Fairy Dark vs Polite 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
Polite News leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #132, ahead of Fairy Dark at #1,623. Over the last 7 days Polite News slipped 12 places and Fairy Dark slipped 27 places. Fairy Dark has the largest install base, roughly 6× the next: 600+ active installs against 100+ for Polite News. Downloads this week: Polite News 55 and Fairy Dark 12.
| Metric | Fairy Dark | Polite News |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,623 ▼ 27 | #132 ▼ 12 |
| Active installs | 600+ | 100+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 12 | 55 |
| Rating | 4★ (1) | no ratings |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Mar 2, 2026 | Sep 5, 2026 |
| Current version | 1.0.2 | 1.0.1 |
| Best rank on record | #1,484 | #83 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jul 2022 | Sep 2026 |
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, Fairy Dark or Polite News?
By active installs, Fairy Dark: 600+ sites run it against 100+ for Polite News, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 20, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Fairy Dark or Polite News?
Polite News, at #132 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with Fairy Dark at #1,623. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Fairy Dark a block theme or a classic theme? And Polite News?
Fairy Dark is a classic theme, Polite 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.