Image Carousel vs Owl Carousel WP (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Owl Carousel WP has a higher user rating (3.1/5 from 14 reviews) while Image Carousel leads in active installations (1.0K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Image Carousel has accumulated 110K+ total downloads while Owl Carousel WP has 67K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Image Carousel | Owl Carousel WP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 2.6/5 | ► | 3.1/5 |
| Total Reviews | 14 | 14 | |
| Active Installs | 1.0K+ | 1.0K+ | |
| Total Downloads | 110K+ | ◄ | 67K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 3 months ago | ◄ | 1 year ago |
| First Released | 2015 | 2015 | |
| Age | 11 years | 11 years | |
| WP Requires | 3.3+ | 5.2+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | 5.6+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.0.0.41 | 2.2.2 |
Rating Breakdown
Image Carousel
Owl Carousel WP
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Image Carousel averaged approximately 10 daily downloads while Owl Carousel WP averaged 14.
Recent Reviews
Image Carousel Reviews
BEST PLUGIN CARUSEL
This one are the best plugin for create slider for every post individualy, with their photos, not only for static photos/images. but you need a “gallery create”, for automaticly take the images, dsn’t
Had to disable because it wrecked featured images
I had installed this and related plugins to try and get nice looking galleries. It did the job well, however, it also replaced the featured images on my site with cropped and blurred versions of pictu
Awful Plugin
Another plugin that focuses on the pro version. Didn’t size photos correctly and was generally ugly. Wouldn’t ever use it again. Sorry
Owl Carousel WP Reviews
Demasiasdo malo
Solo quien que compren la version PRO
non-intuitive
how to upload images to carousel?
Site crash, not support, double charge credit card
Also, right from the start, since the free version of the plugin,we had a problem with breaking the site. We thought the paid version could solve this, so we bought it. By activating the paid plugin,
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.