Rife Free vs Urbanews
Two WordPress themes head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
At a glance
Rife Free leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #78, ahead of Urbanews at #3,789. Over the last 7 days Rife Free slipped 4 places and Urbanews slipped 26 places. Rife Free has the largest install base, roughly 250× the next: 20K+ active installs against 80+ for Urbanews. Downloads this week: Rife Free 291 and Urbanews 54.
| Metric | Rife Free | Urbanews |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #78 ▼ 4 | #3,789 ▼ 26 |
| Active installs | 20K+ | 80+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 291 | 54 |
| Rating | 4.9★ (355) | no ratings |
| Type | Classic theme | Classic theme |
| Last updated | Jan 29, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Current version | 2.4.24 | 1.1.1 |
| Best rank on record | #70 | #2,914 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jan 2019 | Feb 2025 |
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, Rife Free or Urbanews?
By active installs, Rife Free: 20K+ sites run it against 80+ for Urbanews, according to WordPress.org figures captured on November 4, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Rife Free or Urbanews?
Rife Free, at #78 on the WordPress.org popular themes list today, with Urbanews at #3,789. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Is Rife Free a block theme or a classic theme? And Urbanews?
Rife Free is a classic theme, Urbanews 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.