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Depicter vs Smart Slider 3

Updated 22 Oct 2026. 18 features compared side by side.

Depicter

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 (236)

Visual slider, carousel, hero and popup builder from averta with a free-form editor, templates, dynamic posts and per-device editing.

Free installs70K+
From$49/yr
UpdatedOct 2026
Visit site Full profile
VS

Smart Slider 3

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 (1,125)

Freemium layer-based slider builder by Nextend with a visual editor, templates, post slides and device-specific settings; Pro is a one-time purchase.

Free installs800K+
From$49 lifetime
UpdatedOct 2026
Visit site Full profile

Choose Depicter if…

  • Designers who want animated, layered hero sliders and carousels with real mobile editing

Choose Smart Slider 3 if…

  • You prefer the more widely used option
  • You weigh user ratings (4.9 vs 4.6 on WordPress.org)

Depicter and Smart Slider 3 include the same 18 of the 18 features we track, so the choice comes down to pricing, approach and ecosystem.

At a glance

Depicter
Smart Slider 3
98/100
Feature score
97/100
18 of 18
Features included
18 of 18
4.6/5
WordPress.org rating
4.9/5
70K+
Active installs
800K+
100%
Support threads resolved
100%

Feature comparison

Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.

Feature
Depicter
Smart Slider 3
Slide types6/66/6
Image slider KeySlides from images with captions and links.
Depicter Included

Image sliders with free-form elements and links in the free plan.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Image slides with heading, text and button layers in the free plugin.

Video slidesYouTube, Vimeo or self-hosted video in slides.
Depicter Paid version Starter

YouTube/Vimeo and background video are in paid plans.

Smart Slider 3 Included

YouTube and Vimeo layers are free; Pro adds more media layers.

Post & product sliders KeySlides built automatically from posts, pages or WooCommerce products.
Depicter Included

WordPress Posts data source is free; pages, CPTs and handpicked posts are paid.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Free WordPress posts generator by category or tag; custom post types and WooCommerce need Pro.

Carousels KeyMultiple items visible at once, scrolling as a carousel.
Depicter Paid version Starter

Carousel builder is listed only in paid plans.

Smart Slider 3 Partial

Full carousel slider type is Pro; free users get a basic block carousel.

Layers & free-form editing KeyText, buttons and images positioned freely as layers on each slide.
Depicter Included

Elements are positioned freely on each slide, with a layers panel.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Free-form layers in the free editor (6 types); Pro has 26.

Hero & full-screen sectionsFull-width or full-screen hero sliders and scenes.
Depicter Included

Basic hero section builder free; advanced hero builder in paid plans.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Full-width and block sliders free; full-page layout is Pro.

Editing & design5/55/5
Visual drag-and-drop editor KeyEdit slides visually with a live preview.
Depicter Included

Drag-and-drop canvas editor with live preview.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Drag-and-drop slide editor with snapping and device previews.

Ready-made templatesPre-designed slider templates to import.
Depicter Included

146 templates free; 200 on Starter and 800 on Freelancer/Agency.

Smart Slider 3 Included

About 14 free templates; Pro unlocks 120+.

Animations & effectsTransitions, layer animations, Ken Burns or parallax effects.
Depicter Included

Basic element animations free; Ken Burns, parallax and text animations are paid.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Free slide transitions and background animations; Ken Burns, parallax and layer animation builder are Pro.

Navigation optionsArrows, dots, thumbnails and progress bars.
Depicter Partial

Arrows, bullets, timers and swipe documented; thumbnail navigation not confirmed.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Arrows, bullets, thumbnails, autoplay and bar controls in the free version.

Dynamic content & social feedsSlides from social feeds, RSS or custom data sources.
Depicter Paid version Starter

Google Reviews, ACF and WooCommerce sources in paid plans; no social or RSS feeds.

Smart Slider 3 Paid version Pro

Pro generators include RSS, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, events and gallery plugins.

Mobile & performance4/44/4
Device-specific controls KeyHide, resize or rearrange layers per device.
Depicter Included

Per-breakpoint element positions, hide per device and backgrounds per screen size.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Hide layers per device and set custom breakpoints in the free version.

Touch & swipeSwipe gestures on phones and tablets.
Depicter Included

Swipe navigation supported.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Touch swipe, scroll and keyboard navigation included free.

Lazy loading & optimisation KeyLazy-load images and load scripts only where needed.
Depicter Included

Lazy-loaded images and videos, WebP and load-on-viewport option.

Smart Slider 3 Paid version Pro

Lazy loading mode for slide backgrounds and WebP conversion are marked Pro.

SEO-friendly markupReal HTML text, alt text and headings rather than images only.
Depicter Included

Vendor states it outputs semantic markup so slide content is crawlable.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Layers output real HTML text; listed as SEO optimised in the free version.

Integrations3/33/3
Block editor blockA native block for the WordPress block editor.
Depicter Included

Depicter block with live preview.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Native Gutenberg block (updated to the v3 block API).

Page builder widgetsElementor, Divi, Beaver Builder or similar widgets.
Depicter Included

Works with Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Oxygen and WPBakery.

Smart Slider 3 Included

Supports Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, WPBakery and SiteOrigin.

WooCommerce product slidesShow prices, add-to-cart buttons or product data in slides.
Depicter Paid version Starter

WooCommerce slider with add-to-cart and sale badge elements in paid plans.

Smart Slider 3 Paid version Pro

WooCommerce generator builds slides from products.

Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?

Pricing compared

Depicter Freemium

Free$0
FreeFree per year, Unlimited
Starter$49 per year, 1 site
Freelancer$99 per year, 3 sites
Agency$169 per year, 5 sites

Smart Slider 3 Freemium

Free$0
FreeFree per year, Unlimited
Standard$49 lifetime, 1 site
Premium$99 lifetime, 3 sites

Downloads trend

Depicter

27,720 downloads last week

Smart Slider 3

278,725 downloads last week

Verdict

Based on our feature data Checked 22 Oct 2026

Depicter and Smart Slider 3 are closely matched on features (98/100 and 97/100). Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.

Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.

Which would you choose?

0 votes so far. Vote to see the results.

FAQ

Which is better, Depicter or Smart Slider 3?

Depicter and Smart Slider 3 are closely matched on features (98/100 and 97/100). Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.

Which has more features?

They are level: both include 18 of the 18 sliders & carousels features we track.

Is Depicter free?

Depicter has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $49/yr.

Is Smart Slider 3 free?

Smart Slider 3 has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $49 lifetime.

Feature data last changed 22 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Depicter or Smart Slider 3. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.