6 Best WordPress Dark Mode Plugins in 2026 (Free & Paid)

Most of your visitors already use dark mode on their phones and laptops. Then they land on your WordPress site and get hit with a bright white page at midnight. Not a great first impression.

A WordPress dark mode plugin fixes that. It adds a dark version of your site and a small switch so visitors can choose light or dark. Many plugins also follow the visitor’s device setting automatically, so dark mode users get a dark site without clicking anything.

The tricky part is choosing one. Some plugins are actively developed, while others have quietly stopped getting updates or been pulled from WordPress.org. Some darken only your public site, while others also darken your WordPress dashboard and editor. And “free” can mean very different things from one plugin to the next.

Quick answer: WP Dark Mode is the best WordPress dark mode plugin for most sites, with 20,000+ active installs and the most complete free version. Darkify is the best pick if you also want dark mode in your dashboard and editors, with Pro from $39 a year. Darklup adds a built-in accessibility panel, and DarkLooks is the best completely free option.

Below, we break down all 6, including what the free version actually does, what Pro adds, and who each one is best for. All prices were checked on 12 October 2026.

Quick Comparison

All 6 plugins have a free version on WordPress.org. The table shows where they differ.

How We Evaluated These Plugins

Dark mode plugins look alike on a feature list. The differences show up once they are running on a real site. Here is what we judged each one on:

• Is it still maintained? We only included plugins that are available on WordPress.org and tested with a recent WordPress version. Two plugins from the old version of this list are gone: one was closed by WordPress.org for a security issue, and another has not been tested with the last three major WordPress releases.
• What the free version really does. Some free versions are complete. Others give you a toggle and lock everything useful behind Pro.
• Frontend vs admin. Whether it darkens only your public site, or your dashboard and editor too.
• How it looks on real content. Whether you can tame bright images, keep brand colors, and exclude pages or elements that should stay light.
• Automatic switching. Whether it can follow the visitor’s device setting or switch on a schedule.
• Price and licensing. Yearly vs lifetime, and how many sites one license covers.

Now, let’s look at each plugin in detail.

1. WP Dark Mode

WP Dark Mode by WPPOOL is the most popular dedicated dark mode plugin for WordPress, with more than 20,000 active installs and a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 390 reviews on WordPress.org. It is updated often, and the latest version was released at the end of September 2026.

It works the moment you activate it. Visitors whose device is set to dark mode see a dark version of your site automatically, and everyone else gets a floating switch to toggle between light and dark. The plugin remembers each visitor’s choice, so they do not have to switch again on every page.

The free version is the most complete on this list. It includes dark mode for your WordPress dashboard, a Gutenberg block and an Elementor widget for placing the switch, a shortcode, lower image brightness in dark mode, a keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + Alt + D) and basic usage analytics. Recent updates added native switch elements for Divi, WPBakery, SiteOrigin and Themify Builder too.

The paid version, WP Dark Mode Ultimate, is where the design control lives. You get scheduled and sunset-based dark mode, many more switch styles and color presets, an AI tool that creates a color preset from a text description, separate images and videos for dark mode, and rules to exclude pages, posts, elements or WooCommerce products.

Here is what to weigh. The free version gives you only two color presets and a couple of switch styles, so matching dark mode to your brand usually means upgrading. It also ships a social share buttons module, which is useful for some sites but has nothing to do with dark mode.

Verdict: The best all-round WordPress dark mode plugin, with the most generous free version and the largest user base.

Key features:

• Automatic dark mode based on the visitor’s device setting
• Floating switch, Gutenberg block, Elementor widget and shortcode
• Dark mode for the WordPress admin dashboard
• Remembers each visitor’s preference
• Lower image brightness in dark mode
• Keyboard shortcut and dark mode usage analytics
• Scheduled and sunset-based dark mode (Pro)
• AI color preset generator and custom presets (Pro)
• Separate dark mode images and videos (Pro)
• Exclude pages, posts, elements and WooCommerce products (Pro)

Pricing: Free on WordPress.org. WP Dark Mode Ultimate currently costs $99 for 1 site, $169 for 5 sites and $349 for 500 sites as one-time payments, discounted from $147, $267 and $537. Yearly billing is also offered. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Best for: Most WordPress sites, especially if you want a strong free version and plan to upgrade for full design control later.

