Charitas Lite vs Charitas PRO: Which Nonprofit Theme Do You Need?

Charitas is one of the most popular WordPress themes for nonprofits, and it comes in two versions: a free Lite edition and a premium PRO edition. If you have been using Charitas Lite or considering it for your organization, the question is straightforward — is upgrading to Charitas PRO worth the investment?

I built both versions, so I can tell you exactly what each one includes, where they differ, and which one makes sense for different types of organizations. This Charitas Lite vs Charitas PRO comparison covers every meaningful difference so you can make the right decision without guessing.

Charitas Lite vs Charitas PRO: Quick Overview

Both themes share the same design DNA. They are built on clean code, optimized for speed, and designed specifically for nonprofit organizations. Charitas Lite gives you a solid foundation at no cost. Charitas PRO adds the tools that growing nonprofits need to fundraise, sell, and manage content at scale.

Here is the high-level difference: Charitas Lite is an informational theme. It presents your organization well. Charitas PRO is a functional theme. It helps your organization raise money, sell merchandise, publish documents, and track donations — all without leaving WordPress.

What Charitas Lite Includes

Charitas Lite is a free nonprofit WordPress theme available in the WordPress theme directory. Over 2,000 organizations use it worldwide, and it delivers more than most free themes in this space. Here is what you get:

• Responsive design — Looks clean on desktops, tablets, and phones without any configuration
• Custom logo upload — Add your organization’s logo through the WordPress Customizer
• Unlimited color schemes — Match the theme to your brand colors without touching code
• Gutenberg compatibility — Works with the WordPress block editor for content creation
• GDPR compliant — Built with privacy regulations in mind
• Multilingual ready — Compatible with translation plugins for organizations serving diverse communities
• Custom share buttons — Built-in social sharing so visitors can spread the word about your cause
• Child theme included — Make customizations safely without losing them during updates

For a small nonprofit, community group, or new organization that needs a professional web presence quickly, Charitas Lite handles the basics well. The design communicates trust and legitimacy, which matters enormously for organizations that depend on public confidence. Installation takes about three minutes, and the included dummy content helps you see how the finished site should look before adding your own material.

What Charitas PRO Adds

Charitas PRO takes everything in the Lite version and adds the functionality that separates a basic website from a working nonprofit platform. These are not cosmetic upgrades. They are operational tools that directly affect how your organization raises money and engages supporters.

Donation System with PayPal Integration

This is the single biggest reason organizations upgrade. Charitas PRO includes built-in PayPal donation processing with automatic progress bars. Visitors can donate directly on your website without being redirected to a third-party platform. The progress bars update in real time, showing how close each campaign is to its goal — a proven technique for encouraging additional gifts.

Charitas Lite has no donation functionality. If you want to accept donations on a Lite-powered site, you need a separate plugin. That works, but you lose the visual integration and seamless experience that the PRO version provides out of the box. For a deeper look at donation tools, see our guide on WordPress donation plugins.

WooCommerce Integration

Nonprofits sell more than most people realize. Event tickets, branded merchandise, publications, membership packages, raffle entries. Charitas PRO integrates with WooCommerce so you can run an online store alongside your nonprofit content. The styling is consistent — your shop pages look like they belong on the same site as your mission statement, not like a bolted-on afterthought.

Charitas Lite does not include WooCommerce support. You can install WooCommerce on a Lite site, but the styling will conflict with the theme in places, creating an inconsistent experience that can erode donor trust. If selling anything online is part of your plan, PRO is the cleaner path.

7 Custom Post Types

This is where content management transforms. Charitas PRO includes seven dedicated post types designed for how nonprofits actually organize information:

• Campaigns — Each fundraising campaign gets its own structured entry with goals, timelines, and progress tracking
• Events — Manage galas, volunteer days, community gatherings, and fundraisers with proper event fields
• Team members — Staff and board member profiles with photos, roles, and bios
• Causes — Highlight the specific issues your organization addresses
• Documents — Publish annual reports, newsletters, flyers, and policy documents directly on your site
• Testimonials — Showcase supporter stories and beneficiary feedback
• Gallery — Photo collections from events and programs

With Charitas Lite, all of this content lives in regular posts and pages. It works, but it becomes harder to manage as your site grows. Custom post types keep different content organized in the WordPress admin, making it easier for staff and volunteers to find and update the right information.

18 Widget Areas

Charitas PRO provides 18 widget areas compared to the standard set in the Lite version. More widget areas means more control over what appears where. Place a donation form in the sidebar of blog posts. Show upcoming events in the footer. Display a campaign progress bar on the homepage. Each section of your site can surface different content to different visitors without custom code.

