Kale vs News Blog
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
Kale leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #305, ahead of News Blog at #2,864. Over the last 7 days Kale held its place and News Blog slipped 13 places. Kale has the largest install base, roughly 23× the next: 7K+ active installs against 300+ for News Blog. Downloads this week: Kale 157 and News Blog 16. Ratings: Kale 4.9★ from 206 and News Blog 5★ from 2 reviews.
| Metric | Kale | News Blog |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #305 ▬ | #2,864 ▼ 13 |
| Active installs | 7K+ | 300+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 157 | 16 |
| Rating | 4.9★ (206) | 5★ (2) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Jul 22, 2026 | May 13, 2025 |
| Current version | 2.9 | 1.1.9 |
| Best rank on record | #304 | #2,296 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Feb 2017 | Oct 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, Kale or News Blog?
By active installs, Kale: 7K+ sites run it against 300+ for News Blog, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 20, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Kale or News Blog?
Kale, at #305 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with News Blog at #2,864. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Kale a block theme or a classic theme? And News Blog?
Kale is a classic theme, News Blog 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.