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Firelight Lightbox vs Image Widget (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
Image Widget

Image Widget

4.9(287)

100K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 year ago
View Image Widget

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Image Widget has a higher user rating (4.9/5 from 287 reviews) while Firelight Lightbox leads in active installations (200K+ vs 100K+). Both are free + premium WordPress plugins. Firelight Lightbox has accumulated 7.6M+ total downloads while Image Widget has 4.6M+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.8/5Firelight Lightbox
►
Image Widget4.9/5
Total Reviews
331Firelight Lightbox
◄
Image Widget287
Active Installs
200K+Firelight Lightbox
◄
Image Widget100K+
Total Downloads
7.6M+Firelight Lightbox
◄
Image Widget4.6M+
Support Resolution
43%Firelight Lightbox
Image WidgetN/A
Last Updated
3 weeks agoFirelight Lightbox
◄
Image Widget1 year ago
First Released
2010Firelight Lightbox
Image Widget2008
Age
16 yearsFirelight Lightbox
Image Widget18 years
WP Requires
5.0+Firelight Lightbox
Image Widget3.5+
PHP Requires
7.0+Firelight Lightbox
Image Widgetfalse+
Business Model
Free + PremiumFirelight Lightbox
Image WidgetFree
Latest Version
2.3.19Firelight Lightbox
Image Widget4.4.11

Rating Breakdown

Firelight Lightbox

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

Image Widget

4.9/5(287 reviews)
5
92%
4
5%
3
1%
2
1%
1
1%

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

Image Widget Reviews

by mdavego

Perfect image widget

This is perfect image widget. Thank you very much for such helpful solution.

by vollachr

Very nice, working great

I like this image widget plugin, certainly better than the default one, also works with some external lightbox plugins, so that’s a bonus. Also, it works without a problem on WordPress v5.4.2.

by jimgwin

Very nice plugin

This is very nice plugin! Thank you for your work! Everything work fast without any problems.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Firelight Lightbox or Image Widget more popular?
Firelight Lightbox has 200K+ active installations while Image Widget has 100K+. Firelight Lightbox is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Firelight Lightbox or Image Widget?
Firelight Lightbox has a 4.8/5 rating from 331 reviews, while Image Widget has a 4.9/5 rating from 287 reviews.
Are Firelight Lightbox and Image Widget free?
Firelight Lightbox is free + premium and Image Widget is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Firelight Lightbox or Image Widget?
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 Image Widget was last updated 1 year ago.

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