Best WordPress Themes for Widgets

15 themes compared · Updated August 2026 · Widgets

All Free only 15 Premium only

Choosing a WordPress theme for widgets 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. CoverNews Best overall 80/100
2. eStore 76/100
3. Newsium 76/100
4. NewsMore 75/100
5. NewsLight 75/100
6. MoreBlog 75/100
7. GlobalNews 74/100
8. Intimate 73/100
9. Kreeti Lite 73/100
10. Docile 72/100
11. Esteem 69/100
12. General News 67/100
13. MoreMag 67/100
14. Newsical 65/100
15. Celestia 63/100

Best overall Free by AF themes

CoverNews

CoverNews is a clean and elegant free WordPress theme that is perfect for online blog and magazine. With the help of block patterns, live customizer options and custom widgets, you can desig...

4.8★: from 199 ratings
7k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by ThemeGrill

eStore

eStore is a clean, beautiful and fully customizable responsive WooCommerce WordPress theme. This theme packs many premium features and several custom widgets which helps making your online s...

4.6★: from 114 ratings
2k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org

Free by AF themes

Newsium

Newsium is a WordPress theme for the Best Responsive News Magazine that allows you to easily write articles and blog posts. Using live customizer options and custom widgets to create a great...

5★: from 25 ratings
900+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

NewsMore

NewsMore is a performance-driven WordPress child theme of MoreNews, designed for publishers who prioritize widget-intensive and block-based editorial layouts. It includes over 30 custom widg...

5★: from 3 ratings
900+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

NewsLight

NewsLight is a minimal, high-performance WordPress child theme of MoreNews designed for clean publishing with robust functionality. It utilizes over 30 custom widgets, dynamic block patterns...

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

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

MoreBlog

MoreMag is a dynamic, magazine-centric WordPress child theme on the MoreNews framework for bloggers and editorial publishers. It includes 9+ custom widgets, specialized widget sections, and...

5★: from 4 ratings
700+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

GlobalNews

GlobalNews is a high-performance, dark-styled WordPress child theme of MoreNews built for international publishers requiring design flexibility and speed. It integrates 30+ custom widgets, p...

5★: from 4 ratings
600+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by Template Sell

Intimate

Intimate is a elegant and easy to use WordPress magazine theme. It comes with 10+ custom widgets, customizer based theme settings, powerful theme options and many more. This theme has search...

5★: from 4 ratings
300+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

Kreeti Lite

Kreeti Lite is a clean and elegant WordPress theme that is perfect for online blog and magazine. Using live customizer options and custom widgets you can design your website as you like and...

5★: from 5 ratings
200+: active installs
Updated: Jul 2026

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org

Free by Template Sell

Docile

Docile is a elegant and easy to use WordPress magazine theme. It comes with 10+ custom widgets, customizer based theme settings, powerful theme options and many more. This theme has search o...

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

WPScore

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Free by ThemeGrill

Esteem

Esteem is a clean multipurpose responsive WordPress theme designed to fit business, portfolio, blogging or any type of site. The theme supports custom header, custom background, custom widge...

4.9★: from 46 ratings
2k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2025

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

General News

General News is a practical, widgetized WordPress child theme built on MoreNews for newspapers and journals requiring a reliable, easy-to-configure architecture. It features 9+ custom widget...

1k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by AF themes

MoreMag

MoreMag is a dynamic, magazine-centric WordPress child theme on the MoreNews framework for bloggers and editorial publishers. It includes 9+ custom widgets, specialized widget sections, and...

900+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org

Free by AF themes

Newsical

Newsical is a multipurpose WordPress child theme on the MoreNews platform, providing a vast collection of ready-to-use templates for blogs and news portals. It features 30+ custom widgets, a...

400+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026

WPScore

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Free by candidthemes

Celestia

Celestia is a free WordPress blog theme. It is the child theme of Fairy. Featuring a masonry layout and an array of customization options. Custom widgets for authors, featured posts, and soc...

200+: active installs
Updated: Mar 2026

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org