2. Darkify

If you want a flexible and lightweight way to add dark mode to both your website and your admin area, Darkify by ThemeAtelier is a great option. Visitors can switch between light and dark, while you control how dark mode looks and behaves across the frontend, the dashboard and the editors. It has a 4.7 out of 5 rating on WordPress.org and is updated regularly, with the latest release in September 2026.

What sets it apart is admin and editor coverage. You can turn dark mode on separately for the WordPress dashboard, the block editor (Gutenberg) and the Classic Editor. So you can write in a dark editor while the rest of the dashboard stays light, or the other way around. It also supports multisite, with settings applied network-wide or per site.

Setup feels modern. The React-powered settings panel shows a live preview of your own site, with desktop and mobile views, and a settings search (Ctrl + K) jumps you straight to any option. Dark mode can follow the visitor’s device setting, run on a schedule, or be switched by hand, and it works with popular themes, page builders and WooCommerce without editing theme files.

For finer control, you get multiple switch designs, color presets, image and video brightness and grayscale controls, page and element-level targeting, a Gutenberg block and an Elementor widget for the switch, and settings export and import for moving your setup to another site.

Here is what to weigh. Darkify has a smaller user base than WP Dark Mode (900+ active installs), so it has less of a track record. Its dark mode engine handles every element on the page, which works well on most sites, but if your theme is heavily customized, test it on a staging site first.

Verdict: The best choice if you want dark mode in your WordPress dashboard and editors as well as on your site, with a modern, visual settings panel.

Key features:

• React-powered settings panel with live preview, responsive preview modes and settings search
• Separate dark mode for the frontend, dashboard, Gutenberg and Classic Editor
• Automatic dark mode based on device setting, or on a schedule
• Floating switch, menu switch, shortcode, Gutenberg block and Elementor widget
• Image and video brightness and grayscale controls
• Include or exclude pages, posts, HTML elements, classes or IDs
• Works with Astra, Kadence, GeneratePress, Blocksy, Hello Elementor, Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, Beaver Builder and Oxygen
• Multisite support and settings export and import
• 16+ switch designs, 11 color presets and a draggable switch (Pro)
• Separate dark mode images and videos, and custom CSS (Pro)

Pricing: Free on WordPress.org. Darkify Pro costs $39 a year for 1 site, $79 a year for 5 sites and $130 a year for unlimited sites. Lifetime plans start at $119 for 1 site. 14-day money-back guarantee.

Best for: Site owners who want dark mode across the frontend, dashboard and editors, and anyone who prefers to see changes live before saving them.

3. Darklup

Darklup by WPCommerz is a freemium dark mode plugin that recently grew into something more: version 4.0 added a built-in accessibility panel. It has more than 1,000 active installs and a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 44 reviews on WordPress.org.

On the dark mode side, Darklup uses what it calls Dynamic Color Mode. It looks at each element on your page (backgrounds, text, buttons, images) and picks a suitable dark color for it, so most sites look reasonable without any manual color work. The free version covers both your website and your WordPress dashboard, and it includes OS-based and time-based dark mode, 15+ switch styles, a repositionable floating switch, and image controls for brightness, contrast, opacity and sepia.

The accessibility panel is the standout. Pick the Accessibility Switch style and visitors get a small toolbar where they can turn on dark mode, raise contrast, enlarge text, switch to a more readable font, highlight links or stop animations. Their choices are remembered across pages. Monochrome, reading mask, font weight and a few other modules are Pro.

