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FotoGrids vs Modula

Modula’s custom grid is one of the better free gallery builders in WordPress, and since February its add-ons come bundled rather than sold one at a time. What the free editor mostly does is show you the settings you don’t have yet: 43 of its 45 hover effects render as locked previews.
FotoGrids
43 of 45
Hover effects rendered as locked previews in Modula Free
2 of 21
Lightbox controls you can actually set in Modula Free
8
Photographer features that begin at Modula Business, $99
$198
What Modula Business renews at, after the $99 first year
16
16

16 features Modula keeps for its paid tiers — or doesn't offer — are free in FotoGrids.

Why FotoGrids

Four reasons to pick FotoGrids over Modula

FotoGrids
Modula
What the free editor lets you set
FotoGrids
Twelve hover effects and the full lightbox, all usable
Modula
Two hover effects. The other 43 are locked previews
Choosing a layout
FotoGrids
Eight layouts in Free, slider and image viewer among them
Modula
Slider and image viewer begin at Trio — $69, then $138
Albums for a second shoot
FotoGrids
Albums and collections in Free
Modula
Albums begin at Trio — $69, then $138
Putting a video in a gallery
FotoGrids
Video items in the free plugin
Modula
Video begins at Starter — $39 first year, $78 after
No-code design

A free editor that shows what you can't have

Open the hover effects panel in Modula’s free plugin and you are shown forty-five options.

Modula — 43 of 45 are locked previews

The rest render with a Premium badge and no radio input at all, so they can be looked at but not chosen. The free lightbox exposes two controls; the plugin's own upsell lists nineteen more.

FotoGrids — Twelve effects, all selectable

Twelve hover effects, the full lightbox, colour controls, borders and custom fonts, all usable in the free plugin. Pro adds thirty-six advanced effects.

Image protection

The photographer essentials start at $99

Watermarking, EXIF, secure downloads, user roles, pagination and gallery defaults sit together in one tier.

Modula — Business, at $99 then $198

That tier is where the features a working photographer needs are collected. Albums and password protection sit one rung below at Trio, $69 then $138.

FotoGrids — In the free plugin

Textual watermarking, password-protected galleries, EXIF viewing, albums and collections, user permissions and gallery defaults. Pro adds fully customisable watermarks.

In fairness

The custom grid is genuinely good

Two things Modula does well, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

Modula — A real free grid builder, and honest bundling

Its drag-and-resize custom grid is free and unusually good at what it does. And since February 2026 the add-ons are included in Pro rather than sold one at a time, which is a change in the customer's favour.

FotoGrids — What surrounds it

Watermarking and password protection without reaching a tier, albums for the second shoot, 30+ templates to start from, and a dashboard that reports what your galleries did.

Pricing

Read the second year, not the first

Modula’s own terms say it: renewals are charged at the published price, before any discount.

Modula — $78 to $198 on renewal

Starter is advertised at $39 against a normal price of $78, Trio at $69 against $138, Business at $99 against $198. The checkout carries the full figures. Agency starts at $199 for ten sites and climbs with the site count.

FotoGrids — One set of numbers

Free, $39, $79, $129. They are the joining price and the renewal price, because they are the same price.

Feature by feature

What Modula keeps for its paid tiers

Modula’s advertised prices are first-year discounts. The renewal is shown too, because that is what you will actually pay.
Feature
FotoGrids
Modula
Albums & Collections
Free
Trio — $69 first year, $138 after
Slider Layout
Free
Trio — $69 first year, $138 after
Image Viewer Layout
Free
Trio — $69 first year, $138 after
Filtering
Free
Starter — $39 first year, $78 after
Video
Free
Starter — $39 first year, $78 after
Tags, People & Locations
Free
Starter — $39 first year, $78 after
Pagination
Free
Business — $99 first year, $198 after
Gallery & Album Defaults
Free
Business — $99 first year, $198 after
User Permissions
Free
Business — $99 first year, $198 after
Watermarking
Free
Business — $99 first year, $198 after
Password Protect Gallery
Free
Trio — $69 first year, $138 after
EXIF Data
Free
Business — $99 first year, $198 after
Migration

Move from Modula in an afternoon

Step 1
Bring the galleries across
FotoGrids imports from Modula and other gallery plugins, so the galleries you have already built don’t need rebuilding.
Step 2
Keep the URLs
Galleries get their own addresses, and the permalink settings let you match the URLs you already have on Modula.
Step 3
Try it alongside
Free is a full plugin, not a trial. Build one gallery in FotoGrids beside your Modula one and compare on your own site.
Step 4
Make it yours
Set the hover effect, watermark and lightbox the way you like, then save them as defaults for the next gallery.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. The free plugin ships eight layouts, 30+ templates, albums, watermarking, password-protected galleries, EXIF viewing and twelve usable hover effects — the things Modula collects into its Trio and Business tiers.
Mostly what you can set without paying. Modula’s free editor renders 43 of its 45 hover effects as locked previews and exposes two lightbox controls. In FotoGrids Free every control in the editor does something.
Eight layouts, 30+ templates, albums and collections, twelve hover effects, textual watermarking, password-protected galleries, EXIF viewing and the analytics dashboard. The full breakdown is on the Free vs Pro page.
The same as this year. Pro Starter, Pro Plus and Pro Agency are $39, $79 and $129, and those are the renewal prices as well as the joining ones. The tiers are set out on the pricing page.
We read each plugin’s actual source rather than its marketing pages, then run a second pass whose job is to disprove every claim. The method is in the methodology section, and every line in the table has a source behind it.
Watermarking, albums and the full lightbox. Free, on unlimited sites

Install the free plugin, apply a template, and change the parts that are not yours yet. Customize every detail from your very first gallery.

Download Free
Compare Free and Pro