WP Lightbox 2
20,000+ active installs · Rated 4.4/5 · Updated January 31, 2026
A WordPress plugin that adds a responsive lightbox overlay to images and photo galleries on your site. It applies automatically after activation, groups related images so visitors can step through them, and offers settings to adjust how the lightbox looks and behaves. It suits blogs and small sites wanting a simple image overlay. The plugin is free.
Pros
- Free, with no paid edition in the code
- Groups related images so visitors can step through them
- Settings for overlay size, navigation bar, download link and looping
- No external services contacted
Cons
- Applies to images site-wide, so per-image control is limited
- Comment links lose nofollow when the comments option is on
- Overlay look is set by the bundled stylesheet and the settings page only
Topics: Gallery plugins , Lightbox plugins
Mentioned in
Alternatives
-
Jetpack
3M+ active installs · Rated 3.7/5 · Updated October 12, 2026
A multi-purpose suite from Automattic that bundles many site tools under one account.
-
MetaSlider
500,000+ active installs · Rated 4.6/5 · Updated September 30, 2026
A WordPress plugin for creating responsive sliders, slideshows, carousels and galleries from images in the media library.
-
Easy FancyBox
200,000+ active installs · Rated 4.8/5 · Updated October 5, 2026
A WordPress lightbox plugin, now called Firelight Lightbox, that opens images, galleries, videos, PDFs, maps and modals in an overlay instead of a new page.
-
Envira Gallery
100,000+ active installs · Rated 4.7/5 · Updated October 23, 2026
A drag-and-drop gallery plugin for building responsive image galleries that work on any device.
-
FooGallery
100,000+ active installs · Rated 4.8/5 · Updated October 19, 2026
A gallery plugin for creating responsive photo galleries, masonry grids, portfolios, albums and lightbox galleries with a drag-and-drop builder.
-
Modula
100,000+ active installs · Rated 4.7/5 · Updated October 22, 2026
A gallery plugin with a drag-and-drop grid builder for creating custom image and video galleries.
-
Photo Gallery by 10Web
100,000+ active installs · Rated 4.5/5 · Updated October 15, 2026
A plugin for building responsive photo galleries and albums, with a range of layout and gallery views and several widgets.
-
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
100,000+ active installs · Rated 4.9/5 · Updated October 20, 2026
A plugin combining a drag-and-drop gallery builder with lightbox effects for images on a WordPress site.