Blog Room vs Popular News
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
Blog Room leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #996, ahead of Popular News at #5,612. Over the last 7 days Blog Room slipped 16 places and Popular News slipped 4 places. Blog Room has the largest install base, roughly 2.2× the next: 200+ active installs against 90+ for Popular News. Downloads this week: Blog Room 15 and Popular News 9.
| Metric | Blog Room | Popular News |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #996 ▼ 16 | #5,612 ▼ 4 |
| Active installs | 200+ | 90+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 15 | 9 |
| Rating | no ratings | no ratings |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Mar 15, 2026 | May 30, 2025 |
| Current version | 1.0.1 | 1.0.3 |
| Best rank on record | #486 | #5,260 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Dec 2025 | Nov 2022 |
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, Blog Room or Popular News?
By active installs, Blog Room: 200+ sites run it against 90+ for Popular News, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 28, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Blog Room or Popular News?
Blog Room, at #996 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with Popular News at #5,612. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Blog Room a block theme or a classic theme? And Popular News?
Blog Room is a classic theme, Popular News 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.