Lightning vs ST Educare
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
Lightning leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #27, ahead of ST Educare at #6,818. Over the last 7 days Lightning slipped 2 places and ST Educare slipped 71 places. Lightning has the largest install base, roughly 3333× the next: 100K+ active installs against 30+ for ST Educare. Downloads this week: Lightning 9,266 and ST Educare 10.
| Metric | Lightning | ST Educare |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #27 ▼ 2 | #6,818 ▼ 71 |
| Active installs | 100K+ | 30+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 9,266 | 10 |
| Rating | 4.8★ (12) | no ratings |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Sep 9, 2026 | Sep 3, 2026 |
| Current version | 15.42.0 | 2.7 |
| Best rank on record | #24 | #5,972 |
| Days in the top 50 | 762 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jul 2015 | Aug 2024 |
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, Lightning or ST Educare?
By active installs, Lightning: 100K+ sites run it against 30+ for ST Educare, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 25, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Lightning or ST Educare?
Lightning, at #27 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with ST Educare at #6,818. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Lightning a block theme or a classic theme? And ST Educare?
Lightning is a classic theme, ST Educare 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.