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Meow Lightbox vs Photoswipe Masonry Gallery (2026)

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

Meow Lightbox

Meow Lightbox

4.9(179)

10K+ active installs

Free

Updated 3 weeks ago
View Meow Lightbox
VS
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery

Photoswipe Masonry Gallery

4.5(46)

6.0K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 month ago
View Photoswipe Masonry Gallery

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Meow Lightbox has a higher user rating (4.9/5 from 179 reviews) and leads in active installations (10K+ vs 6.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Meow Lightbox has accumulated 382K+ total downloads while Photoswipe Masonry Gallery has 172K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.9/5Meow Lightbox
◄
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery4.5/5
Total Reviews
179Meow Lightbox
◄
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery46
Active Installs
10K+Meow Lightbox
◄
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery6.0K+
Total Downloads
382K+Meow Lightbox
◄
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery172K+
Support Resolution
40%Meow Lightbox
Photoswipe Masonry GalleryN/A
Last Updated
3 weeks agoMeow Lightbox
◄
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery1 month ago
First Released
2016Meow Lightbox
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery2014
Age
10 yearsMeow Lightbox
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery12 years
WP Requires
6.0+Meow Lightbox
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery6.0+
PHP Requires
7.4+Meow Lightbox
Photoswipe Masonry Galleryfalse+
Business Model
FreeMeow Lightbox
Photoswipe Masonry GalleryFree
Latest Version
5.5.1Meow Lightbox
Photoswipe Masonry Gallery1.2.32

Rating Breakdown

Meow Lightbox

4.9/5(179 reviews)
5
94%
4
6%
3
0%
2
0%
1
1%

Photoswipe Masonry Gallery

4.5/5(46 reviews)
5
78%
4
11%
3
2%
2
4%
1
4%

Recent Reviews

Meow Lightbox Reviews

by popkaraie

Very good

Simple is fine.

by Walter Viana

Excellent tool

Like all the tools produced by this developer, this one is another must-have! Congratulations!

by ac1643

Good and reliable app (and the Meow app collection in general)

I’m a big fan of all the meow apps that I use, they have a good range of options (for free) and seem to be very reliable so far. The one time I’ve asked for support I received a quick reply, and the d

Photoswipe Masonry Gallery Reviews

by Josh Journey

Works as described

Photo Swipe with a little flare of Masonry. Worked right out of the box and even supports touch screen monitors with URL hash support. Navigating and zooming in the photo works beautifully. Better tha

by User966

требует что-то ещё

Would you have any idea as to why the popup doesn’t load on click? Whenever I click an image it just goes straight to the image itself on a blank page. This topic was modified 5 years, 3 month

by LuisRomero

Love it but not compatible with Lazy Load

I love it but I installed some lazy load plugins but gallery does not work (i.e. Lite Speed Cache) Please, improve it. Thanks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Meow Lightbox or Photoswipe Masonry Gallery more popular?
Meow Lightbox has 10K+ active installations while Photoswipe Masonry Gallery has 6.0K+. Meow Lightbox is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Meow Lightbox or Photoswipe Masonry Gallery?
Meow Lightbox has a 4.9/5 rating from 179 reviews, while Photoswipe Masonry Gallery has a 4.5/5 rating from 46 reviews.
Are Meow Lightbox and Photoswipe Masonry Gallery free?
Meow Lightbox is free and Photoswipe Masonry Gallery is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Meow Lightbox or Photoswipe Masonry Gallery?
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?
Meow Lightbox was last updated 3 weeks ago and Photoswipe Masonry Gallery was last updated 1 month ago.

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