If you want to use a page builder like Elementor to create your site quickly, you can certainly benefit from checking out some of the best free Elementor themes that we’ve curated for you.
Every theme featured here offers seamless integration with Elementor. This integration includes ready-to-use templates and blocks that can be customized using Elementor, plus other features that facilitate your work with this page builder.
📚 Table of Contents
- Neve (built by us)
- Hello Elementor
- Customify
- Astra
- Page Builder Framework
- Zakra
- Hestia
- OceanWP
- Inspiro
- Phlox
- GeneratePress
- Rife Free
- Best free Elementor themes: performance test results
Best free Elementor themes
1. Neve
First up, Neve helps you create minimalist one-page sites for just about any purpose. This theme is also lightweight and fully responsive, which can give your site a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) boost.
Key features ⚙️
- Provides SEO-friendly structure and code, so that your site and Google become besties
- Enables you to see real-time changes while editing in the live customizer
- Offers over 100 pre-built demo starter sites that you can import in a few clicks, saving you hours of work
Neve was built with page builders in mind, and its demos and live customizer provide even more tools that make it easy to create your perfect site. Most importantly, the demo content was built using Elementor, and you have the option to install the plugin automatically during the import process.
With this theme, you shouldn’t ever have to touch a line of code to get the results you want. That means it’s perfect for those with little experience, as well as professional developers who need to work quickly.
2. Hello Elementor
As the name suggests, the Hello Elementor theme was specifically built to be used with the page builder (by the very same developers). So, when you use it, you’ll be able to get the most out of the customization features that Elementor offers.
Key features ⚙️
- Fast-lightweight theme
- Designed specifically for Elementor
- 100+ ready-to-use Website Kits
Hello Elementor also gives you a WooCommerce builder, which makes it ideal for online stores. What’s more, it’s been designed with web accessibility in mind and is translation-ready.
3. Astra
Customization is key to the Astra theme. In addition to page builder integration, it enables real-time previews in the native WordPress customizer, so you can edit your site more comfortably.
Key features ⚙️
- Provides a huge selection of pre-built sites that are optimized for Elementor
- Enables high performance, by eliminating jQuery
- Includes a wide variety of customization settings, including layouts, header options, and more
Astra’s expansive library of demos makes it one of the best free Elementor themes for any type of site. Pairing one of their pre-built sites for Elementor with the page builder itself will ensure that any additions or changes you want to make are simple.
4. GeneratePress
The GeneratePress theme prides itself on high standards of coding and accessibility. This keeps it stable and secure, as well as ensuring that almost anyone can browse your site.
Key features ⚙️
- Includes layout controls to customize padding, margins, sidebars, and more
- Provides access to more than 10 Elementor-optimized demos
- Offers a head start on SEO, with high page speeds
Combining GeneratePress’ layout controls with Elementor enables you to customize each of your site’s desktop and mobile pages. This simplifies the process of creating a responsive site that adapts well to whatever device it’s viewed on.
5. Zakra
Zakra is a free theme that focuses on performance and security. Apart from effective functionality, expect good-looking templates and a straightforward interface. The theme dedicates over 60 demos to the Elementor page builder, all covering a diverse range of purposes.
Key features ⚙️
- Comes with almost 80 starter sites, among which 60+ are built for Elementor
- Provides seamless integration with WooCommerce, so you can set up an online store with no effort
- It’s AMP-ready, which means that your website will load fast on mobile devices
With Zakra’s extensive library of ready-made demos, you can start any type of online business or personal project. It has various niche templates that you can simply import to your site in a few clicks. If you fancy a one-page website, Zakra has this option, too.
6. OceanWP
OceanWP is a highly popular option. It’s scalable enough to work well for both small and large sites. Plus, it offers unique Elementor widgets to give your page builder an added boost and speed up site creation.
Key features ⚙️
- Provides over 60 demos to base your site on
- Includes easy WooCommerce integration for online retailers
- Offers fast page loading times and built-in SEO
OceanWP’s Elementor widgets will mean smooth sailing when it comes to creating layouts and content. They make it easy to add functionality to your blog posts, image displays, and even your WooCommerce store.
7. Inspiro
Inspiro Lite is a lightweight portfolio & photography theme intended for photographers and videographers that want to make their work stand out.
Key features ⚙️
- Video background autoplay with YouTube, Vimeo, and self-hosted videos support
- Elementor & Gutenberg integration with easy-to-use custom templates
- Multiple Block Patterns to build pages easily with a unique design
All the features included in Inspiro Lite make it a perfect match for those who want to build a portfolio or eCommerce website. The theme features full integration with WooCommerce as well.
8. Phlox
Few themes can boast as many Elementor-related features as Phlox. It provides a host of pre-built features that make it easy to set up pages and add individual elements.
Key features ⚙️
- Includes more than 30 exclusive Elementor elements
- Provides access to a wide selection of demos and page templates
- Enables the creation of compact, optimized pages without any coding required
Phlox’s library of advanced elements provides additional functionality to Elementor, making it easy to add features such as testimonials and Google Maps. This theme includes the tools you’ll need to build a portfolio site, blog, online store, or business site, with plenty of flexibility on offer (read our full Phlox theme review here).
9. Rife Free
If you’re hoping to show off your content, Rife Free is a multipurpose theme that can help. It’s ideal for portfolios and blogs, and has a one-page option for creating easy-to-navigate sites for small businesses.
Key features ⚙️
- Provides seven ready-to-use designs built for Elementor
- Integrates with the Rife Elementor Extensions plugin for additional free templates
- Offers access to post grid and writing effect features
For creatives, including writers and photographers, Rife Free is an ideal multipurpose theme. Its Elementor Extensions plugin and free demos give you more pre-built elements, so you can avoid any coding.
Best free Elementor themes: performance test results
While page builders have a lot of merits, they’re fairly ‘heavy’ plugins. In other words, they can have a tendency to slow down your site. Therefore, it’s important to opt for a speedy theme to compliment your page builder.
We decided to run a basic performance test on each of the best free Elementor themes that we’ve looked at. To do this, we created a page template with Elementor, and then tested its loading times with each theme using Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
Here are our results:
Score | Largest Contentful Paint | Speed Index | |
---|---|---|---|
Neve | 100 | 0.5s | 0.7s |
Hello Elementor | 91 | 2.8s | 2.8s |
Astra | 100 | 1.5s | 1.6s |
Zakra | 98 | 2.0s | 2.0s |
OceanWP | 83 | 3.6s | 3.7s |
Inspiro | 100 | 1.4s | 1.6s |
Phlox | 79 | 3.7s | 3.8s |
GeneratePress | 100 | 1.6s | 1.8s |
Rife Free | 63 | 5.7s | 5.2s |
The “Score” column indicates the overall performance score assigned during the test. “Largest Contentful Paint” is when the main content of the page was loaded (in seconds), and “Speed Index” indicates how quickly the contents of the page are visually populated.
Our results above show that Neve managed a perfect score in performance. When it comes to Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Speed Index, it’s the only theme that scored well below one second in both categories:
We’d suggest using this data, along with the features and other considerations discussed above, when choosing the best free Elementor themes.
Conclusion 🧐
When it comes to building your website, a page builder can take a lot of the potential stress out of the process.
By combining the Elementor plugin and a theme designed to complement page builders, you can get a highly functional and very aesthetic website up and running in no time. ⏰
Do you have questions about the best free Elementor themes featured in this list? Let us know in the comments section below!
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