Top 18 Most Profitable WordPress Themes
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Finding WordPress themes that actually disclose their revenue is nearly impossible.
Most developers keep their earnings private because they don't want competitors copying their strategies or flooding their niches.
After digging through founder interviews, transparency reports, marketplace data, and business intelligence sources, we tracked down 18 paid WordPress themes with verifiable revenue numbers (the most complete list you'll find anywhere online).
Some disclosed exact figures in public interviews, others we calculated from ThemeForest sales counters, and a few come from third-party business intelligence estimates (which we'll explain clearly for each one, just like we do in our market clarity reports when analyzing competitor revenue).
Quick Summary
The top paid WordPress theme, Divi, pulls in between $933,000 and $1.25 million monthly through a subscription model that completely changed how themes make money.
Avada comes second with an estimated $250,000+ per month after selling over 1 million copies on ThemeForest. The revenue gap between the top themes and everyone else is massive, with the #1 spot earning roughly 4-5x what the #5 spot makes.
Most themes that crossed the million-dollar mark did it by either dominating ThemeForest early (2012-2014), building subscription businesses, or going deep into specific niches like WooCommerce instead of trying to be everything to everyone.
The 18 Paid WordPress Themes Ranked by Monthly Revenue
- Divi by Elegant Themes ($933,000 - $1,250,000)
Divi pioneered the visual drag-and-drop builder and switched the entire WordPress theme industry from one-time purchases to subscriptions ($89/year or $249 lifetime). Business intelligence firms estimate Elegant Themes makes between $11.2M and $15M annually based on their 77-108 employees and the fact they've paid out over $38 million to affiliates. With 974,872+ customers and 1.58 million websites using it, Divi basically prints money through recurring revenue while competitors still rely on single sales.
- Avada by ThemeFusion ($250,000+)
Avada hit 1 million total sales in January 2025, making it the first WordPress theme to reach that milestone. The founders disclosed they were making over $100,000 per month back in 2013, and they'd earned $25 million by the time they hit 500,000 sales in 2018. At 1 million sales with a $69 price tag, that's roughly $69 million gross lifetime revenue, which averages to about $443,000 monthly over 13 years (though ThemeForest takes 30-37.5%, leaving authors with $165K-$310K net). Co-founders Luke Beck and Muhammad Haris personally answered support tickets in the early days, which built the legendary reputation that still drives sales today.
- BeTheme by Muffin Group ($162,000)
BeTheme's 325,274 verified sales at $60 each equals $19.5 million in gross lifetime revenue since launching in 2014. That works out to roughly $147,000 monthly over 11 years, though we're estimating higher ($162K) because their library of 700+ pre-built websites has accelerated sales recently. The Polish team basically positioned it as "one theme for any website" by adding demos for every imaginable niche (restaurants, lawyers, fitness, online stores), which meant customers bought once and never needed another theme.
Sources: ThemeForest, BeTheme - X Theme by Themeco ($150,000)
X Theme's founder disclosed they made over $1 million in the first six months after launching in 2014, which is $166,667+ monthly right out of the gate. With 225,700+ total sales at $89 each ($20 million gross over 11 years), the lifetime average comes to about $151,000 monthly. ThemeForest called it their "fastest selling product" at launch, and that early momentum combined with premium pricing ($89 vs the typical $59) helped them dominate before copycats showed up.
- Bridge by QODE Interactive ($126,000)
Bridge targets creative professionals specifically (photographers, designers, agencies) with 500+ demo websites that look way better than generic business templates. The Serbian team sold 219,400 copies at $69 each, generating $15.1 million gross over about 10 years ($126,000 monthly average). Focusing on the creative niche let them charge premium prices because designers actually care about aesthetics and will pay for quality, unlike the race-to-the-bottom pricing in other categories.
Sources: ThemeForest, QODE Interactive - Enfold by Kriesi ($120,000)
Enfold's 267,488 sales at $59 equals $15.8 million gross since 2012, though the real number is probably higher because sales accelerated after 2014 when visual builders became popular. The German developer Kriesi built a reputation for clean code and fast performance when most themes were bloated feature dumps. That 4.84/5 rating from 6,800+ reviews is exceptionally high and feeds ThemeForest's algorithm, which keeps promoting it to new buyers even 13 years later.
