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Firelight Lightbox vs CropRefine (2026)

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

Firelight Lightbox

Firelight Lightbox

4.8(331)

200K+ active installs

Free + Premium

Updated 3 weeks ago
View Firelight Lightbox
VS
CropRefine

CropRefine

5(5)

100 active installs

Free

Updated 4 years ago
View CropRefine

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, CropRefine has a higher user rating (5/5 from 5 reviews) while Firelight Lightbox leads in active installations (200K+ vs 100). Both are free + premium WordPress plugins. Firelight Lightbox has accumulated 7.6M+ total downloads while CropRefine has 5.3K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.8/5Firelight Lightbox
►
CropRefine5/5
Total Reviews
331Firelight Lightbox
◄
CropRefine5
Active Installs
200K+Firelight Lightbox
◄
CropRefine100
Total Downloads
7.6M+Firelight Lightbox
◄
CropRefine5.3K+
Support Resolution
43%Firelight Lightbox
CropRefineN/A
Last Updated
3 weeks agoFirelight Lightbox
◄
CropRefine4 years ago
First Released
2010Firelight Lightbox
CropRefine2015
Age
16 yearsFirelight Lightbox
CropRefine11 years
WP Requires
5.0+Firelight Lightbox
CropRefine3.2.1+
PHP Requires
7.0+Firelight Lightbox
CropRefinefalse+
Business Model
Free + PremiumFirelight Lightbox
CropRefineFree
Latest Version
2.3.19Firelight Lightbox
CropRefine1.2.1

Rating Breakdown

Firelight Lightbox

4.8/5(331 reviews)
5
90%
4
5%
3
2%
2
0%
1
3%

CropRefine

5/5(5 reviews)
5
100%
4
0%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%

Recent Reviews

Firelight Lightbox Reviews

by rugger86

Very good

Recommend

by FinnDorian

Doesn’t work with sunshine photo cart

I’m using the gallery Plugin “sunshine photo cart” and it does not convert image links into a lightbox gallery. I am sick of using/adjusting 5 different lightbox plugins, because every gallery uses it

by Andreas Lanz

Increases the value of a photo blog

The plugin works perfect and with a beautiful, but discreet animation. I’d prefer having the possibility to force the browser via the settings to show the images in their original size if they are

CropRefine Reviews

No reviews yet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Firelight Lightbox or CropRefine more popular?
Firelight Lightbox has 200K+ active installations while CropRefine has 100. Firelight Lightbox is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Firelight Lightbox or CropRefine?
Firelight Lightbox has a 4.8/5 rating from 331 reviews, while CropRefine has a 5/5 rating from 5 reviews.
Are Firelight Lightbox and CropRefine free?
Firelight Lightbox is free + premium and CropRefine is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Firelight Lightbox or CropRefine?
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?
Firelight Lightbox was last updated 3 weeks ago and CropRefine was last updated 4 years ago.

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