With the help of a WordPress slider plugin you can not only make your website more appealing, but also ensure more interaction with your users. In such a modern slider, you can also integrate many different formats such as videos, product reviews, images, PDF or other content. In this article, I would like to introduce you to what I consider to be the eight best sliders Plugins. 

What do you have to consider with slider plugins?

As already mentioned, sliders or picture galleries are a great way to present an attractive website to your visitors. However, before you install a slider Plugin in WordPress , you should carefully check whether it fulfils all your requirements and meets your needs.

Three decisive factors for choosing a good slider plugin include: 

• the speed
• the responsive design
• the user-friendliness

Speed is a big problem with many WordPress sliders plugins. As soon as the sliders are used, they slow down the loading time so much that it can have a negative impact on search engine optimization. 

The reason for this is often the large range of functions of the slider plugins, which, depending on the server, can take up a large part of the capacity - as well as non-optimized images and videos. To be on the safe side here, I will go into this topic in more detail later in this article. 

All WordPress slider plugins presented here are also responsive and basically offer an easy-to-use user interface. 

Eight Popular WordPress Slider Plugins in Comparison

MetaSlider

MetaSlider is an easy-to-use slider Plugin for WordPress. It allows you to set up video sliders, thumbnail navigations, gallery carousels and much more with just a few clicks. 

Within individual sliders or galleries, different styles or themes can be selected. You also get many different templates that you can select with just one click. Images in MetaSlider can also be easily optimized for SEO via image titles and captions as well as alternative texts. 

The gallery plugin is also characterized by its editing tools. You can also adjust already uploaded images to the desired size with plugin.

Features of MetaSlider at a glance: 

• Simple slider builder
• Gutenberg ready
• Designed for desktop & mobile
• All content types (images, videos, products, etc.)
• Carousel
• SEO optimized
• Thumbnail navigation
• Intelligent cropping of images
• Slider designs
• Slider themes
• Live theme editor
• Integration into other plugins
• Unsplash integration

The costs of Metaslider

MetaSlider is available in both a free and a premium version. In the premium packages, however, you can choose from a variety of additional features. These include the animated layer slider, the theme editor and the post feed slides. 

The individual premium packages of MetaSlider differ only in the number of websites to be used. The range of functions is the same in each package. 

Slider Revolution

Slider Revolution is one of the most installed slider plugins on the market. The plugin has a unique visual editor with which sliders and galleries can be created quickly and easily. It also has many high-quality design elements and numerous templates. 

For a WordPress beginner, Slider Revolution can quickly be too much of a good thing. The plugin offers an incredible number of possibilities and is aimed more at users who want to integrate the tool into their website on their own and need many features. This makes the tool probably the best option for web developers. Of course, you can also use Slider Revolution as a beginner, you just have to invest more time in getting to know it. 

Features of Slider Revolution at a glance: 

• Ultimate WordPress Visual Editor
• Professional designs
• Animation effects
• Website transitions
• Numerous add-ons for additional features
• Modules (sliders, carousels, dynamic sources, special effects)
• Submissions

The costs of Slider Revolution

Slider Revolution is only available in a premium version, which comes in three different packages. With annual payment, the price starts at €29 for one website.

Here, too, the premium packages differ only in the number of websites. All functions are fully available in each package. 

MasterSlider

MasterSlider differs from all other WordPress sliders plugins in its designs and styles. Already when visiting the website, one notices the "elegance" that is supposed to be suggested. But in fact this also becomes clear when using the plugins. The slider plugin offers very functional and modern templates for every imaginable industry. 

MasterSlider offers its users a very wide range of functions. This includes, among other things, the drag and drop builder, animations and the so-called layer slider. In addition, images can also be optimized for SEO via the title and alternative texts. 

MasterSlider features at a glance: 

• Drag and drop
• Real time preview
• Visual style editor
• Editor for visual transitions
• Object orientation
• Level positions
• Buttons editor
• Parallax effects
• Style sheets
• SEO optimized

The costs of MasterSlider

MasterSlider is available as a premium version and also as a free version plugin. In contrast to the free version, the premium version offers numerous additional functions such as 90 additional premium sliders, video layers, hotspot and tooltips, Facebook slider, post slider, WooCommerce slider and much more. The so-called WordPress pro edition is available for a price of $34. 

