Slider Revolution
Premium visual builder by ThemePunch for animated sliders, carousels and hero sections, with 200+ templates, addons and social or WooCommerce content.
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WP Carousel
Carousel and slider plugin by ShapedPlugin for images, posts, WooCommerce products and videos, with blocks, page builder support and lightbox.
Free installs60K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~15KLikely 9.8K–23K
Vendor claims90K+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.7/5434 reviews
Price from$39/yrFreemium
Last updated28 Oct 2026Version 5.0.1
Overview
WP Carousel by ShapedPlugin is a carousel-first plugin: instead of layered hero scenes, it focuses on rows of images, posts, products or videos that scroll as a carousel, slider, gallery or thumbnail slider. The free version on WordPress.org has 70,000+ active installs and is actively updated, with a major 3.0 release in 2026 that added a block-based workflow, patterns library and lazy loading.
How it works
You create a carousel from images in the media library (drag to reorder, edit captions and alt text), from recent posts, from WooCommerce products or from YouTube videos, then choose layout, columns per device, autoplay, arrows and dots. Version 3.0 adds Carousel, Slider, Thumbnails Slider and Tiles blocks, saved templates and a Ready Patterns library. Carousels can also be placed via shortcode in Elementor, WPBakery, Beaver Builder, Divi, Oxygen and Bricks. A lightbox opens images and videos full size.
Free vs Pro
The free version is unusually complete for carousels: image, post, product and YouTube carousels, responsive columns, touch swipe and mouse drag, lightbox and block support. WP Carousel Pro adds custom content slides (text, HTML, shortcodes), more video sources (Vimeo, TikTok, Twitch, Wistia, Dailymotion and self-hosted MP4/WebM), pages, custom post types and taxonomy filters. Pro is $39/year for one site, $99 for five and $199 for unlimited sites, with lifetime licences also offered.
Strengths and limitations
- Strength: post and WooCommerce product carousels with price and add-to-cart in the free version.
- Strength: native blocks plus broad page builder compatibility.
- Strength: lifetime licence option.
- Limitation: not a layer slider; no free-positioned text layers or animated hero scenes.
- Limitation: transition choice is limited compared with animation-led sliders.
WP Carousel is a strong pick for logo rows, product and post carousels or image galleries. If you need cinematic full-screen hero sliders, pair it with or choose a layer-based builder instead.
Best for: Sites that need image, post, product or logo carousels rather than animated hero sliders.
WP Carousel is a focused, well-maintained carousel plugin with a free version that already covers posts and WooCommerce products. It is not a layer slider, but for carousels it offers good value and solid builder compatibility.
Pros
- Post and WooCommerce product carousels in the free version
- Responsive columns per device and touch/mouse drag
- Native blocks including a Thumbnails Slider
- Works with Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, Beaver Builder, Oxygen and Bricks
- Lightbox and lazy loading included
- Lifetime licence option
Cons
- No layers or animated hero scenes
- Only YouTube video in the free version
- Limited transition effects
- Custom content slides need Pro
Key features
What WP Carousel highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Image carousels, sliders and galleries
- Recent posts carousel
- WooCommerce product carousel with add to cart
- YouTube video carousel
- Lightbox for images and videos
- Responsive columns per device
- Touch swipe and mouse drag
- Arrows and dots styling
- Carousel, Slider, Thumbnails and Tiles blocks
- Ready patterns and saved templates
- Lazy loading for images
- Works with major page builders
Pro / paid adds From $39/yr
- Custom content slides (text, HTML, shortcodes)
- Vimeo, Wistia, TikTok and Twitch videos
- Self-hosted MP4 and WebM video
- Pages and custom post types
- Taxonomy and custom taxonomy filters
- Lifetime licence option
- Priority support on Unlimited plan
Feature checklist
15 of 18 features we track in Sliders & Carousels, feature score 76/100
Slide types 4/6
Image slider Key
Slides from images with captions and links.
Image carousels and sliders with captions, alt text and links.
Included
Video slides
YouTube, Vimeo or self-hosted video in slides.
YouTube in free; Vimeo, Wistia, TikTok, Twitch and self-hosted video in Pro.
Included
Post & product sliders Key
Slides built automatically from posts, pages or WooCommerce products.
Recent posts and WooCommerce products free; pages, CPTs and taxonomy filters in Pro.
Included
Carousels Key
Multiple items visible at once, scrolling as a carousel.
Multi-column carousels are the core feature.
Included
Layers & free-form editing Key
Text, buttons and images positioned freely as layers on each slide.
No free-positioned layer editor; Pro content slides use text/HTML blocks instead.
Not included
Hero & full-screen sections
Full-width or full-screen hero sliders and scenes.
No full-screen or hero mode documented.
