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WordPress Guide → Theme → Fastest
Fastest WordPress themes in 2026
Speed matters more than ever for WordPress websites. Whether you’re building a business homepage, portfolio, or online store, the theme you choose can make or break your loading times. These high-performance themes deliver lightning-fast speeds without sacrificing style or features.
How we chose the fastest WordPress themes
We selected these themes based on real-world testing and benchmarks, including:
- Page size under 100 KB on a fresh install
- Google Lighthouse scores for mobile and desktop
- GTmetrix performance grades and load times
- Support for AMP, responsive layouts, and modern coding standards
- Clean, modular code that doesn’t rely on bloated frameworks
1. Hello Elementor
Hello Elementor is an ultra-minimalist theme created by the Elementor team. Designed as a blank canvas for the Elementor builder, it includes almost no styling, scripts, or extra weight. With a resource footprint of just 6 KB, it’s one of the lightest themes available—and that pays off in raw speed.
Tests show Hello Elementor reaching a perfect 100% GTmetrix score and loading in under a second, with a 93+ PageSpeed Insights score on mobile.
- Virtually no bloat or default styling
- Seamless integration with the Elementor page builder
- Perfect for advanced users or minimalist sites
- GTmetrix and PageSpeed scores among the best in class
Best for: Elementor users, landing pages, performance-obsessed developers
Starting at: Free
2. Astra
Astra has built a reputation as one of the most reliable and flexible multipurpose themes—without sacrificing performance. The frontend footprint is under 50 KB, and it ships with hundreds of pre-designed templates for business sites, portfolios, online shops, and more.
In testing, Astra consistently scored 100/100 on Lighthouse and achieved mobile load times under 2 seconds for a default install.
- Hundreds of importable starter sites
- Customizer-based controls for headers, colors, layout
- WooCommerce-ready and highly accessible
- Lightweight build with deep plugin compatibility
Best for: Business sites, portfolios, ecommerce
Starting at: Free (Pro from $59)
3. GeneratePress
GeneratePress is built for performance first, with an install size of under 10 KB. It’s block-editor friendly, accessibility-ready, and uses clean semantic HTML. Despite the minimalism, it’s extremely versatile—perfect for agencies or developers building client sites.
GeneratePress consistently hits 100/100 Lighthouse scores and is known for low server load, even under traffic.
- One of the smallest and fastest themes available
- Block editor and Classic Editor compatible
- Prioritizes accessibility and SEO best practices
- Modular Pro version for deeper customization
Best for: Developers, SEO-focused blogs, minimalist business sites
Starting at: Free (Pro from $59)
4. Neve
Neve is a fast, mobile-first theme from ThemeIsle with full AMP support and wide page builder compatibility. It keeps things snappy with a clean, modern codebase and starter templates designed to load fast on all devices. In performance tests, Neve hits perfect Google PageSpeed scores on both desktop and mobile, with real-world load times often under 2 seconds.
- AMP-ready and fully responsive
- Supports Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Brizy
- Importable starter sites for agencies and small businesses
- Prioritizes performance and modern standards
Best for: Agencies, freelancers, mobile-optimized sites
Starting at: Free (Pro from $69)
5. OceanWP
OceanWP balances power and performance, making it one of the few feature-rich themes that still runs fast. With over 700,000 active installs, it’s widely trusted—and includes options to disable unnecessary scripts and styles.
OceanWP is especially popular with WooCommerce users and provides a wide range of demos to kickstart your design. While not the lightest theme, it earns strong PageSpeed and GTmetrix scores that outperform most competitors.
- Modular settings for CSS and JavaScript loading
- WooCommerce enhancements built-in
- Deep customization via Customizer
- Over 200 demo layouts available
Best for: Ecommerce stores, feature-rich websites, visual designers
Starting at: Free (Pro from $54)
6. Kadence
Kadence is a modern WordPress theme that packs in a lot of features while staying surprisingly lightweight (~55 KB). It includes an intuitive drag-and-drop header/footer builder, plus advanced typography, layout options, and starter templates.
