Fifty of 2022's most popular Hugo themes
Tags: hugo, jamstack, themes, webdev
Published: 2022-05-20 19:27:49

---
canonical_url: https://cloudcannon.com/blog/fifty-of-the-most-popular-hugo-themes/
---
One reason Hugo is such a popular static site generator is the ease with which you can add visually appealing themes to new and existing website projects. If you haven’t tested out new themes on Hugo yet, take a minute — literally — to [spin up a new Hugo site on CloudCannon](https://app.cloudcannon.com/), the [CMS designed for your Hugo sites](https://cloudcannon.com/hugo-cms/). With your Git account connected, you’ll be able to create a new Hugo site repo with ease, and adding a theme to a Hugo site is as straightforward as following the [official Hugo documentation](https://gohugo.io/getting-started/quick-start/#step-3-add-a-theme). (Note that some themes require a little extra config; each of the fifty themes listed below have readme files detailing what you’ll need to do.)

When it comes to actually selecting a theme, you’re spoilt for choice. I’ve set out the top fifty Hugo themes below, with a little information about each of them. The most important points to note are the minimum version of Hugo they require, and how recently they have been updated.  

## How we ranked Hugo themes 
I’ve arranged these themes based on their GitHub stars as of the date of publication, in descending order. While GitHub stars are by no means the sole arbiter of quality — in many cases they function as a kind of self-affirming popularity contest — the star metric we’ve used for ranking does reflect a range of user intents. Personally, I use GitHub stars for three main reasons: to follow along with creators’ updates; to show my appreciation for interesting or noteworthy projects; and sometimes even just to bookmark projects to check out later. 

If you’re interested in finding out more about each of these themes, I’d recommend using [seladb](https://github.com/seladb)’s [StarTrack 2.4.0](https://seladb.github.io/StarTrack-js/#/) to show their recent growth in GitHub stars over time. Knowing the age of a given project — as well as when it was last updated — is handy for tracking trends and making sure you’re aware of projects that are (or aren’t) actively maintained.   
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the most starred Hugo themes. 

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<br><br>![Papermod Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/papermod-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### PaperMod

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A fast, clean, and responsive theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Aditya Telange](https://github.com/adityatelange/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.83.0 <br>**Github stars:** 3213 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-12 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download PaperMod theme for Hugo](https://github.com/adityatelange/hugo-PaperMod)</div>

<br><br>![Stack Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/stack-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Stack

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A card-style theme, designed for bloggers. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Jimmy Cai](https://jimmycai.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.87.0 <br>**Github stars:** 2129 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-03-21 <br>**License:** GPL-3.0-only</div>

[Download Stack theme for Hugo](https://github.com/CaiJimmy/hugo-theme-stack)</div>

<br><br>![Coder Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/coder-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Coder

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A minimalist blog theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Luiz F. A. de Prá](https://luizdepra.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.77.0 <br>**Github stars:** 1878 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-03-10 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Coder theme for Hugo](https://github.com/luizdepra/hugo-coder)</div>

<br><br>![LoveIt Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/loveit-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### LoveIt

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A clean, elegant and advanced theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Dillon](https://dillonzq.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.62.0 <br>**Github stars:** 1871 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-14 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download LoveIt theme for Hugo](https://github.com/dillonzq/LoveIt)</div>

<br><br>![Book Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/book-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Book

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A Hugo documentation theme as simple as a plain book. <br>**Use case(s):** Documentation <br>**Author:** [Alex Shpak](https://github.com/alex-shpak/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.68 <br>**Github stars:** 1804 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-04-26 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Book theme for Hugo](https://github.com/alex-shpak/hugo-book)</div>

<br><br>![Even Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/even-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Even

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A concise theme, ported from the Hexo theme of the same name. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [olOwOlo](https://github.com/olOwOlo) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.60.0 <br>**Github stars:** 1752 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-01-20 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Even theme for Hugo](https://github.com/olOwOlo/hugo-theme-even)</div>

<br><br>![Docsy Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/docsy-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Docsy

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A set of Hugo documentation templates for launching open source content. <br>**Use case(s):** Documentation <br>**Author:** [The Docsy Authors](https://docsy.dev/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.73.0 <br>**Github stars:** 1706 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-14 <br>**License:** Apache-2.0</div>

