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
Slider Revolution
Premium visual builder by ThemePunch for animated sliders, carousels and hero sections, with 200+ templates, addons and social or WooCommerce content.
Est. active installs~5.8MLikely 2.9M–12M
Vendor claims9M+Vendor's own figure
Price from$45/yrPremium
Overview
Slider Revolution from ThemePunch is one of the longest-running premium slider plugins for WordPress. It started as a CodeCanyon item and is bundled with a very large number of ThemeForest themes, which is why it appears on so many sites. It is not listed on WordPress.org; licences are sold on the vendor’s own site.
Projects are called modules and come in slider, carousel and hero types. Each slide is a canvas where you place text, images, buttons, shapes, video and audio layers, then animate them on a timeline. Navigation options include arrows, bullets, tabs, thumbnails and a scrubber, and the touch settings control swipe and drag separately for mobile and desktop. Layers can be switched off per device (desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile) or hidden below a chosen browser width.
Content and integrations
Modules can be filled automatically from blog posts, WooCommerce products (with price, rating and add-to-cart), or social sources such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo and Flickr. You add modules with the Slider Revolution Gutenberg block, a dedicated Elementor widget, a shortcode or PHP. Lazy loading can be set per module (all, smart or single).
Licensing
Direct licences are annual: Starter for one site, Enthusiast for three and Scale for up to 250. All tiers include the same features: 200+ templates, 30+ addons, the element library, updates, ticket support and AI credits for image and text generation. Copies bundled with themes are limited and do not get templates, addons, AI or direct support unless you buy your own licence.
Limitations
- No free WordPress.org version, and the old one-time licence has been retired.
- Rich features mean heavier scripts and a steep learning curve compared with simple carousel plugins.
- Layers use custom tags by default; headings need their HTML tag changed manually for SEO.
Slider Revolution suits designers and agencies who want animated, template-driven hero sections and are comfortable with a dense editor.
Best for: Designers and agencies building animated, template-based hero sections and content sliders across many sites.
Slider Revolution remains one of the most feature-rich slider builders, with templates, addons and dynamic sources included in every licence. It is overkill and comparatively heavy for basic slideshows, and there is no free version to start with.
Pros
- Very wide feature set: sliders, carousels and hero modules
- 200+ templates and 30+ addons in every licence
- Posts, WooCommerce and social media sources built in
- Per-device layer visibility and detailed touch settings
- Gutenberg block and dedicated Elementor widget
- Scale plan is cheap per site for agencies
Cons
- No free WordPress.org version; annual licence only
- Steep learning curve for simple slideshows
- Heavier front-end output than lightweight sliders
- Theme-bundled copies lack templates, addons and direct support
Key features
What Slider Revolution highlights on its own website, split by version.
Included features From $45/yr
- Slider, carousel and hero module types
- Visual editor with layer timeline
- 200+ ready-made templates
- 30+ addons included
- 2,000+ element library items
- Posts and WooCommerce product sources
- Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr feeds
- Arrows, bullets, tabs, thumbnails, scrubber
- Per-device layer visibility
- Lazy loading modes per module
- Gutenberg block and Elementor widget
- AI image and text generation credits
Feature checklist
18 of 18 features we track in Sliders & Carousels, feature score 98/100
Slide types 6/6
Image slider Key
Slides from images with captions and links.
Image backgrounds and image layers with links on every slide.
Included
Video slides
YouTube, Vimeo or self-hosted video in slides.
Video and audio layers and video backgrounds, including YouTube and Vimeo.
Included
Post & product sliders Key
Slides built automatically from posts, pages or WooCommerce products.
Modules can populate automatically from blog posts by category.
Included
Carousels Key
Multiple items visible at once, scrolling as a carousel.
Carousel module type with its own drag and swipe settings.
Included
Layers & free-form editing Key
Text, buttons and images positioned freely as layers on each slide.
Text, image, button, shape and media layers placed freely on each slide.
Included
Hero & full-screen sections
Full-width or full-screen hero sliders and scenes.
Hero module type and full-width or full-screen layouts.
Included
Editing & design 5/5
Visual drag-and-drop editor Key
Edit slides visually with a live preview.
Visual, no-code module editor with responsive editing.
Included
Ready-made templates
Pre-designed slider templates to import.
