Essential Blocks vs Smart Slider 3
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Essential Blocks v6.5.1 · 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 | 200,000+ | 800,000+ |
| Last updated | October 19, 2026 | August 19, 2026 |
| Editions | Essential Blocks · Essential Blocks Pro ($) | Smart Slider 3 · Smart Slider 3 Pro ($) |
| Pros | Large block library with patterns for the block editor; WooCommerce product grid and add-to-cart blocks; Works within the standard WordPress block editor | Visual layer editor with rows and columns; Works with many page builders and themes; Free edition covers core slider types |
| Cons | Several blocks and features are marked PRO; Feed and AI blocks call third-party services and need keys or accounts | 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 | Block library registered from block.json files, WooCommerce product grid and add-to-cart blocks, Fluent Forms block, NFT gallery block fed by OpenSea, Openverse image search block, AI features through an OpenAI API key, Pro-only blocks and conditions flagged is_pro ($) | Import sliders and templates from the vendor API, Find sliders used on a page by URL, Google Fonts CSS fetched and cached locally, Premium sliders need a Pro licence ($), Pro updater referenced by the free code ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Analytics | WP Insights usage tracker (opt-in) | — |
| Social | Facebook Graph API, Instagram Graph API | — |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | — |
| Plugins | Fluent Forms | Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Advanced Custom Fields, WP Rocket, Rank Math, TablePress |
| Other | Google Maps API, OpenSea API, Openverse API, OpenAI API, Templately | Smart Slider vendor API (api.nextendweb.com) |
| Requires WordPress | 5.8 | 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 | graph.facebook.com, graph.instagram.com, maps.googleapis.com, app.templately.com, api.opensea.io, api.openverse.org, api.openai.com, send.wpinsight.com | fonts.googleapis.com, api.nextendweb.com |
| Blocks | 60 | 1 |
| Shortcodes | — | 2 |