ThemeForest vs TemplateMonster vs manob.ai: Fees, Support and Terms

By Manob Editorial · October 27, 2026

As of October 2026, ThemeForest and TemplateMonster are both non-exclusive, so sellers can list elsewhere. ThemeForest pays authors 50% of the item price and TemplateMonster 20%, while manob.ai (ours) pays 65% on products. ThemeForest's catalog is the largest of the three, TemplateMonster's is next, and ours has more than 2,000 products. Support, refunds and licenses differ, as the table shows.

The short answer

If you are a buyer who wants the widest choice, the two older marketplaces have far more templates than we do, and ThemeForest is the biggest. If you are a seller comparing payouts, the percentages differ a lot, but the percentage is not the whole story: we have no sales data on any of the three, and the audience matters as much as the share.

We run one of the three, so read our column with that in mind. Every cell below comes from a platform's own pages or from ours. Where we couldn't find a term, the cell says "not listed" rather than guessing.

Side-by-side table (as of October 2026)

Sources: Envato's author announcement, Envato item support, Envato refunds, ThemeForest, TemplateMonster's commission page, support policy and refund policy, and manob.ai's licenses page.

For buyers

Four questions decide most template purchases, and the table answers each in a different way.

How much choice do you need?

ThemeForest lists over 67,200 templates and themes, and TemplateMonster's footer lists 21,416 products. Ours has more than 2,000, mostly WordPress themes and HTML templates. If you need a niche layout, start on a bigger marketplace, then check ours. If you already know the category, a smaller catalog is quicker to scan.

What happens after the first six months?

All three include six months of support. Extending costs more the later you do it on every platform, but the scales differ: ThemeForest caps support at 12 months in total, and the extension prices run from 37.5% to 87.5% of the item price. TemplateMonster's run from 50% to 100%. Ours are 30% before expiry and 75% after.

Which license do you need?

ThemeForest and manob.ai both use Regular and Extended licenses built on the same test: whether end users are charged. Regular covers one end product where they aren't, Extended covers products where they are, and on manob.ai neither lets you redistribute the source. Our Regular vs Extended license guide explains the choice. We couldn't find a comparable license summary on TemplateMonster's pages, so read its terms for your use case before you buy.

Can you see what you are buying?

Envato's refund page ties refund decisions to the preview available before purchase, which tells you the preview is the thing to check. On manob.ai every item can be previewed before purchase. Whatever the marketplace, use our checklist for previewing a template. Also, as of October 2026 a buyer's first paid order on manob.ai gets 10% off, taken off at checkout.

For sellers

All three allow selling elsewhere. Envato's announcement says that from July 1, 2026 exclusivity requirements were removed and authors may sell the same content on other platforms without removing it from Market. TemplateMonster's agreement lets authors sell through any other platform too. We allow it as well.

The fee gap is large. Take a product priced under $60, such as TemplateMonster's own $50 example, before taxes and payment fees:

• manob.ai: the seller keeps $32.50 (65%).
• ThemeForest: the author keeps $25.00 (50% of the item price).
• TemplateMonster: the author keeps $10.00 (20%).

Envato's announcement says non-exclusive authors moved from 55% to 50% and that for exclusive authors the change "represents a reduction in earnings." Envato also gave its reason: the Market "has faced challenging market conditions for some time." We read that as Envato's own account, not as evidence about any other marketplace, and we have no data on sales volumes at any of the three.

Items can move. The free migrator on manob.ai imports ThemeForest, CodeCanyon and TemplateMonster items, with files, images, demo, description, tags and current price. It never asks for your password, imported items go through review, and our commission is taken only when an item sells. See moving ThemeForest items and moving TemplateMonster products. For the TemplateMonster side in detail, read our TemplateMonster alternatives post.

What manob.ai does differently

• AI editing after purchase. Compatible themes and starter kits can be customized with plain-English prompts in a workspace and then deployed. Not every item is compatible, and the AI is no substitute for a developer on complex work. Plans run on AI Energy: a free Starter tier and paid tiers listed on the pricing page.
• Services in the same place. Independent sellers offer development services at a 20% commission, so you can hire help for what a template doesn't cover.
• The migrator. Sellers who already have listings can import them instead of rebuilding each one.

Those six are examples of what listings look like. Open any of them to see the preview before you decide.

What the others do better

• Size. Both ThemeForest and TemplateMonster have catalogs several times ours, and ThemeForest's is the largest of the three on each site's own figures.
• Track record and tooling. Both publish support, refund and author policies we can cite. For the rows marked "not listed" in our column, we simply haven't published the same detail.
• Audience. A smaller share on a marketplace where buyers already search can be worth more than a bigger share where they don't. We can't show data either way.

When to look elsewhere

• You need a theme for free. WordPress.org lists free themes.
• You build many sites a year. A subscription such as Envato Elements (from $16.50 a month as of October 2026) may beat per-item buying while you keep paying. See Envato alternatives.
• You sell to your own audience. Direct tools like Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy keep more of each sale. See Gumroad alternatives.
• You want a wider list of options. Our ThemeForest alternatives post compares nine sites.

Frequently asked questions

Which has the lowest author fee?

Of these three, manob.ai: sellers keep 65% on products. ThemeForest authors keep 50% of the item price and TemplateMonster authors keep 20%, as of October 2026. Buyer fees are added on top at ThemeForest and TemplateMonster.

Do all three allow selling elsewhere?

Yes. Envato removed exclusivity requirements on July 1, 2026, TemplateMonster stopped supporting exclusive products on January 1, 2026, and manob.ai is non-exclusive.

Which include support?

All three include six months. ThemeForest extends to 12 months at most; TemplateMonster and manob.ai set their own extension prices, shown in the table above.

Do I need a developer after buying?

Often not for a straightforward site, but it depends on how far you change the design. On manob.ai, compatible items can be edited with AI in the workspace, and independent sellers offer development services if you need more.