Smart Slider 3 vs Spectra Legacy
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Smart Slider 3 v3.5.1.39 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details | Spectra Legacy v2.20.5 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 800,000+ | 1M+ |
| Last updated | August 19, 2026 | October 9, 2026 |
| Editions | Smart Slider 3 · Smart Slider 3 Pro ($) | Spectra Legacy · Spectra Legacy Pro ($) |
| Pros | Visual layer editor with rows and columns; Works with many page builders and themes; Free edition covers core slider types | Large free set of content blocks for the block editor; Popup builder and starter template library included in the free code; Styling blocks for Contact Form 7 and Gravity Forms |
| Cons | Premium sliders and templates need Pro; Template import calls the vendor API; Large plugin with many admin screens to learn | Receives security and compatibility fixes only, with no new features; AI and template features depend on a credit-based ZipWP service |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | — |
| More features | ||
| Other features | 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 ($), Pro updater referenced by the free code ($) | Free content block library (post grid, FAQ, gallery, timeline and more), Popup builder with a spectra-popup post type, Styler blocks for Contact Form 7 and Gravity Forms, Block template library fetched from a remote templates server, AI content generation through Zip AI (credit-based), Google reCAPTCHA keys for form blocks, Upgrade prompts for Spectra Legacy Pro ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | — | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Advanced Custom Fields, WP Rocket, Rank Math, TablePress | Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms |
| Other | Smart Slider vendor API (api.nextendweb.com) | Google reCAPTCHA, ZipWP, Spectra credit server |
| Requires WordPress | 5.0 | 5.6 |
| Requires PHP | 7.0 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.0.2 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | Only if you agree |
| External services | fonts.googleapis.com, api.nextendweb.com | api.zipwp.com, credits.startertemplates.com, app.zipwp.com, websitedemos.net, metrics.brainstormforce.com |
| Blocks | 1 | 17 |
| Shortcodes | 2 | 1 |