Highlights · computed from our daily tracking data
- Twenty Sixteen currently ranks #26 and has stayed inside the top 50 in every daily snapshot since Sep 17, 2024 (708 snapshots).
- Its best position in our tracking is #25, first reached on Jan 29, 2026.
- It accounts for roughly 0.8% of all active installs across the themes we track.
- It is averaging 5,289 downloads/day over the last 30 days, up 99% versus the month before (2,657/day).
- The latest release, v3.9, shipped on Aug 19, 2026 (13 days ago) — release #125 since the theme joined the directory in 2015.
- Beyond WordPress.org, BuiltWith detects 83,896 live sites running Twenty Sixteen across the web, including 855 of the one million most-visited sites.
Performance · Google Lighthouse, official wordpress.org demo
| Mobile | Desktop | |
| Largest Contentful Paint | 0.8 s | 0.2 s |
| First Contentful Paint | 0.8 s | 0.2 s |
| Total Blocking Time | 0 ms | 0 ms |
| Cumulative Layout Shift | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Page weight | 1.2 KB | 1.2 KB |
Lab (Lighthouse) data measured on the official demo at wp-themes.com, where every theme serves identical content — so scores isolate the theme's own CSS/JS payload. Tested Aug 3, 2026. Scores vary ±5 between runs. Run a live test ↗
Real-world usage · live sites, via BuiltWith
Ranking history
Ranking history — data table
| Date | Ranking history |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | #26 |
| 2026-08-31 | #26 |
| 2026-07-31 | #26 |
| 2026-06-30 | #27 |
| 2026-05-31 | #26 |
| 2026-04-30 | #30 |
| 2026-03-31 | #28 |
| 2026-02-28 | #28 |
| 2026-01-31 | #26 |
| 2025-12-31 | #30 |
| 2025-11-30 | #29 |
| 2025-10-31 | #29 |
| 2025-09-30 | #29 |
| 2025-08-31 | #31 |
| 2025-07-31 | #30 |
| 2025-06-30 | #30 |
| 2025-05-31 | #33 |
| 2025-04-30 | #36 |
| 2025-03-31 | #35 |
| 2025-02-28 | #34 |
| 2025-01-31 | #32 |
| 2024-12-31 | #32 |
| 2024-11-30 | #33 |
| 2024-10-31 | #30 |
| 2024-09-30 | #30 |
Latest reading of each month from our daily snapshots; the chart holds the full daily history.
Active installs
Active installs — data table
| Date | Active installs |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | 90,000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 90,000 |
| 2026-07-31 | 90,000 |
| 2026-06-30 | 100,000 |
| 2026-05-31 | 100,000 |
| 2026-04-30 | 100,000 |
| 2026-03-31 | 100,000 |
| 2026-02-28 | 100,000 |
| 2026-01-31 | 100,000 |
| 2025-12-31 | 100,000 |
| 2025-11-30 | 100,000 |
| 2025-10-31 | 100,000 |
| 2025-09-30 | 100,000 |
| 2025-08-31 | 100,000 |
| 2025-07-31 | 100,000 |
| 2025-06-30 | 100,000 |
| 2025-05-31 | 100,000 |
| 2025-04-30 | 100,000 |
| 2025-03-31 | 100,000 |
| 2025-02-28 | 100,000 |
| 2025-01-31 | 100,000 |
| 2024-12-31 | 100,000 |
| 2024-11-30 | 100,000 |
| 2024-10-31 | 100,000 |
| 2024-09-30 | 100,000 |
Latest reading of each month from our daily snapshots; the chart holds the full daily history.
Downloads per day
Downloads per day — data table
| Date | Downloads per day |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-31 | 5,620 |
| 2026-07-31 | 2,096 |
| 2026-06-30 | 2,864 |
| 2026-05-31 | 2,882 |
| 2026-04-30 | 1,835 |
| 2026-03-31 | 2,057 |
| 2026-02-28 | 1,639 |
| 2026-01-31 | 1,779 |
| 2025-12-31 | 2,153 |
| 2025-11-30 | 1,378 |
| 2025-10-31 | 1,996 |
| 2025-09-30 | 2,633 |
| 2025-08-31 | 2,228 |
| 2025-07-31 | 1,592 |
| 2025-06-30 | 1,779 |
| 2025-05-31 | 1,485 |
| 2025-04-30 | 3,042 |
| 2025-03-31 | 1,592 |
| 2025-02-28 | 1,673 |
| 2025-01-31 | 1,893 |
| 2024-12-31 | 2,028 |
| 2024-11-30 | 2,123 |
| 2024-10-31 | 1,811 |
| 2024-09-30 | 2,212 |
| 2024-08-31 | 1,778 |
Latest reading of each month from our daily snapshots; the chart holds the full daily history.
Details
| Author | WordPress.org |
|---|---|
| Current version | 3.9 |
| Versions released | 125 |
| Last updated | 2026-08-19 |
| Added to directory | 2015-08-31 |
| Requires WordPress | 4.4+ |
| Requires PHP | 5.2.4+ |
| Type | Classic theme |
| First tracked here | 2024-09-17 |
Description
Twenty Sixteen is a modernized take on an ever-popular WordPress layout — the horizontal masthead with an optional right sidebar that works perfectly for blogs and websites. It has custom color options with beautiful default color schemes, a harmonious fluid grid using a mobile-first approach, and impeccable polish in every detail. Twenty Sixteen will make your WordPress look beautiful everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
How many websites use Twenty Sixteen?
WordPress.org reports 90K+ active installs. BuiltWith independently detects 83,896 live websites running Twenty Sixteen.
How popular is Twenty Sixteen?
As of September 1, 2026, Twenty Sixteen ranks #26 in the WordPress.org popular themes list. Its best position in our tracking is #25.
When was Twenty Sixteen last updated?
Twenty Sixteen was last updated on August 19, 2026 (version 3.9). It has shipped 125 releases in total.
Who makes Twenty Sixteen?
Twenty Sixteen is developed by WordPress.org. It joined the WordPress.org theme directory in August 2015.
How fast is Twenty Sixteen?
On the official WordPress.org demo, Twenty Sixteen scores 100/100 for mobile performance in Google Lighthouse and 100/100 for desktop (tested August 2026).
