Head-to-head · October 2026
Pile Gallery vs Smart Slider 3
Smart Slider 3 comes out ahead, winning 6 of 7 head-to-head checks against Pile Gallery.
Pile Gallery
Create beautiful sortable and stackable galeries from your WordPress posts and media items. If you’d like to…
| Metric | Pile Gallery | Smart Slider 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Active installs | 40+ | 800K+ |
| Downloads (30 days) | 72 | 89K |
| Download trend | -11.1% | -78.7% |
| Rating | 5/5 | 4.9/5 |
| Reviews | 1 | 1,125 |
| Health score | 31/100 | 89/100 |
| Last updated | 12 years ago | 2 months ago |
| Tested up to | WP 4.1.42 | WP 7.0.7 |
| Support resolved | — | 100% |
| Requires PHP | Any | 7.0+ |
| First released | Sep 2014 | Nov 2015 |
Daily downloads, last 90 days
Pile GallerySmart Slider 3
Choose Pile Gallery if…
You care most about download trend.
- Small user base (40+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 11 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.1 (latest is 7.1)
Choose Smart Slider 3 if…
You care most about active installs, downloads (30 days) and reviews.
- Proven at scale on 800K+ active sites
- Loved by users — 4.9/5 from 1,125 reviews
Both compete in: gallery
FAQ
Pile Gallery vs Smart Slider 3: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 18, 2026
Which is better, Pile Gallery or Smart Slider 3?
Smart Slider 3 comes out ahead, winning 6 of 7 head-to-head checks against Pile Gallery. Choose Pile Gallery if you care most about download trend. Choose Smart Slider 3 if you care most about active installs, downloads (30 days) and reviews.
Is Pile Gallery more popular than Smart Slider 3?
Smart Slider 3 is the more popular of the two with 800K+ active installs, compared with 40+ for Pile Gallery.
Can I use Pile Gallery and Smart Slider 3 together?
Both plugins cover gallery, so most sites only need one. Running two plugins that do the same job can cause conflicts and slow your site down — pick the one that fits best and remove the other.
Are Pile Gallery and Smart Slider 3 free?
Yes. Both are free to download from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. Either may also offer paid upgrades from its developer.
Powered by PageForge
Want thousands of pages that rank like these? Build them in an afternoon.
This directory runs on the same engine as PageForge. Turn any spreadsheet, CSV or API into thousands of fast, SEO-ready WordPress pages — with schema, internal links and AI-written copy baked in.
- CSV, Google Sheets & API data sources
- AI content, schema & internal links per page
- Works with Elementor, Gutenberg, Yoast & Rank Math
- Free on WordPress.org — no credit card