[Download Docsy theme for Hugo](https://github.com/google/docsy)</div>

<br><br>![Learn Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/learn-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Learn

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A multilingual-ready theme designed for documentation. <br>**Use case(s):** Documentation <br>**Author:** [Mathieu Cornic](https://matcornic.github.io/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.25 <br>**Github stars:** 1397 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-10-29 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Learn theme for Hugo](https://github.com/matcornic/hugo-theme-learn)</div>

<br><br>![Terminal Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/terminal-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### terminal

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A simple, retro theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [panr](https://radoslawkoziel.pl/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.74 <br>**Github stars:** 1279 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-03-30 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download terminal theme for Hugo](https://github.com/panr/hugo-theme-terminal)</div>

<br><br>![Hello Friend NG Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/hello-friend-ng-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### hello-friend-ng

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A simple theme, inspired by Hello Friend and Hermit. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Djordje Atlialp](https://atlialp.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.3 <br>**Github stars:** 1156 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-02-05 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download hello-friend-ng theme for Hugo](https://github.com/rhazdon/hugo-theme-hello-friend-ng)</div>

<br><br>![Doks Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/doks-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Doks

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A theme to help you build modern documentation websites. <br>**Use case(s):** Documentation <br>**Author:** [Henk Verlinde](https://henkverlinde.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.80.0 <br>**Github stars:** 955 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-04-21 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Doks theme for Hugo](https://github.com/h-enk/doks)</div>

<br><br>![Hermit Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/hermit-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Hermit

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A minimal and fast theme for bloggers. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Track3](https://github.com/Track3) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.43 <br>**Github stars:** 954 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-06-09 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Hermit theme for Hugo](https://github.com/Track3/hermit)</div>

<br><br>![Paper Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/paper-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Paper

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A simple, clean, and flexible theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [nanxiaobei](https://lee.so/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.57.1 <br>**Github stars:** 912 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-04-01 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Paper theme for Hugo](https://github.com/nanxiaobei/hugo-paper)</div>

<br><br>![Beautiful Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/beautiful-hugo-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Beautiful Hugo

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A simple and beautiful theme; port of the Beautiful Jekyll theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Full-featured sites, Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [halogenica](http://halogenica.net/) Minimum Hugo version: 0.48 <br>**Github stars:** 911 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-01-06 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Beautiful Hugo theme](https://github.com/halogenica/beautifulhugo)</div>

<br><br>![Hello Friend Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/hello-friend-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### hello-friend

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A simple theme with everything you need to start a new project. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [panr](https://radoslawkoziel.pl/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.74 <br>**Github stars:** 828 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-03-31 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download hello-friend theme for Hugo](https://github.com/panr/hugo-theme-hello-friend)</div>

<br><br>![Tranquilpeak Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/tranquilpeak-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Tranquilpeak

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A gorgeous and responsive theme for blogging. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Thibaud Leprêtre](https://github.com/kakawait) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.53 <br>**Github stars:** 796 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-10-06 <br>**License:** GNU General Public License v3.0</div>

[Download Tranquilpeak theme for Hugo](https://github.com/kakawait/hugo-tranquilpeak-theme)</div>

<br><br>![Jane Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/jane-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Jane

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A readable and concise theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [xianmin](http://xianmin.org/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.45 <br>**Github stars:** 751 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-04-07 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Jane theme for Hugo](https://github.com/xianmin/hugo-theme-jane)</div>

<br><br>![Ananke Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/ananke-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Ananke

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A solid starting place for Hugo sites with basic features, including best practices for performance, accessibility, and rapid development. <br>**Use case(s):** Full featured sites <br>**Author:** [theNewDynamic](https://www.thenewdynamic.com/) Minimum Hugo version: 0.84.0 <br>**Github stars:** 733 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-07 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Ananke theme for Hugo](https://github.com/theNewDynamic/gohugo-theme-ananke)</div>

<br><br>![MemE Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/meme-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### MemE

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A powerful and highly customizable theme for personal blogs, focusing on elegance, simplicity, and code correctness.  <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [reuixiy](https://io-oi.me/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.62.2 <br>**Github stars:** 710 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-07 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download MemE theme for Hugo](https://github.com/reuixiy/hugo-theme-meme)</div>

