WordPress plugin comparison
essential vs Smart Slider 3
At a glance
- Smart Slider 3 has more active installs: 800K+, against 10+ for essential.
- On a typical day, Smart Slider 3 is downloaded about 7,918 times, essential about 3.
- essential is rated higher: 5.0 out of 5 from 1 review, against 4.9 from 1,125 reviews.
- Smart Slider 3 was updated more recently: Oct 28, 2026, against Nov 21, 2014 for essential.
- Smart Slider 3 is tested with a newer WordPress: 7.1.4, against 4.0.38 for essential.
- essential has been around longer: since 2014, against 2015 for Smart Slider 3.
Line by line
Smart Slider 3 leads on 6 of 7 comparable lines.
| Metric |  essential |  Smart Slider 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank | #44,827 | #79 |
| Active installs | 10+ | 800K+ |
| Downloads, last 30 days | 41 | 395.7K |
| Rating | 5.0(1) | 4.9(1.1K) |
| Support threads resolved | – | 100% |
| Tested up to | 4.0.38 | 7.1.4 |
| Search multiplier | ×0.00 | ×2.50 |
| Last release | 12 years ago | 12 days ago |
| Requires PHP | – | 7.0 |
From WordPress.org's public data, refreshed every night. Downloads are WordPress.org's official daily figures for the last 30 days.
Tags they share
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