WordPress Slider Plugins Comparison

Updated For 2015
This comparison is regularly updated to help you find the best plugins of 2015!
Last update on: 13.1.2015
Contents

  1. Search And Find
  2. Feature Comparison Chart
  3. Instructions And Suggestions
  4. Corrections And Comments

Welcome to the best comparison of the best slider plugins for WordPress! Let me help you find the cheapest WordPress slider plugin that is perfect for your specific requirements and budget!

To get started simply enter which features you will definitely need from your slider plugin in the form below. After pressing “Compare Now” you will instantly get your individual comparison results and can see the top alternatives that offer all the features you require at the best price! Go here for more details on how to use this comparison.

Search And Find A Great WordPress Slider Plugin

Get Individual Results

How many blogs do you own?
What features do you need?

General Slider Features:
Image Sources:

Top Slider Plugins, ordered by

The Big Slider Plugin Feature Comparison Chart

The search form above is meant to give you a personalized comparison and let you compare prices of the different image slider plugins. The chart below on the other hand is meant to give you a quick overview over which kind of features you can find in all of the slider plugin alternatives. If you find this huge table too confusing you can also use my heads up comparisons between two specific WordPress slider plugins instead.

Features marked with free in the chart are available in the free version of the plugin. Features marked with addon are sold as a separate extension. Hover over the text to see the starting price of the extension.

Soliloquy SlideDeck Slider Revolution LayerSlider RoyalSlider Slider PRO
Listing Data Verified?
General Slider Features
Theme Presets
Visual Editor
Responsive Design
Lazy Load Images
Thumbnail Navigation
Lightbox
Import / Export
Pinterest Sharing
Video Slides
Soliloquy SlideDeck Slider Revolution LayerSlider RoyalSlider Slider PRO
WordPress Media Upload
Dynamic Display of Posts / Pages
Instagram
Facebook
Google+
Flickr
NextGen Gallery
WordPress galleries
500px
Pinterest

Instructions, Recommendations And Ressources

A Short Intro To Choosing A Slider Plugin

Image sliders are a feature that is very commonly seen in webdesign and on WordPress blogs nowadays. They can be used to showcase photos or make your important content stand out. Many of the slider plugins compared here can do much more even – including displaying videos or dynamically generate slider content.

You will find that all of the slider plugins in this comparison share the same basic feature set: All have responsive designs, lazy-load images to improve site speed and come with a visual slider editor that boasts many presets and possible effects for image transitions. To differentiate themselves from the pack many slider plugins have added integrations with popular image sites and gallery plugins, allowing you to easily import images to use in your sliders. Another difference: Performance! Some sliders do simply load faster than others. This is an aspect that is not part of this comparison, but follow the link below to Chris Lema’s performance comparison to learn more about the differences.

It is also worth to note that a lot of people have the opinion (and often data to back it up!) that sliders are bad in general and will hurt both your conversions and SEO rankings. I won’t go into that here but you can take a look at this post by Yoast to learn about the arguments and find links to several studies.

Other Factors To Consider In Your Choice

There are of course many other factors you should consider in your choice of a image slider plugin which are not part of this comparison because they are either highly subjective or hard to track. For example:

  • Is the plugin easy to use? To answer this question download a demo or free version (if available) to get a closer feel for how the plugin works.
  • How good is the plugin interface? Try watching some Youtube videos of each WordPress slider plugin in action to get an idea what the admin area looks like.
  • Is the support fast and helpful? Consider just getting in touch and asking some questions before your purchase to see what kind of answer you get.
  • Is the plugin updated regularly? Check if they post about new version releases on their website. For products with a free version in the WP plugin directory you can browse the changelog there.

Links

Want to continue your research to find the best slider plugin? See below for some links to more good comparisons created by other WordPress bloggers. Have a link you think I should add here? Let me know in the comments!

Finally I want to stress that this image slider plugin comparison only compares prices and features as reported by the developers. It can not tell you whether those features actually work or in which WordPress slider plugin they work better. I recommend you use my comparison as a starting point in your search for the best WP slider plugin and then try some of the top choices yourself!

How To Use This Slider Plugin Comparison

Using this comparison is very easy, certainly easier than actually choosing one of the slider plugins! In the form at the top of the page enter which features you will definitely need from the image slider plugin of your choice by checking the boxes next to each feature. Because many WordPress slider plugins increase in price depending on your number of sites you should also select on how many blogs you intend to use the plugin with the dropdown box.

