17 Best Premium WordPress Themes of 2022 [+ Why You Should Buy One]

Searching for the best premium WordPress themes? Or not sure if you even need to crack open your wallet to purchase a premium theme when there are so many quality free WordPress themes anyway?

Well, there are some real reasons to buy a premium WordPress theme instead of going for a free theme, though free themes can still be a great option when you're just starting out.

In this post, we're going to dig into the reasons why to buy a premium theme for WordPress. Then, we'll share our curated list of the 17 best premium WordPress themes for all types of sites.

Whether you're building a blog, business website, portfolio, ecommerce store, or pretty much anything else, all of these themes can help you get the job done.

Why Buy a Premium Theme for WordPress?

At a high level, there's no inherent difference between free themes and premium WordPress themes. Free WordPress themes are just a collection of code and premium WordPress themes are also just a collection of code. You can have high-quality free themes and low-quality premium themes, and vice versa, of course.

What's more, many of the best WordPress themes come in both free versions as well as premium versions, also known as a "freemium" model.

Take the Astra theme, which is one of the most popular WordPress themes of all time. The core Astra theme is available for free at WordPress.org. So in that sense, it's a "free theme". But, there's also a premium add-on called Astra Pro that extends the free theme with a ton of new features. Whether you use the free version or the premium version, the code for the basic theme is the same.

With that being said, that doesn't mean there are no advantages to choosing a premium WordPress theme. Here are the main reasons to choose a premium WordPress theme:

• access to more features
• more customization options to control your site's designs
• high-quality documentation
• human support
• regular updates

When a developer is earning an income from a theme, they're generally able to dedicate more resources to features, customization options, support, and updates. Having this extra dedication can help you improve the overall experience for your visitors, and for you as the site owner..

Next, let's take a deeper look at each of these premium benefits.

More Features

As a general rule, premium WordPress themes have more features than free themes because having money coming in allows the developer to devote more time to building out advanced features.

For example, premium themes generally offer more advanced integrations with other plugins such as WooCommerce.

While a free theme might just offer basic WooCommerce compatibility, a premium theme could add more advanced features like drop-down carts, sticky add-to-cart bars, product quick view, and more.

More Customization Options

Beyond features, most premium WordPress themes will give you more design customization options than their free counterparts.

Typically, you'll be able to access these customization options in the real-time WordPress Customizer, though some newer themes have adopted the new block-based approach that's part of WordPress full-site editing.

Some examples here could be more flexible typography options, more layouts, more color options, drag-and-drop header/footer builders, and so on.

High-Quality Documentation

Having access to high-quality documentation is really useful when it comes to getting the most out of your theme.

Documentation can explain how features work, give you code snippets to customize your site in useful ways, and just generally help you maximize your theme's potential.

However, creating high-quality documentation takes a lot of time and effort. For free themes, there's not much of an incentive for developers to put in the effort, which is why most free themes lack any meaningful documentation.

There is an incentive with premium themes, though, which is why most premium themes come with very detailed text and/or video documentation.

Human Support

In addition to getting access to high-quality documentation, paying for a premium theme also typically gets you access to direct support from the developer.

Depending on the theme, this might be ticket support, forum support, or even direct live chat support in the case of a few themes.

Typically, you won't get real-time responses, but most premium theme developers try to respond in around 24 hours or so.

Regular Updates

If you want to keep your WordPress site secure and functioning, it's important that you choose themes and plugins that receive regular updates from developers.

While there are plenty of free themes that receive regular updates, there's not as much of an incentive for developers of free themes to put in the added work to keep their themes updated and compatible.

On the other hand, with premium WordPress themes, developers have a real incentive to always be updating the theme because any compatibility or security issues will affect their bottom line.

Now that you know some of the reasons to purchase a premium WordPress theme, let's explore some of the top themes to consider when choosing a theme for your WordPress site.

1. Astra

Astra was the first non-default WordPress theme to pass the one million active installs on WordPress.org, and remains one of the most popular themes in existence.

Astra uses a multipurpose approach that works for any type of site, from blogs to business sites, ecommerce stores, and more.

You can design your site using tons of options in the real-time Customizer, hundreds of importable demo sites, and tight integrations with page builder plugins.

