As of 2026-09-15, 5,290 WordPress themes have been tested with Google Lighthouse on their own demo stores; 1,922 (36%) score 90 or better for mobile speed. The most popular, Astra by Brainstorm Force, scores 92, then Twenty Seventeen by WordPress.org 96, then Hello Elementor by Elementor 100 for mobile speed; the highest score is Hello Elementor by Elementor at 100.
WordPress themes tested for speed, SEO and accessibility
Fastest themes on mobile| Presets | MobileDesktop |
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WordPress theme speed: questions people ask
What is the fastest WordPress theme in September 2026?
As of September 2026 (measured 2026-09-15), the fastest WordPress theme on mobile is Hello Elementor by Elementor, with a Google Lighthouse speed score of 100 out of 100, followed by Twenty Twenty-One by WordPress.org at 100 and Blocksy at 100. 5,290 WordPress themes were tested on their own demo stores; the ranking above is live and changes as themes are re-tested.
What is the fastest WordPress theme on desktop?
On desktop, Hello Elementor by Elementor has the highest speed score in September 2026 at 100 out of 100, then Twenty Twenty at 100. Desktop scores run higher than mobile for the same theme because Lighthouse's mobile test simulates a mid-range phone on a slow 4G connection; mobile is the score Google ranks by.
What is the best free WordPress theme for speed in September 2026?
Among free WordPress themes, Hello Elementor by Elementor has the highest mobile speed score in September 2026 at 100 out of 100; Twenty Twenty-One is next at 100. 5,109 of the 5,290 tested WordPress themes are free; the full list is at /wordpress/free.
Is the most popular WordPress theme fast?
The most popular WordPress theme by marketplace usage is Astra by Brainstorm Force, and in September 2026 it scores 92 out of 100 for mobile speed, against 100 for the fastest theme, Hello Elementor. Twenty Seventeen (96) and Hello Elementor (100) are the next most popular. Popularity is a signal of trust, not of speed.
What speed score does a typical WordPress theme get?
In September 2026, the median mobile Lighthouse performance score across 5,290 tested WordPress themes is 85 out of 100, and 1,922 (36%) reach Google's "good" band of 90 or better. Google's bands are 90–100 good, 50–89 needs improvement and 0–49 poor.
Which WordPress themes score 90 or better for mobile speed?
1,922 WordPress themes score 90 or better for mobile speed in September 2026, led by Astra (92), Twenty Seventeen (96), Hello Elementor (100), Twenty Twenty (96), Twenty Twenty-One (100), Twenty Fifteen (96), OceanWP (92) and Twenty Sixteen (93). Scores are medians across each theme's tested presets.
Which WordPress theme has the best Core Web Vitals?
On its demo store's home page in September 2026, Intentionally Blank by Nilo Velez has the fastest Largest Contentful Paint among the WordPress themes scoring 90 or better: 765 ms LCP on mobile with a Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.000. Google's thresholds are 2.5 s for LCP and 0.1 for CLS; every theme's page lists its vitals per device.
Is Astra fast?
Astra by Brainstorm Force scores 92 out of 100 for mobile speed and 99 on desktop in September 2026, measured with Google Lighthouse on its demo store. That places it at number 1258 of 5,290 tested WordPress themes. Its page at /theme/wordpress/astra shows every page, preset and the audits behind the number.
Is Hello Elementor fast?
Hello Elementor by Elementor scores 100 out of 100 for mobile speed and 100 on desktop in September 2026, measured with Google Lighthouse on its demo store. That places it first of 5,290 tested WordPress themes. Its page at /theme/wordpress/hello-elementor shows every page, preset and the audits behind the number.
Hello Elementor vs Twenty Twenty-One: which is faster?
In September 2026, Hello Elementor scores 100 and Twenty Twenty-One scores 100 for mobile speed; on desktop it is 100 against 100. Two points is inside Lighthouse's run-to-run variation, so treat them as level on this measure. Pick both in the rankings and press Compare for every score side by side.
Which WordPress theme vendor makes the fastest themes?
Among vendors with two or more tested WordPress themes, WP Royal has the highest median mobile speed score in September 2026: 100 across 11 themes. Vendor pages list every theme a vendor has on the rankings.
How many WordPress themes have been tested, and how often are the scores updated?
5,290 WordPress themes have Lighthouse scores as of 2026-09-15. Every theme is re-tested on a schedule set by its popularity — the most used every week, the long tail every one to two months — and every run is kept, so a theme's page shows its history. New themes are picked up from the marketplaces daily.
Does theme speed matter for a WordPress store?
Yes. Page speed is part of Google's ranking systems through Core Web Vitals, and slower pages convert fewer visitors. The theme sets the floor: apps, images and tracking scripts only add to what it loads. A theme that scores 90 or better on mobile on its own demo leaves room for a real store; one that scores 50 on an empty demo has none. Test your own store at /test-my-store.
How are WordPress themes tested for speed?
Each theme's own demo store is run through Google's PageSpeed Insights API (Lighthouse) on a simulated mobile phone and on desktop, for the home page and, on store platforms, a collection page and a product page. A theme's score is the median of its presets; a preset's is the mean of its pages. Dead, password-protected and cloaked demos are excluded before they can score. The full method is at /methodology.