After clicking the “Compare Now” button the top slider plugins based on your requirements are shown on the right side. By default the results are ordered by how well they match the features you have searched for. You can change that with the “Order results by” dropdown, e.g. to display the cheapest image slider plugins in front.

What the results mean: Each compared product is shown in a blue box that contains the following information:

  • Features: This comparison tracks a number of features that are commonly found in the best WordPress slider plugins. The number next to each alternative shows you how many out of all those features you can find in this particular product. Features are listed as reported by the developers.
  • Missing Features: This will only show up if a WordPress slider plugin does not offer all the features you need (defined by your selection in the comparison search form). All products are displayed regardless of how many features they are missing with the best matches listed higher.
  • Price: The price as calculated for your number of blogs and required features. The goal is to show you the exact cost you can expect when deciding to purchase one of the alternatives in order to help you find the cheapest image slider plugin possible.
    All prices are as listed on the developers websites. Bulk or automatic discounts are factored in if available. There can be minor variations due to rounding errors. If you find a product has changed their prices please report it so I can keep the list updated.
  • Reviews: This section lists the average rating of the plugin given by WPscoop users. If available the average rating from the WordPress.org plugin directory or the CodeCanyon marketplace is also listed.
  • Download / Order Link: Many of the products compared here offer you a way to test their service for free. Some offer a basic plugin for free, others a demo on their website or a refund period. You will find the details next to each plugin. If possible I recommend you try and test any WordPress slider plugin yourself before buying.

Suggestions And Corrections Welcome!

All the data about prices and features is coming directly from the developers. I want this comparison to be an objective starting point in your search for a great WP slider plugin. Because of that it only contains hard facts and no subjective verdict by myself.

Since most WordPress products are regularly updated and prices get changed often I need your help to keep this comparison up to date! If you spot an outdated price, find an error or notice that a feature was added to one of the slider plugins please leave a comment so that I can update the article. Thank you!

Which image slider plugin do you like best? Is there another plugin alternative I should add to this comparison? Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments below. If you wish you can also contact me directly!

About Thomas Höfter

I am a WordPress plugin developer from Germany. Some might know me from my WP Robot plugin or one of my free plugins but most don't know me at all. To change that you can write me a message or find me on Google+.

10 Comments


  1. Hello, I need an animated slider responsive plugin for my wordpress site. I am using regular slider on my site but I want animated kindly share link if you have and using on somewhere. I will be very thankful to you. Regards,


  2. Thomas, thanks for such a magnificent set of slider plugins!
    I also strong recommend to take a look at following plugin https://wordpress.org/plugins/motopress-slider-lite/
    I believe that you will be impressed with all the benefits you will get even using Lite version. Good luck to you all!


  3. I would like to suggest you to try a responsive plugin Named “Avartan Slider”
    It has a great feature some of are listed below,
    ~ Fully Responsive Slider Plugin
    ~ Add Unlimited Image Slides Into Single Slider
    ~ Multiple Slide Uploader
    ~ Third Party Video Integration
    ~ Default Loader, Navigation and Shadow Selections
    This is available in Lite and Pro version.
    Check it out : https://wordpress.org/plugins/avartan-slider-lite/

    I hope you will love it.


  4. Very comprehensive comparison. Thank you! I am personally using Master Slider but I would love one that that grab 1 or 2 youtube videos based on keywords. 😀


  5. Do you by chance know if it is possible to add formated text over the slides (images) in Soliloquy? In Slider Revolution this is possible and this would be a criteria to replace Slider Revolution with Soliloquy.

    Thanks in advance,

    Boris


    1. Hi Boris,
      unfortunately I don’t know that. Best try contacting the developer of Soliloquy directly with that.


  6. Hey Thomas! Great job with the comparison. How about Master Slider on CodeCanyon? Also, could you do a comparison on

    1) Which slider is compatible with WooCommerce?
    2) Loading speed for sliders (just like how Chris Lema did his comparison test)

    🙂

    Cheers!

    Leo


    1. Thanks for the comment, I will have a look at Master Slider. For now I will leave the comparisons like they are, with a focus on feature and price comparisons. When I add user reviews soon I hope those can add some other details like experience with loading speeds.


  7. Thanks for pulling this together! I’d love it if this comparison also reported whether or not each slider plugin supports Retina/HD/@2x images.


    1. Thanks for the suggestion Sarah! Support for Retina is a good idea and I will look into adding that with he next update to the comparison.

Comments are closed.