What we like:

• Multipurpose - use it for any type of site
• Lightweight performance footprint to help your site load faster
• Hundreds of importable demo sites created with different builders such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, and the native WordPress editor
• Tons of customization options in the real-time WordPress Customizer to help you customize your theme
• Deep integration with WooCommerce, as well as online course plugins like LifterLMS and LearnDash

Price: $59

2. GeneratePress

GeneratePress is another popular multipurpose theme that you can use to build any type of site.

Its main claim to fame is its lightweight, clean code. GeneratePress is just about the fastest WordPress theme that you'll find, which helps you build quick-loading websites.

It also offers some unique features for more experienced users, such as full block-based theme building and a flexible hook system.

What we like:

• One of the fastest WordPress themes out there, which helps you create a fast-loading site
• Supports block-based theme building or works great with page builders
• Lots of customization options in the real-time WordPress Customizer
• 88+ importable demo sites built with the native block editor or page builders like Elementor
• Advanced hook and layout system for flexible customization

Price: $59

3. Avada

Avada is the best-selling theme of all time from the popular ThemeForest marketplace. It has well over 800,000 lifetime sales, along with an impressive 4.78-star rating on over 25,000 reviews.

Avada's claim to fame is its built-in visual, drag-and-drop builder that lets you customize every single part of your site using visual design, no code skills needed.

If you want complete drag-and-drop customization without needing to install a third-party builder plugin, Avada is a great option.

To see it in action, you can browse some real Avada website examples here.

What we like:

• Built-in visual, drag-and-drop builder
• 89+ importable demo sites across a range of niches
• Powerful live customizer to customize your entire theme using a visual interface
• Customize your theme templates using drag-and-drop, including support for dynamic content
• Detailed WooCommerce integration to design product, cart, and checkout pages using the visual builder

Price: $69

4. Kadence Theme

Kadence Theme is another multipurpose theme that uses a lightweight, customizable approach.

You can choose from a variety of starter sites or design your site from scratch using tons of options in the real-time Customizer.

While it integrates well with page builder plugins, you can also use the developer's Kadence Blocks plugin to add powerful design capability using the native WordPress block editor.

What we like:

• Clean code and fast performance
• Tons of options in the real-time Customizer
• 65+ pre-built starter sites, along with a user-friendly import process
• Works well with popular page builder plugins and the native editor, especially with the Kadence Blocks plugin
• Powerful custom layouts feature
• Integrations with lots of plugins including WooCommerce, LearnDash, GiveWP, and more

Price: $79

5. Divi

Like Avada, Divi is one of the most popular premium WordPress themes out there. Also like Avada, its key differentiator is its built-in visual, drag-and-drop builder: the Divi Builder.

However, Divi's licensing model offers more value for multi-site usage because you can use it on unlimited sites.

You also get access to all of the developer's themes and plugins for one flat price, which includes the plugin version of the Divi Builder, an email opt-in plugin, and more.

If you want to learn more, you can read our full Divi review or browse some real Divi website examples.

What we like:

• Built-in visual, drag-and-drop builder
• Multiple customization options - you can customize your theme using built-in options or design theme templates with the visual builder thanks to full theme building support
• 274+ importable website packs, with 2,000+ individual page templates to choose from
• Much-improved performance thanks to recent updates
• A large community of Divi users and tons of tutorials
• Live chat support option (very rare for WordPress themes)

Price: $89, which gets you access to all of the developer's themes and plugins

6. Themify Ultra

Themify Ultra is a flexible multipurpose theme that bundles in the visual Themify Builder for full drag-and-drop customization.

You can use the base to control the general design of your site and then use the Themify Builder to create and customize your core pages.

What we like:

• Includes Themify Builder for visual, drag-and-drop design, along with 12 builder add-ons at no extra cost
• 33+ importable full demo sites, along with 60 pre-designed layout pages
• Additional customization options in the real-time WordPress Customizer
• Full WooCommerce compatibility

Price: $59

7. BeTheme

BeTheme is another one of the best-selling themes of all time at ThemeForest, where it's racked up over 250,000 sales and a near-perfect 4.83-star rating on over 6,400 reviews.