The great thing about it is that you can use the pro licence on as many websites as you like. So there are no restrictions here. 

LayerSlider

LayerSlider is another very powerful slider plugin, which is similar to Slider Revolution plugin in terms of its appearance and range of functions. With LayerSlider, high-quality picture galleries - including corresponding effects - can be created. For this purpose, the plugin has over 200 templates and up to 19 different styles.

LayerSlider also has an easy-to-use drag and drop editor with which elements can be easily added or removed. Images can also be edited again directly in the plugin itself. With its animations and parallax effects, it offers numerous functions for creating beautiful galleries and sliders. 

Features of LayerSlider at a glance: 

• Drag and drop
• More than 200 templates
• 8 layout modes
• 19 integrated styles
• Post slider
• Builder for visual transitions
• Special effects
• Google Fonts
• Symbols and SVG
• Layer slider builder / editor
• Image editing
• Layer lists
• Slider
• Pop-up editor
• Animations
• 3D parallax

The costs of LayerSlider

LayerSlider is only available as a paid version. You can choose from three different packages. The "Personal" license for one website can be purchased here at a starting price of $25. 

The individual licenses differ mainly in the scope of the websites that can be used. There are, however, a few differences, which essentially do not relate to the scope of functions. 

RoyalSlider

Unlike all the other WordPress sliders presented here, the RoyalSliderplugin is very limited to the actual slider and gallery function. It therefore does not offer any third-party integrations or anything else like that. Nevertheless, the slider plugin is one of the best-selling. 

It offers numerous customization options, animation effects and also transitions. It also supports the integration of YouTube, Vimeo or Flickr images. A very useful feature is the lazy loading function, which has a positive effect on search engine optimization. 

Features of RoyalSlider at a glance: 

• SEO optimized
• Content slider
• Video gallery
• Picture gallery
• Multi gallery
• Animated blocks
• Full width slider
• Lightbox
• Vertical galleries
• Vertical slider
• Templates and styles

The costs of RoyalSlider

RoyalSlider can be purchased via the Codecanyon marketplace. The "Regular License" costs $24 here.  

The licence includes all functions of the slider Plugins and can be used on a website. 

SmartSlider

SmartSlider is probably one of the best-performing and most powerful of the WordPress slider plugins. What stands out immediately is that this plugin looks absolutely "clean" and was built for responsive websites. It is not only SEO optimized, but also offers you an incredible number of functions. 

SmartSlider offers a user-friendly interface, responsive elements, templates and styles that can be used with just a few clicks. The drag and drop editor also makes working much easier when it comes to adding or removing elements. 

SmartSlider also offers a lazy loading function and is compatible with a wide range of page builders such as Elementor compatible. 

Features of SmartSliders at a glance: 

• Drag and drop
• Submissions 
• 180+ templates
• Dynamic contents
• 24 Layers
• SEO optimized
• Lazy loading
• Pagebuilder compatible
• Lightbox
• Flexbox
• WebP
• Animations
• Parallax effect
• Timeline
• Various third-party integrations

The costs of SmartSlider

The WordPress slider plugin SmartSlider is available in three different packages, including a free version. In addition to the free licence, you can choose from two premium licences, which have significantly more functions. 

The standard package is suitable for one website and costs €44. If you want to use this plugin on more than one website, you can choose between three, five or ten websites in the premium package. 

Slider by 10Web

With the Slider by 10web Plugin you can quickly and easily create sliders with strong animation and effects. In addition to an integration for YouTube and Vimeo, which can be integrated directly into the slider, the slider plugin offers over 23 effects as well as a carousel and parallax slider. 

Like some other plugins presented here, Slider by 10web is also a powerful tool in terms of search engine optimization and is correspondingly SEO-optimized. With the drag and drop editor, elements can be moved back and forth and sliders can be created, which of course can also be provided with transition effects. The special feature: The plugin also supports devices with touch screens. 

