Free vs. Paid Kirby Themes on getkirby-themes.com: What You Get and What You Pay

getkirby-themes.com lists both free and paid Kirby themes in one directory. The site's own catalog shows 14 themes total, split across Kirby 2 (8), Kirby 3 (2), Kirby 4 (2), and Kirby 5 (2). Free themes are marked "FREE DOWNLOAD," while paid themes show a fixed price and a "BUY" link. Prices in the current listing range from $11 to $75. Every theme, free or paid, still requires a Kirby license — the site states this explicitly: "No matter which theme you purchase, you'll need a Kirby license."

How the listings are structured

Each theme entry on getkirby-themes.com follows the same pattern:

• Theme name (e.g., Tablo Arc, Tablook, Kreate, Tablog)
• Author (e.g., Jakub Pelák, Kothemes, Branko Matić)
• Kirby version tag (#kirby 2, #kirby 3, #kirby 4, #kirby 5)
• LIVE DEMO link
• Price or FREE DOWNLOAD label

The directory also offers category filters by Kirby version, so you can narrow the list to themes built for the version you run. There's an "Add your theme?" / "ADD NEW THEME" entry point for authors who want to submit their own work.

Free themes: what's available

The catalog shows three themes marked FREE DOWNLOAD:

Two of the three free themes target Kirby 2, which is the oldest version represented in the directory. If you're running Kirby 3, Lemmon Portfolio is the free option listed. No free themes are currently listed for Kirby 4 or Kirby 5.

Free themes are a reasonable starting point if you want to test a design direction, build a simple portfolio or one-pager, or evaluate Kirby itself before committing to a paid theme. The trade-off is selection: the free pool is small and skewed toward older Kirby versions.

Paid themes: price range and what the money buys

Paid themes in the current listing:

Prices are set per theme by each author, not by the directory. The spread runs from $11 (Tablog) to $75 (Zero One). The most recent-version themes — Tablo Arc and Zero One, both tagged Kirby 5 — sit at the higher end ($43 and $75), while several Kirby 2 themes are priced in the $12–$29 range.

Paid themes tend to be positioned for specific use cases. Tablo Arc, for example, is described as "an architecture-inspired theme with clean lines, modular sections, a projects portfolio, and a blog," aimed at "studios, agencies, and creatives." That level of positioning — a defined niche, a portfolio structure, a blog component — is what typically separates a paid listing from a free one in this catalog.

What to check before choosing

Kirby version compatibility comes first. A theme tagged #kirby 2 won't work on a Kirby 5 install without migration work. Filter the directory by your version before comparing anything else.

Preview via live demo. Nearly every listing includes a LIVE DEMO link. Use it to check layout, responsiveness, and whether the theme's structure matches your content — a portfolio theme may not suit a blog, and vice versa.

Budget for the Kirby license separately. Theme prices on this site do not include the Kirby CMS license. Factor that into your total cost regardless of whether the theme itself is free or paid.

Free doesn't mean current. The free themes listed are tagged Kirby 2 and Kirby 3. If you're on Kirby 4 or 5, you'll likely be choosing among paid options unless you're willing to adapt an older theme.

A practical way to decide

If you're on Kirby 2 or 3 and want to keep costs down, start with the free listings (Frisk, Kompact, Lemmon Portfolio) and check the live demos. If you're on Kirby 4 or 5, or you need a design built for a specific purpose like an agency portfolio or a blog, the paid listings are where the current-version options are — and the $11–$75 range means you can compare several before committing. In every case, confirm the Kirby version tag, preview the demo, and remember the Kirby license is a separate purchase.