Twenty Twenty-Five is the most-installed free full-site-editing theme on WordPress.org, with an estimated 1.45 million active installs and a WP.org rank of #1 — but it is also the only theme in this top 5 whose 30-day download trend is declining, down 21.1% over the last month. I built the rest of this list from that same kind of per-theme number, pulled fresh from StatWP's own tracking pages and cross-checked against WordPress.org's theme directory.
No affiliate links. No sponsored placements. Ranked from WordPress.org install, download, and rating data as of August 23, 2026.
How we ranked these
Rank is WordPress.org's own theme-directory position; estimated active installs and the 30-day download trend come from StatWP's daily tracking of each theme's public install bracket and download counter, the same pipeline described on StatWP's methodology page. Rating and review counts are pulled directly from each theme's WordPress.org listing at the time of writing. Only themes tagged full-site-editing on WordPress.org and still listed (not closed or removed) were eligible. For more on what these install and download figures actually mean, see how to check a WordPress listing's real installs, downloads, and growth — the same metrics apply to themes and plugins alike.
The top 5 free block themes at a glance
| Theme | Est. active installs | 30-day download trend | Rating | WP.org rank | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty Twenty-Five | ≈1,450,000 | Declining, -21.1% | 3.9/5 (13 reviews) | #1 | 2026-05-20 |
| Twenty Twenty-Four | ≈581,000 | Rising, +50.1% | 3.8/5 (38 reviews) | #4 | 2026-08-19 |
| Twenty Twenty-Three | ≈350,000 | Rising, +451.4% | 3.4/5 (62 reviews) | #6 | 2026-08-19 |
| Extendable | ≈250,000 | Rising, +44.9% | 5.0/5 (4 reviews) | #8 | 2026-08-20 |
| Twenty Twenty-Two | ≈171,000 | Rising, +64.1% | 3.2/5 (70 reviews) | #14 | 2026-08-19 |
1. Twenty Twenty-Five
The numbers (StatWP): ≈1,450,000 estimated active installs, 10.2M total downloads, rating 3.9/5 from 13 reviews, WP.org rank #1, downloads down 21.1% over the trailing 30 days.
What the data says that the marketing doesn't: Twenty Twenty-Five ships bundled with every new WordPress install, which is why its install base dwarfs everything else on this list — but it's also the only theme in the top 5 with a shrinking download curve right now. I'd call that normal for a default theme roughly a year into its release cycle: most of its installs came from new-site defaults rather than deliberate downloads, and its 13 reviews (thin for its install count) suggest most users never consciously chose it.
Who it's actually for: Anyone starting a new WordPress site who wants the current default without picking a theme — and site builders who want a stable, well-supported FSE base to heavily override with a child theme or style variation.
See Twenty Twenty-Five's live stats on StatWP.
2. Twenty Twenty-Four
The numbers (StatWP): ≈581,000 estimated active installs, 8.8M total downloads, rating 3.8/5 from 38 reviews, WP.org rank #4, downloads up 50.1% over the trailing 30 days.
What the data says that the marketing doesn't: Twenty Twenty-Four is the rare previous-generation default theme that's still gaining downloads a year after being superseded — up 50.1% in the last 30 days rather than fading toward zero the way older defaults usually do. It also carries nearly three times the review count of Twenty Twenty-Five despite a smaller install base, which I read as a more engaged, deliberate user base rather than pure "shipped with WordPress" adoption.
Who it's actually for: Site owners who tried the newest default, didn't like the aesthetic changes, and rolled back — or anyone who wants a slightly more mature FSE theme with a longer track record than the current default.
See Twenty Twenty-Four's live stats on StatWP.
3. Twenty Twenty-Three
The numbers (StatWP): ≈350,000 estimated active installs, 7.3M total downloads, rating 3.4/5 from 62 reviews, WP.org rank #6, downloads up 451.4% over the trailing 30 days.
What the data says that the marketing doesn't: A 451.4% monthly download jump for a two-year-old default theme is the kind of number that looks like a typo until you check the base — Twenty Twenty-Three's baseline downloads had fallen low enough that even a modest absolute pickup (likely from bulk hosting-provisioning scripts or a WordPress core update bundling it as a fallback) produces a large percentage swing. It's the lowest-rated theme in the top 5 at 3.4/5, with the most reviews of any entry here — a combination I read as real, hands-on usage rather than passive defaults.
Who it's actually for: Developers who specifically want its ten built-in style variations and a "blank canvas" starting point rather than the more opinionated design language of the newer defaults.
See Twenty Twenty-Three's live stats on StatWP.
4. Extendable
The numbers (StatWP): ≈250,000 estimated active installs, 865.3K total downloads, rating 5.0/5 from 4 reviews, WP.org rank #8, downloads up 44.9% over the trailing 30 days.
What the data says that the marketing doesn't: Extendable's install count is high, but the ratio of installs to total downloads (roughly 250,000 installs against under 900,000 lifetime downloads) is unusual for a non-default theme, and its perfect rating rests on only 4 reviews — not enough to call it a proven crowd favorite yet. It's the only theme in this top 5 that isn't a WordPress core default, and it's still growing at a healthy 30-day clip, which I'd call the more meaningful signal here than the install total itself.