<br><br>![Mainroad Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/mainroad-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Mainroad

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A responsive, simple, clean, and content-focused theme, based on the MH Magazine lite WordPress theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Vimux](https://github.com/vimux) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.48 <br>**Github stars:** 659 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-04-01 <br>**License:** GPL v2</div>

[Download Mainroad theme for Hugo](https://github.com/Vimux/Mainroad)</div>

<br><br>![Eureka Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/eureka-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Eureka

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A feature-rich and highly customizable theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [C. Wang ](https://www.wangchucheng.com/)[R. Ma](https://ruiqima.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.74.0 <br>**Github stars:** 647 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-04-12 <br>**License:** Apache-2.0</div>

[Download Eureka theme for Hugo](https://github.com/wangchucheng/hugo-eureka)</div>

<br><br>![Zzo Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/zzo-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Zzo

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A feature-rich blogging theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [zzossig](https://zzossig.io/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.65.0 <br>**Github stars:** 611 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-05-24 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Zzo theme for Hugo](https://github.com/zzossig/hugo-theme-zzo)</div>

<br><br>![Universal Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/universal-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Universal

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A clean and stylish website template ported from Bootstrap, which stands out with its clean design and elegant typography. <br>**Use case(s):** Full featured sites <br>**Author:** [devcows](https://github.com/devcows) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.15 <br>**Github stars:** 571 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-10 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Universal theme for Hugo](https://github.com/devcows/hugo-universal-theme)</div>

<br><br>![Introduction Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/introduction-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Introduction

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A minimal, single page, smooth scrolling theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Victoria Drake](https://victoria.dev/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.49 <br>**Github stars:** 539 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-02-23 <br>**License:** Apache-2.0</div>

[Download Introduction theme for Hugo](https://github.com/victoriadrake/hugo-theme-introduction)</div>

<br><br>![Toha Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/toha-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Toha

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A theme for a personal portfolio with minimalist design and responsiveness. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Emruz Hossain](https://hossainemruz.github.io/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.87.0 <br>**Github stars:** 539 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-12 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Toha theme for Hugo](https://github.com/hugo-toha/toha)</div>

<br><br>![mini Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/mini-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### mini

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A fast, minimalist and responsive theme for bloggers. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [nodejh](https://github.com/nodejh) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.75.0 <br>**Github stars:** 516 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-12 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download mini theme for Hugo](https://github.com/nodejh/hugo-theme-mini)</div>

<br><br>![Minimo Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/minimo-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Minimo

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A minimalist theme that keeps the focus on your content. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging <br>**Author:** [Munif Tanjim](https://muniftanjim.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.73 <br>**Github stars:** 513 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-10-06 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Minimo theme for Hugo](https://github.com/MunifTanjim/minimo)</div>

<br><br>![Reveal Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/reveal-hugo-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### reveal-hugo

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A theme that allows you to create rich HTML-based presentations with Hugo and Reveal.js. <br>**Use case(s):** Reveal.js presentations <br>**Author:** [Josh Dzielak](https://dzello.com/) <br>**Github stars:** 486 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-16 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download reveal-hugo theme for Hugo](https://github.com/dzello/reveal-hugo)</div>

<br><br>![Hyde Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/hyde-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Hyde

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A brazen two-column theme based on the Jekyll theme of the same name. It pairs a prominent sidebar with uncomplicated content. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging <br>**Author:** [spf13](http://spf13.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.53 <br>**Github stars:** 483 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-04-02 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Hyde theme for Hugo](https://github.com/spf13/hyde)</div>

<br><br>![Anatole Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/anatole-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Anatole

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A beautiful minimalist two-column theme based on farbox-theme-Anatole. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Alexander Bilz](https://alexbilz.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.53.0 <br>**Github stars:** 476 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-14 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Anatole theme for Hugo](https://github.com/lxndrblz/anatole)</div>

<br><br>![Archie Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/archie-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Archie

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A minimal and clean theme with a “markdown-ish” UI. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Athul Cyriac Ajay](https://github.com/athul) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.41 <br>**Github stars:** 453 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-03-04 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Archie theme for Hugo](https://github.com/athul/archie)</div>

