Elementor vs Smart Slider 3
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Elementor v4.3.5 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.5/5 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 | 10M+ | 800,000+ |
| Last updated | October 13, 2026 | August 19, 2026 |
| Editions | Elementor · Elementor Pro ($) | Smart Slider 3 · Smart Slider 3 Pro ($) |
| Pros | Drag and drop editing with global styles and kit settings; Reusable components and nested layouts; Usage tracking is opt-in and off by default | Visual layer editor with rows and columns; Works with many page builders and themes; Free edition covers core slider types |
| Cons | Forms, theme builder and popups need the Pro edition; Large plugin with many modules and admin screens; Some AI features prompt for upgrade or credits | Premium sliders and templates need Pro; Template import calls the vendor API; Large plugin with many admin screens to learn |
| Mentioned in our posts | 3 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Visual page editor, Kit with global site settings and styles, REST routes for editor documents, Responsive frontend styles, Site editor for templates, Reusable components, Global classes, Nested tabs and accordion widgets, Opt-in usage tracking | 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 | ||
| Social | YouTube and Vimeo | — |
| Plugins | — | Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Advanced Custom Fields, WP Rocket, Rank Math, TablePress |
| Other | Elementor usage tracking API | Smart Slider vendor API (api.nextendweb.com) |
| Requires WordPress | 6.8 | 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 | my.elementor.com, ms-8874.elementor.com, assets.elementor.com, go.elementor.com, elementor.com, api-eu.mixpanel.com, cdn.mxpnl.com, editor.elementor.com, assets.stg.elementor.red, assets.dev.builder.elementor.red, plugins.svn.wordpress.org | fonts.googleapis.com, api.nextendweb.com |
| Blocks | — | 1 |
| Shortcodes | 1 | 2 |