What Will Replace ThemeForest? Where Theme Buying Is Going, With Sources

By Manob Editorial · November 5, 2026

No single marketplace is replacing ThemeForest. As of November 2026 it is still running and still large, under real pressure. The job it did is splitting: some well-known authors sell from their own sites, Envato calls its Elements subscription its core focus, AI builders sell by credits, direct-sale tools take small fees, and newer marketplaces compete on author share.

Short answer: the job is splitting, not moving

ThemeForest found buyers for authors, sold one-time licenses and reviewed items. In 2026 each of those jobs has several contenders:

Meanwhile ThemeForest itself lists over 67,200 website templates and themes, hand-reviewed, as of October 2026. Any "replacement" is measured against that.

Why people are asking now

Four dated events sit behind the question:

• March 2026, staff cuts. Startup Daily reported in March 2026 that Envato planned to cut up to 200 jobs, about a third of its staff. The report says the CEO cited a focus on AI as one reason. Envato did not confirm numbers.
• July 1, 2026, new author terms. Envato removed exclusivity and set a 50% author fee for everyone. In the same post it says Envato Market "has faced challenging market conditions for some time" and that customers are "increasingly moving toward subscriptions and bundled offerings".
• Applications paused. Envato's help center says new Market authors join by invitation only.
• New owner. Shutterstock completed its acquisition of Envato on July 22, 2024.

None of these is a sales figure, and we found no public ThemeForest sales data for 2026. Our Is ThemeForest dead? post and the author-side breakdown go through the changes in detail.

Candidate 1: authors' own stores and subscriptions

Avada. In "A new chapter for Avada" (May 28, 2026), its developers say "the original Avada will continue to be sold on ThemeForest", with new features, maintenance improvements, security fixes and support. A new product, Avada One, "will be sold directly through avada.com" on a subscription, with tiers with or without built-in AI credits. The post publishes no prices. It names "recent changes to Envato's author ecosystem" among its reasons.

The7. The7's update policy says, as of November 2026, that "The7 14 is now a legacy version and will only receive security and essential maintenance updates". The7 15 is sold on the7.io: 1-Site at 39 dollars the first year, then 49 dollars a year; Unlimited at 199 dollars the first year, then 249 dollars a year, listed as a launch offer. ThemeForest purchases older than 12 months are "no longer eligible to upgrade to The7 15".

The7's developers give their reasons on the same page. In their view, Envato has moved buyers toward Elements, one-time ThemeForest sales have been falling for years, the fee for top exclusive authors went from 12.5% to 50%, and buyers pay a fixed 12-dollar fee that goes to Envato. The page gives no figures.

A wider survey, from an interested party. ThemeREX, itself a ThemeForest author, published a survey of top WordPress themes on September 4, 2026. One author's survey reports that several top themes raised prices (often from 59 to 69 dollars) and that several opened their own stores or subscriptions, naming Betheme, Houzez, Porto, Impreza and JNews among others.

Candidate 2: subscriptions

Envato's Author Hub post says Envato Elements "continues to be our core focus". As of October 2026, Envato's help center lists plans from 16.50 dollars a month with unlimited downloads and more than 29 million assets. Access to downloaded items needs an active plan.

For theme authors there's a catch: the same announcement says Elements applications are open only for selected content types (video, 3D, animated graphics and fonts). Themes and templates aren't on that list. Our Envato Elements vs ThemeForest post compares the two for buyers.

TemplateMonster also sells a subscription called MonsterONE. We couldn't read its terms on TemplateMonster's own pages on November 5, 2026, so we don't describe its plans, prices or license rules here.

Candidate 3: AI builders sold by credits

AI builders put a first draft on screen and charge by usage. As of October 2026:

• Framer's free plan includes 500 AI credits on a Framer subdomain. Basic is 10 dollars a month and Pro 30 dollars a month, and a custom domain needs a paid plan.
• Webflow gives AI credits by workspace plan, enforced from June 29, 2026, and says credit use is dynamic.
• Lovable's free plan gives 5 credits a day, capped at 30 a month. Pro is 25 dollars a month. Per Lovable's docs, code download and custom domains need a paid plan.

A credit plan is a meter; a template is a finished design with code you keep. We found nothing that measures one replacing the other. Our AI website builder comparison has the details.

Candidate 4: direct-sale tools for authors

An author with an audience can sell from a simple checkout. As of November 2026, Gumroad takes 10% plus 50 cents on sales through your profile or direct links, and 30% on sales through its Discover marketplace. Lemon Squeezy takes 5% plus 50 cents per transaction and acts as merchant of record. They aren't new, but Envato and TemplateMonster now let authors sell the same item elsewhere.

