150+ WordPress Statistics & Facts for 2026 (Usage, Themes, Plugins)
Last updated: March 2026
WordPress powers 42.6% of all websites — but for the first time in over 20 years, that number is going down. Here are 150+ WordPress statistics covering market share, plugins, themes, security, performance, and the ecosystem economy for 2026.
Key WordPress Statistics (2026)
- 42.6% of all websites run WordPress — down from 43.6% peak in mid-2025 (W3Techs)
- 472-595 million WordPress websites globally (DemandSage)
- 59,000+ free plugins, 1 billion+ total downloads (WordPress.org)
- 11,334 security vulnerabilities in 2025 — up 42% YoY (Patchstack)
- $596.7 billion WordPress economy (WP Engine study)
- 4.17 million live WooCommerce stores (StoreLeads)
- 2.3 million blog posts published on WordPress every day (Kinsta)
WordPress Market Share & Usage
| Statistic | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Share of all websites | 42.6% | W3Techs |
| CMS market share | 59.9% | W3Techs |
| Total WordPress websites | 472-595 million | DemandSage |
| All-time downloads | 1.2 billion+ | WordPress.org |
| New sites built daily | 500+ | Kinsta |
| Blog posts published daily | 2.3 million | Kinsta |
| Monthly page views | 20 billion (409M visitors) | Kinsta |
| Available languages | 208 | WordPress.com |
| Top country: Japan | 58.5% of all sites | WPZOOM |
| Share of top 10,000 websites | 23.75% | WP Host Insights |
WordPress vs. Competitors
| CMS | Mar 2026 | YoY Change | Since 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 42.4% | 🔴 -1.0 pp | +19.1 pp |
| Shopify | 5.1% | 🟢 +0.4 pp | +4.8 pp (929%) |
| Wix | 4.3% | 🟢 +0.8 pp | +4.2 pp (43x) |
| Squarespace | 2.5% | 🟢 +0.2 pp | +2.3 pp |
| Joomla | 1.3% | 🔴 -0.2 pp | -2.0 pp (-61%) |
| Drupal | 0.7% | 🔴 -0.2 pp | -1.3 pp (-65%) |
WordPress Plugin Statistics
| Plugin | Active Installs |
|---|---|
| Yoast SEO | 13+ million |
| Elementor | 10+ million |
| Contact Form 7 | 10+ million |
| WooCommerce | 6.3+ million |
| WPForms | 6+ million |
| Wordfence | 4.2+ million |
| Classic Editor | 4+ million |
| ACF | 2+ million |
- 59,000+ free plugins; 70,000+ total including premium
- 12,713 new plugins reviewed in 2025 — 40.6% increase over 2024
- Total downloads exceed 1 billion
- 80% of sites use at least one plugin; average site uses 12-15
WordPress Theme Statistics
- 14,000+ free themes; 12,000 premium on ThemeForest; 30,000+ total
- Divi is the most popular premium theme: 2.16 million live sites (BuiltWith)
- 60%+ of new themes use Full Site Editing; 90%+ are responsive
- Top Envato theme makers earn $10,000+/month
WordPress Version Adoption
| Version | % of Sites | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 6.x | 88-91.7% | 🟢 Supported |
| 5.x | 5.8-11% | 🟠 Outdated |
| 4.x and older | 2.3-3.7% | 🔴 Security risk |
- Only ~48% run a PHP version still receiving security patches
- 52 major releases, over 760 total — each named after jazz musicians
Gutenberg & Block Editor
- Adoption climbed to over 60%, up from 37% in 2020
- 19 million active installations; 157,000+ posts/day
- FSE grew 145% in 2025; 75%+ of new themes use it
- 4+ million Classic Editor installs — significant holdout base
Page Builder Market Share
| Builder | Share | Sites | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementor | 40-50% | 12M+ | 🔴 Declining (56%→43%) |
| Divi | ~18% | 2.16M | — Stable |
| WPBakery | ~5-10% | Legacy | 🔴 Declining |
| Beaver Builder | ~5% | 1M+ | — Stable |
| Bricks | ~3% | Growing | 🟢 Fastest growing |
WooCommerce & Ecommerce
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Live stores | 4.17 million |
| Ecommerce share | 20-39% |
| Annual GMV | $30-35 billion |
| Total downloads | 344+ million (~30K/day) |
| Stores earning $100K+/year | 12,600 |
| Stores earning $1M+/year | 300+ |
| Mobile traffic | 60%+ |
WordPress Security Statistics
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Vulnerabilities in 2025 | 11,334 (+42% YoY) |
| Cumulative known | 64,782 |
| In plugins | 91% |
| In WordPress core | Only 6 |