Despite its feature set, Kadence still earns “A” grades in GTmetrix and passes Core Web Vitals benchmarks across the board.
- Drag-and-drop design tools
- WooCommerce and LMS compatibility
- Global color palettes and layout controls
- Fast even with many active features
Best for: Business sites, course platforms, WooCommerce stores
Starting at: Free (Pro from $79)
7. Blocksy
Blocksy is a Gutenberg-first theme that delivers exceptional performance with a modern, stylish edge. Built to support the block editor from the ground up, Blocksy uses efficient code and loads assets only when needed.
It hits near-perfect scores in PageSpeed and GTmetrix, and its modular approach lets you build anything from blogs to online shops without bogging down performance.
- Built for the WordPress block editor
- Dynamic asset loading and minimal bloat
- Multiple header and footer options
- Dark mode and global styling controls
Best for: Modern blog layouts, developers using Gutenberg, visual branding
Starting at: Free (Pro from $69)
8. Zakra
Zakra is a flexible multipurpose theme from ThemeGrill that plays well with Elementor, Brizy, and other builders. It comes with over 80 starter demos and keeps page weight low with streamlined CSS and scripts.
In recent performance tests, Zakra achieved near-instant FCP (First Contentful Paint) and scored 99/100 on Lighthouse mobile.
- Lightweight, builder-friendly architecture
- Dozens of demos for various industries
- WooCommerce and blog template support
- Easy Customizer controls for site-wide design
Best for: Agencies, freelancers, multipurpose portfolios
Starting at: Free (Pro from $69)
9. Sydney
Sydney is a business-oriented theme with a sleek design, responsive layout, and wide appeal. It’s ideal for one-page company sites or service-based portfolios.
While Sydney isn’t the lightest theme on this list, it’s well-optimized and loads fast thanks to reduced HTTP requests and streamlined frontend code.
- Built for business and freelancer sites
- Custom headers, sliders, and layout options
- Page builder support (Elementor-ready)
- Excellent mobile performance
Best for: Corporate websites, agencies, solo entrepreneurs
Starting at: Free (Pro from $69)
10. Divi
Divi is a premium theme from Elegant Themes known for its visual builder and advanced design controls. While Divi was once considered heavy, recent updates added deep speed optimizations, smart loading, and improved Core Web Vitals support.
According to NitroPack’s tests, it now scores 100/100 on Lighthouse for both mobile and desktop—making it the fastest visual builder theme available when optimized well.
- Full-featured visual builder
- Built-in performance tools
- Advanced A/B testing and marketing modules
- WooCommerce-ready with visual product templates
Best for: Designers, marketing teams, visual-first business sites
Starting at: $89/year
Getting started with the fastest WordPress themes
Choosing a fast theme sets the foundation for everything else—better SEO, higher conversions, and a better experience on mobile. The fastest WordPress themes in 2025 prove you can have speed and flexibility without compromise.
Pick the one that best fits your workflow and audience, then pair it with performance tools and fast hosting to maximize results.
Ready to upgrade your WordPress experience? Professional hosting improves speeds, security, and reliability for a website and a brand that people find engaging and trustworthy.
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Additional resources
How to change WordPress themes the right way →
We’ll go over some reasons why you may want to switch to a new theme and how to prepare your website. Then, we’ll show you a few ways to change your WordPress theme.
Best free WordPress themes ranked by real performance →
We’ll show you how pairing the right theme with high-performance WordPress hosting – like the plans offered by Liquid Web – can transform your site into a speed machine!
5 ways to customize a WordPress dashboard →
We’ll go over the importance of WordPress dashboard customization, how to do it, and the common challenges you might face.
Aaron Binders works as a Linux Support Technician at Liquid Web and focuses on resolving server-side customer issues. When not spending time with his family, he has a passion for sports such as football and boxing, as well as reading the latest ICT magazines.