The trade-off: you keep most of each sale, but you bring every buyer yourself. See Gumroad alternatives.

Candidate 5: newer marketplaces that pay authors more

The last group keeps the marketplace model but changes the split. manob.ai, which runs this blog, is one of them. As of October 2026:

• Sellers keep 65% of product sales (35% commission). It is non-exclusive.
• Every product is manually reviewed before it goes live and can be previewed before purchase.
• Six months of free seller support come with each purchase.
• Buyers of compatible items can make AI edits with plain-English prompts in their workspace and deploy from there. Not every item is compatible.
• A free Migrator imports a seller's ThemeForest, CodeCanyon and TemplateMonster items without asking for a password. Items still go through review.

It is much smaller. The homepage showed more than 2,000 templates in October 2026, against ThemeForest's 67,200-plus. One caution for sellers: Envato's user terms ban bots that mass-download items, so the extension works one item at a time after your click. We don't present it as approved by Envato.

What each path means for buyers

• One-time license. ThemeForest, TemplateMonster and manob.ai sell a license to one item. On manob.ai a Regular license covers one end product; see licenses and our Regular vs Extended explainer.
• Subscription. On Elements, access to downloaded items needs an active plan. Avada One and The7 15 renew too, so budget past the first year.
• Legacy versions. Check which version you're buying and who ships its updates. The7 14 now gets security and essential maintenance updates only, while Avada says its original ThemeForest version keeps getting new features.
• Credits. On an AI builder, editing uses credits, and some features sit behind paid plans.

Before buying, preview the live demo and check the support period; our preview checklist helps.

What each path means for sellers

What an author keeps on a 50-dollar item at each published rate, before taxes and payment processing:

The share is only half of it: a big marketplace brings buyers who already search there, and a direct tool brings none. Envato, TemplateMonster and manob.ai are all non-exclusive, so you can list in more than one. Our guide to moving ThemeForest items has the steps, or start at become a seller.

Our view (we run a marketplace)

This section is opinion, and we have a stake in it. We think a marketplace now has to earn its place in four ways:

1. A fair author share. When direct tools leave the author roughly 90% of a sale, a marketplace that takes half needs to bring buyers the author couldn't reach alone.
2. Real review. Someone should check files and demos before buyers do. Some buyers on ThemeForest item pages report demo imports that don't match the demo; review should catch that first.
3. Preview before buying. A live demo of the actual item, not only screenshots.
4. Help after purchase. A stated support period, and help getting from demo to a finished site.

Those are the standards we try to meet at manob.ai. That doesn't make us the replacement: we're far smaller than ThemeForest, and whether these choices work is for buyers and authors to judge.

When ThemeForest is still the better pick

For many people, ThemeForest is still the right place to start:

• Range. Over 67,200 templates and themes against manob.ai's 2,000-plus. In a narrow niche, ThemeForest is more likely to have the exact design you need.
• Reviews history. Buyer ratings and comment threads show how an author handles problems. A newer marketplace can't match that yet.
• Track record. Long-running themes stay there: Avada says its original version keeps getting new features, security fixes and support on ThemeForest.

For authors with steady ThemeForest sales, a second listing adds work for every update. Our ThemeForest alternatives roundup covers the full field, and the 2026 marketplace trends post tracks the changes.

Frequently asked questions

Is ThemeForest shutting down?

We found nothing public that says so. It is running and large. Envato changed its author terms on July 1, 2026 and calls Elements its core focus, but we found no published plan to close Market.

What is the best ThemeForest alternative in 2026?

It depends on who you are. Buyers wanting a big library may prefer a subscription, and buyers wanting one item to keep a one-time license. Authors wanting a higher share can add a direct store or a marketplace like manob.ai. See our alternatives guide.

Will Envato Elements replace ThemeForest?

Envato says Elements "continues to be our core focus", but ThemeForest still sells items one at a time. For buyers the key difference is that Elements downloads need an active plan.

Are AI website builders replacing themes?

We found nothing that measures that. AI builders sell credits; a theme is a finished design you license once. Many projects use both.

Can I sell my ThemeForest themes on another marketplace?

Yes. Since July 1, 2026 Envato allows authors to sell the same items elsewhere without removing them from Market. The free manob Migrator imports items with their files, demo, description, tags and price, and they go through review before going live.

Is manob.ai the new ThemeForest?

No, and we don't claim it is. It is a smaller, non-exclusive marketplace where sellers keep 65% and every item is reviewed and can be previewed. You can browse the catalog and judge for yourself.