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/ Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider

By MetaSlider

E-commerce & Shopping /

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider Review - In-Depth Analysis

MetaSlider is a powerful slider, gallery, and carousel plugin for WordPress. Create image and video sliders, carousels, and galleries easily. Supports WooCommerce products and offers extensive customization options.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.98/10

User Rating

4.6/5 (based on 739+ reviews)

Active Installations

500,000+

Update Frequency

Very Good It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5.2 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

MetaSlider is a leading WordPress slider plugin that allows users to create stunning sliders, galleries, and carousels in just minutes. It is designed to be user-friendly, enabling you to select images, videos, and more from your media library and arrange them effortlessly.

This plugin is fully responsive and SEO-optimized, ensuring that your sliders look great on any device and help improve your search engine rankings. With features like drag-and-drop functionality, customizable themes, and support for video slides from platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, MetaSlider stands out as a versatile tool for enhancing your website.

MetaSlider Pro offers even more powerful features, including layer slides, post feed sliders, and advanced scheduling options. Whether you are showcasing products, blog posts, or multimedia content, MetaSlider provides the tools you need to create engaging presentations.

Comparing to Alternatives

MetaSlider is a long-established, general-purpose slider and gallery plugin competing in a crowded space of gallery, carousel, and slideshow tools. It stands out for its ease of use and strong support reputation, though several alternatives specialize more narrowly in product carousels or lightbox galleries.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Easy to use, even for beginners with no coding experience
Highly rated, responsive customer support praised repeatedly by users
Works well alongside popular page builders like Divi
Accessible slideshow design considered a priority by the developers
Long track record with years of active use by loyal customers

Weaknesses

Key features implied by the plugin name and description (video slider, post slider, product slider) are locked behind the Pro upgrade
Some users report performance issues, such as slow saving and unwanted slide reordering
A notable history of security vulnerabilities across many versions, requiring consistent updates

User Sentiment Analysis

With 738 ratings and an overall 4.6/5 average, sentiment is largely positive—85.5% of reviewers give five stars. However, a modest but vocal 7.5% leave 1-2 star reviews, mostly frustrated by feature limitations rather than plugin quality itself.

Positive highlights

"I really appreciate the effort that MetaSlider has put into making the slideshow accessible." — Frank Gomez
"As a novice the plugin is easy to use and make it all look very good... Steve at Metaslider did an excellent job." — komper
"It's very easy to use and on the odd occasion I've needed assistance it's offered very quickly indeed." — briannie
"Good plugin. I have used it for over 6 years. I am impressed with the technical support." — nigeriapackaging
"It's responsive, SEO-friendly, and works smoothly with the theme I am using." — shumaylmasruqhandal

Common complaints

Video slider functionality, despite being in the plugin's title, is only available in the Pro version
Post slider functionality is restricted to Pro, which some feel should be basic/free
Product slider capability is missing from the free version, misleading users searching for that feature

Weaknesses

Plugin naming and marketing can mislead users into expecting free video/post/product slider features
History of 10 known vulnerabilities, including high-severity issues like PHP Object Injection and Reflected XSS
Some reports of UI glitches, such as slide reordering bugs and slow save times

Who Should Use This?

Best for

MetaSlider suits users who want a straightforward, accessible image slider or gallery plugin with strong support and an easy learning curve—ideal for bloggers, small business sites, and those using page builders like Divi who don't need video or product-specific sliders in the free tier.

Not ideal for

Not ideal for users expecting free video sliders, post sliders, or product carousels, as these require a Pro upgrade despite being suggested by the plugin's name. Security-conscious users should also ensure they stay current with updates, given the plugin's history of multiple medium-to-high severity vulnerabilities over the years.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers solid core image slider and gallery functionality, an accessible design approach, and is compatible with popular themes and builders—delivering good value for basic slideshow needs.

Pro version (39.50 - 99.50 USD / year)

The Pro version unlocks video sliders, post sliders, and product carousel functionality, along with additional customization options and premium support, addressing the most common free-version limitations reported by users.

Final Verdict

MetaSlider earns its strong 4.6-star reputation through ease of use and consistently praised customer support, with the vast majority of users satisfied by its core slider and gallery functionality. However, the recurring complaint about mismatched naming—advertising video and product sliders that are actually Pro-only—creates avoidable frustration and dents trust for a subset of users.

Given its lengthy vulnerability history, including several medium and high-severity issues resolved over the years, users should prioritize prompt updates. For those who need only straightforward image sliders and value support quality over expansive free features, MetaSlider remains a solid choice; but if video, post, or product slider capabilities are essential, evaluating alternatives or budgeting for Pro is advisable.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider plugin.

Slider

Gallery

Carousel

Image Slider

Video Slider

WooCommerce

Screenshots

FAQ

MetaSlider has been tested with many most popular free WordPress themes and the most common plugins. We have hundreds of thousands of users who run MetaSlider without any problems. If you’re one of the unlucky ones, 9 times out of 10 it will be down to a conflict with either your chosen theme or plugins.

To help troubleshoot MetaSlider, we have a series of Yes / No questions that can help you quickly resolve most issues.

Click here for steps to troubleshoot sliders

Contributors and developers

“Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.