Aromatic vs Specia
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
Specia leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,082, ahead of Aromatic at #4,352. Over the last 7 days Specia climbed 5 places and Aromatic slipped 35 places. Specia has the largest install base, roughly 20× the next: 2K+ active installs against 100+ for Aromatic. Downloads this week: Specia 323 and Aromatic 50. Ratings: Aromatic 3.5★ from 2 and Specia 4.7★ from 86 reviews.
| Metric | Aromatic | Specia |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #4,352 ▼ 35 | #1,082 ▲ 5 |
| Active installs | 100+ | 2K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 50 | 323 |
| Rating | 3.5★ (2) | 4.7★ (86) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Oct 3, 2026 | Aug 13, 2026 |
| Current version | 29.3 | 23.0 |
| Best rank on record | #4,215 | #1,076 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Aug 2022 | Nov 2016 |
Highlighted cells mark the strongest figure in each row. Rank and installs are from the latest WordPress.org capture; downloads are the last seven captured days.
Ranking history Lower is better
Active installs
Downloads per day
More comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Aromatic or Specia?
By active installs, Specia: 2K+ sites run it against 100+ for Aromatic, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 19, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Aromatic or Specia?
Specia, at #1,082 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with Aromatic at #4,352. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Aromatic a block theme or a classic theme? And Specia?
Aromatic is a classic theme, Specia is a classic theme. Block themes are built for the Site Editor; classic themes use the Customizer and widget areas.
Where do these numbers come from?
WordPress.org publishes each theme’s active install count and its position on the popular list. This site records both every day, along with per-day downloads and ratings, so the charts above show how the themes have moved over time rather than a single day.