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FotoGrids vs Responsive Lightbox & Gallery

Responsive Lightbox & Gallery doesn’t have a Pro version. It has thirteen separate annual subscriptions. The justified layout is one product, filtering is inside another, and putting a video in a gallery means buying a third — three licence keys and $87 a year, on one site.
FotoGrids
13
Separate annual subscriptions in the Responsive Lightbox catalogue
8 vs 3
Gallery layouts in FotoGrids Free vs Responsive Lightbox free
$0 vs $87
A year for justified, filtering and video — FotoGrids Free vs three extensions
$69
A year for the Responsive Lightbox extension bundle, renewing automatically
18
18

18 features Responsive Lightbox sells separately — or doesn’t offer at all — are free in FotoGrids.

Why FotoGrids

Four reasons to pick FotoGrids over Responsive Lightbox & Gallery

FotoGrids
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
Choosing a layout
FotoGrids
Eight layouts in Free, with 30+ templates to start from
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
Three layouts free; the rest are $29 a year each
Putting a video in a gallery
FotoGrids
Video items in the free plugin
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
Needs one of three paid extensions, from $29 a year
Letting visitors filter
FotoGrids
Filtering in Free, advanced filtering in Pro Starter
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
Sold inside Masonry Gallery Pro, $29 a year
Seeing changes as you make them
FotoGrids
Autosave and live preview in the free plugin
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
Gallery settings are not autosaved at all
Buying a gallery plugin

There is no Pro version, there is a shopping list

Most plugins draw one line between free and paid. This one draws thirteen, and each has its own price and its own licence key.

Responsive Lightbox — 13 separate annual subscriptions

Twelve extensions at $29, $39 or $49 a year depending on site count, plus Remote Library Pro at $19, plus a bundle at $69. Justified layout, filtering and video are three different products — three keys, $87 a year, for one site.

FotoGrids — In the free plugin

Eight layouts, filtering, video, caption styling and password-protected galleries, all in Free, on unlimited sites. One plugin, one download, nothing to assemble.

Display & layout

Three layouts are free. The fourth is $29 a year

Layout is the first decision you make about a gallery, and usually the one you change most often.

Responsive Lightbox — Grid, slider, masonry, then a checkout

The free plugin registers exactly three gallery styles, and their own product page agrees: “features Grid, Slider and Masonry gallery styles. Need more? Look at our premium extensions!” Justified, Expander, Hidden and Slider Gallery are $29 a year each.

FotoGrids — Eight layouts in Free

Grid, masonry, justified, slider, image viewer, single item and more, all in Free, with 30+ templates to start from. Pro Starter takes that to eleven layouts and 70+ templates.

Video in galleries

The button for adding video is greyed out

A gallery that can hold a video is a different thing from a gallery that can only hold photographs.

Responsive Lightbox — Three products can unlock it

The free build renders a “Select images & videos” button that is visibly disabled, with its own explanation beside it: HTML5 and embedded video are available only in Fancybox Pro, Lightgallery Lightbox or Lightcase Lightbox. No free lightbox supports it.

FotoGrids — In the free plugin

Video items in Free, alongside filtering, social sharing and caption styling in the same gallery. Pro Starter adds the carousel and video playlist layouts.

In fairness

A very good free lightbox that grew a gallery builder

Responsive Lightbox earned its install count honestly, and the comparison is better for saying where it wins.

Responsive Lightbox — Eight lightbox engines, free

Eight lightbox scripts, a role-based capability matrix, AJAX pagination with infinite scroll and a large public filter set all ship in the free plugin. As a lightbox it is hard to fault, and plenty of sites will never need more than it.

FotoGrids — One plugin, priced once

Our $39, $79 and $129 are renewal prices as well as joining prices, and nothing is sold per feature. The difference is that in FotoGrids the gallery is already finished in Free.

Feature by feature

What Responsive Lightbox sells separately

There is no Pro tier here. Each of these is either a different product with its own price and licence key, or it isn’t offered at all.
Feature
FotoGrids
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
Flexible Gallery Layouts
Free
3 layouts free — the rest are $29/yr each
Justified Layout
Free
$29/yr extension
Filtering
Free
$29/yr extension
Video
Free
$29/yr extension
Templates Library
Free
Not documented at any tier
Caption Styles
Free
Font size only, clamped to 10–20px
Custom Fonts
Free
Not offered at any tier
Borders & Corner Radius
Free
Not offered at any tier
Autosave & Live Preview
Free
Not offered at any tier
Social Sharing
Free
One lightbox of eight
EXIF Data
Free
Not offered at any tier
Password Protect Gallery
Free
Not offered at any tier
Migration

Move from Responsive Lightbox & Gallery in an afternoon

Step 1
Bring the galleries across
FotoGrids imports from other gallery plugins, so the galleries you built with the Gallery Builder don’t need rebuilding by hand.
Step 2
Keep the URLs
Galleries get their own addresses, and the permalink settings let you keep the URLs you already have indexed.
Step 3
Try it alongside
Free is a full plugin, not a trial. Build one gallery in FotoGrids beside a Responsive Lightbox one and compare them on your own site.
Step 4
Make it yours
Add the justified layout, the filtering and the video that were separate purchases, then save them as defaults for the next gallery.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Both give you a lightbox and a gallery builder in a free plugin. The difference is what happens next: in Responsive Lightbox the justified layout, filtering and video are separate annual subscriptions, and in FotoGrids they are part of Free.
Eight layouts including justified, 30+ templates, filtering, video items, social sharing, caption styling, borders and corner radius, custom fonts, EXIF viewing, password-protected galleries and an analytics dashboard — on unlimited sites.
No. FotoGrids ships an advanced lightbox in the free plugin, and it is built into the same gallery you are editing rather than configured separately. You can build one gallery in each plugin and compare them on your own site before deciding anything.
The same as this year, and it is one price rather than a per-feature one. Pro Starter, Pro Plus and Pro Agency are $39, $79 and $129, and those are renewal prices as well as joining prices. Free stays free. The tiers are on the pricing page.
We read each plugin’s own source rather than its marketing pages, then run a second pass whose only job is to disprove what the first one found. Anything that doesn’t survive gets dropped before publication. The method is in the methodology section, and every line in the table has a source behind it.
Eight layouts, filtering and video. 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