Starter Templates vs Smart Slider 3
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Starter Templates v4.7.9 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details | Smart Slider 3 v3.5.1.39 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 1M+ | 800,000+ |
| Last updated | October 20, 2026 | August 19, 2026 |
| Editions | Starter Templates · Essential and Business Toolkits ($) | Smart Slider 3 · Smart Slider 3 Pro ($) |
| Pros | Large library of free website and section templates; Works with Elementor, Spectra, Beaver Builder and the block editor; Onboarding installs the needed plugins | Visual layer editor with rows and columns; Works with many page builders and themes; Free edition covers core slider types |
| Cons | Premium templates need a toolkit licence key; AI builder and image features call external services | Premium sliders and templates need Pro; Template import calls the vendor API; Large plugin with many admin screens to learn |
| Mentioned in our posts | — | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Full website template import, Import of site options from a template, AI website builder, Plugin install and activation during onboarding, Licence check for premium templates ($) | Import sliders and templates from the vendor API, Find sliders used on a page by URL, Google Fonts CSS fetched and cached locally, Premium sliders need a Pro licence ($), Pro updater referenced by the free code ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Plugins | Elementor | Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Advanced Custom Fields, WP Rocket, Rank Math, TablePress |
| Other | ZipWP API | Smart Slider vendor API (api.nextendweb.com) |
| Requires WordPress | 6.6 | 5.0 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.0.2 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | No |
| External services | api.zipwp.com, fonts.googleapis.com, ipwho.is, api.ipify.org, credits.startertemplates.com, app.zipwp.com, websitedemos.net | fonts.googleapis.com, api.nextendweb.com |
| Blocks | 1 | 1 |
| Shortcodes | — | 2 |