Mantra vs Meta 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
Mantra ranks #640 on the popular list; Meta News is outside the top 1,001 we capture daily. Mantra has the largest install base, roughly 8.3× the next: 5K+ active installs against 600+ for Meta News. Downloads this week: Mantra 68 and Meta News 8. Ratings: Mantra 4.5★ from 72 and Meta News 5★ from 2 reviews.
| Metric | Mantra | Meta News |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #640 ▲ 12 | outside top 1001 |
| Active installs | 5K+ | 600+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 68 | 8 |
| Rating | 4.5★ (72) | 5★ (2) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Feb 6, 2026 | Oct 2, 2024 |
| Current version | 3.3.4 | 1.1.8 |
| Best rank on record | #640 | #1,867 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | May 2011 | Dec 2021 |
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, Mantra or Meta News?
By active installs, Mantra: 5K+ sites run it against 600+ for Meta News, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 18, 2026.
Is Mantra a block theme or a classic theme? And Meta News?
Mantra is a classic theme, Meta 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.