magnific-popup vs glightbox vs lightgallery.js
JavaScript Lightbox Libraries Comparison
1 Year
magnific-popupglightboxlightgallery.jsSimilar Packages:
What's JavaScript Lightbox Libraries?

JavaScript lightbox libraries are tools used in web development to create modal windows that display images, videos, or other content in an overlay on top of the main page. These libraries enhance user experience by allowing users to view media without navigating away from the current page. Each library offers unique features, customization options, and performance characteristics, making them suitable for different use cases in web design.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
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Stat Detail
Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
magnific-popup81,48911,3911.05 MB67610 months agoMIT
glightbox25,4502,184401 kB453 months agoMIT
lightgallery.js11,2485,327611 kB0-GPLv3
Feature Comparison: magnific-popup vs glightbox vs lightgallery.js

Customization Options

  • magnific-popup:

    Magnific Popup allows for a high degree of customization through its API. You can easily change the default settings, add custom classes, and override styles to create a unique look and feel that aligns with your site's aesthetics.

  • glightbox:

    GLightbox offers a straightforward configuration with options for customizing the appearance and behavior of the lightbox. You can easily change themes, transition effects, and enable or disable features like captions and autoplay for videos.

  • lightgallery.js:

    LightGallery.js provides extensive customization options, allowing developers to modify almost every aspect of the gallery. You can customize the layout, add plugins for additional features, and use CSS to style the gallery to match your website's design.

Performance

  • magnific-popup:

    Magnific Popup is known for its speed and efficiency. It is lightweight and focuses on fast rendering, which makes it ideal for applications where performance is critical, especially on mobile devices.

  • glightbox:

    GLightbox is designed to be lightweight and efficient, ensuring quick loading times and smooth transitions. It minimizes the use of heavy resources, making it suitable for performance-sensitive applications.

  • lightgallery.js:

    LightGallery.js is optimized for performance and can handle large sets of images without significant lag. It uses lazy loading to improve initial load times, ensuring that only the images in view are loaded, enhancing overall performance.

Mobile Responsiveness

  • magnific-popup:

    Magnific Popup is also responsive, allowing it to work well on mobile devices. It adjusts the size of the popup based on the viewport, ensuring that users have a good experience regardless of the device they are using.

  • glightbox:

    GLightbox is fully responsive and adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes, ensuring a consistent user experience across devices. It automatically adjusts the layout and size of the media being displayed.

  • lightgallery.js:

    LightGallery.js is designed with mobile responsiveness in mind, providing a smooth experience on touch devices. It includes touch gestures for navigation and supports various screen orientations without compromising functionality.

Ease of Use

  • magnific-popup:

    Magnific Popup is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It can be set up quickly with just a few lines of code, making it an excellent choice for developers who want a quick and effective solution.

  • glightbox:

    GLightbox is very easy to implement, requiring minimal setup. Its API is intuitive, making it accessible for developers of all skill levels, which is great for quick projects or prototypes.

  • lightgallery.js:

    LightGallery.js has a moderate learning curve due to its extensive features but is still user-friendly. The documentation is comprehensive, providing guidance on how to implement various features effectively.

Support and Community

  • magnific-popup:

    Magnific Popup has a well-established user base and good documentation. While it may not be as actively maintained as some newer libraries, it remains a reliable choice with a wealth of community resources.

  • glightbox:

    GLightbox has a growing community and decent documentation, which helps users troubleshoot issues and implement features effectively. However, it may not have as extensive a community as some other libraries.

  • lightgallery.js:

    LightGallery.js boasts a robust community with active support and frequent updates. The documentation is thorough, and there are many examples available to help developers get started.

How to Choose: magnific-popup vs glightbox vs lightgallery.js
  • magnific-popup:

    Select Magnific Popup if you need a highly customizable and performant lightbox that supports images, iframes, and inline content. It is best for developers who want a straightforward implementation with a focus on speed and flexibility.

  • glightbox:

    Choose GLightbox if you need a lightweight, modern, and responsive lightbox solution that supports images, videos, and iframes with a simple API. It is ideal for projects that require minimal setup and a clean aesthetic.

  • lightgallery.js:

    Opt for LightGallery.js if you are looking for a feature-rich gallery solution that includes support for thumbnails, full-screen mode, and various animations. It is suitable for projects that require extensive customization and additional gallery features.

README for magnific-popup

Important note This jQuery plugin is deprecated, only critical or security bug fixes will be released in future. Use native <dialog> element if you need a basic dialog/modal/popup, or my PhotoSwipe library if you need an advanced image gallery. Feel free to email me if you need assistance.

Stand With Ukraine

Magnific Popup Repository

Build Status

Fast, light and responsive lightbox plugin, for jQuery and Zepto.js.

Optionally, install via Bower bower install magnific-popup or npm: npm install magnific-popup. Ruby gem: gem install magnific-popup-rails.

Extensions

If you created an extension for some CMS, email me and I'll add it to this list.

Location of stuff

  • Generated popup JS and CSS files are in folder dist/. (Online build tool is on documentation page).
  • Source files are in folder src/. They include Sass CSS file and js parts (edit them if you wish to submit commit).
  • Website (examples & documentation) is in folder website/.
  • Documentation page itself is in website/documentation.md (contributions to it are very welcome).

Using Magnific Popup?

If you used Magnific Popup in some interesting way, or on site of popular brand, I'd be very grateful if you email me a link to it.

Build

To compile Magnific Popup by yourself, first of make sure that you have Node.js, Grunt.js, Ruby and Jekyll installed, then:

  1. Copy repository

    git clone https://github.com/dimsemenov/Magnific-Popup.git

  2. Go inside Magnific Popup folder that you fetched and install Node dependencies

    cd Magnific-Popup && npm install

  3. Now simply run grunt to generate JS and CSS in folder dist and site in folder _site/.

    grunt

Optionally:

  • Run grunt watch to automatically rebuild script when you change files in src/ or in website/.
  • If you don't have and don't want to install Jekyll, run grunt nosite to just build JS and CSS files related to popup in dist/.

Changelog

License

Script is MIT licensed and free and will always be kept this way. But has a small restriction from me - please do not create public WordPress plugin based on it(or at least contact me before creating it), because I will make it and it'll be open source too (want to get notified?).

Created by @dimsemenov & contributors.

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Bugs & contributing

Please report bugs via GitHub and ask general questions through Stack Overflow. Feel free to submit commit pull-request, even the tiniest contributions to the script or to the documentation are very welcome.