ExS vs OceanWP
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
OceanWP leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #9, ahead of ExS at #2,073. Over the last 7 days OceanWP held its place and ExS slipped 43 places. OceanWP has the largest install base, roughly 571× the next: 400K+ active installs against 700+ for ExS. Downloads this week: OceanWP 17,616 and ExS 228. Ratings: ExS 5★ from 20 and OceanWP 4.9★ from 5,717 reviews.
| Metric | ExS | OceanWP |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #2,073 ▼ 43 | #9 ▬ |
| Active installs | 700+ | 400K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 228 | 17,616 |
| Rating | 5★ (20) | 4.9★ (5,717) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Sep 17, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Current version | 2.5.12 | 4.2.8 |
| Best rank on record | #1,957 | #8 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 763 |
| On WordPress.org since | Aug 2020 | Jun 2017 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 0 | 6 |
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, ExS or OceanWP?
By active installs, OceanWP: 400K+ sites run it against 700+ for ExS, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 26, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, ExS or OceanWP?
OceanWP, at #9 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with ExS at #2,073. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is ExS a block theme or a classic theme? And OceanWP?
ExS is a classic theme, OceanWP 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.