Slider Revolution
Premium visual builder by ThemePunch for animated sliders, carousels and hero sections, with 200+ templates, addons and social or WooCommerce content.
98
LayerSlider
Premium animation builder by Kreatura for layered sliders, carousels, hero scenes and popups, with 210+ templates and a choice of annual or one-time licences.
Est. active installs~1MLikely 500K–2M
Price from$29/yrPremium
Overview
LayerSlider is a premium slider and animation builder from Kreatura, sold for more than a decade and, like Slider Revolution, bundled with many commercial themes. It is not on WordPress.org; licences are sold on layerslider.com.
Projects can be sliders, carousels, full-size hero scenes or popups. On each slide you place text, images, buttons, icons, video, audio and dynamic layers, then animate them with transition presets, a timeline, hover and scroll effects. There are 200+ slide transitions, Ken Burns and 3D parallax effects, and navigation via dots, thumbnails, timers, a slidebar, keyboard and touch swipe. Device-specific layers let you build alternative mobile, tablet and desktop layouts, and projects can be hidden per device.
Content and publishing
Post sliders and dynamic layers pull titles, excerpts, images and custom fields from WordPress posts, which the documentation says can also reach WooCommerce data through custom fields. Projects are inserted with the LayerSlider Gutenberg block, a dedicated Elementor widget, widgets for other builders, a shortcode or a PHP function. Lazy loading is included.
Licensing
A Personal licence for one site is available yearly or as a one-time payment with lifetime updates and six months of support; Professional covers three or more sites. Every licence includes all premium add-ons and 210+ slider and popup templates. Theme-bundled copies do not receive updates, templates or support from Kreatura.
Limitations
- No free version on WordPress.org.
- No social media or RSS sources; dynamic content is limited to WordPress data.
- Like other animation builders, it adds more front-end code than a simple carousel.
LayerSlider suits users who want animated layered sliders and popups from one tool and like the option of a one-time licence.
Best for: Users who want layered animated sliders and popups from one premium tool, with the choice of a one-time licence.
LayerSlider is a mature animation builder with a broad template library, popups and a cheap entry licence. It lacks Slider Revolution's social and native WooCommerce sources, but it is a strong alternative for designed hero sliders.
Pros
- Sliders, carousels, hero scenes and popups in one plugin
- 210+ templates and all add-ons in every licence
- Low annual price or a one-time licence option
- Device-specific layers for separate mobile layouts
- Gutenberg block and Elementor widget
- 200+ slide transitions, Ken Burns and 3D parallax
Cons
- No free WordPress.org version
- No social feed or RSS slide sources
- WooCommerce data only through custom post fields
- One-time licence includes just 6 months of support
Key features
What LayerSlider highlights on its own website, split by version.
Included features From $29/yr
- Sliders, carousels, hero scenes, popups
- 210+ slider and popup templates
- All premium add-ons included
- 200+ slide transitions
- Layer timeline, hover and scroll effects
- Ken Burns and 3D parallax
- YouTube, Vimeo and self-hosted video
- Post sliders and dynamic layers
- Device-specific mobile layouts
- Lazy loading
- Gutenberg block and Elementor widget
- Annual or one-time licences
Feature checklist
18 of 18 features we track in Sliders & Carousels, feature score 97/100
Slide types 6/6
Image slider Key
Slides from images with captions and links.
Image backgrounds and image layers with links on each slide.
Included
Video slides
YouTube, Vimeo or self-hosted video in slides.
YouTube, Vimeo and self-hosted video or audio layers and video backgrounds.
Included
Post & product sliders Key
Slides built automatically from posts, pages or WooCommerce products.
Post sliders built from posts and pages that update automatically.
Included
Carousels Key
Multiple items visible at once, scrolling as a carousel.
Carousel project type is supported.
Included
Layers & free-form editing Key
Text, buttons and images positioned freely as layers on each slide.
Free-form text, image, button, media and dynamic layers.
Included
Hero & full-screen sections
Full-width or full-screen hero sliders and scenes.
Hero scenes and full-size or full-width layouts.
Included
Editing & design 5/5
Visual drag-and-drop editor Key
Edit slides visually with a live preview.
Visual project editor with device view and live preview.
Included
Ready-made templates
Pre-designed slider templates to import.
210+ templates (120+ sliders, 90+ popups) with a licence.
Included
Animations & effects
Transitions, layer animations, Ken Burns or parallax effects.