Here is what to weigh. Several useful controls, such as custom colors, custom CSS, the menu switch, a dark mode logo and WooCommerce exclusions, are Pro only. A few reviewers also mention needing exclusions or custom CSS to make certain blocks readable, so check your key pages after turning it on.

Verdict: The best pick if you want dark mode and basic accessibility tools from one plugin, with both frontend and dashboard dark mode free.

Key features:

• Dynamic Color Mode that picks a dark color for each element automatically
• Frontend and admin dashboard dark mode
• OS-based and time-based dark mode
• 15+ switch styles and a repositionable floating switch
• Gutenberg, Elementor and WordPress widget for the switch
• Image brightness, contrast, opacity and sepia controls
• Accessibility panel with contrast, bigger text, readable font, highlight links and stop animations
• Custom colors, custom CSS, menu switch and dark mode logo (Pro)
• WooCommerce product and category exclusions (Pro)
• Extra accessibility modules such as reading mask and monochrome (Pro)

Pricing: Free on WordPress.org. Darklup Pro costs $49 a year for 1 site, $119 a year for 10 sites and $499 a year for 1,000 sites. Lifetime plans start at $179 for 3 sites. At the time of writing, yearly plans were discounted by 30% to 50%. 14-day money-back guarantee.

Best for: Sites that care about accessibility and want visitors to control contrast and text size as well as dark mode.

4. Dark Reader

Dark Reader is a lightweight dark mode plugin from BdThemes, the team behind Element Pack and Prime Slider. It is not the same thing as the popular Dark Reader browser extension. This one is a WordPress plugin that adds dark mode to your site for every visitor. It is newer, with 200+ active installs and a perfect 5 out of 5 rating from 5 reviews on WordPress.org, and it is actively maintained, with the latest update in late September 2026.

Its free version leans toward reading comfort. Alongside the dark mode switch, you can adjust brightness and contrast, add a warm sepia tone or a grayscale filter, choose between a softer Dimmed mode and a full Dark mode, and add a thin text outline so text stays sharp on dark backgrounds. It can follow the visitor’s device setting, apply dark mode to embedded PDFs, and load dark mode before the page appears so there is no white flash.

The free version also gives you 5 toggle styles, a shortcode for placing the switch anywhere, and settings export and import. It works with Elementor, WPBakery and Divi, and with caching plugins.

Here is what to weigh. Compared with the plugins above, more of the basics sit behind Pro: admin dashboard dark mode, scheduled dark mode, exclusions, image and video handling, custom CSS, and the Gutenberg and Elementor switch widgets. The small user base also means fewer real-world reports to learn from.

Verdict: A clean, lightweight option with useful reading filters in the free version, best for content sites that want a simple dark mode done well.

Key features:

• Brightness, contrast, sepia and grayscale controls
• Dimmed and Dark filter modes, plus text stroke for legibility
• Follows the visitor’s device setting
• No white flash before dark mode loads
• Dark mode for embedded PDF files
• 5 toggle styles, corner positioning and a shortcode
• Settings export and import
• Time, date and sunset scheduling (Pro)
• Admin dashboard dark mode (Pro)
• Exclusions, custom CSS, image and video handling, and Gutenberg and Elementor widgets (Pro)

Pricing: Free on WordPress.org. Dark Reader Pro costs $39 a year for 1 site, $79 a year for 5 sites and $149 a year for unlimited sites. 60-day money-back guarantee.

Best for: Blogs and content sites that want lightweight dark mode with reading comfort filters.

5. Dark Mode Toggle

If you want a straightforward way to let visitors switch dark mode on and off, try Dark Mode Toggle by ScriptsTown. As the name suggests, it does one job: it adds a simple toggle button that switches your site between light and dark. It has more than 2,000 active installs, a 4.6 out of 5 rating, and it is kept up to date, with testing for WordPress 7.1.

