Kale vs News Hours
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 #313, ahead of News Hours at #7,409. Over the last 7 days Kale slipped 4 places and News Hours slipped 54 places. Kale has the largest install base, roughly 233× the next: 7K+ active installs against 30+ for News Hours. Downloads this week: Kale 306 and News Hours 8.
| Metric | Kale | News Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #313 ▼ 4 | #7,409 ▼ 54 |
| Active installs | 7K+ | 30+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 306 | 8 |
| Rating | 4.9★ (206) | no ratings |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Jul 22, 2026 | Aug 18, 2026 |
| Current version | 2.9 | 1.0.32 |
| Best rank on record | #304 | #6,973 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Feb 2017 | Nov 2023 |
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 Hours?
By active installs, Kale: 7K+ sites run it against 30+ for News Hours, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 28, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Kale or News Hours?
Kale, at #313 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with News Hours at #7,409. 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 Hours?
Kale is a classic theme, News Hours 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.