200+ transitions, transition builder, Ken Burns, parallax and 3D parallax.
Included
Navigation options
Arrows, dots, thumbnails and progress bars.
Dots, thumbnails, bar and circle timers, slidebar and keyboard navigation.
Included
Dynamic content & social feeds
Slides from social feeds, RSS or custom data sources.
Dynamic layers use WordPress posts and custom fields; no social or RSS sources listed.
Partial
Mobile & performance 4/4
Device-specific controls Key
Hide, resize or rearrange layers per device.
Device-specific layers and show/hide by device or screen width.
Included
Touch & swipe
Swipe gestures on phones and tablets.
Tap and swipe gestures to change slides.
Included
Lazy loading & optimisation Key
Lazy-load images and load scripts only where needed.
Lazy loading so assets load only when needed.
Included
SEO-friendly markup
Real HTML text, alt text and headings rather than images only.
Vendor describes output as SEO friendly with real text layers.
Included
Integrations 3/3
Block editor block
A native block for the WordPress block editor.
LayerSlider block for inserting projects in Gutenberg.
Included
Page builder widgets
Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder or similar widgets.
Dedicated Elementor widget and widgets for other popular builders.
Included
WooCommerce product slides
Show prices, add-to-cart buttons or product data in slides.
Docs say WooCommerce data can be pulled via custom post fields; no dedicated product slides.
Partial
Pricing
Personal (annual)
$29per year1 site
Updates, support, all add-ons and templates while active.
Personal (one-time)
$87lifetime1 site
Lifetime updates and 6 months of support.
Professional (annual)
$69per year3 sites
10- and 100-site options offered; prices not shown on the page.
Professional (one-time)
$207lifetime3 sites
Lifetime updates for 3 sites.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 22 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use LayerSlider?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
—
No free version on WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
—
The vendor does not publish a total.
Estimated active installs
~1M
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder layerslider) on 386,702 live sites; the scans reach roughly 38% of WordPress sites, so each site found stands for about 2.6, giving 1M. Likely range: 500K to 2M. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 22 Oct 2026.
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 14-day refund (source, 22 Oct 2026) |
|---|
LayerSlider compared
Alternatives to LayerSlider
Smart Slider 3
Freemium layer-based slider builder by Nextend with a visual editor, templates, post slides and device-specific settings; Pro is a one-time purchase.
97
Depicter
Visual slider, carousel, hero and popup builder from averta with a free-form editor, templates, dynamic posts and per-device editing.
98
MetaSlider
Lightweight freemium slideshow and carousel plugin for images and local video; Pro adds layer, YouTube, post feed and WooCommerce slides.
92
Master Slider
Touch-friendly image and video slider from averta, with a free version on WordPress.org and a one-time-fee Pro version with layers on CodeCanyon.
82
WP Carousel
Carousel and slider plugin by ShapedPlugin for images, posts, WooCommerce products and videos, with blocks, page builder support and lightbox.
76
FAQ
Is LayerSlider free?
No. LayerSlider is a premium plugin. Paid plans start at $29/yr.
How many sites use LayerSlider?
We estimate around 1M active installs.
Does LayerSlider have image slider?
Yes: included. Image backgrounds and image layers with links on each slide.
Does LayerSlider have post & product sliders?
Yes: included. Post sliders built from posts and pages that update automatically.
Does LayerSlider have carousels?
Yes: included. Carousel project type is supported.
Does LayerSlider have layers & free-form editing?
Yes: included. Free-form text, image, button, media and dynamic layers.
Does LayerSlider have visual drag-and-drop editor?
Yes: included. Visual project editor with device view and live preview.
Does LayerSlider have device-specific controls?
Yes: included. Device-specific layers and show/hide by device or screen width.
Does LayerSlider have lazy loading & optimisation?
Yes: included. Lazy loading so assets load only when needed.
Is LayerSlider free?
No. There is no WordPress.org version. Some themes bundle it, but bundled copies do not receive updates, templates, add-ons or support from Kreatura.
Can I buy LayerSlider once instead of yearly?
Yes. Personal and Professional licences are available as a one-time payment with lifetime updates (support limited to six months) or as a yearly subscription.
Can LayerSlider make popups?
Yes. Projects can be popups with their own templates and the Popups add-on, which is included with a licence.
Does it work with the block editor and Elementor?
Yes. It has a LayerSlider block for Gutenberg, a dedicated Elementor widget, and widgets for other popular page builders.
Last updated 22 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.