Best SnapWidget Alternative: Smash Balloon vs SnapWidget (2023)
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Best SnapWidget Alternative: Smash Balloon vs SnapWidget (2024)

Smash Balloon 
vs SnapWidget

Are you looking for a SnapWidget alternative for your site?

As a popular social media aggregator, many people are using SnapWidget to embed content from sites like Twitter and Facebook.

But if you want more features at a budget-friendly price, you can try looking at a SnapWidget alternative.

In this post, we’ll do an in-depth comparison of Smash Balloon vs SnapWidget so you can find the best option for your site.

Here’s what we’ll be looking at today:

Let’s get started!

Overview: Smash Balloon vs SnapWidget

First, let’s go through a quick introduction of both Smash Balloon and SnapWidget so we can see what they offer.

1. Smash Balloon

Smash Balloon is a collection of 6 plugins that can embed social media content on your WordPress website.

In fact, Smash Balloon comes with support for the biggest social media platforms out there – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

smash balloon homepage

On top of embedding social media posts, you can use Smash Balloon to embed reviews from trusted platforms like Yelp, Tripadvisor, Facebook, and Google Reviews.

Since its creation in 2013, Smash Balloon has grown to become the #1 social media feed solution in the market.

In fact, it has an average rating of 4.9/5 stars and over 1,750,000 active users. And that user base includes some of the biggest brands out there.

user reviews smash balloon

As you can see, Smash Balloon comes with everything you need to boost your social media marketing and grow your business.

2. SnapWidget

SnapWidget is another popular solution for people who want to embed social media content on their websites.

snapwidget app

Like Smash Balloon, the SnapWidget app comes with support for major social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

While you can’t embed content from review sites, SnapWidget lets you embed social media posts without editing code.

In fact, SnapWidget has helped out 200,000 website owners ever since its creation in 2011.

Features: Smash Balloon vs SnapWidget

With the introductions out of the way, let’s look at the features you get with these social media feed plugins:

1. Smash Balloon

Smash Balloon comes with tons of useful features that make it the best social media feed plugin out there.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights:

3-Step Guided Flow

With the help of Smash Balloon, you can create, customize, and embed beautiful social feeds on your site in just a few clicks.

From your WordPress dashboard, you can follow the 3-step guided flow:

  • Step 1: Create a new social media feed
  • Step 2: Choose your template, layout, color scheme, etc.
  • Step 3: Embed the feed on your WordPress website
guided flow for feed creation smash balloon

What’s more, you can do all that with absolutely no coding or pasting embed codes.

In just minutes, you can start engaging visitors with social media content from the biggest platforms out there.

Lots of Feed Types

On top of supporting lots of platforms, you can use Smash Balloon to create tons of different social media feeds.

In fact, Smash Balloon comes with support for:

youtube feed example
  • Facebook events calendar
  • Instagram hashtag feed
  • YouTube livestream
  • Twitter hashtag feed
  • And a whole lot more…

What’s more, you can connect as many social media accounts as you want to create unlimited social media feeds.

As you can see, Smash Balloon can help you engage your visitors with a variety of social media content.

Live Feed Customizer

Smash Balloon also makes it easier than ever to personalize your social media feeds.

From the live feed customizer, you can change your header design, color scheme, layouts, templates, and much more in just a few clicks.

live editor smash balloon snapwidget alternative

What’s more, you can track all of your changes in real time using the live preview.

As a result, customizing your social feeds is faster and more accurate – no need for HTML, Custom CSS, or any kind of coding. 

Easily Embed Social Feeds

Once you’re happy with the design of your social media feeds, you can start embedding them directly from the live feed editor.

You can then add the feed to your WordPress page or widget-ready area like the sidebar or footer.

The best part? You can embed your feed simply by adding the convenient WordPress block.

add facebook block smash balloon

For advanced users, the plugin still gives you the option to copy the shortcode. That way, you can embed the social feed on any part of your website.