Who it's actually for: Agencies and freelancers who want a genuinely non-default-looking FSE theme with multiple style variations (bold, minimal, bohemian) without hunting through hundreds of thin, near-zero-install listings.
See Extendable's live stats on StatWP.
5. Twenty Twenty-Two
The numbers (StatWP): ≈171,000 estimated active installs, 11.4M total downloads, rating 3.2/5 from 70 reviews, WP.org rank #14, downloads up 64.1% over the trailing 30 days.
What the data says that the marketing doesn't: Twenty Twenty-Two has by far the highest lifetime download count of any theme on this list — 11.4 million, more than either newer default — because it was WordPress's first fully block-based default theme and has had four extra years to accumulate downloads. Its rating, 3.2/5 from 70 reviews, is also the lowest in the top 5, which tracks with it being the theme most likely to be reviewed by people who hit its early FSE rough edges rather than today's more polished editor.
Who it's actually for: Sites that adopted it early and have built substantial customizations on top of it — I read the download uptick as active reinstalls and updates rather than new adoption - a "still maintaining" story more than a "still winning new users" one.
See Twenty Twenty-Two's live stats on StatWP.
Also worth knowing about
These didn't crack the top 5 by install count, but each is worth knowing for a specific reason — from a fast-rising newcomer to a theme with a near-perfect rating.
| Theme | Est. active installs | 30-day trend | Rating | WP.org rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost Blueprint | ≈46,300 | Declining, -22.2% | 0.0/5 (0 reviews) | #13 |
| YITH Wonder | ≈45,600 | Declining, -9.2% | 4.5/5 (2 reviews) | #23 |
| Variations | ≈25,800 | Declining, -6.7% | 5.0/5 (11 reviews) | #35 |
| Raft | ≈16,400 | Declining, -73.5% | 4.9/5 (48 reviews) | #83 |
| Neve FSE | ≈9,680 | Declining, -15% | 4.7/5 (39 reviews) | #81 |
| Spectra One | ≈8,690 | Rising, +277.8% | 4.8/5 (28 reviews) | #94 |
| Ollie | ≈5,730 | Rising, +194.4% | 5.0/5 (36 reviews) | #107 |
| SaasLauncher | ≈4,730 | Rising, +98.2% | 5.0/5 (12 reviews) | #90 |
What the install data says about the block-theme category
WordPress.org currently lists 1,737 themes tagged full-site-editing. Concentration at the top is severe: among the 100 most-installed of those themes, the top 3 alone — Twenty Twenty-Five, Twenty Twenty-Four, and Twenty Twenty-Three — account for roughly 1.8 million of the 2.33 million combined installs in that group, or about 77% of installs among the category's own top 100. The median active-install count across that same top-100 slice is just 950, meaning a theme has to clear a very low bar to rank inside the category's upper half, but an almost impossibly high one to challenge the WordPress core defaults for total installs.
I'd point to that gap as exactly what analyzing the health of a niche is built to surface: a category can look "crowded" by listing count while actually being wide open everywhere except the top three slots, which are structurally unbeatable because they ship inside WordPress core itself. Entry difficulty for a new FSE theme is low in the literal sense — thousands of near-zero-install listings prove almost anyone can publish one — but distribution beyond the defaults is hard: the strongest non-default performer here, Extendable, still sits at roughly one-sixth of Twenty Twenty-Two's install count despite growing every month. In my read, no leader here has been abandoned; all five core defaults in the top 5 received updates within the last 30 days, so this isn't a case of stale incumbents blocking the field — it's active, maintained competition for a distant second place behind whatever theme WordPress ships as its current default.
Compare these yourself
StatWP's compare tool supports both plugins and themes side by side, so you can build your own comparison of any of the themes above — or add one we didn't cover — and check installs, ratings, downloads, and growth trend in one view rather than five separate theme pages.
FAQ
What counts as a "block theme" or "full-site editing" theme?
A block theme is a WordPress theme built entirely from block templates and template parts rather than PHP template files, which is what enables full-site editing — editing headers, footers, and templates directly in the block editor instead of a separate theme customizer. WordPress.org tags eligible themes full-site-editing, which is the filter used to build this list.
Why does Twenty Twenty-Five have the most installs but a declining download trend?
Twenty Twenty-Five ships as the default theme for new WordPress installs, so most of its 1.45 million estimated active installs came from new sites rather than deliberate downloads. A declining 30-day download trend on a roughly year-old default is a normal maturity pattern, not a sign of abandonment — WordPress core themes typically see downloads taper as the initial adoption wave passes.
Are older default themes like Twenty Twenty-Two still safe to use?
Yes — Twenty Twenty-Two received an update within the last 30 days as of this writing and is still actively maintained by the WordPress core team, along with Twenty Twenty-Three and Twenty Twenty-Four. All three remain fully compatible with current WordPress releases even though they're no longer the default for new installs.
How often is this ranking updated?
The install, download, and rating figures are refreshed from WordPress.org and StatWP's tracking data monthly; the written analysis for each theme is reviewed less frequently, since install numbers change faster than the underlying judgment about who a theme is actually for.
Data refreshed August 23, 2026. We update this ranking monthly.