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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- How We Analyze The Fastest Shopify Themes
- TL;DR — A Quick Summary of The 10 Fastest Shopify Themes
- Fastest Themes for Shopify - Free Themes
- Fastest Shopify Themes - Paid Themes - Higher Price Range
- Fastest Shopify Themes - Paid Themes - Lower Price Range
- Fastest Shopify Paid Themes - Outside Shopify Theme Store
- Limitations & Other Aspects You Need to Know
- Best Practices to Optimize Your Shopify Store Speed
- Which Shopify Theme Are Suitable Your Store?
- FAQs about the Fastest Shopify Themes
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10 Fastest Shopify Themes in 2024 (Free and Paid)
Updated:
10
minutes read
The faster your Shopify website, the better the customer experience.
And that’s why, when choosing your Shopify theme, “speed” is one of the crucial aspects. However, it takes time to perform testing and analysis to identify which theme could be faster in comparison to many other themes.
Worry not! We’ve done that hard work for you!
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through our review and analysis of the fastest Shopify themes. We hope it’ll help you choose a suitable Shopify theme.
How We Analyze The Fastest Shopify Themes
Having a super fast Shopify theme is helpful; however, that’s not the only criterion you would OR should be looking for in a theme.
The theme should not only be good in terms of its speed but also in other aspects. After all, what’s the point of having a super-fast theme that doesn’t function properly or doesn’t represent your brand elegantly?
Here’s what we considered:
Reviews
We only considered the Shopify themeswith a good proportionof positive reviews and excluded the ones that didn’t have a good ratio of positive ratings or no reviews at all.
Pricing
We know pricing could also play a key role while choosing your theme, especially for small business owners. So, we took samples from different price ranges—from free themes to paidones.
Desktop & Mobile Speed Scores
Considering the skyrocketing growth of mobile commerce, you can’t ignore the page speed on mobile devices. It’s as critical as desktop performance.
And thus, we analyzed both — the desktop as well mobile — page speed scores of a homepage, collection page, and product page. Then, we took the “Average Speed Score” to choose the top 10 themes out of the tested samples.
Stores and Tool Used for Testing
We’ve performed speed tests on demo stores of each theme using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. It’s important to know that speed test results may differ from store to store even if they’re using the same theme. That’s one of the reasons we haven’t used live stores for testing.
TL;DR — A Quick Summary of The 10 Fastest Shopify Themes
Below is a quick overview on the top 10 fastest Shopify themes.
|
Theme |
Price |
Positive Review % |
Average Speed Score |
|
Fastest Themes for Shopify - Free Themes |
|||
|
Dawn |
Free |
34% |
94.50 |
|
Sense |
Free |
55% |
91.33 |
|
Studio |
Free |
58% |
90.83 |
|
Fastest Shopify Themes - Paid Themes - Higher Price Range |
|||
|
Bullet |
$310 |
93% |
92.00 |
|
Prestige |
$350 |
91% |
82.00 |
|
Showcase |
$300 |
95% |
80.50 |
|
Fastest Shopify Themes - Paid Themes - Lower Price Range |
|||
|
District |
$220 |
100% |
87.67 |
|
California |
$210 |
97% |
86.17 |
|
Fastest Shopify Paid Themes - Outside Shopify Theme Store |
|||
|
Booster |
$398 |
NA |
83.67 |
|
Plak |
$295 |
NA |
82.50 |
In the next section, we’ll categorize these themes based on their pricing and present a more thorough analysis on each one.
Fastest Themes for Shopify - Free Themes
1. Dawn
Isn’t it amazing that one of the fastest themes on our list is free? Well, that’s the beauty of building your online store with Shopify.
|
Price |
Free |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
91 |
|
Desktop |
99 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
94 |
|
|
Desktop |
100 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
83 |
|
|
Desktop |
100 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
94.50 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
Dawn theme has a minimalistic design that helps highlight your product images. It also has mega menu and sticky header features for a modern look and style.
The best thing is that Dawn has consistent high-speed scores across all pages on both desktop and mobile.
According to Shopify, Dawn—the new default theme for Shopify stores—is 35% faster than its previous default theme, i.e., the Debut theme.
But this theme’s lightning-fast speed is not just a fluke. Shopify has put in some effort to achieve this result. Here’s what Shopify says about the Dawn theme:
"It’s no secret how site speed can influence conversion, so we made it our mission to build the fastest theme possible. To achieve this, we had to optimize the way Dawn’s templates load content and intentionally handpicked the most relevant and flexible sections to keep the theme fast. We think you and your customers will love it."
