Smart Slider 3 vs Soliloquy
Updated 22 Oct 2026. 18 features compared side by side.
Freemium layer-based slider builder by Nextend with a visual editor, templates, post slides and device-specific settings; Pro is a one-time purchase.
Lightweight drag-and-drop image slider with a free Lite version and paid add-ons for carousels, thumbnails, video, posts and WooCommerce.
Choose Smart Slider 3 if…
- You need layers & free-form editing
- You want the more complete feature set (97/100 vs 69/100)
- You prefer the more widely used option
- You weigh user ratings (4.9 vs 4.7 on WordPress.org)
Choose Soliloquy if…
- Sites that need clean, lightweight image or banner sliders that non-technical editors can update
Smart Slider 3 includes 1 feature that Soliloquy lacks, including Layers & free-form editing. Both include 15 of the 18 features we track. 2 features are not yet verified for one or both plugins.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Smart Slider 3 SoliloquySlide types6/65/6
Image slides with heading, text and button layers in the free plugin.
Image slides with captions, links and title/alt metadata in Lite.
YouTube and Vimeo layers are free; Pro adds more media layers.
YouTube, Vimeo and Wistia video slides are a paid feature.
Free WordPress posts generator by category or tag; custom post types and WooCommerce need Pro.
Featured Content add-on (posts, pages, CPTs) and WooCommerce add-on in Developer plan.
Full carousel slider type is Pro; free users get a basic block carousel.
Carousel add-on included from the Developer plan.
Free-form layers in the free editor (6 types); Pro has 26.
Slides are image, video or HTML with captions; no free-positioned layer editor.
Full-width and block sliders free; full-page layout is Pro.
Full-width sliders via the CSS add-on and custom CSS; no full-screen mode documented.
Editing & design5/55/5
Drag-and-drop slide editor with snapping and device previews.
Drag-and-drop slide manager in a native WP screen, not a live visual slide canvas.
About 14 free templates; Pro unlocks 120+.
Pre-built slider themes come with the Themes add-on from the Multi plan.
Free slide transitions and background animations; Ken Burns, parallax and layer animation builder are Pro.
Slide transitions only; no layer animations, Ken Burns or parallax documented.
Arrows, bullets, thumbnails, autoplay and bar controls in the free version.
Arrows and pager in Lite; thumbnail navigation needs the Thumbnails add-on (Developer).
Pro generators include RSS, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, events and gallery plugins.
Instagram add-on from Multi; Dynamic add-on (Developer) builds sliders on the fly.
Mobile & performance4/43/4
Hide layers per device and set custom breakpoints in the free version.
Mobile tab: smaller mobile image size and hide captions on mobile; no per-layer device controls.
Touch swipe, scroll and keyboard navigation included free.
Touch swipe listed for both Lite and Pro.
Lazy loading mode for slide backgrounds and WebP conversion are marked Pro.
No lazy-loading setting found in the readme or feature pages.
Layers output real HTML text; listed as SEO optimised in the free version.
Real img tags with editable alt/title and HTML captions; vendor stresses SEO-friendly markup.
Integrations3/32/3
Native Gutenberg block (updated to the v3 block API).
Lite includes a Soliloquy block for inserting sliders.
Supports Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, WPBakery and SiteOrigin.
No dedicated Elementor, Divi or Beaver Builder widget is documented; shortcodes can be used.
WooCommerce generator builds slides from products.
WooCommerce add-on (filter by category, price, stock, featured) in Developer plan.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
Smart Slider 3 Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Standard | $49 lifetime, 1 site |
| Premium | $99 lifetime, 3 sites |
Soliloquy Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Lite | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Personal | $39 per year, 1 site |
| Multi | $99 per year, 3 sites |
| Developer | $199 per year, 25 sites |
| Ultra | $399 per year, 25 sites |
Downloads trend
Smart Slider 3
278,725 downloads last week
Soliloquy
15,298 downloads last week
Verdict
Smart Slider 3 scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 69/100) and includes layers & free-form editing that Soliloquy does not. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Smart Slider 3: included. Soliloquy: not included. Free-form layers in the free editor (6 types); Pro has 26.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
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FAQ
Which is better, Smart Slider 3 or Soliloquy?
Smart Slider 3 scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 69/100) and includes layers & free-form editing that Soliloquy does not. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
Smart Slider 3 includes 18 of the 18 features we track, against 15 for Soliloquy. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is Smart Slider 3 free?
Smart Slider 3 has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $49 lifetime.
Is Soliloquy free?
Soliloquy has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $39/yr.
Feature data last changed 22 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Smart Slider 3 or Soliloquy. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.