Optimized for SEO

Smash Balloon has also been optimized from the ground up for better SEO.

That way, you can rank higher in search engine results and reach even more potential customers with ease.

Most social media plugins will use iFrames to display social media content. Since search engines can’t read iFrame content, this can be bad for your SEO.

seo booster smash balloon

On the other hand, Smash Balloon will actually embed social media content on your website.

As a result, search engines can read the keyword-rich social media content on your site and help you rank higher.

What’s more, Smash Balloon will automatically update your feeds with the latest social media posts.

Since search engines prefer websites with regularly updated content, you’ll have an easier time ranking high.

Social Reviews Support

Another amazing feature of Smash Balloon is that you can embed reviews from Yelp, Tripadvisor, Facebook, as well as Google.

add-reivews-from-different-sources.jpg

What’s more, you get total control over your review feeds with Smash Balloon. 

You can add filters to show selected reviews, hide low-quality reviews, add filters, and much more. So, you can highlight your best reviews and remove reviews from bots or trolls.

By showing social proof from these trusted sites, you can show your visitors that real people out there are happy with your brand.

As a result, you can build trust and grow your sales with ease.

2. SnapWidget

Now, let’s look at some of the features you get with SnapWidget so you can compare them to the Smash Balloon features.

Social Media Widgets

With SnapWidget, you can create different widgets, connect them to your social media accounts, and display them on your site.

In fact, the plugin comes with support for some of the biggest platforms out there – just like Smash Balloon.

snapwidget platforms

While SnapWidget doesn’t have widgets for review sites as Smash Balloon does, you can still post engaging content from Facebook, Instagram, and more.

Layout Options

Once you select which social media widget to create, SnapWidget will let you choose between different layouts.

These layouts include a grid, slideshow, popup, feed, and more.

snapwidget layouts

As a result, you can easily choose a look for your social widgets – just like with Smash Balloon’s feed templates.

You can choose from 6 layouts for your Instagram widgets, while the other social widgets have fewer layout options.

Simple Customizer

Another great thing about SnapWidget is that you can customize your widgets by simply selecting and unselecting options.

Unlike Smash Balloon, you don’t get a real-time preview of your social media widgets.

live feed editor snapwidget

But you can still see how your widget will look by saving your changes and updating the preview.

Even though you get fewer customization options than Smash Balloon, this plugin can still help you personalize your widgets without any coding at all.

Widget Analytics

To help you track the success of your social media widget, SnapWidget gives you some useful information that you can check.

In fact, you can easily check your widget views, clicks, popular media, as well as popular countries for visitors.

While not as in-depth as Google Analytics tracking, this can be useful for people who want simple stats about their widgets.

Ease of Use: Smash Balloon vs SnapWidget

With that, we’ve looked at the features that you can get with both of the plugins. 

Next, we’ll see if Smash Balloon can be the right SnapWidget alternative in terms of ease of use.

1. Smash Balloon

Since the plugin was designed to be user-friendly, you can get started with Smash Balloon in no time – even if you’re new to WordPress.

Smash Balloon even has a clean interface with plenty of whitespace and readable font so it’s super easy to use the plugin.

To get started, you can just follow a 3-step guided flow directly from your dashboard.

Then, the plugin will guide you through the process of creating, customizing, and embedding social media feeds.

guided flow smash balloon

The best part? All it takes is a few simple clicks – no need for HTML, Custom CSS, or any other coding language.

What’s more, Smash Balloon makes it easier than ever to customize your feeds. In fact, you can simply import a pre-designed layout and copy its design.

As a result, you can instantly have a social media feed with a unique design for your site.

Once you do that, you can use the visual customizer to personalize your social media feeds in detail.

live feed editor smash balloon

From there, you can edit your layout, colors, header design, post elements, and much more with ease.

