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Best WordPress Plugins for Photo Galleries

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Photo Galleries

All Free only 15 Premium only 12

Choosing a WordPress plugin for photo galleries comes down to a few things: whether it is still actively maintained, whether real users rate it well, and whether it does the specific job you need without dragging the rest of the site down.

We ranked 15 plugins using our WPScore, which weighs the user rating (adjusted for how many people actually rated it), how many sites run it, how recently it was updated, and which WordPress version it is tested against. 15 of them have enough public data to be scored; the rest are listed below the ranked block, clearly marked, rather than being given a number we cannot justify.

How this list is funded. Some links here earn us a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not move anything up the list — the order comes from the WPScore, which is calculated from public ratings, install counts and update history. See the method.

At a glance

  1. 1. Smart Slider 3 Best overall 93/100
  2. 2. Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider 92/100
  3. 3. Gallery 91/100
  4. 4. Firelight Lightbox 90/100
  5. 5. Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 90/100
  6. 6. Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 89/100
  7. 7. WP All Import 88/100
  8. 8. Envira Gallery 88/100
  9. 9. Modula Image Gallery 88/100
  10. 10. Media Library Assistant 88/100
  11. 11. 3D FlipBook 88/100
  12. 12. Carousel, Slider, Photo Gallery with Lightbox, Video Slider,... 88/100
  13. 13. Gallery by Visual Portfolio 88/100
  14. 14. SimpLy Gallery 88/100
  15. 15. Shortcodes Ultimate 87/100
1 Smart Slider 3
Best overall Free by Nextendweb

Smart Slider 3

Responsive slider plugin to create sliders in visual editor easily. Build beautiful image slider, layer slider, video slider, post slider, and more.

4.9★
from 1,123 ratings
800k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
93

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
3 Gallery
Free by FooPlugins

Gallery

FooGallery is a fast, responsive photo gallery and image gallery plugin with 7 gallery layouts, built-in lightbox, albums, and SEO optimization.

4.8★
from 986 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
91

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
4 Firelight Lightbox
Free by Firelight

Firelight Lightbox

Formerly Easy Fancybox. The most popular WordPress lightbox plugin. Simple, fast, and responsive. Opens images, videos, PDFs, and custom popups.

4.8★
from 355 ratings
200k+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
90

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
7 WP All Import
Free by WP All Import

WP All Import

Easily import any file of any size into any plugin, post type, custom field, or taxonomy. Supports WooCommerce, ACF, images, galleries, users, real es …

4.7★
from 1,962 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
8 Envira Gallery
Free by Syed Balkhi

Envira Gallery

The fastest drag & drop photo gallery plugin. Create stunning image galleries, albums, video galleries & lightbox displays in minutes — no coding!

4.7★
from 1,597 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
9 Modula Image Gallery
Free by WP Chill

Modula Image Gallery

Create responsive image galleries with drag-and-drop grid builder. Custom layouts, video support, AI optimization. Works with any theme.

4.7★
from 613 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
10 Media Library Assistant
Free by David Lingren

Media Library Assistant

Enhances the Media Library; powerful gallery and list shortcodes, full taxonomy support, IPTC/EXIF/XMP/PDF processing, bulk/quick edit.

4.8★
from 201 ratings
70k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
11 3D FlipBook
Free by iberezansky

3D FlipBook

3D FlipBook is PDF Viewer, allowing to browse images, PDFs or HTMLs as flipbook. Flipbook attracts user attention and makes more impression on him.

4.8★
from 182 ratings
70k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
14 SimpLy Gallery
Free by GalleryCreator

SimpLy Gallery

Create responsive photo, image, video, and mixed media galleries for WordPress with gallery blocks, albums, sliders, and a built-in lightbox.

4.8★
from 116 ratings
40k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
15 Shortcodes Ultimate
Free by Vova

Shortcodes Ultimate

Add 50+ shortcodes with live preview for tabs, accordions, buttons, FAQs, sliders and boxes. Works in Block Editor and Classic Editor.

4.9★
from 5,924 ratings
400k+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
87

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org