photoswipe vs magnific-popup vs lightgallery vs lightbox2

Package	Downloads	Stars	Size	Issues	Publish	License

photoswipe	328,732	24,936	1.21 MB	638	a year ago	MIT
magnific-popup	85,342	11,374	1.05 MB	677	a year ago	MIT
lightgallery	71,724	6,913	7.97 MB	57	2 months ago	GPLv3
lightbox2	0	6,376	657 kB	70	a year ago	-

Package

Downloads

Stars

Size

Issues

Publish

License

photoswipe

328,732

24,936

1.21 MB

638

a year ago

MIT

magnific-popup

85,342

11,374

1.05 MB

677

a year ago

MIT

lightgallery

71,724

6,913

7.97 MB

2 months ago

GPLv3

lightbox2

6,376

657 kB

a year ago

Size and Performance

photoswipe:
photoswipe is designed for performance, especially with large images. It has a larger footprint compared to some other lightbox libraries, but its efficient handling of images and touch events makes it worth it for high-quality galleries.
magnific-popup:
magnific-popup is known for its performance and small size (about 8KB minified). It loads content quickly and provides smooth animations, making it suitable for performance-sensitive applications.
lightgallery:
lightgallery is larger than lightbox2, but it offers a wide range of features that justify the size. It is optimized for performance, especially when using lazy loading and modular imports to reduce the initial load.
lightbox2:
lightbox2 is a lightweight library (around 10KB minified) that provides fast performance for displaying images. Its small size makes it ideal for projects where load time and bandwidth are concerns.

Customization

photoswipe:
photoswipe offers a high level of customization, especially for its UI and behavior. It allows developers to create a fully tailored experience, but it requires more effort to set up compared to other libraries.
magnific-popup:
magnific-popup is highly customizable, with support for different content types, animations, and callbacks. It allows for deep customization through CSS and JavaScript, making it suitable for projects that require a unique look and feel.
lightgallery:
lightgallery provides extensive customization options, including themes, plugins, and the ability to add custom HTML. Its modular architecture allows developers to include only the features they need, making it highly flexible.
lightbox2:
lightbox2 offers basic customization options, including captions, image titles, and CSS styling. However, it is not highly customizable beyond its default settings, making it best for simple use cases.

Mobile Responsiveness

photoswipe:
photoswipe is designed with mobile devices in mind, featuring touch-friendly navigation, pinch-to-zoom, and responsive layouts. It provides one of the best mobile experiences among lightbox libraries.
magnific-popup:
magnific-popup is responsive and works well on mobile devices. It also supports touch events, making it suitable for applications that need to function seamlessly across different screen sizes.
lightgallery:
lightgallery is fully responsive and optimized for mobile devices. It supports touch gestures, making it a great choice for modern web applications that need to cater to mobile users.
lightbox2:
lightbox2 is mobile-friendly and works well on touch devices. However, it lacks advanced touch gestures and features that some other lightbox libraries offer.

Accessibility

photoswipe:
photoswipe is built with accessibility in mind, featuring keyboard navigation, ARIA attributes, and a focus on providing a seamless experience for all users, including those with disabilities.
magnific-popup:
magnific-popup includes accessibility features such as keyboard navigation and ARIA roles. It is generally considered accessible, but developers may need to implement additional features for full compliance.
lightgallery:
lightgallery is designed with accessibility in mind, offering keyboard navigation, ARIA support, and customizable elements to improve the experience for all users.
lightbox2:
lightbox2 provides basic accessibility features, including keyboard navigation and ARIA attributes. However, it may require additional enhancements to meet all accessibility standards.