On the right, you can find a live preview of your social media feeds. Since you can constantly track your changes in real-time, customization can be quick and easy.

Once you’re happy with your social feed’s design, you can start embedding it on your page, sidebar, or footer directly from the customizer.

embed optiosn smash balloon

Unlike other social media feed plugins, Smash Balloon lets you embed your feeds with a simple WordPress block – no need for HTML embed codes, iFrames, or shortcodes.

And if you want more information, Smash Balloon has YouTube videos or blog posts that you can check out.

2. SnapWidget

Just like Smash Balloon, SnapWidget also makes it easy to get started and create social widgets.

In fact, you can follow simple instructions that’ll help you select the social platform and choose the layout.

snapwidget intro

Once you do that, the user-friendly customizer will help you personalize your social media widgets.

From here, you can change your layout, background color, padding, post links, filters, and much more. Plus, advanced users can also connect this widget to Custom CSS.

On the other hand, it can get more complicated if you want to add the widget to your website. You’ll have to generate an embed code, copy it, and then add it to your website manually.

What’s more, this embed code uses iFrames, which can be bad for your site’s SEO.

But with Smash Balloon, where you can use a simple WordPress block instead.

While SnapWidget comes with a separate plugin to help embed widgets in WordPress, the plugin is outdated and was last updated over 2 years ago.

snapwidget plugin outdated

Since outdated plugins are the #1 security risk for WordPress sites, using this plugin can put your site at risk.

Customer Support: Smash Balloon vs SnapWidget

Now that we’ve compared how user-friendly Smash Balloon and SnapWidget are, let’s look at the customer support options you can get with these plugins.

1. Smash Balloon

Smash Balloon comes with a highly-rated support team of WordPress experts who are always ready to help you out.

If you have any questions or need help, you can contact them at any time from their support page.

support page smash balloon

You can also see that people are more than happy with the quality of support they get with Smash Balloon. Just check the reviews and testimonials to see for yourself.

In fact, Smash Balloon has an overall rating of 4.9/5 stars from 5500+ reviews user reviews.

user reviews support team smash balloon

Plus, the plugin’s user base includes some of the biggest brands in the world, including household names like Coca-Cola.

For more information, you can always take a look at the in-depth Smash Balloon documentation.

2. SnapWidget

SnapWidget also lets you contact a support team in case you need any help with your social media widgets.

Directly on the SnapWidget website, you can find a chatbot where you can find FAQs, important resources, and social media links.

resources snapwidget

For advanced help, you can directly contact the support team from there.

What’s more, SnapWidget also has a support center and a blog section with plenty of helpful tutorials.

While the official SnapWidget plugin has mixed reviews on WordPress.org, it represents a small fraction of the user base.

snapwidget reviews

With 200,000+ total users, it’s clear that SnapWidget has a smaller but dedicated community of users.

Pricing: Smash Balloon vs SnapWidget

Finally, let’s look at the pricing options for both options. 

That way, you can check if Smash Balloon can be the right SnapWidget alternative when it comes to budget.

1. Smash Balloon Pricing

In case you don’t have room for Smash Balloon in your budget, you can just try the forever-free version.

That way, you can create simple social media feeds for your brand’s website with ease.

Plus, you can upgrade to the full version at any time and get access to all the features.

When it comes to the premium version, Smash Balloon keeps the pricing options simple so you can find the right plan with ease.

For each Smash Balloon plugin, you have 3 different pricing plans that you can choose from:

pricing options smash balloon
  • Personal: You can create unlimited social media feeds on your site for $49/year
  • Business: For just $99/year, you can use Smash Balloon for up to 5 different websites
  • Developer: If you want to use the plugin for up to 25 sites and get priority support, you can get this plan for $149/year

The best part?

You can get ALL Smash Balloon plugins, including the extensions, for just $299/year! And that includes all the future plugins as well.

