MetaSlider vs Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | MetaSlider v3.113.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.6/5 Visit Details | Responsive Lightbox & Gallery v2.7.11.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 500,000+ | 100,000+ |
| Last updated | September 30, 2026 | October 20, 2026 |
| Editions | MetaSlider Slideshow · MetaSlider Slideshow Pro ($) | Responsive Lightbox & Gallery · Responsive Lightbox premium extensions ($) |
| Pros | Image and local video slides from the media library at no cost; Shortcode, widget and block placement; Pro add-on adds video services, layer and post-feed slides | Eight lightbox scripts to choose from, with per-script settings; Gallery builder with grid, slider and masonry layouts plus block and widgets; Media folders and remote image library built in; No usage tracking |
| Cons | Video services, layers and post feeds are paid only; Premium themes and scheduling need the Pro add-on; Free version shows upgrade screens in the admin | Additional gallery types and lightboxes are paid extensions; Extensions page loads its list from dfactory.co; Galleries are a custom post type, so they do not move cleanly to another gallery plugin |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 2 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Image slides with captions, links and SEO fields, Local video slides from the media library, Shortcodes for placing a slideshow, Slideshow widget, Slider and slide content types, Upgrade-to-Pro media tabs for video, layer, feed and WooCommerce slides, YouTube, Vimeo and TikTok video slides ($), Layer slides and external URL slides ($), Slide scheduling by date, time and weekday ($), Premium themes and custom theme builder ($) | Choice of bundled lightbox scripts, Gallery builder custom post type, Basic grid, slider and masonry layouts, Gallery shortcode and block, Media folders and media tags, Remote image library (Unsplash, Flickr, Wikimedia), Lightbox for WooCommerce product galleries, Gallery and image widgets, Licence keys for premium extensions ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Storage | — | Unsplash, Flickr, Wikimedia Commons |
| E-commerce | — | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | Elementor, Polylang, MetaSlider Slideshow Pro ($) | WPML, Polylang |
| Requires WordPress | 5.0 | 6.4 |
| Requires PHP | 7.0 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | No |
| External services | — | www.dfactory.co, api.unsplash.com, api.flickr.com, commons.wikimedia.org |
| Blocks | — | 2 |
| Shortcodes | 3 | 1 |