18 of the Best Places to Download Free WordPress Themes

Last updated on
Feb 22, 2024

The official theme directory of WordPress is the best place to download free WordPress themes. In case you can’t find theme that suits you, there are some other resources you can refer to. We have put together 19 of the best resources to download free WordPress themes.

Theme itself is like clothes, while WordPress is your body. Everyone has their own style to dress up their WordPress site, just like they dress up for themselves.

Things to Notice Before Downloading a Free WordPress Theme

There are some crucial things you need to know before downloading and using a free WordPress theme. Some free WordPress themes are not completely free. They are maybe released as a freemium theme with some usage limits. For instance, you might only allowed to use the free version for personal use and required to upgrade to pro version for commercial use. Just read the license of the theme you download before you use it.

Following are 19 of the best free places to download free WordPress themes, other than the official theme directory of WordPress.

1. WPExplorer

The first place to download free WordPress themes is WPExplorer. By the time this article is written, there are about 19 free themes offered by WPExplorer and they are licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), meaning that you can use them for any purpose including commercial. GPL also allows you to make the modification over the product you use. This means that you can edit the themes you have downloaded from WPExplorer without any restriction. Themes offered by WPExplorer are ideal for blogging.

2. aThemes

You can also refer to aThemes to download free WordpPress themes. Not all themes offered by aThemes are free, but there are tens of themes that you can use for free. Some themes available on aThemes are released as a freemium themes. They mostly licensed under the GPL, allowing you to make as many changes as you want, including removing the copyright attribute on the footer section. Just make sure to read the license of the theme you have downloaded before using to learn the restrictions. Themes offered by aThemes ranging from blog, magazine, newspaper and ecommerce.

3. FlexiThemes

There are over 2,000 themes offered by FlexiThemes and they are available for free. According to a brief intro on its website, themes developed by FlexiThemes have been downloaded over 12 million times.

One crucial thing you need to know before downloading and using a theme from FlexiTheme, this website adopts a freemium business model. All themes can be used for free for any purpose, including commercial. However, you are not allowed to remove the sponsored links on the footer section unless you you upgrade to pro.

4. ThemeIsle

ThemeIsle is a WordPress themes and plugin developer. If you are looking for a free WordPress theme, ThemeIsle also has lots of themes which you can use for free. Themes offered by ThemeIsle ranging from blog themes, portfolio themes, photography themes, magazine themes and so on. Most themes offered by ThemeIsle are licensed under the GPL license. There are some themes that probably are released under other license. Just make sure to read the license of the theme you download before using it. You can find the license of theme theme you downloaded on the readme file.

5. ThemeGrill

There are over 70 free themes you can download on ThemeGrill. Each theme is licensed under the GPL license. You can use it for any purpose including commercial. The free themes on ThemeGrill themselves are not completely free. Instead, they are released as freemium themes. However, the features offered by the free version are more than enough for personal use. Also, you can edit the theme you have downloaded if you have a programming knowledge. GPL license gives you freedom to edit the product you use, including themes from ThemeGrill. Most themes offered by ThemeGrill are portfolio themes.

6. AccessPressThemes

According to a brief introduction on its home page, there are 64 WordPress themes offered by AccessPressThemes, with over 90,000 active installations. By the time this article is written, AccessPressThemes has just released a new theme called Zigcy which is designed for online shop. Not all themes available on the AccessPressThemes site are paid themes. There are also some themes that are free to use. Zigcy, the newest theme by AccessPressThemes, is also available in the free version. The vast majority of themes by AccessPressThemes are released under the GPL license.

7. Colorlib

Colorlib is a well-known enough WordPress theme developer. There have been tens or even hundreds of WordPress themes developed by Colorlib. Colorlib offers both free and premium WordPress themes. The free themes offered by Colorlib are well-arranged into several categories. You can explore the free themes developed by this theme developer on this page. According to Colorlib, its free themes have been downloaded over 3 million times. Shapely is the most popular theme developed by Colorlib.