It is ready to use out of the box and works with any theme and page builder. You can change the button’s position, width, height and corner radius, make it sticky, and add a smooth transition animation. The plugin remembers each visitor’s choice, so dark mode stays on as they move from page to page. It is also very light, so it adds almost nothing to your page load.

The Pro version adds dark mode for the WordPress dashboard and post editor, custom button images and emoji labels, custom button colors and font size, different images for light and dark mode, dark mode by default, and matching the visitor’s device setting on their first visit.

Here is what to weigh. Dark Mode Toggle creates dark mode by flipping your site’s colors rather than letting you design a dark color palette, so you have little control over the exact colors. If an image or block looks wrong, you need to add a CSS class to it to exclude it. And following the visitor’s device setting, which most plugins here include for free, is Pro only.

Verdict: The simplest option here, ideal if you just want a lightweight switch and do not need fine control over colors.

Key features:

• Simple dark mode toggle that works out of the box
• Sticky button with position, size and corner radius settings
• Smooth switching animation
• Remembers each visitor’s choice
• Exclude elements by adding a CSS class
• Very lightweight
• Dark mode for the dashboard and post editor (Pro)
• Custom button image, emoji label, colors and font size (Pro)
• Dark mode by default and device setting matching (Pro)

Pricing: Free on WordPress.org. Dark Mode Toggle Pro is a one-time payment of $29 for 1 site (discounted from $39), $49 for 5 sites or $79 for multiple sites.

Best for: Small blogs and simple sites that want a fast, no-fuss dark mode switch.

6. DarkLooks

DarkLooks by ThemeLooks is the only plugin on this list with no paid version at all. Every feature is free. It has 800+ active installs and a 4.8 out of 5 rating on WordPress.org, and reviewers often point out how light it is compared with heavier dark mode plugins.

For a free plugin, it packs in a lot. You get a floating switch you can place in any corner, 5 switch styles, 9 color presets plus custom colors, automatic dark mode based on the visitor’s device setting, a time schedule, and dark mode as the default if you want it. It also lets you set a separate dark mode logo and images, lower image brightness, adjust the body font size in dark mode, and add custom CSS. It remembers each visitor’s choice and works with WooCommerce.

The latest update added WordPress 7.0 support and more options for how colors are converted to dark mode.

Here is what to weigh. DarkLooks only darkens your public website, not the WordPress dashboard. Updates come less often than with the other plugins here, and with no paid version, support depends on a small team’s goodwill, so it is a better fit for personal sites than for client or business-critical ones.

Verdict: The best completely free WordPress dark mode plugin, with features many others keep behind a paywall.

Key features:

• 100% free, with no Pro version
• Floating switch with 5 styles and a choice of corner
• 9 color presets and custom colors
• Automatic dark mode based on device setting, plus a time schedule
• Separate dark mode logo and images, and image brightness control
• Dark mode font size setting and custom CSS
• Remembers each visitor’s choice
• WooCommerce compatible and translation ready

Pricing: Free on WordPress.org.

Best for: Personal blogs and small sites that want a capable dark mode without paying anything.

FAQs

Conclusion

The right dark mode plugin comes down to two questions: where do you want dark mode, and how much control do you need over how it looks?

For most sites, start with WP Dark Mode. Its free version covers the essentials, including dashboard dark mode, and Ultimate unlocks full design control when you need it. If you want dark mode across your dashboard and editors too, with a live preview while you set it up, go with Darkify. If accessibility matters to your audience, Darklup gives visitors contrast and text size controls alongside dark mode.

If you want something lighter, Dark Reader adds useful reading filters, and Dark Mode Toggle is the simplest switch you can install. And if your budget is zero, DarkLooks is the best completely free option.

Whichever you pick, check your homepage, a blog post and any pricing or checkout page in dark mode before you call it done. Logos, images and brand colors are where dark mode most often goes wrong, and every plugin here gives you a way to fix them.

Are you using a dark mode plugin that is not on this list? Tell us about it in the comments.

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