react-slick vs Swiper
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A carousel (image or content slider) component for React, ported from slick carousel.
Open source · MIT
A free JavaScript touch slider for mobile-friendly carousels and image galleries.
The short answer
Choose react-slick if you need…
- React developers who need a slideshow or carousel on a web page
- Teams that want a known, MIT-licensed carousel component
- Projects that already use slick-carousel styling and want a React wrapper
Choose Swiper if you need…
- Front-end developers adding a swipeable slider or image gallery to a website
- Teams building mobile web or hybrid apps that need touch-friendly carousels
- Projects that want a slider with no required jQuery or other dependencies
- Sites with many slides that benefit from lazy loading or virtual slides
Side-by-side
| react-slick | Swiper | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 11.9k | 41.9k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 15 months ago | 6 days ago |
What each one is
react-slick
react-slick is a JavaScript component library that adds a carousel, a sliding set of items such as images or content panels, to React apps. It is a React port of the older slick carousel project. You configure it with props like dots, infinite looping, speed and how many slides to show at once.
Swiper
Swiper is a free, open-source JavaScript library for building sliders, also called carousels, where users swipe through slides of content. The README describes it as intended for mobile websites, mobile web apps, and mobile native or hybrid apps. It includes built-in pagination, navigation arrows, scrollbars, and several transition effects.
Best for
react-slick
- React developers who need a slideshow or carousel on a web page
- Teams that want a known, MIT-licensed carousel component
- Projects that already use slick-carousel styling and want a React wrapper
Swiper
- Front-end developers adding a swipeable slider or image gallery to a website
- Teams building mobile web or hybrid apps that need touch-friendly carousels
- Projects that want a slider with no required jQuery or other dependencies
- Sites with many slides that benefit from lazy loading or virtual slides
Strengths
react-slick
- MIT license and a long public history with over 11,000 GitHub stars
- Simple usage: wrap child elements in a Slider component and pass settings
- Has a documentation site and a live playground linked from the README
Swiper
- Built-in features such as loop mode, autoplay, keyboard control, RTL support, and accessibility options
- Tree-shakeable, so only the modules you import are included in your bundle, according to the README
- Active project with 41k+ GitHub stars, an MIT license, and a recent push date
Not ideal for
react-slick
- People not using React, since this is a React component
- Projects needing a carousel with no extra CSS setup, because the README says slick-carousel CSS and fonts must be installed separately
- Users who need built-in accessibility guarantees, which the README does not describe
Swiper
- Projects that need support for very old browsers, since the README says Swiper focuses only on modern platforms
- People who want a no-code tool, because it is a code library that needs JavaScript and HTML/CSS setup
- Simple static pages where a plain CSS scroll-snap layout would be enough
Trade-offs
react-slick
- Requires separately installing slick-carousel for the required CSS and fonts
- The README gives no detail on maintenance status or the React versions supported; the last push date is recent but the release is 0.31.0
- Inherits the design and behavior model of the original slick carousel
Swiper
- The README says it is not compatible with all platforms and targets modern browsers only
- The README is truncated and its install and API details are on the external docs site, so setup depth is hard to confirm from it alone
- Repository's README includes a sponsor list with unrelated gambling sites, which is unrelated to the library itself
Getting started
react-slick
Install with npm
npm install react-slick --saveInstall with yarn
yarn add react-slickSwiper
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/nolimits4web/swiperFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between react-slick and Swiper?
react-slick: A carousel (image or content slider) component for React, ported from slick carousel. Swiper: A free JavaScript touch slider for mobile-friendly carousels and image galleries. react-slick suits react developers who need a slideshow or carousel on a web page, while Swiper suits front-end developers adding a swipeable slider or image gallery to a website.
Are react-slick and Swiper free?
react-slick: Free and open source. Swiper: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, react-slick or Swiper?
react-slick is easier to get started with (rated beginner); Swiper is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is react-slick or Swiper more popular?
Swiper has more GitHub stars (41.9k) than react-slick (11.9k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to react-slick and Swiper?
Other options people compare them with include interact.js, PhotoSwipe, react-native-swiper, Sortable.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.