react-image-gallery vs react-image-lightbox vs react-images vs react-photo-gallery
React Image Gallery Libraries Comparison
1 Year
react-image-galleryreact-image-lightboxreact-imagesreact-photo-gallery
What's React Image Gallery Libraries?

React image gallery libraries provide developers with tools to easily create responsive and interactive image galleries in their applications. These libraries offer various features such as lightboxes, thumbnails, and customizable layouts, enhancing the user experience by allowing users to view images in a visually appealing manner. They are designed to integrate seamlessly with React applications, leveraging React's component-based architecture for efficient rendering and state management.

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react-image-gallery197,6523,848204 kB1515 days agoMIT
react-image-lightbox107,1541,287-04 years agoMIT
react-images42,6272,341-514 years agoMIT
react-photo-gallery14,2851,986-806 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-image-gallery vs react-image-lightbox vs react-images vs react-photo-gallery

Gallery Structure

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery provides a structured gallery layout with support for thumbnails, fullscreen mode, and autoplay features. It allows for easy navigation between images and can handle various media types, making it versatile for different use cases.

  • react-image-lightbox:

    react-image-lightbox focuses on a lightbox experience, allowing users to view images in a modal with navigation controls. It is designed for simplicity and ease of use, providing a clean interface for image viewing without additional gallery features.

  • react-images:

    react-images offers a flexible structure that allows developers to customize the layout and presentation of images. It supports various viewing options, including captions and zoom functionalities, making it suitable for diverse applications.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery is built around a grid layout, allowing for responsive design and easy arrangement of images. It is optimized for displaying multiple images in a visually appealing manner, making it ideal for portfolios and galleries.

Customization Options

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery offers extensive customization options, including custom renderers for thumbnails and image components, allowing developers to tailor the gallery to their specific design needs.

  • react-image-lightbox:

    react-image-lightbox provides limited customization, focusing on a straightforward lightbox experience. It allows for basic styling but is primarily designed for quick implementation without extensive modifications.

  • react-images:

    react-images is highly customizable, allowing developers to define their own styles and behaviors for image viewing. It supports various props for fine-tuning the user experience, making it adaptable to different project requirements.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery allows for customization of the grid layout and image rendering. Developers can define the number of columns and how images are displayed, providing flexibility in design.

Performance

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery is optimized for performance, utilizing lazy loading for images to improve load times and reduce memory usage, especially in galleries with many images.

  • react-image-lightbox:

    react-image-lightbox is lightweight and performs well for single image viewing, but may not be as efficient for galleries with many images due to its focus on modal presentation.

  • react-images:

    react-images is designed for performance with features like lazy loading and efficient rendering, ensuring smooth transitions and quick loading times for images.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery is optimized for displaying multiple images in a grid format, ensuring that performance remains high even with a large number of images.

User Experience

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery enhances user experience with features like keyboard navigation, swipe gestures, and autoplay, making it easy for users to interact with the gallery.

  • react-image-lightbox:

    react-image-lightbox provides a smooth user experience with intuitive navigation controls and zoom functionality, allowing users to focus on individual images without distractions.

  • react-images:

    react-images focuses on providing a rich user experience with customizable captions and zoom options, making it suitable for applications that require detailed image viewing.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery enhances user experience by providing a responsive grid layout that adapts to different screen sizes, ensuring that images are displayed beautifully on all devices.

Learning Curve

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery has a moderate learning curve, as it requires understanding of its API and customization options, but is generally straightforward for developers familiar with React.

  • react-image-lightbox:

    react-image-lightbox is easy to implement and has a low learning curve, making it suitable for developers looking for a quick solution for image viewing.

  • react-images:

    react-images has a moderate learning curve due to its flexibility and customization options, but is manageable for developers with React experience.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery is relatively easy to learn, especially for developers familiar with grid layouts, making it accessible for quick implementation.

How to Choose: react-image-gallery vs react-image-lightbox vs react-images vs react-photo-gallery
  • react-image-gallery:

    Choose react-image-gallery if you need a comprehensive solution for creating a responsive image gallery with features like thumbnails, fullscreen mode, and keyboard navigation. It is ideal for projects that require a straightforward gallery implementation with customization options.

  • react-image-lightbox:

    Select react-image-lightbox if you want a lightweight and simple solution for displaying images in a lightbox format. It is perfect for projects where you want to focus on a single image view with zoom and navigation capabilities, without the need for a full gallery setup.

