BlankSlate vs Twenty Sixteen
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
Twenty Sixteen leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #27, ahead of BlankSlate at #268. Over the last 7 days Twenty Sixteen held its place and BlankSlate climbed 1 place. Twenty Sixteen has the largest install base, roughly 9× the next: 90K+ active installs against 10K+ for BlankSlate. Downloads this week: Twenty Sixteen 13,923 and BlankSlate 188. Ratings: BlankSlate 4.9★ from 63 and Twenty Sixteen 4.1★ from 83 reviews.
| Metric | BlankSlate | Twenty Sixteen |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #268 ▲ 1 | #27 ▬ |
| Active installs | 10K+ | 90K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 188 | 13,923 |
| Rating | 4.9★ (63) | 4.1★ (83) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Nov 12, 2025 | Aug 19, 2026 |
| Current version | 2026 | 3.9 |
| Best rank on record | #267 | #25 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 754 |
| On WordPress.org since | Apr 2011 | Aug 2015 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 0 | 1 |
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, BlankSlate or Twenty Sixteen?
By active installs, Twenty Sixteen: 90K+ sites run it against 10K+ for BlankSlate, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 17, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, BlankSlate or Twenty Sixteen?
Twenty Sixteen, at #27 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with BlankSlate at #268. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is BlankSlate a block theme or a classic theme? And Twenty Sixteen?
BlankSlate is a classic theme, Twenty Sixteen 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.