It includes its own built-in visual builder to help you customize every single part of your site — from your homepage to headers, mega menus, WooCommerce products, and more.

You also get a massive collection of over 650 pre-built websites so that you don't need to design from scratch, which is one of the largest demo site libraries that you'll find in any theme.

What we like:

• Built-in drag-and-drop builder (BeBuilder)
• 650+ pre-built importable demo sites across a range of niches, built with either BeBuilder or Elementor
• Detailed custom theme options area
• Custom header builder, including mega menu support
• White-labeling (great for agencies building client websites)

Price: $59

8. Jupiter

Jupiter is a flexible multipurpose theme that's built on top of the popular Elementor page builder plugin.

It includes an absolutely massive collection of 450+ importable demo sites, all of which use Elementor for easy customization of the demo content.

Beyond the Elementor integration, you also get a flexible base theme with a layout builder, deep WooCommerce support, unlimited header styles, and more.

What we like:

• Built on Elementor, the most popular WordPress website builder
• 450+ importable demo sites across a range of niches
• Full theme building support with Elementor (without needing to purchase Elementor Pro)
• Tons of Customizer options to control content beyond Elementor

Price: $59

9. Neve

Neve is another lightweight, multipurpose theme that uses a similar approach to the Astra and GeneratePress themes above.

You can use it to build literally any type of site, from a blog to an ecommerce store. And no matter what type of site you're building, you can be confident that your site will load quickly.

What we like:

• Lightweight and performance-friendly, which helps you build fast-loading sites
• 110+ importable demo sites to choose from
• Works well with page builder plugins or the native WordPress editor
• Flexible WordPress Customizer options, including a drag-and-drop header builder
• Deep WooCommerce support for ecommerce stores

Price: $69

10. Woodmart

Woodmart is a flexible premium WordPress theme that was built from the ground up for WooCommerce stores. You get deep control over all aspects of your store, from the add-to-cart button to product hover boxes, shop layouts, and more.

It comes with 70+ different demo sites, all focused on different ecommerce store niches.

But, most impressively, it has a near-perfect 4.95-star rating on over 2,000 reviews at ThemeForest.

What we like:

• Specifically built for WooCommerce stores
• Packed with customization options to let you control every aspect of your store
• 70+ importable demo sites for different ecommerce niches
• 370+ individual page templates
• Drag-and-drop header builder, along with integrations with page builders for full visual design
• Built-in Ajax product search (essential for ecommerce stores)

Price: $59

11. Blocksy

Blocky is a modern multipurpose theme that uses a lightweight, customizable approach.

You can choose from one of the pre-built demo sites or customize your site from scratch using the detailed options in the WordPress Customizer.

It's another solid option in the same vein as Astra, GeneratePress, and other similar premium WordPress themes.

What we like:

• Clean, lightweight code for improved performance
• 25+ importable demo sites
• Modern, JavaScript-based designs
• Detailed WordPress Customizer options, including a drag-and-drop header builder
• Affordable pricing

Price: $49

12. Porto

Porto is a premium WordPress theme with a special focus on helping you build WooCommerce stores, though you can also use it for non-ecommerce sites, too.

It includes its own visual, drag-and-drop builder, but it also works well with third-party page builder plugins if you'd prefer to use a different builder.

What we like:

• Detailed support for WooCommerce, though it also works for non-ecommerce sites
• 133+ pre-built importable demo websites, including both ecommerce and general business designs
• Full drag-and-drop building using your preferred builder (Porto's builder or page builders like Elementor)
• Built-in code minification and concatenation to improve performance

Price: $59

13. Uncode

Uncode is a creative multipurpose WordPress theme that you can use for business websites, portfolios, ecommerce stores, and more.

It offers heaps of importable demo sites, its own built-in drag-and-drop visual builder, and tons of other helpful features.

What we like:

• 70+ importable demo sites, many with unique creative designs
• Built-in visual, drag-and-drop builder
• 550+ section templates that you can use in the visual builder
• Built-in support for dynamic content, which helps you build custom WordPress sites
• Drag-and-drop header builder, along with other flexible theme customization options

Price: $59

14. OceanWP

OceanWP is a multipurpose WordPress theme that focuses on giving you ultimate design flexibility, with an incredible number of customization options packed into the real-time WordPress Customizer.