Ease of Use: Code Examples

photoswipe:

photoswipe has a steeper learning curve due to its advanced features, but it’s well worth the effort for high-quality galleries. Example:

<!-- Include PhotoSwipe CSS and JS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="photoswipe.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="default-skin/default-skin.css">
<script src="photoswipe.min.js"></script>
<script src="photoswipe-ui-default.min.js"></script>

<!-- PhotoSwipe Gallery -->
<div class="my-gallery" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageGallery">
  <figure itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
    <a href="image1.jpg" itemprop="contentUrl" data-size="1024x768">
      <img src="thumbnail1.jpg" itemprop="thumbnail" alt="Image 1" />
    </a>
    <figcaption itemprop="caption description">Image 1</figcaption>
  </figure>
  <figure itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
    <a href="image2.jpg" itemprop="contentUrl" data-size="1024x768">
      <img src="thumbnail2.jpg" itemprop="thumbnail" alt="Image 2" />
    </a>
    <figcaption itemprop="caption description">Image 2</figcaption>
  </figure>
</div>

<!-- PhotoSwipe Initialization -->
<script>
  var initPhotoSwipeFromDOM = function(gallerySelector) {
    // Parse slide data (URL, title, size) from DOM elements
    var parseThumbnailElements = function(el) {
      var thumbElements = el.getElementsByTagName('figure'),
          numNodes = thumbElements.length,
          items = [],
          item;
      for (var i = 0; i < numNodes; i++) {
        item = thumbElements[i].children[0];
        var size = item.getAttribute('data-size').split('x');
        var title = thumbElements[i].children[1].innerHTML;
        items.push({
          src: item.getAttribute('href'),
          w: parseInt(size[0], 10),
          h: parseInt(size[1], 10),
          title: title
        });
      }
      return items;
    };

    // Open PhotoSwipe when an image is clicked
    var openPhotoSwipe = function(index, gallery) {
      var pswpElement = document.querySelectorAll('.pswp')[0],
          options = { index: index };
      var gallery = new PhotoSwipe(pswpElement, PhotoSwipeUI_Default, items, options);
      gallery.init();
    };

    // Bind click events to gallery items
    var galleryElements = document.querySelectorAll(gallerySelector + ' a');
    for (var i = 0; i < galleryElements.length; i++) {
      galleryElements[i].onclick = function(e) {
        e.preventDefault();
        var index = Array.prototype.indexOf.call(galleryElements, this);
        openPhotoSwipe(index);
      };
    }
  };

  // Initialize PhotoSwipe
  initPhotoSwipeFromDOM('.my-gallery');
</script>

magnific-popup:

magnific-popup is straightforward to use, with clear documentation. Example:

<!-- Include Magnific Popup CSS and JS -->
<link href="magnific-popup.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="jquery.magnific-popup.min.js"></script>

<!-- Image Gallery -->
<a href="image1.jpg" class="popup-image" title="Image 1">
  <img src="thumbnail1.jpg" alt="Image 1">
</a>
<a href="image2.jpg" class="popup-image" title="Image 2">
  <img src="thumbnail2.jpg" alt="Image 2">
</a>

<script>
  $(document).ready(function() {
    $('.popup-image').magnificPopup({
      type: 'image',
      gallery: {
        enabled: true
      }
    });
  });
</script>

lightgallery:

lightgallery requires a bit more setup due to its feature set, but it’s still user-friendly. Example:

<!-- Include Lightgallery CSS and JS -->
<link href="lightgallery.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="lightgallery.js"></script>

<!-- Image Gallery -->
<div id="lightgallery">
  <a href="image1.jpg" data-lg-size="1024-768" data-lg-title="Image 1">
    <img src="thumbnail1.jpg" alt="Image 1">
  </a>
  <a href="image2.jpg" data-lg-size="1024-768" data-lg-title="Image 2">
    <img src="thumbnail2.jpg" alt="Image 2">
  </a>
</div>

<script>
  lightGallery(document.getElementById('lightgallery'));
</script>

lightbox2:

lightbox2 is easy to implement with minimal configuration. Here’s a simple example:

<!-- Include Lightbox2 CSS and JS -->
<link href="lightbox.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="lightbox.js"></script>

<!-- Image Gallery -->
<a href="image1.jpg" data-lightbox="gallery" data-title="Image 1">
  <img src="thumbnail1.jpg" alt="Image 1">
</a>
<a href="image2.jpg" data-lightbox="gallery" data-title="Image 2">
  <img src="thumbnail2.jpg" alt="Image 2">
</a>

Size and Performance

Customization

Mobile Responsiveness

Accessibility

Ease of Use: Code Examples

Repo structure

Older versions