And with this plugin, you can use the plugin unlimited times for unlimited websites.

smash balloon curator.io alternative all access bundle

What’s more, Smash Balloon comes with a 30-day 100% money-back guarantee, so you can try out the plugins completely risk-free.

As you can see, you’ve got some reasonable pricing options to choose from, regardless of your budget.

2. SnapWidget Pricing

SnapWidget also comes with free widgets to show content from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But you’ll have to deal with some restrictions with this plan.

All the photos you embed from your widget will redirect to SnapWidget when people click on them. 

So, you can end up with people being redirected away from your website. And unlike Smash Balloon, you won’t be able to embed YouTube videos for free. 

When it comes to the premium plans, you have 3 options:

snapwidget pricing plans
  • Lite Plan: For $6/month, you can create a single social media widget for your website
  • Pro Plan: You get access to 20 pro widgets and even create hashtag widgets for $10/month
  • Developer Plan: You can get this plan for $50/month and create unlimited widgets on your site

Unlike Smash Balloon, you’ll have to go for the more expensive plan if you want to embed unlimited social media content.

If you want to try out SnapWidget, you can get started with the 14-day free trial program that you can cancel at any time.

Even though you get less time than Smash Balloon, it’s a great way to try out SnapWidget.

Our Verdict: Best SnapWidget Alternative

In this article, we’ve compared both Smash Balloon and SnapWidget and checked out what they offer in terms of features, ease of use, customer support, and pricing options.

Finally, let’s see if Smash Balloon stands up as the best SnapWidget alternative for your site.

1. Smash Balloon

  • On top of supporting the biggest social platforms, Smash Balloon lets you embed content from trusted review sites as well.
  • Since you get a visual customizer with real-time preview, it’s easy and accurate to personalize your social media feeds
  • Smash Balloon comes with a handy WordPress block so you can embed feeds with ease – no need to deal with embed codes
  • With 1.75+ million active users and over 5,600 5-star reviews, Smash Balloon is the #1 plugin out there when it comes to embedding social media content
  • You can get any premium or free plan and create unlimited social feeds on your WordPress website
  • Smash Balloon also has a 30-day 100% money-back guarantee, so you can try it out risk-free

2. SnapWidget

  • Using SnapWidget, you can embed content from the biggest social networks
  • However, you won’t be able to embed reviews from top sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor
  • SnapWidget limits the number of widgets you can create, so you’ll need the most expensive plan to create unlimited widgets
  • While you don’t need coding to design your widgets, you’ll need to handle the embed code to display it on your site
  • You only get a 14-day free trial to check out the plugin, which is a lot less time than with Smash Balloon

As you can see, Smash Balloon stands out as the best SnapWidget alternative in the market and the best option for embedding social media content.

On top of supporting popular social networks, you can build trust and boost your sales with reviews from Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google, and more.

example google review feed smash balloon vs snapwidget

With this amazing tool, it’s easier than ever to create, customize, and embed social media feeds – no need for embed codes, HTML, PHP, or any other kind of code.

Since it’s packed with helpful features, Smash Balloon is trusted by over 1.75 million users and some of the biggest brands out there.

brands using smash balloon

Get your copy of Smash Balloon today, and you can boost your growth with the best SnapWidget alternative in the market.

And there you go!

In this SnapWidget review, we compared it to Smash Balloon based on its features, ease of use, customer support, and pricing options.

While both are great social media solutions, Smash Balloon can be an amazing SnapWidget alternative if you want something that’s feature-rich with reasonable prices.

Ready to grab the best SnapWidget alternative? Click here to get started with Smash Balloon!

To learn more about marketing your brand online, you can check out our list of the best social media marketing tips.

If you found this article to be helpful, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and stay tuned for more social media marketing tips and tricks.

author avatar
Sajjan Sharma Senior Writer
Sajjan has been writing about WordPress, social media marketing, and online businesses for over 10 years. His professional interests extend to include influencer marketing, content curation and digital marketing strategies.

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