Fairy Dark vs Royale 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
Fairy Dark leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,621, ahead of Royale News at #2,928. Over the last 7 days Fairy Dark slipped 28 places and Royale News slipped 13 places. Fairy Dark has the largest install base: 600+ active installs against 600+ for Royale News. Downloads this week: Royale News 17 and Fairy Dark 12. Ratings: Fairy Dark 4★ from 1 and Royale News 3.7★ from 3 reviews.
| Metric | Fairy Dark | Royale News |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,621 ▼ 28 | #2,928 ▼ 13 |
| Active installs | 600+ | 600+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 12 | 17 |
| Rating | 4★ (1) | 3.7★ (3) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Mar 2, 2026 | Apr 18, 2025 |
| Current version | 1.0.2 | 2.2.4 |
| Best rank on record | #1,484 | #2,873 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jul 2022 | Feb 2018 |
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 Royale News?
By active installs, Fairy Dark: 600+ sites run it against 600+ for Royale News, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 19, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Fairy Dark or Royale News?
Fairy Dark, at #1,621 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with Royale News at #2,928. 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 Royale News?
Fairy Dark is a classic theme, Royale 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.