Awaken vs NewsPress Lite
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
Awaken leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,314, ahead of NewsPress Lite at #7,785. Over the last 7 days Awaken slipped 3 places and NewsPress Lite climbed 16 places. Awaken has the largest install base, roughly 20× the next: 2K+ active installs against 100+ for NewsPress Lite. Downloads this week: Awaken 40 and NewsPress Lite 13. Ratings: Awaken 4.4★ from 27 and NewsPress Lite 4.7★ from 41 reviews.
| Metric | Awaken | NewsPress Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,314 ▼ 3 | #7,785 ▲ 16 |
| Active installs | 2K+ | 100+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 40 | 13 |
| Rating | 4.4★ (27) | 4.7★ (41) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Dec 7, 2025 | Nov 28, 2024 |
| Current version | 2.3.1 | 3.1 |
| Best rank on record | #1,295 | #6,597 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Dec 2014 | May 2014 |
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, Awaken or NewsPress Lite?
By active installs, Awaken: 2K+ sites run it against 100+ for NewsPress Lite, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 24, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Awaken or NewsPress Lite?
Awaken, at #1,314 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with NewsPress Lite at #7,785. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Awaken a block theme or a classic theme? And NewsPress Lite?
Awaken is a classic theme, NewsPress Lite 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.