Sources: ThemeForest, Kriesi - Zerif Lite (Pro) by ThemeIsle ($120,000 peak, $45,000 current)
ThemeIsle's CEO Ionut Neagu publicly disclosed that Zerif Lite was making $120,000 monthly before WordPress.org suspended it for five months in 2016 over guideline violations. After reinstatement, revenue dropped 63% to just $45,000 monthly and never recovered. The freemium strategy worked brilliantly (free version on WordPress.org drove thousands of downloads daily, converting 2-5% to paid) until the platform dependency risk killed the momentum, proving that building on someone else's platform can destroy your business overnight.
Sources: WP Tavern, CodeinWP Transparency - The7 by Dream-Theme ($89,000)
The7 has the highest sales volume of any theme on this list with 327,900 total sales, but their $39 price point (vs typical $59-69) means they made $12.8 million gross over 12 years ($89,000 monthly average). The volume-over-margin strategy worked because the lower price reduced purchase friction while their 1,000+ customization options meant one purchase satisfied everything buyers needed. They basically bet that selling 2x the volume at half the price would work better than premium positioning, and the sales counter proves they were right.
Source: ThemeForest - Flatsome by UX-themes ($82,000)
Flatsome is the #1 best-selling WooCommerce theme on ThemeForest with 239,400 sales at $59 each ($14.1 million gross since 2013). They went all-in on e-commerce instead of being multipurpose, which let them optimize everything for conversions (product pages, cart flows, mobile commerce) rather than trying to serve every use case. Around 393,684 WooCommerce stores currently use Flatsome, and the laser focus on online stores during the e-commerce boom (2015-2020) captured massive demand that generic themes couldn't serve properly.
- Jupiter/JupiterX by Artbees ($74,000)
The Iranian development team at Artbees sold 182,596 copies of Jupiter at $58 each ($10.6 million gross) before rebuilding it as JupiterX in 2018, adding roughly 18,000 more sales. Their combined 200,000+ licenses work out to about $74,000 monthly over 12 years. The magazine-quality demos and unique design perspective (coming from the Middle Eastern market) differentiated them from the flood of generic multipurpose themes, and the JupiterX rebrand let them retain existing customers while attracting new buyers who wanted modern architecture.
Sources: ThemeForest, JupiterX - Salient by ThemeNectar ($69,000)
Salient pioneered smooth parallax scrolling effects that set a new standard for WordPress theme aesthetics, selling 164,169 copies at $60 each ($9.85 million gross over 12 years). The visual differentiation through animations attracted creative professionals who were willing to pay premium prices for themes that looked nothing like the generic competition. ThemeNectar focused on building one exceptional theme rather than a portfolio of mediocre ones, which kept quality consistently high and filtered out low-value customers who generate disproportionate support burden.
Sources: ThemeForest, ThemeNectar - Thesis Theme by DIYthemes ($66,000-$100,000 peak)
Thesis was the first WordPress theme to hit $1 million in sales, with founder Chris Pearson disclosing $1.2 million in revenue during the first 16-18 months (2008-2010), which is $66,000-$75,000 monthly. They surpassed $2 million total by 2012 and paid affiliates over $400,000 in commissions. The first-mover advantage (launching in 2008 when premium themes barely existed) and high-profile blogger endorsements from Matt Cutts and Darren Rowse drove explosive early growth, though revenue declined significantly after 2013 due to GPL licensing controversy and failure to adapt to the visual builder trend.
Sources: Mixergy Interview, DIYthemes - Uncode by Undsgn ($54,000)
The Italian design team at Undsgn sold 130,700 copies at $59 each ($7.7 million gross since 2015), averaging $64,000 monthly though we adjusted to $54,000 accounting for slower initial sales before momentum built. Their pixel-perfect design quality rivals custom-developed sites, and the European aesthetic sensibility differentiated them from American and Asian competitors. That 4.84/5 rating from 3,400+ reviews is exceptionally high and signals they're targeting discerning customers willing to pay for quality rather than racing to the bottom on price.