Dashboard Analytics

Charitas PRO adds donation analytics directly to your WordPress dashboard. See donation totals, charts, and trends without switching to a separate analytics platform. For executive directors and board members who need quick numbers, this saves time and provides immediate visibility into fundraising performance.

Document Publishing

Nonprofits produce documents constantly: annual reports, financial statements, program guides, grant summaries, newsletters. Charitas PRO includes a document post type that lets you upload and present these materials professionally. Visitors can browse and download documents organized by category, which is especially valuable for organizations that need to demonstrate transparency to donors and grant-making bodies.

Performance Comparison

Both themes are fast. Charitas PRO scores A90+ on performance benchmarks, which puts it ahead of most WordPress themes regardless of price. The Lite version performs similarly because it shares the same codebase foundation. Neither theme bogs your site down with unnecessary scripts or bloated frameworks.

Page speed directly affects donor conversion. Research consistently shows that slower websites receive fewer donations. A theme that loads in under two seconds keeps visitors engaged. Both Charitas versions deliver that speed, though your hosting provider matters too. For hosting recommendations, see our web hosting guide.

Charitas Lite vs Charitas PRO: Feature Comparison

Here is the complete feature-by-feature breakdown:

When Charitas Lite Is the Right Choice

Charitas Lite makes sense in specific situations. If any of these describe your organization, the free version may be all you need right now:

• You are just getting started. A new nonprofit that needs an online presence while applying for grants or building a donor base does not need every feature on day one. Charitas Lite gets you live quickly and professionally.
• Your website is primarily informational. If your site’s job is to explain your mission, list your programs, and provide contact information — without processing donations or selling anything online — the Lite version handles that well.
• You are testing WordPress. If your organization has never used WordPress and wants to evaluate it before committing budget, Charitas Lite lets you experience the platform with a nonprofit-specific theme at no cost.
• Budget is extremely tight. Some organizations have near-zero budgets for web presence. A free theme on affordable hosting gets you online for under $60 per year total.

The upgrade path from Lite to PRO is straightforward. You do not lose your content, your pages, or your customizations. When your organization outgrows the Lite version, the transition to PRO is a theme swap, not a site rebuild.

When Charitas PRO Is Worth the Investment

Most nonprofits that take online fundraising seriously end up needing PRO. Here is when the investment pays for itself:

• You accept online donations. This is the most common reason to upgrade. Built-in PayPal processing with progress bars converts more donors than a third-party plugin with inconsistent styling. If your site collects even $75 in donations, the theme has already paid for itself.
• You sell merchandise or event tickets. WooCommerce integration means you can sell branded gear, event access, publications, or memberships directly from your site. The revenue potential far exceeds the theme cost.
• You manage multiple campaigns. Running an annual fund, a capital campaign, and seasonal drives simultaneously requires structured content. Custom post types keep everything organized.
• You publish reports and documents. Grant-funded organizations and those with public accountability requirements need to publish annual reports, financial disclosures, and program evaluations. The document post type makes this professional and accessible.
• Multiple staff members manage the site. Custom post types and additional widget areas make the WordPress admin more intuitive for non-technical staff and volunteers who need to update specific sections without affecting the rest of the site.

Pricing and Value

Charitas PRO is available at $75 per year, which includes updates and support. For organizations that need multiple themes — perhaps one for the main nonprofit site and another for a related program or chapter — the Nonprofit WordPress Themes Package includes every nonprofit and charity theme at a bundled price, which works out to significantly less per theme.

Compare $75 per year to what nonprofits typically spend on web tools. Dedicated fundraising platforms like Classy or Bloomerang charge $100-500 per month. Website builders with donation features cost $200-400 per year with less flexibility. WordPress with Charitas PRO gives you a complete platform for a fraction of those costs, and you own everything.

There is also a lifetime access option at $297 for all WPlook themes — every nonprofit, church, and charity theme included forever with no recurring fees. For organizations that plan to maintain their website for years, the math favors the one-time payment.

Making the Most of Either Version

Whichever version you choose, the theme is only part of the equation. The content you put on your site matters more than any feature list. A well-written mission statement on Charitas Lite will outperform a beautifully designed but empty Charitas PRO site every time.

If you are building a nonprofit website from scratch, our nonprofit website guide walks through everything from hosting to content strategy. For organizations that want to turn their site into a fundraising engine, our guide on accepting donations on WordPress covers the technical setup in detail.

If you would rather have the technical side handled professionally, our WordPress and theme setup service installs and configures everything. You provide the content about your organization, and we build the site around it. For organizations that need custom design work beyond what any theme offers, our website customization service creates exactly what you envision.