AppThemes
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
AppThemes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AppThemes
- Legal name
- AppThemes, Inc.
- Website
- https://appthemes.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AppThemes industry classification
Industry- Product category
- WordPress Themes and Plugins
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (51321)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Content Asset Libraries & Template Marketplaces (stock, characters, themes) (EDAFAHAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Game & In-App Content Stores (BPAMADAC)
Keywords
Where AppThemes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
AppThemes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Theme and Plugin Licenses: One-time purchase model where customers buy WordPress themes and plugins. Products are licensed under GNU GPL allowing use on unlimited websites after purchase. Includes 12 months of complimentary updates from purchase date.
- Club Membership Subscription: Annual subscription at $199/year providing access to all themes, 20+ Marketplace items, lifetime license, unlimited websites, 12 months support and updates. Renewals cost $79/year. Enables developers and entrepreneurs to access all products for best value.
- Marketplace Add-ons: Third-party developers sell child themes and plugins through the AppThemes Marketplace. AppThemes serves as the platform host. Over 100 items available from dozens of third-party developers with thousands of items sold.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Club Standard membership - access to all themes and plugins |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Individual theme purchases |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
AppThemes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AppThemes designs, develops, and sells premium WordPress themes and plugins purpose-built for creating monetizable niche websites such as classifieds marketplaces (ClassiPress), business directories (Vantage), job boards (JobRoller), and coupon/deals sites (Clipper). Products are sold as one-time perpetual licenses (GNU GPL) or bundled through an annual Club membership subscription, with payments processed online and downloads delivered instantly. The company also operates a third-party Marketplace hosting 100+ add-on child themes and plugins that extend the core product lineup.
Product overview
AppThemes is a premium WordPress theme company offering a portfolio of niche-specific themes for creating monetizable websites. The core product lineup includes ClassiPress (classified ads), Vantage (business directory), JobRoller (job board), Clipper (coupons/deals), HireBee (freelance marketplace), and Taskerr (task-based services). These themes share a common architecture with custom forms, pricing plans, payment gateways, and the AppThemes API for extensibility. The company operates an AppThemes Club subscription ($199/year) providing access to all themes plus marketplace add-ons, and a third-party Marketplace with over 100 child themes and plugins from independent developers. Key ecosystem products include the AppMaps module for alternative map providers (Bing, MapQuest) and various third-party plugins like BetterMobile and Mapsupreme.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ClassiPress: Classified ads WordPress theme for creating marketplace websites.
- Vantage
- JobRoller
- Clipper
- HireBee
- Taskerr
- AppThemes Club
- AppThemes Marketplace
Products and services
- ClassiPress Premium WordPress classified ads theme enabling users to create marketplace websites where sellers list items for sale and buyers browse by location or category. Supports ad packs, membership packs, custom forms, custom fields, and multiple payment gateways. Used by entrepreneurs and small business owners to monetize marketplace websites.
- Vantage Business directory WordPress theme with built-in eCommerce features. Lets visitors list their business while administrators sell ad packages, with pricing plans, custom listing fields, geo services, and listing claim functionality. Targets local and vertical directory operators.
- JobRoller Job board WordPress theme for creating employment websites. Supports job listings, employer accounts, pricing plans, application forms, and job posting schema structured data, with map integration via AppMaps. Used by recruiters and job board operators.
- Clipper
- HireBee Freelance marketplace WordPress theme enabling creation of freelance project bidding platforms, with version 1.6.0 reported in development.
- Taskerr Task-based WordPress theme enabling creation of task/errand completion service websites, with version 1.3.3 reported in development.
- AppThemes Club Annual subscription membership providing access to all AppThemes themes and 20+ marketplace items, with a lifetime license usable on unlimited websites and 12 months of support and updates. Priced at $199/year initial, $79/year renewal, valued at over $1,400 in individual products.
- AppThemes Marketplace Third-party add-on marketplace offering child themes and plugins from dozens of independent developers, with over 100 items available and thousands of items sold. Includes AppThemes-produced add-ons and third-party extensions for the core theme lineup.
Companies that use AppThemes
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
AppThemes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature4 records
AppThemes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Google MapscoreDefault map provider for ClassiPress, Vantage, and JobRoller themes. Provides geocoding, address auto-suggest, and location-based search features across all directory and classified themes.
- Bing MapscoreAlternative map provider available through AppMaps module. Offers auto-suggest API and mapping capabilities as an option to Google Maps for users preferring non-Google solutions.