| Median exploit time | 5 hours |
| Exploited within 24h | 45% |
| Unpatched at disclosure | 46% |
| XSS vulnerabilities | 47.7% |
WordPress Performance
| Metric | Desktop | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Average load time | 2.5s | 13.25s |
| CWV pass rate | — | 50% |
| LCP pass | — | 86% (1.1s median) |
| TTFB pass | — | 65% |
- Page weight grew 34% since 2016 — images 56%, JavaScript 30%
- 53% of mobile visitors leave if load exceeds 3 seconds
WordPress Hosting & Costs
| Host | WP Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | 4.7% | 54% of clients use WP |
| Bluehost | 2.8% | WP.org recommended |
| GoDaddy | 2.3% | Largest registrar |
| SiteGround | 2.1% | WP.org recommended |
| WP Engine | 1.5% | 30% of managed WP |
- Custom WP design: $500-$52,800+; developers charge $20-$150/hour
- A quarter of WordPress users make a full-time living from the CMS
WordPress Economic Impact
- Ecosystem valued at $596.7 billion
- Automattic revenue: ~$710 million (2024)
- Enterprise users: White House, BBC, TechCrunch, Sony, Bloomberg
- Used in 190+ countries
WordPress Community
- 990 WordCamps across 73 cities in 65 countries
- 740+ meetup groups, 370,900+ members
- 22,000+ contributors to WordPress core
Key Takeaways
- WordPress still dominates at 42.6% of all websites — but the peak is behind us.
- Plugins are the greatest strength and biggest risk. 70,000+ plugins enable anything, but 91% of vulnerabilities come from them.
- WooCommerce is a powerhouse. 4.17M stores, $30-35B GMV, 12,600 stores earning $100K+/year.
- Performance is the Achilles’ heel. Only 50% pass CWV. Optimization matters.
- Security requires vigilance. 11,334 vulnerabilities, exploits within 5 hours. Keep everything updated.
- The WordPress economy is massive. $596.7B ecosystem supporting millions worldwide.
- Full Site Editing is the future. 75%+ new themes use FSE. The block editor era is here.
Sources
- W3Techs — WordPress Usage
- WordPress.com — Market Share
- Kinsta — WordPress Statistics
- Patchstack — State of WordPress Security 2026
- DebugHawk — Performance Report 2025
- WPZOOM — WordPress Statistics
- DemandSage — WordPress Statistics
- StoreLeads — WooCommerce
- GutenStats — Gutenberg Data
- WPBeginner — Hosting Statistics
Frequently Asked Questions
How many websites use WordPress in 2026?
42.6% of all websites run WordPress — an estimated 472-595 million sites. It holds 59.9% market share among sites using a CMS.
Is WordPress losing market share?
Yes. WordPress peaked at 43.6% in mid-2025 and has declined to 42.6%. SaaS builders like Wix (+32.6% YoY) and Shopify are growing at WordPress’s expense.
How many WordPress plugins are there?
59,000+ free plugins in the WordPress.org directory and 70,000+ total. The Plugin Team reviewed 12,713 new plugins in 2025 — a 40.6% increase.
Is WordPress secure?
WordPress core is very secure (only 6 vulnerabilities in 2025). The ecosystem had 11,334 total, with 91% in plugins. Keep everything updated and use a security plugin.
How much does a WordPress website cost?
Basic site: $500-$3,000. Custom design: up to $52,800+. Developers charge $20-$100/hour; headless specialists $100-$150/hour. WordPress itself is free.
What is the WordPress economy worth?
$596.7 billion including hosting, themes, plugins, development, and businesses built on WordPress. Automattic generates ~$710 million annually.
What percentage of the internet uses WordPress?
42.6% of all detectable websites. Enterprise users include the White House, BBC, TechCrunch, Sony, and Bloomberg.
For the full CMS landscape, see our CMS Market Share deep dive. Browse our free WordPress themes or Tailwind CSS templates.
Related Posts
It’s weird to see the WordPress growth trend only +0.3% for 2023 while there was a lot of innovation and improvements happening this year. Do you think this will change for 2024?
Phil,
While the market share growth has slowed dow, WordPress still added tens of millions of new websites last year alone. It is now the coolest new tool that grows 10x a year but the growth trend is still there.