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Firelight Lightbox vs JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel (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
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel

JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel

4.5(2)

400 active installs

Free

Updated 15 years ago
View JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Firelight Lightbox has a higher user rating (4.8/5 from 331 reviews) and leads in active installations (200K+ vs 400). Both are free + premium WordPress plugins. Firelight Lightbox has accumulated 7.6M+ total downloads while JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel has 63K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.8/5Firelight Lightbox
◄
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel4.5/5
Total Reviews
331Firelight Lightbox
◄
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel2
Active Installs
200K+Firelight Lightbox
◄
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel400
Total Downloads
7.6M+Firelight Lightbox
◄
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel63K+
Support Resolution
43%Firelight Lightbox
JJ NextGen JQuery CarouselN/A
Last Updated
3 weeks agoFirelight Lightbox
◄
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel15 years ago
First Released
2010Firelight Lightbox
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel2011
Age
16 yearsFirelight Lightbox
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel15 years
WP Requires
5.0+Firelight Lightbox
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel2.8+
PHP Requires
7.0+Firelight Lightbox
JJ NextGen JQuery Carouselfalse+
Business Model
Free + PremiumFirelight Lightbox
JJ NextGen JQuery CarouselFree
Latest Version
2.3.19Firelight Lightbox
JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel1.1.8

Rating Breakdown

Firelight Lightbox

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

JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel

4.5/5(2 reviews)
5
50%
4
50%
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

JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel Reviews

No reviews yet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Firelight Lightbox or JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel more popular?
Firelight Lightbox has 200K+ active installations while JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel has 400. Firelight Lightbox is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Firelight Lightbox or JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel?
Firelight Lightbox has a 4.8/5 rating from 331 reviews, while JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel has a 4.5/5 rating from 2 reviews.
Are Firelight Lightbox and JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel free?
Firelight Lightbox is free + premium and JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Firelight Lightbox or JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel?
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 JJ NextGen JQuery Carousel was last updated 15 years ago.

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