<br><br>![XMin Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/xmin-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### XMin

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">An “eXtremely Minimal” theme: about 150 lines of code in total, including HTML and CSS. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Yihui Xie](https://yihui.org/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.18 <br>**Github stars:** 453 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-01-20 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download XMin theme for Hugo](https://github.com/yihui/hugo-xmin)</div>

<br><br>![Clean White Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/clean-white-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Clean White

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A clean, elegant blog theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Huabing Zhao](https://github.com/zhaohuabing) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.1 <br>**Github stars:** 429 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-07 <br>**License:** Apache-2.0</div>

[Download Clean White theme for Hugo](https://github.com/zhaohuabing/hugo-theme-cleanwhite)</div>

<br><br>![LeaveIt Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/leaveit-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### LeaveIt

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A clean, elegant, and simple — but not simpler — blog theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [LiuZhichao](https://liuzhichao.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.41 <br>**Github stars:** 386 <br>**Last updated:** 2018-11-05 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download LeaveIt theme for Hugo](https://github.com/liuzc/LeaveIt)</div>

<br><br>![Minimal Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/minimal-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Minimal

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A minimal personal blog theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Calin Tataru](https://calintat.github.io/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.24.1 <br>**Github stars:** 384 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-01-04 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Minimal theme for Hugo](https://github.com/calintat/minimal)</div>

<br><br>![Call Me Sam Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/call-me-sam-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Call me Sam.

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A simple and minimalist theme, focused on content and typography. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Victoria Drake](https://victoria.dev/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.49 <br>**Github stars:** 382 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-01 <br>**License:** Apache-2.0</div>

[Download Call me Sam. theme for Hugo](https://github.com/victoriadrake/hugo-theme-sam)</div>

<br><br>![Hugo Fresh Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/hugo-fresh-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Hugo Fresh

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">Adapted from the gorgeous, Bulma-based theme of the same name from CSS Ninja. <br>**Use case(s):** Full featured sites <br>**Author:** [Stefan M.](https://github.com/StefMa) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.45 <br>**Github stars:** 376 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-03-04 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Hugo Fresh theme](https://github.com/StefMa/hugo-fresh)</div>

<br><br>![Creative Portfolio Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/creative-portfolio-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Creative portfolio

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A clean and elegant template ported from Bootstrapious. <br>**Use case(s):** Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Kishan B](https://github.com/kishaningithub) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.2 <br>**Github stars:** 364 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-05 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Creative portfolio theme for Hugo](https://github.com/kishaningithub/hugo-creative-portfolio-theme)</div>

<br><br>![Clarity Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/clarity-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Clarity

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A theme based on VMware’s Clarity Design System for publishing technical blogs. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging <br>**Author:** [Chip Zoller](https://neonmirrors.net/) and [Dan Weru](https://github.com/onweru) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.63.0 <br>**Github stars:** 362 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-15 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Clarity theme for Hugo](https://github.com/chipzoller/hugo-clarity)</div>

<br><br>![Cactus Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/cactus-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Cactus

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A clean and responsive theme for personal blogging, forked from the Hexo theme Cactus. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Zeran Wu](https://github.com/monkeyWzr) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.55 <br>**Github stars:** 359 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-09-01 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Cactus theme for Hugo](https://github.com/monkeyWzr/hugo-theme-cactus)</div>

<br><br>![Yinyang Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/yinyang-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Yinyang

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A minimalist black-and-white theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Joway Wang](https://joway.io/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.50 <br>**Github stars:** 338 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-04-28 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Yinyang theme for Hugo](https://github.com/joway/hugo-theme-yinyang)</div>

<br><br>![Ink Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/ink-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Ink

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A crisp and minimal personal website and blog theme. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Kailash Nadh](https://nadh.in/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.37 <br>**Github stars:** 321 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-01-09 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Ink theme for Hugo](https://github.com/knadh/hugo-ink)</div>

<br><br>![Diary Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/diary-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Diary

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A simple and elegant blog theme, ported from the Hexo theme Journal. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [amazingrise](https://amazingrise.net/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.59 <br>**Github stars:** 316 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-16 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Diary theme for Hugo](https://github.com/AmazingRise/hugo-theme-diary)</div>

