of these themes and their different templates, we strongly advise you to look at their respective sites. You will thus have an even more global view concerning each of the themes that we have been able to present to you, and you will be able to see if the theme that is appealing to you will meet your expectations.
Plus, you will see what they are offering through their paid offers. Indeed, most of the free themes presented also exist in a paid version (this will give you access to more features, more templates, and even more complete customization).
Free WordPress Themes FAQ
To make our comparison even more complete than it already is, we invite you to discover the answers to some of the most asked questions regarding using a free template on WordPress.