8. Theme Freesia

Theme Freesia is another WordPress theme developer with lots of free WordPress theme collections. Compared to other developers above, say Colorlib, Theme Freesia has fewer theme collections. However, this theme developer has themes that are built specifically for a specific website type. For instance, it has a theme called Pixgraphy that aimed at photography sites. There is also Magbook that is built for sites with a news concept. Theme Freesia adopts a freemium business model. All themes developed by this developer are available for free, but you need to upgrade to pro to get more features. All themes developed by Theme Freesia are licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

9. Acme Themes

Some themes offered by Acme Themes are freemium, some are fully premium. Freemium themes are labelled with “Free”. To download free themes from the Acme Themes you will be asked to enter your name and email address. To explore the free themes offered this developer, you can visit this page.

10. MH Themes

If you are looking for a free WordPress theme for a website with a news concept, like magazine or news portal, then MH Themes probably is the right place you can visit. You can find tens of magazine WordPress themes on this website.

Themes developed by MH Themes are freemium. While you can use them for free, you can upgrade to premium to get more features. If you have a coding skill, you can also modify the theme you downloaded from MH Themes since themes developed by MH Themes are licensed under the GNU GPL. One of the most popular themes developed MH Themes is MH Magazine.

You can find a wide range of theme types here. From light themes to dark WordPress themes.

11. Superb Themes

Superb Themes is another great resource to download free WordPress themes. The men behind Superb Themes have been developing WordPress themes since 2014. According to a brief introduction on its home page, themes developed by Superb Themes are SEO-optimized. Superb Themes itself offers both free and premium WordPress themes.

You can visit this page to explore free themes developed by team of Superb Themes. In addition to themes, Superb Themes also develop WordPress plugins.

12. CyberChimps

You can find WordPress themes for sites like portfolio site, magazine to company profile on the CyberChimps site. This WordPress theme developer also offers free themes in case you have not enough budget buy a premium theme.

There are about 11 free themes you can find on the CyberChimps site. You need to create an account first before being able to download a free theme from CyberChimps.

13. Theme Farmer

There are only 7 free themes offered by Theme Farmer. The good thing is, you don’t need to create an account to download them. Theme Farmer allows you to download its free themes directly without performing any action but clicking the download button.

Free themes developed by Theme Farmer are licensed under the GNU GPL. You can edit theme in case you have a coding skill.

14. WEN Themes

WEN Themes is another resource where you can download WordPess themes. Be it free or premium. Most themes developed by WEN Themes are designed specifically for e-commerce sites and portfolio websites.

To explore the free themes offered by WEN Themes, you can scroll down your mouse to the Latest Free Themes section. WEN Themes allows you to download its free theme without creating an account or entering your email address.

15. RichWP

RichWP has only about 7 free WordPress themes, but you can download them right away without creating any account or entering your email address. Also, the free themes offered by RichWP look elegant enough.

The free themes offered by RichWP themselves are actually freemium. More features are available in the premium version once find yourself suited with a certain theme. Each free theme has a credit link on its footer.

16. ThemeZee

ThemeZee seems focused to develop newspaper WordPress themes. Nearly all themes available on its website are newspaper themes. So, if you are looking to create a news portal site or any website with a concept news then ThemeZee is a great resource you can refer to.

Themes developed by this developer are released as freemium themes under the GPL v2 license. Themes developed ThemeZee are SEO-optimized, responsive, and clean. ThemeZee itself was founded by a German web developer Thomas Weichselbaumer in 2010.

17. AwoThemes.pro

You can find over 100 free WordPress themes on AwoThemes.pro from themes for blog, e-commerce, photograph, hotel, recipe and so on. They are all licensed under the GPL license, allowing you to edit them according to your need in case you have a programming skill.

AwoThemes.pro itself is run by a small team of WordPress developers. According to AwoThemes.pro, themes they developed are used by over 10,000 WordPress users.

18. Mageewp

Anytime you need a free WordPress theme for your projects, Mageewp is another resource worth considering. Themes developed by Wageewp are released as freemium themes. While free version is available for each theme, premium version is also available with more advanced features. The themes developed by Mageewp have been used by over 80,000 WordPress users.

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Aliko Sunawang

Aliko is a professional blogger and web creator. He has been blogging with WordPress since 2012. In his spare time, he loves going out to take some photos.

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