- MapQuestcoreAlternative map provider available through AppMaps module. Provides place search API and mapping capabilities as another option to Google Maps.
- WordPress.orgcoreAppThemes products are built on and distributed through the WordPress platform. Themes are developed for the latest WordPress version and maintain compatibility with WordPress ecosystem standards.
- PayPalcorePrimary payment gateway integrated into AppThemes themes for accepting listing payments and processing transactions on classifieds, directory, and other sites.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
AppThemes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- WPMU DEV: WPMU DEV offers a WordPress membership with themes, plugins, and hosting services at scale. Comparable subscription/bundling model to AppThemes Club but broader scope.
- StudioPress: StudioPress (now owned by WP Engine) is one of the most recognized premium WordPress theme brands (Genesis framework). Larger incumbent in the same category with a much broader portfolio and parent-company resources.
- Envato / ThemeForest: ThemeForest is the dominant WordPress theme marketplace with tens of thousands of third-party themes. Comparable marketplace/distribution model to the AppThemes Marketplace but at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
Direct peers
- Elegant Themes: Elegant Themes sells premium WordPress themes and the Divi builder on a subscription model. Most directly comparable peer: same premium WordPress theme category with recurring revenue subscriptions and similar SMB/individual buyer base.
- YITH: YITH is a WordPress plugin and theme company with premium offerings and a marketplace. Comparable product mix (plugins plus themes) and subscription mechanics to AppThemes.
- CSSIgniter: CSSIgniter sells premium WordPress themes with annual subscription plans comparable to AppThemes Club. Closely aligned business model, customer profile, and category.
- Templatic: Templatic has historically sold niche WordPress themes and a third-party marketplace in similar verticals (directories, classifieds, job boards). Strong comparison to AppThemes on both theme catalog structure and marketplace model.
- ThemeIsle: ThemeIsle is a WordPress theme company (Neve, Hestia, etc.) selling freemium and premium themes with a subscription tier. Comparable to AppThemes in the premium WordPress theme category and SMB focus.
- ThemeTrust: ThemeTrust is a small, premium WordPress theme studio selling to developers and SMBs. Same fundamental business model, target buyer, and pricing tier as AppThemes.
Emerging players
- Brainstorm Force (Astra): Brainstorm Force develops the Astra theme plus a portfolio of WordPress plugins (Starter Templates, Spectra, etc.). Comparable freemium-to-premium SaaS-style WordPress business with stronger growth trajectory and similar SMB audience.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks3 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
AppThemes social profiles
Digital presenceAppThemes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AppThemes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
AppThemes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AppThemes M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AppThemes
What does AppThemes do?
AppThemes designs, develops, and sells premium WordPress themes and plugins purpose-built for creating monetizable niche websites such as classifieds marketplaces (ClassiPress), business directories (Vantage), job boards (JobRoller), and coupon/deals sites (Clipper). Products are sold as one-time perpetual licenses (GNU GPL) or bundled through an annual Club membership subscription, with payments processed online and downloads delivered instantly. The company also operates a third-party Marketplace hosting 100+ add-on child themes and plugins that extend the core product lineup.
Is AppThemes a public or private company?
AppThemes is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was AppThemes founded?
AppThemes was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is AppThemes based?
AppThemes is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does AppThemes make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Theme and Plugin Licenses are the primary driver. The others are club Membership Subscription and marketplace Add-ons.
Who are AppThemes's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are WPMU DEV, StudioPress and Envato / ThemeForest. Direct peers are Elegant Themes, YITH, CSSIgniter, Templatic, ThemeIsle and ThemeTrust. Brainstorm Force (Astra) is listed as an emerging player.
Does AppThemes have an API?
Yes. AppThemes provides a hook-based API (Application Programming Interface) that enables developers to extend their WordPress themes without modifying core code. The API consists of action hooks and filters that trigger at specific points during execution (such as before the loop, after the footer, init, before comments). Developers can write plugins or additional functions that hook into different areas of the theme using PHP. The API uses add_action() and remove_action() functions following WordPress conventions. Each theme includes its own custom API in addition to the shared 'AppThemes General API' hooks. Admin section hooks are also available for extending the backend. Developer documentation is at docs.appthemes.com/developers/api.
What industry is AppThemes in?
AppThemes's product category is WordPress Themes and Plugins. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAHAI, Content Asset Libraries & Template Marketplaces (stock, characters, themes), with a secondary code of BPAMADAC, Game & In-App Content Stores. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.