Free Vs Paid WordPress Themes – Should You Pay or Not?

WordPress is the most used free and open-source content management systems (CMS) in the world. WordPress powers more than 40% of all sites available on the web. This is quite natural because creating and maintain a website is quite easy with WordPress. There is no need for website owners to learn HTML or programming and the platform has a user-friendly interface.

One of the most important elements of WordPress CMS is the WordPress theme. This is the element of the WordPress website that provides all of the front end stylings. They include a folder of template data which takes care of specific parts of the website. These themes are multi-purpose by nature allowing users to use them on different type of sites. Downloading and installing these WordPress themes is very easy and fast. Today, there are hundreds of WordPress themes available for website owners and some of them are free while you have to pay for others.

In the recent period, many people are wondering whether they should opt for paid or free WordPress themes. If you are in a situation like this, it is the best idea to learn more about the difference between these two types of themes.

Free WordPress Theme: An Overview

There are literally thousands of free WordPress themes available in the market. In fact, most websites use or start with free themes. One of the main reasons why they are so popular is the fact that they are free – you don’t have to pay a dime for them. This also means that you should feel free to try different themes until you find the one that suits your site the best.

Next, when we compare free WordPress themes with the paid ones, we will notice that most of them are compatible with almost all plugins. This is not true for paid themes. When creators of Free WP themes make them they have functionality in mind and that’s why they are creating a product that will be useful to most users. Of course, finding a way to make them compatible with plugins is one way to achieve this goal. The plugins are very important, so you should keep this fact in mind when making your final decision.

Contrary to popular belief, free WP themes provide excellent customer support. The vast majority of developers will be glad to answer all your questions and help you in case you get stuck. In fact, many of the developers are creating both free and paid themes, so they definitely want to keep their reputation. If you are concerned about support, you should also remember that since there are more users of free WordPress themes, there are more people that have experience with any theme you choose. So, you can ask questions on forums, websites, discussion boards and you’ll probably get an answer fast.

The only downside is that they might not be so unique, but as we said before, there are thousands of free themes and their number is increasing so if you are worried about uniqueness – do some research. We are sure that you will find a theme that is not overused.

Paid WordPress Theme: An Overview

Paid WP themes are obviously themes that you must purchase. Their typical price usually starts at $25, but they can cost a few hundred dollars too. This is a huge no-no for many website owners especially the ones that are just starting their online ventures.

Of course, there are some advantages of using such themes too. For instance, they provide an amazing support. Many of them offer phone numbers, emails and even special forums where users can find solutions to their problems and dilemmas. In this way, you can learn how to use your theme to the maximum.

They definitely have a unique design than most free themes, but it all depends on the theme you have selected. There is no doubt that there are some unique free themes too. When we say paid themes, this doesn’t mean that we are talking about limited products. In other words, hundreds of people can pay for the same theme and use it on their website.

Paid WordPress themes promise enhanced security. This is especially important for online shops where paid transactions are in play. Once again, this doesn’t make paid themes better than free themes, at least not in general. Namely, there are many free themes that are offering great security options too.

Freemium Model

This is the latest trend in WordPress theme marketplace – offer a free theme in WordPress.org repository and then sell Pro add-on plugin separately on developer’s site. You can give numerous examples for this model like GeneratePress, Astra and Kadence. In fact, this is a highly profitable business model to attract free users to potential life long customers. For example, Astra Pro add-on plugin will cost you around $47 which is costlier than many commercial themes available in Themeforest marketplace. However, the free theme has all needed features with more than 1 million active installation and that popularity leads users to purchase premium stuff.

Should You Pay or Not?

While it is true that paid WordPress themes come with certain advantages, it is also true that the advantages of free WordPress themes outweigh them. The fact that they are free and versatile makes these themes very attractive. After all, using a theme like this won’t cost you anything, so why not give it a try? You can try with Astra or Kadence themes and then go for premium versions if you like the basic free theme.