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Most Popular WordPress Themes

Every theme in the WordPress.org directory, ranked by active installs and re-captured every night — with daily rank movement, ratings, download history and how many live sites actually run each one.

Ranking for 2026-09-03 · movement vs 2026-09-02 · 8,555 themes tracked

# Theme Trends (1d / 7d / 30d) Type Rating Active installs Next milestone
7952 Urban Restaurant Urban Restaurant Updated 3 weeks ago Classic 10+
7953 UpFront UpFront Updated 3 months ago Classic 5★ (1) 20+
7954 Flexi Mart Flexi Mart Updated 2 days ago Classic 10+
7955 Renden X Renden X Updated 6 months ago Classic 50+
7956 Animal Wildlife Animal Wildlife Updated 4 weeks ago Classic 20+
7957 Roohani Roohani Updated 1 year ago Classic 40+
7958 DocuPress DocuPress Updated 3 weeks ago Classic 10+
7959 Jax Lite Jax Lite Updated 1 year ago Classic 4.5★ (2) 70+
7960 eduverse eduverse Updated 2 years ago Classic 20+
7961 Coaching Classes Coaching Classes Updated 3 weeks ago Classic 10+
7962 Kurma Kurma Updated 4 months ago Classic 5★ (1) 40+
7963 SKT Corp SKT Corp Updated 6 months ago Classic 3.5★ (4) 70+
7964 WeCodeArt WeCodeArt Updated 2 months ago Block 4.7★ (13) 50+
7965 XShop Plus XShop Plus Updated 6 months ago Classic 30+
7966 Publishers Publishers Updated 8 months ago Classic 30+
7967 Alante eBusiness Alante eBusiness Updated 6 months ago Classic 50+
7968 SKT Parallaxme SKT Parallaxme Updated 6 months ago Classic 5★ (2) 70+
7969 Influencer Marketing Influencer Marketing Updated 2 weeks ago Classic 10+
7970 ChicEra ChicEra Updated 2 years ago Block 10+
7971 Recipe Lite Recipe Lite Updated 6 months ago Classic 50+
7972 Pest Control Services Pest Control Services Updated 3 weeks ago Classic 10+
7973 Halloween Shop Halloween Shop Updated 3 months ago Classic 10+
7974 Narmada Narmada Updated 2 years ago Classic 5★ (1) 40+
7975 fabstar fabstar Updated 2 years ago Classic 20+
7976 Gymzone Fitness Gymzone Fitness Updated 5 months ago Classic 40+
7977 SEO WP SEO WP Updated 3 months ago Classic 4.2★ (12) 60+
7978 Zion Blog Zion Blog Updated 2 weeks ago Classic 30+
7979 Ryan Dark Ryan Dark Updated 6 months ago Classic 50+
7980 Grow eNews Grow eNews Updated 6 months ago Classic 30+
7981 Academy Lite Academy Lite Updated 3 months ago Classic 30+
7982 Stockist Stockist Updated 1 week ago Classic 20+
7983 Beauty and Spa Beauty and Spa Updated 2 years ago Classic 5★ (3) 50+
7984 Lana Blog Lana Blog Updated 9 months ago Classic 5★ (4) 50+
7985 Zeros Zeros Updated 2 years ago Classic 40+
7986 Prime Fundraiser Prime Fundraiser Updated 2 months ago Classic 5★ (1) 20+
7987 Luxestay Hotel Luxestay Hotel Updated 3 weeks ago Classic 10+
7988 Minamaze Boxed Minamaze Boxed Updated 6 months ago Classic 40+
7989 Photostat Lite Photostat Lite Updated 1 month ago Classic 40+
7990 ZenOffice ZenOffice Updated 3 months ago Classic 40+
7991 Durga Durga Updated 4 months ago Classic 40+
7992 Portfolioo Portfolioo Updated 1 year ago Classic 4.3★ (6) 50+
7993 Elevation Lite Elevation Lite Updated 5 months ago Classic 40+
7994 FAQ by click5 FAQ by click5 Updated 10 months ago Classic 20+
7995 Anna Lite Anna Lite Updated 1 month ago Classic 40+
7996 Gutenify University Gutenify University Updated 3 months ago Block 20+
7997 Prime Construction Prime Construction Updated 1 week ago Classic 10+
7998 Clean Corporate Clean Corporate Updated 8 months ago Classic 60+
7999 fHomeServices fHomeServices Updated 3 months ago Classic 50+
8000 Creative Lite Creative Lite Updated 2 days ago Classic 40+
8001 Shudra Shudra Updated 2 years ago Classic 30+

About this ranking

The WordPress.org theme directory lists thousands of free themes, but it doesn’t show which ones are gaining or losing ground over time. WP.MD tracks every theme in the directory daily and records each one’s position in the directory’s popularity ranking, so you see movement across 1, 7, and 30 days instead of a single static snapshot. The table above reflects the ranking for 2026-09-03, compared against the previous day.

What the numbers mean

A theme’s position is based on its standing in the WordPress.org “Popular” listing, which is driven largely by active installs and recent download velocity. Active installs (shown in buckets like 1M+ or 500K+) count sites currently running the theme. Downloads per day reflect fresh installs and updates over the last 24 hours — and the two often move independently. A default theme like Twenty Twenty-Five ships with WordPress core, so its download figures are inflated by every new install, whereas a theme like Astra earns its rank from sites that deliberately choose it.

Reading the movement columns

The 1D, 7D, and 30D columns show how far a theme has climbed or dropped over each window. Large short-term jumps — the biggest risers — usually follow a directory feature, a viral tutorial, or a fresh release. Sharp falls often mean a competitor surged rather than the theme itself losing installs. Entries in New in range are themes that broke into the tracked ranking for the first time that week.

Directory popularity vs. real-world usage

Directory rank and real-world usage aren’t the same thing. The “Popular” sort rewards download velocity, which favors bundled and default themes. Surveys of live sites tell a different story, where page-builder foundations like Astra, Kadence, and Hello Elementor punch above their directory rank because they anchor agencies and commercial sites. For the wider market picture — how many WordPress themes exist and which ones lead by real-world install share — see our regularly updated WordPress theme statistics. Comparing those figures with the tracker above is the quickest way to spot a theme that’s quietly dominant despite a modest directory position.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most popular WordPress theme right now?

As of 2026-09-03, Twenty Twenty-Five leads the WordPress.org popularity ranking, followed by Hello Elementor and Astra. Twenty Twenty-Five ships with WordPress core, so part of its lead reflects bundling rather than deliberate choice.

What’s the difference between active installs and downloads?
Active installs count the sites currently running a theme, shown in ranges like 1M+ or 500K+. Downloads per day count fresh installs and updates over the previous 24 hours. A theme can post high daily downloads while its active-install base stays flat, which is why both columns are worth watching.

How is WordPress theme popularity measured?
Directory popularity comes from the WordPress.org “Popular” listing, driven mainly by active installs and download velocity. Real-world usage comes from surveys of live sites and can rank themes differently. WP.MD tracks both so you can compare the directory view against actual deployment.

How often is this data updated?
The ranking refreshes daily. Each day’s movement is measured against the previous day, with 7-day and 30-day columns showing longer trends across the 250 themes we track.