2. Sense
Sense is a great theme that not only has a good speed but also a fresh and beautiful design with soft gradients.
|
Price |
Free |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
83 |
|
Desktop |
98 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
91 |
|
|
Desktop |
99 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
77 |
|
|
Desktop |
100 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
91.33 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
Sense theme’s elegant design makes the products shine brighter throughout the store.
Sense hit the speed scores of almost 100 on the homepage, collection, and product pages in the desktop test scores.
Sense theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
And its mobile test scores are decent too.
Sense theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
3. Studio
Here comes another free theme worth giving a try!
Studio is a uniquely styled theme, especially for artists, and offers a great layout to aesthetically present the artwork as well as collections.
|
Price |
Free |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
83 |
|
Desktop |
88 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
90 |
|
|
Desktop |
100 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
85 |
|
|
Desktop |
99 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
90.83 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
Studio is optimized to express your brand's story through images and long-form text sections.
With an average speed score of 90.83, Studio proves to be an excellent option if you’re looking for a theme that’s fast as well as visually appealing.
Studio theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
Studio theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
Fastest Shopify Themes - Paid Themes - Higher Price Range
4. Bullet
When looking at the name of this theme, we already got a hint about its fast speed. So, we tested the theme and the results did prove its naming to be correct.
|
Price |
$310 |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
83 |
|
Desktop |
100 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
81 |
|
|
Desktop |
100 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
88 |
|
|
Desktop |
100 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
92.00 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
Bullet has a minimalistic and grid-based design style for contemporary brands—which makes it look quite different than regular stores.
Bulles scored 100/100 on desktop speed tests for all three pages — the homepage, collection page, and product page.
Bullet theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
While it’s not an easy thing to score 100 or even 90+ on mobile speed tests, the theme does have a decent average score of 84 for mobile.
Bullet theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
5. Prestige
Prestige is one of the most popular premium themes on the Shopify theme store with 500+ five-star reviews.
|
Price |
$350 |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
82 |
|
Desktop |
96 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
61 |
|
|
Desktop |
97 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
58 |
|
|
Desktop |
98 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
82.00 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
Stylishly designed Prestige theme is a prominent option for high-end brands that offer premium or luxury products.
Prestige theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
Prestige theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
6. Showcase
Showcase is a theme that's built to optimize the customer experience. This theme helps you make the store content engaging with smooth animations and video integration.
|
Price |
$300 |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
74 |
|
Desktop |
81 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
88 |
|
|
Desktop |
86 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
68 |
|
|
Desktop |
86 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
80.50 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
Showcase is a beautifully-designed theme for bold and expressive brands.
With an average speed score of 84.33 on desktop and 76.66 average speed score on mobile, Showcase was able to achieve an overall average speed score of 80.50. And it can be considered a decent score.
Showcase theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
Showcase theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
Fastest Shopify Themes - Paid Themes - Lower Price Range
7. District
If you’re looking for an excellent theme with a lower budget, District is an awesome option to get a nicely built theme at just $220.
|
Price |
$220 |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
88 |
|
Desktop |
98 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
78 |
|
|
Desktop |
99 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
64 |
|
|
Desktop |
99 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
87.67 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
District is an ideal theme to display your featured collections and featured products such as bestsellers or new arrivals, etc.
District achieved the overall average speed score of 87.67 — even more than some of the premium themes with higher price ranges.
District theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
District theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
8. California
Now, let’s take a look at one more Shopify paid theme within a lower price range.
|
Price |
$210 |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
69 |
|
Desktop |
98 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
81 |
|
|
Desktop |
95 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
75 |
|
|
Desktop |
99 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
86.17 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
California theme provides you with the latest Shopify features, SEO best practices, and speed performance.
California theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
California theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
9. Eurus
If you look for super fast, beautiful and conversion-focused store, Eurus is a top choice with the most affordable price. Eurus theme is designed with a strong focus on optimizing core web vitals, speed, and SEO to ensures quick loading times and responsiveness.
|
Price |
$240 |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
91 |
|
Desktop |
92 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
70 |
|
|
Desktop |
91 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
80 |
|
|
Desktop |
99 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
87.17 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
Clean and well-organized layout for better navigation and enhance shopping journey
Eurus achieved the overall average speed score of 87.17 — the top score among fastest Shopify themes.
Eurus theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
Eurus theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
Fastest Shopify Paid Themes - Outside Shopify Theme Store
10. Booster
If you want to buy a theme outside of the Shopify theme store, you may consider checking out the Booster theme.
|
Price |
$398* |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
87 |
|
Desktop |
96 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
64 |
|
|
Desktop |
95 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
62 |
|
|
Desktop |
98 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
83.67 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
* $398 is a one-time charge for the lifetime license. They also have another payment option of $248 per year.