Not verified
Editing & design 4/5
Visual drag-and-drop editor Key
Edit slides visually with a live preview.
Settings panels with live preview and block previews, not a free-form canvas.
Partial
Ready-made templates
Pre-designed slider templates to import.
Ready Patterns library and saved templates added in version 3.0.
Included
Animations & effects
Transitions, layer animations, Ken Burns or parallax effects.
Slide, flip and centre modes; no Ken Burns, parallax or layer animations.
Partial
Navigation options
Arrows, dots, thumbnails and progress bars.
Styled arrows and dots plus a Thumbnails Slider block.
Included
Dynamic content & social feeds
Slides from social feeds, RSS or custom data sources.
Sources are images, posts, products and videos; no social or RSS feed sources listed.
Not included
Mobile & performance 4/4
Device-specific controls Key
Hide, resize or rearrange layers per device.
Columns and spacing per device and hide navigation on mobile; no per-layer controls.
Partial
Touch & swipe
Swipe gestures on phones and tablets.
Touch swipe and mouse drag supported.
Included
Lazy loading & optimisation Key
Lazy-load images and load scripts only where needed.
Lazy-loading option for images added in version 3.0.
Included
SEO-friendly markup
Real HTML text, alt text and headings rather than images only.
Real img tags with editable alt text, titles and captions.
Included
Integrations 3/3
Block editor block
A native block for the WordPress block editor.
Carousel, Slider, Thumbnails Slider and Tiles blocks.
Included
Page builder widgets
Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder or similar widgets.
Elementor, WPBakery, Beaver Builder, Divi, Oxygen and Bricks support listed.
Included
WooCommerce product slides
Show prices, add-to-cart buttons or product data in slides.
Product carousels with price, rating and add-to-cart button in free.
Included
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Free
Freeper yearUnlimited
WP Carousel (Lite) on WordPress.org.
Single Site
$39per year1 site
1 year of updates and support.
Five Sites
$99per year5 sites
1 year of updates and support.
Unlimited Sites
$199per yearUnlimited
Priority support.
Single Site Lifetime
$278lifetime1 site
Shown at $139 with a 50% lifetime discount code; 5-site $478 and unlimited $798 lifetime also offered.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 22 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use WP Carousel?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
60K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
90K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~15K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder wp-carousel-pro) on 2,652 live sites; they find the free version on 11,184 sites against about 65K WordPress.org installs, so each site found stands for about 5.8, giving 15K. About 65K free installs x 8% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when some key features are paid) gives 5.2K. Combining these (weighted average) gives about 13K. The vendor claims 90K+ sites in total. Taking away about 65K free installs leaves 25K, and 80% of that is 20K. Vendor totals are loose, so we only move our figure part of the way toward it, from 13K to 15K. Likely range: 9.8K to 23K. 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.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
46,819 downloads last week, 2.3M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 5.0.1 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 28 Oct 2026 (6 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 5.0+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 2 of 2 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 30 Jul 2014 |
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back (source, 22 Oct 2026) |
|---|
WP Carousel compared
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FAQ
Is WP Carousel free?
Yes. WP Carousel has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $39/yr.
How many sites use WP Carousel?
WordPress.org reports 60K+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 90K+ sites in total. We estimate around 15K sites run the paid version.
Does WP Carousel have image slider?
Yes: included. Image carousels and sliders with captions, alt text and links.
Does WP Carousel have post & product sliders?
Yes: included. Recent posts and WooCommerce products free; pages, CPTs and taxonomy filters in Pro.
Does WP Carousel have carousels?
Yes: included. Multi-column carousels are the core feature.
Does WP Carousel have layers & free-form editing?
No: not included. No free-positioned layer editor; Pro content slides use text/HTML blocks instead.
Does WP Carousel have visual drag-and-drop editor?
Yes: partial. Settings panels with live preview and block previews, not a free-form canvas.
Does WP Carousel have device-specific controls?
Yes: partial. Columns and spacing per device and hide navigation on mobile; no per-layer controls.
Does WP Carousel have lazy loading & optimisation?
Yes: included. Lazy-loading option for images added in version 3.0.
Is WP Carousel free?
Yes. The free version covers image, recent post, WooCommerce product and YouTube carousels with lightbox and blocks. Pro adds custom content, more video sources and custom post types.
How much is WP Carousel Pro?
$39/year for one site, $99 for five and $199 for unlimited sites; lifetime licences are also sold.
Can WP Carousel build hero sliders with text layers?
Not in the layer-slider sense. It shows images, posts, products or videos with captions; it has no free-positioned animated layers.
Does it work with Elementor and Divi?
Yes, the plugin lists Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, Beaver Builder, Oxygen and Bricks support alongside native blocks.
Last updated 22 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.