Sources: ThemeForest, Undsgn - Porto by P-Themes ($49,000)
Porto specializes in e-commerce with 99,500 sales at $59 each (nearly $6 million gross over 11 years, averaging $49,000 monthly). The RTL (Right-to-Left) support opened up Arabic and Hebrew markets that most themes completely ignored, and the multi-vendor marketplace features addressed the growing demand for Etsy-style sites. Flying under the radar without massive hype cycles let them build steady, consistent sales while bigger themes dealt with copycats and market saturation.
Source: ThemeForest - ProteusThemes ($41,000 peak, $16,000 current)
Slovenian founders Primož Cigler and Jaka Šmid disclosed $41,225 in revenue for November 2014 (their peak month) and currently make around $16,000 monthly as of 2017. They specialized in extreme niches like construction (BuildPress), hair salons, and car repair shops rather than multipurpose themes. The business crossed $1 million in total sales by early 2016 but then declined 60% from peak due to copycats flooding their niches and the support burden from high customer volume, teaching a hard lesson about platform dependency and market saturation (similar risks we analyze in our market clarity reports when evaluating business model vulnerabilities).
Sources: Indie Hackers, ProteusThemes - WoodMart by XTemos ($38,000)
WoodMart launched relatively recently in 2017, selling 46,000+ copies at $59 each ($2.7 million gross over 8 years). We estimate current monthly revenue around $38,000 because their growth trajectory is accelerating (80,000+ total users including renewals and multi-site licenses). Building a WooCommerce theme in 2017 after the market was already established meant they could learn from earlier themes' mistakes, and that 4.89/5 rating from 1,800+ reviews shows they nailed the performance and conversion optimization that older competitors struggled with.
Sources: WoodMart, ThemeForest - MH Themes ($30,000)
Former stock broker Michael Hebenstreit disclosed $360,000 in annual revenue (~$30,000 monthly) in a 2017 Indie Hackers interview, with historical revenue of $52,404 (2013), $178,725 (2014), $371,077 (2015), and $398,642 (2016 peak). He specialized in magazine and news themes when most developers focused on business or portfolio layouts, running the entire business with just two people (him and his wife). The freemium model with free versions on WordPress.org drove traffic, and German quality standards combined with SEO and PPC advertising built a sustainable lifestyle business.
Source: Indie Hackers - Press75 ($21,000 average)
Founder Jason Schuller disclosed over $3 million in total revenue between 2008 and 2014 before selling the business, which works out to roughly $41,000 monthly average (though we're using a conservative $21,000 accounting for growth curves). Press75 was one of the first premium WordPress theme businesses, launching in 2008 when competition was almost nonexistent. The first-mover advantage and WordPress's explosive growth phase created a gold rush that later entrants couldn't replicate, and Schuller sold at peak before market saturation destroyed margins (he's now co-founder of Lemon Squeezy).
Source: Indie Hackers
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What Are the Key Takeaways from These Paid WordPress Theme Revenues?
Subscription Models Crush One-Time Sales for WordPress Themes
Divi switched to subscriptions ($89/year or $249 lifetime) and now makes 4-5x what the #2 theme earns with one-time purchases.
Recurring revenue creates predictable cash flow and increases lifetime customer value dramatically. A customer who pays $89 annually for five years generates $445 total vs a single $59 purchase, and the subscription model encourages Elegant Themes to keep improving the product since retention matters more than initial conversion.
Most themes still stuck on one-time purchases leave massive money on the table because they optimize for the first sale instead of the relationship.
First-Mover Advantage in WordPress Themes Was Enormous
Thesis, Press75, Avada, and BeTheme all launched between 2008-2014 when premium WordPress themes were a new concept and competition was minimal.
Thesis became the first million-dollar theme despite having a difficult interface because they educated the market about why premium themes mattered at all. Avada benefited from ThemeForest being the 88th most-trafficked website globally in 2014 (ahead of Netflix), giving them massive built-in distribution that newer themes can't access.
The 2015-2020 window was still profitable but required better execution, and themes launching after 2020 face brutal saturation with 8,000+ competitors on ThemeForest alone.
Deep Niche Specialization Often Beats Multipurpose WordPress Themes
Flatsome focused exclusively on WooCommerce and became the #1 e-commerce theme with 393,684 stores using it.
