swiper vs slick-carousel vs @splidejs/splide vs flickity
JavaScript Carousel Libraries Comparison
1 Year
swiperslick-carousel@splidejs/splideflickitySimilar Packages:
What's JavaScript Carousel Libraries?

JavaScript carousel libraries are essential tools for creating responsive and interactive sliders or carousels on websites. They allow developers to display images, videos, or other content in a visually appealing manner, enhancing user engagement and experience. These libraries often come with various features such as autoplay, navigation controls, and touch/swipe support, making it easier to implement dynamic content displays without extensive coding. Choosing the right carousel library can significantly impact the performance and usability of a website, depending on the specific needs of the project.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
Github Stars Ranking
Stat Detail
Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
swiper2,589,98140,6013.39 MB1772 days agoMIT
slick-carousel990,36028,608-1,4027 years agoMIT
@splidejs/splide218,1645,0181.21 MB132-MIT
flickity87,8097,567338 kB121-GPL-3.0
Feature Comparison: swiper vs slick-carousel vs @splidejs/splide vs flickity

Performance

  • swiper:

    Swiper is highly optimized for performance, especially on mobile devices. It uses hardware acceleration for transitions and is designed to handle a large number of slides efficiently.

  • slick-carousel:

    Slick Carousel is feature-rich but can become heavy with many options enabled. It is generally performant but may require optimization for large datasets or complex configurations.

  • @splidejs/splide:

    Splide is designed with performance in mind, offering a lightweight footprint and efficient rendering. It minimizes DOM manipulations and optimizes transitions, ensuring smooth animations even on mobile devices.

  • flickity:

    Flickity provides good performance for most use cases, but its performance may vary with a large number of slides. It is optimized for touch devices, making it responsive and fluid during interactions.

Customization

  • swiper:

    Swiper excels in customization, offering a modular structure that allows developers to include only the features they need. Its API is extensive, providing options for customizing almost every aspect of the slider.

  • slick-carousel:

    Slick Carousel is highly customizable with numerous settings available. It allows for deep customization of navigation, autoplay, and responsive behavior, making it suitable for complex layouts.

  • @splidejs/splide:

    Splide offers extensive customization options through its API, allowing developers to easily modify styles, transitions, and behaviors. It supports various layouts and can be styled to fit any design requirement.

  • flickity:

    Flickity provides a straightforward API for customization, making it easy to adjust settings and styles. However, it may require additional CSS for more complex customizations beyond the default options.

Responsiveness

  • swiper:

    Swiper is built with responsiveness in mind, providing a variety of options to control the number of slides displayed based on screen size. It also supports touch gestures, enhancing mobile usability.

  • slick-carousel:

    Slick Carousel offers responsive settings that allow developers to define how many slides to show at different breakpoints. This feature is crucial for creating adaptive layouts that look good on all devices.

  • @splidejs/splide:

    Splide is fully responsive out of the box, adapting to various screen sizes and orientations. It provides options for different breakpoints, ensuring a seamless experience across devices.

  • flickity:

    Flickity is designed to be responsive and works well on mobile devices. It automatically adjusts the layout based on the viewport size, making it suitable for responsive designs.

Ease of Use

  • swiper:

    Swiper has a moderate learning curve due to its extensive features but is well-documented. Developers can quickly get started with basic setups and gradually explore advanced functionalities.

  • slick-carousel:

    Slick Carousel is relatively easy to use, but its extensive options can be overwhelming for beginners. However, once familiar, developers can leverage its powerful features effectively.

  • @splidejs/splide:

    Splide is known for its straightforward setup and intuitive API, making it easy for developers to integrate and customize without extensive documentation.

  • flickity:

    Flickity is user-friendly and easy to implement, with a simple initialization process. Its documentation is clear, making it accessible for developers of all skill levels.

Community and Support

  • swiper:

    Swiper boasts a robust community and excellent documentation, with numerous examples and a strong presence in forums and GitHub. It is frequently updated, ensuring ongoing support and improvements.

  • slick-carousel:

    Slick Carousel has a large community and extensive documentation, making it easy to find solutions and examples. It is widely used, ensuring a wealth of resources are available.

  • @splidejs/splide:

    Splide has a growing community and offers good documentation, making it easier to find support and resources. However, it may not be as widely adopted as some competitors.

  • flickity:

    Flickity has a solid user base and decent community support. Its documentation is comprehensive, providing examples and troubleshooting tips for common issues.

How to Choose: swiper vs slick-carousel vs @splidejs/splide vs flickity
  • swiper:

    Choose Swiper for its modern approach and extensive features, especially if you are building mobile-first applications. It offers a wide range of functionalities, including virtual slides, parallax effects, and a modular structure, making it ideal for high-performance applications.

  • slick-carousel:

    Opt for Slick Carousel if you need a feature-rich slider with extensive options and support for multiple items. It is well-suited for complex carousels that require advanced features like lazy loading, variable widths, and responsive settings.

  • @splidejs/splide:

    Choose Splide if you need a lightweight, flexible, and highly customizable slider with a focus on performance and accessibility. It is ideal for projects that require a simple setup and extensive configuration options without unnecessary bloat.

  • flickity:

    Select Flickity for its ease of use and mobile-friendly design. It is perfect for projects that require a straightforward implementation with touch support and a visually appealing layout, making it suitable for galleries and product showcases.

README for swiper

Swiper

Swiper - is the free and most modern mobile touch slider with hardware accelerated transitions and amazing native behavior. It is intended to be used in mobile websites, mobile web apps, and mobile native/hybrid apps.

Swiper is not compatible with all platforms, it is a modern touch slider which is focused only on modern apps/platforms to bring the best experience and simplicity.

Getting Started