Features of Slider by 10web at a glance: 

• Drag and drop
• Video slider
• Responsive / mobile-friendly
• Carousel Slider
• Full width slider
• Parallax Slider
• Customizable layers
• Post slider
• SEO optimized
• Google Fonts
• Transition effects

The costs of Slider by 10Web

Slider by 10web is also available in a limited version as a free plugin. However, if you would like to make use of significantly more functions, various premium packages are available. The "Basic" licence starts at $20.

Here, too, the premium licenses differ only in the number of websites that can be used. The range of functions is the same in all packages. 

Soliloquy

Soliloquy is a user-friendly and easy-to-use WordPress slider plugin. The big advantage of this plugin is that it integrates seamlessly into the existing WordPress interface and can be put out either via shortcodes or via the Gutenberg block. 

The sliders can be created quickly using the drag and drop editor. The configuration options are very clear and easy to understand, so that even WordPress newcomers can get on well here. Soliloquy also has integrations for WooCommerce, Pinterest and Instagram. 

Two other very useful functions of the slider plugins are, among others, the PDF slider and also time-controlled or schedulable sliders. 

Features of Soliloquy at a glance: 

• Drag and drop builder
• Responsive / mobile-friendly
• Slider themes
• WooCommerce
• Post sliders
• Lightbox
• Carousel slider
• Dynamic contents
• Thumbnail slider
• PDF slider
• Integrations (Pinterest, Instagram etc.)
• Timed sliders

The costs of Soliloquy

Soliloquy is available in both a free variant and several premium variants. These are divided into a total of four licences. The entry-level licence can already be purchased at a price of $17 (annual payment). 

The individual licenses differ not only in the scope of the websites that can be used, but also in the range of functions. For example, PDF sliders or add-ons are only included in the plan "Developer" license. 

WordPress Slider Plugins: Speed

In the following overview you will find my tests for each of the slider plugins for WordPress just mentioned. Important to know: All plugins were installed on a Raidboxes demo box in the plan "Starter" and used in their default settings!

The same number of images was always used to create the slider. The test was carried out with webpagetest.org.

MetaSlider performance

Requests: 5 / Page load time: 290 ms / Total size: 19.2 KB

Slider Revolution performance

Requests: 6 / Page load time: 298 ms / Total size: 25.1 KB

Master Slider performance

Requests: 8 / Page load time: 287 ms / Total size: 19.6 KB

LayerSlider performance

Requests: 7 / Page load time: 291 ms / Total size: 15.8 KB

RoyalSlider performance

Requests: 7 / Page load time: 170 ms / Total size: 18.3 KB

SmartSlider performance

Requests: 6 / Page load time: 365 ms / Total size: 32.1 KB

Slider by 10web performance

Requests: 5 / Page load time: 386 ms / Total size 65.3 KB

Soliloquy performance

Requests: 7 / Page load time: 311 ms / Total size: 20.0 KB

General overview of the results of Webpagetest.org 

WordPress Slider Plugin	Requests	Page load time	Total size
MetaSlider	5	290 ms	19.2 KB
Slider Revolution	6	298 ms	25.1 KB
MasterSlider	8	287 ms	19.6 KB
Layer slider	7	291 ms	18,8
Royal slider	7	170 ms	18.3 KB
Smart slider	6	365 ms	32.1 KB
Slider by 10web	5	386 ms	65.3 KB
Soliloquy	7	311 ms	20.0 KB

Conclusion

Slider plugins for WordPress are a good choice for anyone who not only want to create beautiful galleries and sliders, but also emphasize great importance to the look and thus wants to stand out from the competition. 

Nevertheless, as an operator you must always make sure that the plugin does not have more functions than necessary. Otherwise you will quickly install a completely overloaded tool that comes with functions you do not need. 

With the above mentioned slider plugins, however, this can't happen to you from my point of view. Because all the tools I selected are compact and fast in their basic version, as you can see in the table. 

Nevertheless, not every slider plugin is suitable for every application. Due to the user interface, usability and possibilities, my personal recommendation is therefore the following:

For newcomers: 

• Soliloquy
• RoyalSlider
• Slider by 10web

For advanced / professionals: 

• SmartSlider
• Slider Revolution
• MasterSlider
• MetaSlider
• LayerSlider

I hope I was able to help you with the comparison. If you have any questions or your own experience with WordPress slider plugins, I look forward to your comments!