  • react-images:

    Opt for react-images if you require a flexible and customizable image viewer that supports various layouts and features like captions, zooming, and fullscreen support. It is suitable for applications that need a more tailored image viewing experience with advanced functionalities.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    Use react-photo-gallery if you are looking for a grid layout for your images with responsive design. It is best for projects that need to display a large number of images in a structured format, allowing for easy customization of the gallery layout.

README for react-image-gallery

React Image Gallery

npm version Download Count Bundle size

Live Demo (try it on mobile for swipe support)

linxtion.com/demo/react-image-gallery

demo gif

React image gallery is a React component for building image galleries and carousels

Features

  • Mobile swipe gestures
  • Thumbnail navigation
  • Fullscreen support
  • Custom rendered slides
  • RTL support
  • Responsive design
  • Tons of customization options (see props below)

Getting started

React Image Gallery requires React 16.0.0 or later.

npm install react-image-gallery

Style import options

# scss file import
@import "~react-image-gallery/styles/scss/image-gallery.scss";

# css file import
@import "~react-image-gallery/styles/css/image-gallery.css";

# js file import (using webpack)
import "react-image-gallery/styles/css/image-gallery.css";

Example

Need more example? See example/App.jsx

import ImageGallery from "react-image-gallery";
// import stylesheet if you're not already using CSS @import
import "react-image-gallery/styles/css/image-gallery.css";

const images = [
  {
    original: "https://picsum.photos/id/1018/1000/600/",
    thumbnail: "https://picsum.photos/id/1018/250/150/",
  },
  {
    original: "https://picsum.photos/id/1015/1000/600/",
    thumbnail: "https://picsum.photos/id/1015/250/150/",
  },
  {
    original: "https://picsum.photos/id/1019/1000/600/",
    thumbnail: "https://picsum.photos/id/1019/250/150/",
  },
];

class MyGallery extends React.Component {
  render() {
    return <ImageGallery items={images} />;
  }
}

Props

  • items: (required) Array of objects, see example above,

    • Available Properties
      • original - image src url
      • thumbnail - image thumbnail src url
      • fullscreen - image for fullscreen (defaults to original)
      • originalHeight - image height (html5 attribute)
      • originalWidth - image width (html5 attribute)
      • loading - image loading. Either "lazy" or "eager" (html5 attribute)
      • thumbnailHeight - image height (html5 attribute)
      • thumbnailWidth - image width (html5 attribute)
      • thumbnailLoading - image loading. Either "lazy" or "eager" (html5 attribute)
      • originalClass - custom image class
      • thumbnailClass - custom thumbnail class
      • renderItem - Function for custom rendering a specific slide (see renderItem below)
      • renderThumbInner - Function for custom thumbnail renderer (see renderThumbInner below)
      • originalAlt - image alt
      • thumbnailAlt - thumbnail image alt
      • originalTitle - image title
      • thumbnailTitle - thumbnail image title
      • thumbnailLabel - label for thumbnail
      • description - description for image
      • srcSet - image srcset (html5 attribute)
      • sizes - image sizes (html5 attribute)
      • bulletClass - extra class for the bullet of the item
  • infinite: Boolean, default true

    • infinite sliding
  • lazyLoad: Boolean, default false

  • showNav: Boolean, default true

  • showThumbnails: Boolean, default true

  • thumbnailPosition: String, default bottom

    • available positions: top, right, bottom, left
  • showFullscreenButton: Boolean, default true

  • useBrowserFullscreen: Boolean, default true

    • if false, fullscreen will be done via css within the browser
  • useTranslate3D: Boolean, default true

    • if false, will use translate instead of translate3d css property to transition slides
  • showPlayButton: Boolean, default true

  • isRTL: Boolean, default false

    • if true, gallery's direction will be from right-to-left (to support right-to-left languages)
  • showBullets: Boolean, default false

  • showIndex: Boolean, default false

  • autoPlay: Boolean, default false

  • disableThumbnailScroll: Boolean, default false

    • disables the thumbnail container from adjusting
  • disableKeyDown: Boolean, default false

    • disables keydown listener for keyboard shortcuts (left arrow, right arrow, esc key)
  • disableSwipe: Boolean, default false

  • disableThumbnailSwipe: Boolean, default false

  • onErrorImageURL: String, default undefined

    • an image src pointing to your default image if an image fails to load
    • handles both slide image, and thumbnail image
  • indexSeparator: String, default ' / ', ignored if showIndex is false

  • slideDuration: Number, default 450

    • transition duration during image slide in milliseconds
  • swipingTransitionDuration: Number, default 0

    • transition duration while swiping in milliseconds
  • slideInterval: Number, default 3000

