Cryout Serious Theme Settings vs Shiny Updates
Two WordPress plugins head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
These aren’t all alternatives to each other — they do different jobs — so this page compares popularity only, not features.
At a glance
Cryout Serious Theme Settings ranks #895 on the popular list; Shiny Updates is outside the top 500 we capture daily. Cryout Serious Theme Settings has the largest install base, roughly 4000× the next: 40K+ active installs against 10+ for Shiny Updates. Downloads this week: Cryout Serious Theme Settings 647 and Shiny Updates 14. Ratings: Cryout Serious Theme Settings 4.3★ from 16 and Shiny Updates 4.8★ from 14 reviews.
| Metric | Cryout Serious Theme Settings | Shiny Updates |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #895 ▲ 1 | outside top 500 |
| Active installs | 40K+ | 10+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 647 | 14 |
| Rating | 4.3★ (16) | 4.8★ (14) |
| Last updated | Jan 26, 2026 | Sep 27, 2016 |
| Current version | 0.5.17 | 3-20160927 |
| Best rank on record | #883 | #28,728 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Nov 2015 | Dec 2015 |
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
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- Cryout Serious Theme Settings vs Disable All WordPress Updates
- Cryout Serious Theme Settings vs Easy Theme and Plugin Upgrades
- Shiny Updates vs All in one Favicon
- Shiny Updates vs WP Updates Notifier
- Shiny Updates vs Create Block Theme
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Cryout Serious Theme Settings or Shiny Updates?
By active installs, Cryout Serious Theme Settings: 40K+ sites run it against 10+ for Shiny Updates, according to WordPress.org figures captured on November 1, 2026.
Are Cryout Serious Theme Settings or Shiny Updates alternatives to each other?
Not all of them. Some of these plugins do different jobs and many sites run more than one. This page compares their popularity, not their features.
Where do these numbers come from?
WordPress.org publishes each plugin’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 plugins have moved over time rather than a single day.