200+ templates included in every licence.
Included
Animations & effects
Transitions, layer animations, Ken Burns or parallax effects.
Layer animation timeline, slide transitions, Ken Burns and parallax effects.
Included
Navigation options
Arrows, dots, thumbnails and progress bars.
Arrows, bullets, tabs, thumbnails and a scrubber progress control.
Included
Dynamic content & social feeds
Slides from social feeds, RSS or custom data sources.
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo and Flickr sources besides posts.
Included
Mobile & performance 4/4
Device-specific controls Key
Hide, resize or rearrange layers per device.
Per-device layer toggles plus hide-under-width rules.
Included
Touch & swipe
Swipe gestures on phones and tablets.
Swipe and carousel drag toggles for mobile and desktop, direction and sensitivity.
Included
Lazy loading & optimisation Key
Lazy-load images and load scripts only where needed.
Per-module lazy loading: all, smart or single slide.
Included
SEO-friendly markup
Real HTML text, alt text and headings rather than images only.
Text layers are HTML, but default custom tags must be switched to h1-h6 manually.
Partial
Integrations 3/3
Block editor block
A native block for the WordPress block editor.
Slider Revolution block for posts and pages.
Included
Page builder widgets
Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder or similar widgets.
Dedicated Elementor widget; other builders via shortcode.
Included
WooCommerce product slides
Show prices, add-to-cart buttons or product data in slides.
Product slides with price, sale price, rating and add-to-cart button.
Included
Pricing
Starter
$45per year1 site
Shown as $3.75/mo billed annually; includes 50 AI credits. Some regions see the same figures in EUR.
Enthusiast
$89per year3 sites
Billed annually; 150 AI credits.
Scale
$209per year250 sites
Up to 250 sites with fair-use activation limits; 2,500 AI credits.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 22 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Slider Revolution?
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
9M+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated active installs
~5.8M
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder revslider) on 2,028,930 live sites; the scans reach roughly 38% of WordPress sites, so each site found stands for about 2.6, giving 5.3M. The vendor says 9M+ sites use it, and 80% of that is 7.2M. Vendor totals are loose, so we only move our figure part of the way toward it, from 5.3M to 5.8M. Likely range: 2.9M to 12M. 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.
Slider Revolution compared
Alternatives to Slider Revolution
Depicter
Visual slider, carousel, hero and popup builder from averta with a free-form editor, templates, dynamic posts and per-device editing.
98
LayerSlider
Premium animation builder by Kreatura for layered sliders, carousels, hero scenes and popups, with 210+ templates and a choice of annual or…
97
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 Slider Revolution free?
No. Slider Revolution is a premium plugin. Paid plans start at $45/yr.
How many sites use Slider Revolution?
The vendor claims 9M+ sites in total. We estimate around 5.8M active installs.
Does Slider Revolution have image slider?
Yes: included. Image backgrounds and image layers with links on every slide.
Does Slider Revolution have post & product sliders?
Yes: included. Modules can populate automatically from blog posts by category.
Does Slider Revolution have carousels?
Yes: included. Carousel module type with its own drag and swipe settings.
Does Slider Revolution have layers & free-form editing?
Yes: included. Text, image, button, shape and media layers placed freely on each slide.
Does Slider Revolution have visual drag-and-drop editor?
Yes: included. Visual, no-code module editor with responsive editing.
Does Slider Revolution have device-specific controls?
Yes: included. Per-device layer toggles plus hide-under-width rules.
Does Slider Revolution have lazy loading & optimisation?
Yes: included. Per-module lazy loading: all, smart or single slide.
Is there a free version of Slider Revolution?
Not on WordPress.org. Many themes bundle a copy, but bundled installs are limited and do not include templates, addons, AI features or direct support unless you buy a licence.
Do all plans include the same features?
Yes. Starter, Enthusiast and Scale differ by number of sites and AI credits; templates, addons, updates and support are in all of them.
Can it show WooCommerce products?
Yes. Modules can populate from chosen product categories and show the name, image, price, sale price, rating and an add-to-cart button.
How do I add a slider to a page?
Use the Slider Revolution block in the block editor, the Elementor widget, a shortcode, or the PHP embed code in a theme template.
Last updated 22 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.