Best Free WordPress Themes for Dark Mode

15 themes compared · Updated August 2026 · Dark Mode

All 15 Free only Premium only

Choosing a WordPress theme for dark mode comes down to a few things: whether it is still actively maintained, whether real users rate it well, and whether it does the specific job you need without dragging the rest of the site down.

We ranked 15 themes using our WPScore, which weighs the user rating (adjusted for how many people actually rated it), how many sites run it, how recently it was updated, and which WordPress version it is tested against. 15 of them have enough public data to be scored; the rest are listed below the ranked block, clearly marked, rather than being given a number we cannot justify.

How this list is funded. Some links here earn us a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not move anything up the list — the order comes from the WPScore, which is calculated from public ratings, install counts and update history. See the method.

At a glance

1. GovPress Best overall 75/100
2. GamerNews 73/100
3. Plover 73/100
4. PressBook News Dark 73/100
5. Bharat AI Marketing 72/100
6. Big Chill 67/100
7. NewsPlace 66/100
8. Nexal 65/100
9. Oceanly News Dark 65/100
10. Spice Software Dark 64/100
11. Vene 64/100
12. Vexis 63/100
13. Zyo 63/100
14. Dark Mode Blog 63/100
15. bloggerly 63/100

Best overall Free by govfresh

GovPress

GovPress is a free WordPress theme for government and public-sector websites, designed around WCAG accessibility guidelines with automatic light and dark mode that follows each visitor'...

4.9★: from 7 ratings
600+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

GamerNews

GamerNews is a design-forward, dark-mode WordPress child theme of MoreNews for gaming reviews, eSports, and tech magazines. It features high-contrast visual palettes, light/dark toggles, and...

1.5★: from 2 ratings
900+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by WP Plover

Plover

Plover is a multipurpose Full Site Editing theme. Plover theme utilizes the WordPress block editor and the extensions provided by the Plover Kit to create unique and eye-catching web design....

3.7★: from 3 ratings
600+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by ScriptsTown

PressBook News Dark

PressBook News Dark is an elegant, multipurpose dark theme suitable for news, movies, entertainment, and educational websites. It is a lightweight, modern, and fully mobile responsive WordPr...

5★: from 2 ratings
300+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by Kunjan Gohel

Bharat AI Marketing

A high-conversion, futuristic Block Theme designed for AI SaaS, digital marketing agencies, and technology startups. Features dark mode aesthetics, glassmorphism effects, a data-rich dashboa...

5★: from 2 ratings
200+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by bwilson753

Big Chill

Visit bigbobnetwork.com/BigMedia/. The Big Chill theme is a dark theme highlighted with blacklight. It coordinates the power of block patterns with the power of the customizer. It has been d...

800+: active installs
Updated: Jul 2026

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

NewsPlace

NewsPlace is a publisher-grade WordPress child theme of MoreNews, offering a versatile framework for news and magazine websites. It includes reader-first features like light/dark modes, 30+...

600+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by WP Plover

Nexal

Nexal is a multipurpose full-site editing theme. Nexal theme utilizes the WordPress block editor and the extensions provided by the Plover Kit to create unique and eye-catching web design. D...

700+: active installs
Updated: Apr 2026

WPScore

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Free by ScriptsTown

Oceanly News Dark

Oceanly News Dark is a perfect, multipurpose dark theme for news, magazines, blogging, entertainment, and educational websites. It offers clean typography and an elegant design with a featur...

400+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by spicethemes

Spice Software Dark

Spice Software Dark Theme is a lightweight, elegant, fully responsive, and translation-ready,theme that allows you to create stunning blogs and websites. The theme is well suited for compani...

3.3★: from 3 ratings
600+: active installs
Updated: Jul 2025

WPScore

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Free by WP Plover

Vene

Vene is a Multi-Purpose Full Site Editing theme. Vene theme utilizes the WordPress block editor and the extensions provided by the Plover Kit to create unique and eye-catching web design. Da...

400+: active installs
Updated: Apr 2026

WPScore

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Free by WP Plover

Vexis

Vexis is a multipurpose Full Site Editing theme. Vexis theme utilizes the WordPress block editor and the extensions provided by the Plover Kit to create unique and eye-catching web design. D...

300+: active installs
Updated: Apr 2026

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org

Free by WP Plover

Zyo

Zyo is a multipurpose Full Site Editing theme. Zyo theme utilizes the WordPress block editor and the extensions provided by the Plover Kit to create unique and eye-catching web design. Dark...

200+: active installs
Updated: Apr 2026

WPScore

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Free by Superb

Dark Mode Blog

Dark Mode Blog is a responsive WordPress personal blog, influencer and newspaper theme for WordPress. The theme's elegant and minimalistic look makes it an attractive choice for blogger...

200+: active installs
Updated: Apr 2026

WPScore

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Free by Karan Makani

bloggerly

A minimalist, responsive and clean blogging theme with Dark Mode support.

100+: active installs
Updated: Jun 2026

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org