Booster theme is loaded with features like recently bought notifications, promotion timer, predictive search, infinite scroll, copycats stopper, frequently bought together, lazy load, image auto-optimizer, and many more.
Considering the plenty of features covered in this theme, the average speed score of 83.67 is quite impressive.
Booster theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
Booster theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
11. Plak
Plak is another theme that’s outside of the Shopify theme store. This theme also offers a bundle of features like a countdown timer, trust badges, predictive search, lazyloading effect, and wishlist - just to name a few.
|
Price |
$295* |
||
|
Speed Scores |
Homepage |
Mobile |
72 |
|
Desktop |
94 |
||
|
Collection Page |
Mobile |
81 |
|
|
Desktop |
97 |
||
|
Product Page |
Mobile |
56 |
|
|
Desktop |
95 |
||
|
Average Speed Score |
82.50 |
||
|
Check out the theme |
|||
* Apart from the $295 pricing option for a lifetime license, this theme also has two other pricing plans — $395 and $595 — for two and five lifetime licenses respectively.
The Plak theme is built and optimized with a mobile-friendly approach. Also, it's available in 21 languages to help merchants target local markets.
Plak theme’s desktop speed for the homepage
Plak theme’s mobile speed for the homepage
Limitations & Other Aspects You Need to Know
The results derived from these tests and analyses are based on limited sampling with consideration of the aspects mentioned above. Nonetheless, it’s always better to go with some testing and analysis than complete guesswork.
Also, keep in mind, your website’s speed does not depend on the theme alone. Apart from the themes, there are multiple other factors that may impact your store's speed. For example, the content of your web pages — images, videos, or graphic elements.
Best Practices to Optimize Your Shopify Store Speed
As mentioned before, a theme is not the only factor that impacts your store speed. If your store speed needs improvement, you can implement best practices for speed optimization.
Here are some quick tips to optimize your Shopify store’s speed:
- Remove Shopify Apps You Don’t Use
- Optimize Images and Videos Before Uploading
- Use a System Font
- Use a Hero Banner Instead of a Slideshow
- Reduce Redirects and Broken Links
- Organize All Your Tracking Codes with Google Tag Manager
- Consider Using Lazy Loading
- Make Your Page Lightning Fast with AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)
- Optimize CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
- Install Shopify Speed Optimization Apps
Learn more: Shopify Speed Optimization
Which Shopify Theme Are Suitable Your Store?
While your store speed is a crucial element, you should also review the different features and capabilities of your Shopify theme. For example, some themes are ideal for building a store with a few products, and others are created to manage a large catalog of products.
Try before you buy. For any paid theme from the Shopify theme store, you don’t need to purchase the theme until you publish it. So, you may install different themes on your store and see how they work for your brand—before you make the purchase.
And, if you can always move beyond these pre-built Shopify themes and customize your store in a way that makes the most sense for your brand, there’s always GemPages - the top-ranked Shopify pagebuilder. With GemPages, you can build and customize stunning store pages in an instant, no coding required.
Ready? Try it - Free!
Explore GemPages' features and see what works best for your store. Free plan available. No strings attached.
FAQs about the Fastest Shopify Themes
Are Shopify 2.0 themes faster?
Many of the Shopify 2.0 themes are faster; however, it can’t be said as a generalized statement for all the 2.0 compatible themes. Speed may vary from theme to theme. That said, all themes available in the Shopify Theme Store meet Shopify’s performance standards.
What is the best speed for Shopify stores?
A speed score anywhere between 90 to 100 can be considered an ideal or excellent speed score. Also, a speed score above 80 can be considered a fairly good score.
Does Shopify theme affect SEO?
Yes, it can. Your store’s theme is one of the factors that influences your store’s speed, and eventually, the store speed can affect the SEO of your website.
- How We Analyze The Fastest Shopify Themes
- TL;DR — A Quick Summary of The 10 Fastest Shopify Themes
- Fastest Themes for Shopify - Free Themes
- Fastest Shopify Themes - Paid Themes - Higher Price Range
- Fastest Shopify Themes - Paid Themes - Lower Price Range
- Fastest Shopify Paid Themes - Outside Shopify Theme Store
- Limitations & Other Aspects You Need to Know
- Best Practices to Optimize Your Shopify Store Speed
- Which Shopify Theme Are Suitable Your Store?
- FAQs about the Fastest Shopify Themes
