Comparison of WordPress Theme Clubs

In recent years the popularity of premium/commercial WordPress themes has steadily increased. With the huge number of websites using WordPress as a CMS and with the demand for quality themes constantly increasing, the market for quality themes includes a large selection for buyers. Many designers/developers have an interest in WordPress theme clubs that provide access to a selection of themes rather than paying for each individual theme that they need. Likewise, many people who own several websites also prefer theme clubs as a way to get quality themes for all of their websites.

While there are a number of good options, things can get a little confusing when you are trying to decide which theme club to join. This article takes a look at the specifics of 11 different theme clubs with the goal of helping you to compare the options. You’ll also find a table at the end that shows the details in a summarized manner for easy comparison.

Before we start looking at the different theme clubs, let’s talk about that factors you’ll want to consider, and what you should expect from any theme club. For starters, any theme club should provide customers with:

Professional-quality themes

Support

Theme updates (specifically for compatibility with new versions of WordPress)

While things like pricing are important factors to consider, even a low price doesn’t make it a good deal if themes are of low quality, if they are not updated as needed, and if you can’t get support.

When comparing the specifics of each theme club we will look at the following factors:

One-time fees to join the club

Recurring fees to keep your membership active

Length of membership

Number of themes available

Usage restrictions (can they be used on unlimited domains?)

All of the information about the specific themes clubs is up-to-date as of March 11, 2013. Details of the theme clubs can change frequently, so please be sure to verify the specifics with any theme club before joining. We’ve attempted to have the most accurate info here, but check it for yourself before signing up.

Elegant Themes

With over 170,000 customers Elegant Themes is certainly one of the most popular WordPress theme clubs, and they were one of the originators of the membership model for theme shops. They currently have 81 themes, and they release new themes fairly frequently. One of the benefits of signing up as an Elegant Themes member is knowing with their track record and their success that they will continue to run a very active theme club for the foreseeable future.

The themes available to Elegant Themes members range from portfolio themes, to business themes, to blogging/news themes, to eCommerce themes, to personal themes. Most of their recent theme releases use a responsive layout, and the style and quality of design is always at a professional level.

Elegant Themes offers a few different membership options. The Personal and Developer options both involve an annul membership fee (which can be canceled any time). With the Personal membership you’ll get access to all of the themes for per year, which equals less than .50 per theme.

The Developer membership also provides access to all themes, but it also provides PSD files for each theme, and access to all of the plugins from Elegant Themes. They currently have 4 plugins. The Elegant Page Builder plugin can be used to create drag-and-drop custom pages without the need to code. The HandHeld Mobile Plugin gives you a mobile-optimized theme that will be displayed to visitors using mobile devices. The Maintenance Mode Plugin allows you to create a “coming soon” page before your site is ready to launch. The Elegant Shortcodes pack also provides the ability to add elements like buttons, image sliders, tabs, and much more in your pages and posts without coding. The Developer membership costs per year.

The last option is the Lifetime membership, which comes with all of the same access as the Developer membership, but with a one-time fee of 9 and no yearly fees. With all membership plans you can use themes from Elegant Themes on an unlimited number of domains and on client websites.

StudioPress

StudioPress was founded by Brian Gardner and has since become a part of Copyblogger Media. Brian has been as influential to the commercial WordPress theme market as anyone, and the association with Copyblogger media also helps to ensure that StudioPress will be around and creating great themes for years to come.

StudioPress is different from Elegant Themes in that they sell themes individually in addition to the club membership. StudioPress offers all of their themes (currently 43 themes) in a bundled purchase for a one-time fee of 9.95. Buyers get lifetime access to all of the current StudioPress themes, all future themes, and updates to all themes as they become available.

The Genesis framework from StudioPress is one of the more popular WordPress theme frameworks, and their themes function as child themes of Genesis. Genesis is also a popular framework for designers who want to create custom themes for their own use or for clients. With the Pro Plus All Theme Package you’ll get the right to use Genesis and all of the child themes on an unlimited number of domains, including client websites.

StudioPress offers a wide range of different types of themes including business themes, portfolio themes, news themes, and their real estate theme is also very popular.

Themes Kingdom

The WordPress themes at Themes Kingdom used to only be available to members, but they now also sell themes individually. For those who are interested in the club membership Themes Kingdom offer is pretty straightforward. They offer all of their themes (currently 47 themes), plus 1 plugin (Scebo, for a customer support system) for per year. Members can use the themes on an unlimited number of domains, including on client websites.

Themes Kingdom members get access to attractive themes in a wide variety of categories, including portfolio themes, business themes, blog themes, news themes, and more.

CSS Igniter

Like Elegant Themes, the themes from CSS Igniter are only available through club membership and cannot be purchased individually. CSS Igniter only offers one membership option, but it includes everything you need. For per year you can get access to all of their themes (currently 38 themes), as well as PSD files and static HTML versions of each theme. As a member you can use the themes on an unlimited number of domains, including client websites.

CSS Igniter provides quality portfolio themes, business themes, eCommerce themes, hotel themes, music themes, magazine themes, and more. Many of the themes use a responsive layout.