<br><br>![Hugo Future Imperfect Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/hugo-future-imperfect-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Hugo Future Imperfect

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A responsive theme tailored for blogging, and ported — with added features — from HTML5 UP’s theme of the same name. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Julio Pescador](https://jpescador.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.15 <br>**Github stars:** 312 <br>**Last updated:** 2018-02-28 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Hugo Future Imperfect theme](https://github.com/jpescador/hugo-future-imperfect)</div>

<br><br>![Geekdoc Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/geekdoc-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Geekdoc

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A simple theme for documentation, intentionally designed to be fast and lean. <br>**Use case(s):** Documentation <br>**Author:** [Robert Kaussow](https://thegeeklab.de/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.83 <br>**Github stars:** 309 <br>**Last updated:** 2022-05-12 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Geekdoc theme for Hugo](https://github.com/thegeeklab/hugo-geekdoc)</div>

<br><br>![m10c Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/m10c-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### m10c

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A responsive and minimalistic (m10c) theme for bloggers. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [vaga](https://vaga.io/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.55 <br>**Github stars:** 308 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-03-09 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download m10c theme for Hugo](https://github.com/vaga/hugo-theme-m10c)</div>

<br><br>![Hugo Future Imperfect Slim Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/hugo-future-imperfect-slim-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Hugo Future Imperfect Slim

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A slimmed-down version of Hugo Future Imperfect, modernized with CSS Grid and modern Hugo functions. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Patrick Collins](https://pacollins.com/) <br>**Github stars:** 300 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-11-06 <br>**License:** Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported</div>

[Download Hugo Future Imperfect Slim theme](https://github.com/pacollins/hugo-future-imperfect-slim)</div>

<br><br>![Blackburn Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/blackbburn-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Blackburn

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A clear and responsive theme constructed using Yahoo’s Pure CSS (v1.0.0). <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Yoshiharu Yamashita](http://yoshiharuyamashita.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.15 <br>**Github stars:** 296 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-10-15 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Blackburn theme](https://github.com/yoshiharuyamashita/blackburn)</div>

<br><br>![Notepadium Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/notepadium-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Notepadium

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A theme built for speed — 100% JavaScript-free. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [lvv](https://lvv.me/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.60.0 <br>**Github stars:** 296 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-12-28 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Notepadium theme](https://github.com/cntrump/hugo-notepadium)</div>

<br><br>![Codex Hugo theme screenshot](https://dam-cdn.cloudcannon.com/blog/codex-hugo-theme-screenshot.webp)

<div class="c-interactive-card__container">### Codex

<div class="c-interactive-card__content">A minimalist blog theme with KaTex support for mathematical notations. <br>**Use case(s):** Blogging, Portfolio <br>**Author:** [Jake Wiesler](https://jakewiesler.com/) <br>**Minimum Hugo version:** 0.82 <br>**Github stars:** 292 <br>**Last updated:** 2021-07-27 <br>**License:** MIT</div>

[Download Codex theme for Hugo](https://github.com/jakewies/hugo-theme-codex)</div>
<br>

## Takeaways for Hugo theme designers

In short, blogging isn’t dead, and less is more. Most of these themes are for personal blogging or portfolios, with few notable exceptions — a couple of documentation themes, and several full-featured site themes. Why? Probably for a few reasons: there are simply more personal site themes around; professional (full featured) site themes are less likely to be offered publicly on GitHub; and many developers frequently refresh their personal sites, meaning they’re likely to star multiple theme projects.  
Use cases aside, you’ll notice that the majority of these top themes are minimalist, with well defined color palettes and simple layouts. Typography clearly matters to GitHub users, as does spacing between page elements.

## Where to from here?
Once you’ve selected your theme, CloudCannon’s [CMS for Hugo](https://cloudcannon.com/hugo-cms/) will take all the pain out of adding and editing content. And with our open-source component browser [Bookshop](https://github.com/CloudCannon/bookshop), you’ll be ready to offer instant live editing on the page. (You can read the [Hugo Bookshop ​​​​​​Reference Guide](https://github.com/CloudCannon/bookshop/blob/main/guides/hugo.adoc) for prerequisites and a full guide to getting set up.)