ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress vs fancyBox 3 for WordPress (2026)

Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.

ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress

ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress

4.7(71)

10K+ active installs

Free

Updated 6 months ago
View ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
VS
fancyBox 3 for WordPress

fancyBox 3 for WordPress

4.9(7)

1.0K+ active installs

Free

Updated 2 years ago
View fancyBox 3 for WordPress

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, fancyBox 3 for WordPress has a higher user rating (4.9/5 from 7 reviews) while ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress leads in active installations (10K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress has accumulated 243K+ total downloads while fancyBox 3 for WordPress has 15K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.7/5ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress4.9/5
Total Reviews
71ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress7
Active Installs
10K+ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress1.0K+
Total Downloads
243K+ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress15K+
Support Resolution
0%ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPressN/A
Last Updated
6 months agoARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress2 years ago
First Released
2017ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress2017
Age
9 yearsARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress9 years
WP Requires
3.4+ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress3.4+
PHP Requires
false+ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPressfalse+
Business Model
FreeARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPressFree
Latest Version
1.4.1ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress
fancyBox 3 for WordPress1.2.4

Rating Breakdown

ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress

4.7/5(71 reviews)
5
90%
4
1%
3
3%
2
0%
1
6%

fancyBox 3 for WordPress

4.9/5(7 reviews)
5
86%
4
14%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%

Recent Reviews

ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress Reviews

by meggsico

Fantastic plugin

It is a great lightbox plugin. The support is fast and very competent. This plugin is absolutely recommendable.

by Josh Journey

The Best Lightbox in WordPress!

I’ve installed dozens of lightboxes in search of the perfect one. And this is it! Light weight, very fast, has pretty url hash, and is visually dazzling. The demo showcases the gallery well. As a free

by jeff fren

Easy to use

This fixes the mobile view of the PDF width 👍👍👍wordpress.org/support/topic/problem-with-responsive-pdf-on-mobile

fancyBox 3 for WordPress Reviews

by richardjamesw

The Best – Only one with Zoom Function!

Seems to be the only Fancybox plugin with an option for click to zoom after lighbox has popped up. So glad I finally found one that works! Rich

by abcdefghijklmnop

What a disaster (updated)

Works out of the box upon activation with latest version of WordPress (June 2018). Edit: Captions don’t work. 1-2 days after installation, my slider stopped working. I then opened my site in Microsoft

by makissm21

Super plugin

Thanks for the job.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress or fancyBox 3 for WordPress more popular?
ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress has 10K+ active installations while fancyBox 3 for WordPress has 1.0K+. ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress or fancyBox 3 for WordPress?
ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress has a 4.7/5 rating from 71 reviews, while fancyBox 3 for WordPress has a 4.9/5 rating from 7 reviews.
Are ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress and fancyBox 3 for WordPress free?
ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress is free and fancyBox 3 for WordPress is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress or fancyBox 3 for WordPress?
Support resolution data is not available for all plugins. Check each plugin's WordPress.org support forum for current response quality.
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
ARI Fancy Lightbox – Popup for WordPress was last updated 6 months ago and fancyBox 3 for WordPress was last updated 2 years ago.

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.