ProteusThemes built industry-specific themes (construction, salons, car repair) and hit $41,000 monthly by serving niches that multipurpose themes ignored. Bridge targeted creative professionals and commanded premium prices because designers actually care about aesthetics unlike the race-to-the-bottom pricing elsewhere.
Trying to be everything to everyone means competing on price against established players with bigger budgets, while owning a specific niche lets you charge more and face less competition (which is why in our market clarity reports, we always identify underserved niches and market gaps).
ThemeForest Distribution Matters More Than Independent WordPress Theme Shops
All but two themes in this ranking (Divi and Thesis) relied on ThemeForest's marketplace for distribution despite giving up 30-37.5% in commissions.
ThemeForest's built-in traffic (88th most-visited site globally during peak years) and algorithm-driven discovery outweighed the commission hit. ProteusThemes tried moving from ThemeForest to their own shop in 2016 and saw revenue decline because customer acquisition costs exploded without the marketplace's traffic.
Building an audience from scratch requires years of content marketing and SEO that most developers don't have time for while also maintaining the theme.
In our market clarity reports, for each product and market, we detect signals from across the web and forums, identify pain points, and measure their frequency and intensity so you can be sure you're building something your market truly needs.
Revenue Concentration in WordPress Themes Follows Extreme Power Laws
The top 3 themes generated over $100 million combined while 76% of all WordPress themes on ThemeForest earn under $1,000 monthly.
Only 0.83% of themes exceed $10,000 per month according to marketplace data. Success is winner-take-all because ThemeForest's algorithm promotes themes with high ratings and sales velocity, creating a feedback loop where popular themes get more visibility, leading to more sales, leading to better algorithm placement.
Launching a mediocre theme won't generate life-changing money because customers gravitate toward established winners with thousands of reviews and proven track records.
Platform Dependency Can Destroy WordPress Theme Revenue Overnight
Zerif Lite went from $120,000 monthly to $45,000 after WordPress.org suspended them for five months over guideline violations, losing 63% of revenue permanently.
ProteusThemes declined 60% from their $41,000 peak after copycats flooded their construction niche on ThemeForest, and the marketplace algorithm started promoting cheaper alternatives. Building entirely on someone else's platform (ThemeForest, WordPress.org) means they control your distribution and can kill your business with policy changes or algorithm updates.
The smartest developers diversify by owning their customer relationships through email lists and independent shops, even if marketplace sales drive initial growth.
Support Burden Scales Faster Than Revenue for WordPress Themes
Avada's founders personally answered support tickets early on, which built their legendary reputation but became unsustainable as sales volume exploded.
ProteusThemes disclosed that support burden contributed to their 60% revenue decline because high-volume sales meant constant customer service that didn't scale linearly with revenue. Themes priced at $39-59 attract more price-sensitive customers who generate disproportionate support requests compared to premium-priced themes at $89+ that filter for experienced users.
Premium positioning reduces support costs by attracting better customers, even if it means lower sales volume.
European WordPress Theme Developers Achieved Disproportionate Success
BeTheme (Poland), Uncode (Italy), Bridge (Serbia), ProteusThemes (Slovenia), and ThemeIsle (Romania) all generated significant revenue despite not being based in the US.
European design sensibilities differentiated them from American and Asian competitors, and customers associated European developers with quality (German engineering reputation for Enfold, Italian design aesthetic for Uncode). Emerging market teams from Bangladesh and Iran leveraged cost advantages while competing globally through marketplace access that eliminated geographic barriers.
Location matters less than execution when digital marketplaces equalize distribution across borders.
Market Research Prevents Wasted Development Time on WordPress Themes
Most failed WordPress themes fail because developers build what they think is cool instead of what customers actually need.
The successful themes in this ranking solved specific problems (Flatsome optimized WooCommerce conversions, ProteusThemes served construction businesses, Bridge targeted creative professionals) rather than adding generic features competitors already offered. Before writing a single line of code, understanding customer complaints, competitor gaps, and market opportunities separates themes that earn six figures from the 76% earning under $1,000 monthly.
This is exactly why we created our market clarity reports, analyzing customer complaints, competitor strategies, and real market signals so developers can build themes people actually want to buy.
For each competitor, our market clarity reports look at how they address — or fail to address — market pain points. If they don't, it highlights a potential opportunity for you.
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