If you don't want to design your site from scratch, you can also choose from one of the many importable demo sites.

What we like:

• Flexible multipurpose design
• 210+ pre-built importable demo sites, many of which are built with Elementor for easy customization
• An incredible number of customization options in the real-time Customizer
• Advanced WooCommerce features and integrations for ecommerce stores
• 20+ extensions to add features such as cookie notices, popups, Instagram feeds, and more

Price: $54

15. Flatsome

Flatsome is another one of the best-selling themes of all time at ThemeForest, where it's maintained an impressive 4.81-star rating on over 7,000 reviews.

While you can use Flatsome to build any type of site, it's specifically focused on helping you create a WooCommerce store and it comes with tons of built-in WooCommerce features, along with its own visual builder.

What we like:

• Built-in visual builder to customize your site
• Deep WooCommerce support, though you can use it for other sites, too
• 20+ importable demo sites for a range of different ecommerce niches
• Live theme options panel, along with a drag-and-drop header builder

Price: $59

16. Sydney

Sydney is a lightweight multipurpose theme that's officially recommended by Elementor. As you can probably guess from that recommendation, many of Sydney's pre-built demo sites are built with Elementor for easy drag-and-drop customization.

Sydney also uses a lightweight approach, with optimized code and only vanilla JavaScript (no jQuery dependencies).

What we like:

• Lightweight design for a fast-performing website
• 23+ importable demo sites
• Tight Elementor integration for visual, drag-and-drop customization, including custom Elementor widgets
• Detailed options in the real-time WordPress Customizer to control theme-wide settings

Price: $69

17. Zakra

Our final recommendation is Zakra, another popular premium WordPress theme that uses the lightweight multipurpose approach. This makes it similar to other themes like Astra and GeneratePress.

As such, you'll get flexible options in the WordPress Customizer, tons of importable demo sites, and tight integration with popular page builder plugins.

What we like:

• Lightweight design for improved performance
• 70+ importable demo sites across a range of niches - most are built with Elementor but some use the native WordPress editor
• Detailed options in the WordPress Customizer for real-time design control
• Tight WooCommerce integration for ecommerce stores

Price: $69

How to Choose a Premium WordPress Theme

Above, we shared a lot of quality options when it comes to premium WordPress themes.

So, how do you choose the best theme for your site? After all, you can only have one active theme at a time.

Here are some areas to focus on to help you make the right choice:

• Website purpose: The type of website that you're building might affect your choice. While many premium themes use a multipurpose approach nowadays, some focus on specific types of sites, such as ecommerce stores or blogs.
• How frequently the theme is updated: All of the themes on this list receive regular updates to add new features and improve compatibility. However, if you look at a different theme, you'll want to make sure that it receives regular updates from the developer.
• Number of sites you're building: Some premium themes only offer single-site licenses (typically those sold via ThemeForest). If you're going to be building a lot of WordPress sites, you can save money by choosing a multipurpose theme that allows unlimited usage.
• Available demo sites: If you're only building a single site, you only need one demo that you love. But if you're going to be building multiple sites, you'll want to make sure the theme has plenty of high-quality demo sites that fit your needs.
• Compatibility with key plugins: For example, if you're creating an ecommerce store with WooCommerce, you'll want a theme that emphasizes WooCommerce functionality. While most themes offer basic WooCommerce compatibility nowadays, some go further than others when it comes to added features like dropdown carts and sticky add-to-cart buttons.
• Support policy: make sure that you're happy with the developer's support policy. Check how you'll get support (e.g. ticket vs forum vs live chat) as well as how long you're entitled to receive support (e.g. six months vs one year).

Choose the Perfect WordPress Theme Today

Every WordPress website needs a theme, so choosing the right theme for your site is a decision that every WordPress user will have to make.

While there's nothing wrong with free WordPress themes, premium WordPress themes can generally offer more design options, more features, improved support and documentation, and just generally more attention/support from the developer.

For those reasons, choosing a premium theme can often be a good option if you're building a serious website.

To help you choose the right option for your site, we curated our own list of the 17 best premium WordPress themes.

By choosing any one of the themes above, you can be confident that your site will have a strong foundation and you'll be set up for long-term success.