WooThemes

Themes from WooThemes can be purchased individually or through a club membership. As a club member you’ll get access to all of their themes (currently 84 themes). They offer two options for membership, Standard and Developer. With a Standard membership you’ll get access to all of the themes for a one-time fee of 5 plus per month. With a Developer membership you will get access to all the themes plus PSD files for a one-time fee of 0 plus per month. With either type of membership you can use the themes on an unlimited number of domains, including client websites.

Since WooThemes has been around for several years they have quite a large selection of themes that includes business themes, portfolio themes, magazine/news themes, personal themes, and eCommerce themes that are designed to integrate with their WooCommerce plugin.

WPZoom

WPZoom also sells themes individually or as a club membership. With the club membership you’ll get access to all of their themes (currently 51 themes). They offer two membership options, Standard and Developer. With the Standard membership you’ll pay a one-time fee of 9 plus per month. With the Developer membership you’ll pay a one-time fee of 9 plus per month. With either membership you can use the themes on an unlimited number of domains, but with the Developer membership you’ll also get access to PSD files.

WPZoom theme club members will get access to high-quality business themes, portfolio themes, news/magazine themes, and more. Their recent themes all use responsive layouts.

ThemeFuse

ThemeFuse also sells themes individually or as a club membership. With the club membership you’ll get access to all of their themes (currently 30 themes), plus PSD files for each theme. As a member you will be allowed to use the themes on an unlimited number of domains. The cost is a one-time fee of 9 plus per month.

ThemeFuse members get access to a selection of attractive themes in a variety of categories including portfolio themes, business themes, blogging themes, news themes, travel themes, and more.

Themify

Themify sells themes individually and they also offer a club membership. As a club member you’ll get access to all of their themes (currently 35 themes). They offer two types of memberships, Standard and Developer. The Standard membership costs per year, while the Developer membership costs per year. With either membership you can use the themes on an unlimited number of domains. The difference is that with the Developer membership you will also get PSD files for each theme.

Themify members get access to quality themes like portfolio themes, corporate themes, eCommerce themes, blog themes, magazine themes, and more. Most of the themes use a responsive layout.

Obox

Obox sells themes and plugins individually as well as on a membership basis. Members get access to all of their themes (currently 35 themes) and all of their plugins. They currently have two premium plugins. Obox Mobile is a plugin for providing users with a mobile version of a WordPress site. Social Commerce is a plugin for converting a WordPress eCommerce site into a place where people can shop from your Facebook page. Members get PSD files for the themes and can use themes and plugins on an unlimited number of domains.

Obox membership costs a one-time fee of 0 plus per month. They offer portfolio themes, eCommerce themes, photography themes, business themes, news themes, and more.

UpThemes

UpThemes sells their themes individually as well as offering the club membership. They offer two options for membership, Standard and Developer. Standard members get access to all of their themes (currently 16 themes). Developer members get access to all themes and all plugins (currently 4 plugins), plus PSD files for each theme. With either membership you can use the themes on unlimited domains.

Standard membership costs per year and Developer membership costs per year. UpThemes members get portfolio themes, business themes, blogging themes, eCommerce themes, and more.

Tokokoo

Tokokoo sells themes individually as well as in a club membership. Members get access to all of the Tokokoo themes (currently 29 themes), PSD files for each theme, and can use themes on an unlimited number of domains. There are two options for membership, the Annual Club and the Forever Club. Both offer the benefits already mentioned, the only difference is the price. The Annual Club costs per year and the Forever Club costs a one-time fee of 9 for lifetime access.

Tokokoo specializes in eCommerce themes both for the WooCommerce plugin and the WP e-Commerce plugin.

WordPress Theme Club Comparison:

The table below should help for quickly comparing the options. All of the theme clubs mentioned here all use of their themes on unlimited domains.

Theme Club	Access	1-time fee	Recurring	Themes	PSDs	Plugins
Elegant Themes Personal	Yearly	N/A	/year	81	No	0
Elegant Themes Developer	Yearly	N/A	/year	81	Yes	4
Elegant Themes Lifetime	Lifetime	9	N/A	81	Yes	4
StudioPress Pro Plus	Lifetime	9.95	N/A	43	No	0
Themes Kingdom	Yearly	N/A	/year	47	No	1
CSS Igniter	Yearly	N/A	/year	38	Yes	0
WooThemes Standard	Monthly	5	/month	84	No	0
WooThemes Developer	Monthly	0	/month	84	Yes	0
WPZoom Standard	Monthly	9	/month	51	No	0
WPZoom Developer	Monthly	9	/month	51	Yes	0
ThemeFuse	Monthly	9	/month	30	Yes	0
Themify Standard	Yearly	N/A	/year	35	No	0
Themify Developer	Yearly	N/A	/year	35	Yes	0
Obox	Monthly	0	/month	35	Yes	2
UpThemes Standard	Yearly	N/A	/year	16	No	0
UpThemes Developer	Yearly	N/A	/year	16	Yes	4
Tokokoo Annual	Yearly	N/A	/year	29	Yes	0
Tokokoo Forever	Lifetime	9	N/A	29	Yes	0