As of October 2026 the Shopify Theme Store lists 24 free themes, all made by Shopify, including Dawn, Horizon, Spotlight and Refresh. Free themes cost nothing to add and get help from Shopify Support for set changes. Paid themes come from outside developers, are sold as final sale, and get support from that developer.
| Free themes | Paid themes | |
|---|---|---|
| Who makes them | Shopify | Third-party theme developers |
| How you add one | Click Add on the theme | Click Try theme, buy before publishing |
| Who helps you | Shopify Support, for some predefined customizations | The theme developer |
| Refunds | Nothing to refund | Final sale, no refund from the developer |
Updated
A free theme is a complete storefront design you can switch on in minutes. Search the list below for the names in the Theme Store today, then read what Shopify itself says about the two most talked-about ones, Dawn and Horizon.
Every theme carries a theme_info block in config/settings_schema.json. This made-up example shows the fields Shopify documents, so you know where a theme keeps its name and version.
Free themes made by Shopify fill these in too. The version tells you how far behind the latest release your copy is.
[
{
"name": "theme_info",
"theme_name": "My Theme",
"theme_author": "My Studio",
"theme_version": "1.0.0",
"theme_documentation_url": "https://example.com/docs",
"theme_support_url": "https://example.com/support"
}
]Dawn has been around longest and many tutorials, apps and developers know it well. That makes it an easy default when you want answers to be easy to find.
Horizon is newer and built around theme blocks, which let you nest and arrange smaller pieces of a section. If you like building layouts by hand in the editor, preview it next to Dawn and see which feels easier to you.
Shopify Support may help with certain predefined changes to a free theme, and on Basic or higher plans that includes up to 60 minutes of design support. It does not write custom code for you.
For anything beyond the editor's settings, you either learn some Liquid or hire a developer. Our theme development guide covers the tools they use.
The Theme Store free filter showed 24 themes when we checked on October 15, 2026. Shopify adds and retires themes, so the live count can differ.
Dawn is the free theme Shopify calls its first source available reference theme, built with Online Store 2.0 features. Its code is public on GitHub and it follows an HTML-first approach that adds JavaScript only where needed.
Shopify describes Horizon as the flagship of a new generation of first party themes. It uses newer Liquid storefront features, including theme blocks, and its code is also public on GitHub.
Many stores sell on one. Paid themes mostly add specific layouts or features. Start free, and only pay when you can name a feature you need that no free theme offers.
Yes. Shopify lets you preview up to 19 paid themes at once in your admin. Buying is final sale, so customize the preview fully before you pay.
Related: Shopify pricing, WooCommerce vs Shopify, Find which theme a store uses, How to edit a Shopify theme, Shopify theme development.
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