Mantra vs Mission 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 leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #640, ahead of Mission News at #1,059. Over the last 7 days Mantra climbed 12 places and Mission News climbed 15 places. Mantra has the largest install base, roughly 2.5× the next: 5K+ active installs against 2K+ for Mission News. Downloads this week: Mantra 68 and Mission News 35. Ratings: Mantra 4.5★ from 72 and Mission News 4.9★ from 104 reviews.
| Metric | Mantra | Mission News |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #640 ▲ 12 | #1,059 ▲ 15 |
| Active installs | 5K+ | 2K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 68 | 35 |
| Rating | 4.5★ (72) | 4.9★ (104) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Feb 6, 2026 | Dec 4, 2025 |
| Current version | 3.3.4 | 1.65 |
| Best rank on record | #640 | #1,059 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | May 2011 | Nov 2017 |
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 Mission News?
By active installs, Mantra: 5K+ sites run it against 2K+ for Mission News, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 18, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Mantra or Mission News?
Mantra, at #640 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with Mission News at #1,059. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Mantra a block theme or a classic theme? And Mission News?
Mantra is a classic theme, Mission 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.