Nirvana vs Rock Star
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
Nirvana leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #274, ahead of Rock Star at #1,141. Over the last 7 days Nirvana climbed 2 places and Rock Star climbed 16 places. Nirvana has the largest install base, roughly 5× the next: 10K+ active installs against 2K+ for Rock Star. Downloads this week: Nirvana 120 and Rock Star 72. Ratings: Nirvana 4.3★ from 69 and Rock Star 5★ from 20 reviews.
| Metric | Nirvana | Rock Star |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #274 ▲ 2 | #1,141 ▲ 16 |
| Active installs | 10K+ | 2K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 120 | 72 |
| Rating | 4.3★ (69) | 5★ (20) |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Jan 26, 2026 | Jun 17, 2026 |
| Current version | 1.6.5 | 2.1.1 |
| Best rank on record | #271 | #1,141 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Sep 2014 | Oct 2016 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 1 | 0 |
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, Nirvana or Rock Star?
By active installs, Nirvana: 10K+ sites run it against 2K+ for Rock Star, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 18, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Nirvana or Rock Star?
Nirvana, at #274 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with Rock Star at #1,141. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Nirvana a block theme or a classic theme? And Rock Star?
Nirvana is a classic theme, Rock Star 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.