  • slideOnThumbnailOver: Boolean, default false

  • flickThreshold: Number (float), default 0.4

    • Determines the max velocity of a swipe before it's considered a flick (lower = more sensitive)
  • swipeThreshold: Number, default 30

    • A percentage of how far the offset of the current slide is swiped to trigger a slide event. e.g. If the current slide is swiped less than 30% to the left or right, it will not trigger a slide event.
  • stopPropagation: Boolean, default false

    • Automatically calls stopPropagation on all 'swipe' events.
  • startIndex: Number, default 0

  • onImageError: Function, callback(event)

    • overrides onErrorImage
  • onThumbnailError: Function, callback(event)

    • overrides onErrorImage
  • onThumbnailClick: Function, callback(event, index)

  • onBulletClick: Function, callback(event, index)

  • onImageLoad: Function, callback(event)

  • onSlide: Function, callback(currentIndex)

  • onBeforeSlide: Function, callback(nextIndex)

  • onScreenChange: Function, callback(boolean)

    • When fullscreen is toggled a boolean is passed to the callback
  • onPause: Function, callback(currentIndex)

  • onPlay: Function, callback(currentIndex)

  • onClick: Function, callback(event)

  • onTouchMove: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • onTouchEnd: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • onTouchStart: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • onMouseOver: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • onMouseLeave: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • additionalClass: String,

    • Additional class that will be added to the root node of the component.
  • renderCustomControls: Function, custom controls rendering

    • Use this to render custom controls or other elements on the currently displayed image (like the fullscreen button)
      _renderCustomControls() {
        return <a href='' className='image-gallery-custom-action' onClick={this._customAction.bind(this)}/>
      }
    
  • renderItem: Function, custom item rendering

    • NOTE: Highly suggest looking into a render cache such as React.memo if you plan to override renderItem
    • On a specific item [{thumbnail: '...', renderItem: this.myRenderItem}]
    • As a prop passed into ImageGallery to completely override renderItem, see source for renderItem implementation
  • renderThumbInner: Function, custom thumbnail rendering

    • On a specific item [{thumbnail: '...', renderThumbInner: this.myRenderThumbInner}]
    • As a prop passed into ImageGallery to completely override _renderThumbInner, see source for reference
  • renderLeftNav: Function, custom left nav component

    • See <LeftNav />
    • Use this to render a custom left nav control
    • Args:
      • onClick callback that will slide to the previous item
      • disabled boolean for when the nav is disabled
    renderLeftNav: (onClick, disabled) => (
      <LeftNav onClick={onClick} disabled={disabled} />
    );
    
  • renderRightNav: Function, custom right nav component

    • See <RightNav />
    • Use this to render a custom right nav control
    • Args:
      • onClick callback that will slide to the next item
      • disabled boolean for when the nav is disabled
    renderRightNav: (onClick, disabled) => (
      <RightNav onClick={onClick} disabled={disabled} />
    );
    
  • renderPlayPauseButton: Function, play pause button component

    • See <PlayPause />
    • Use this to render a custom play pause button
    • Args:
      • onClick callback that will toggle play/pause
      • isPlaying boolean for when gallery is playing
    renderPlayPauseButton: (onClick, isPlaying) => (
      <PlayPause onClick={onClick} isPlaying={isPlaying} />
    );
    
  • renderFullscreenButton: Function, custom fullscreen button component

    • See <Fullscreen />
    • Use this to render a custom fullscreen button
    • Args:
      • onClick callback that will toggle fullscreen
      • isFullscreen argument for when fullscreen is active
      renderFullscreenButton: (onClick, isFullscreen) => (
        <Fullscreen onClick={onClick} isFullscreen={isFullscreen} />
      ),
    
  • useWindowKeyDown: Boolean, default true

    • If true, listens to keydown events on window (window.addEventListener)
    • If false, listens to keydown events on image gallery element (imageGalleryElement.addEventListener)

Functions

The following functions can be accessed using refs

  • play(): plays the slides
  • pause(): pauses the slides
  • toggleFullScreen(): toggles full screen
  • slideToIndex(index): slides to a specific index
  • getCurrentIndex(): returns the current index

Contributing

Each pull request (PR) should be specific and isolated to the issue you're trying to fix. Please do not stack features, chores, refactors, or enhancements in one PR. Describe your feature/implementation in the PR. If you're unsure whether it's useful or if it involves a major change, please open an issue first and seek feedback.

  • Follow eslint provided
  • Comment your code
  • Write clean code

Build the example locally (requires node >= 12.13)

git clone https://github.com/xiaolin/react-image-gallery.git
cd react-image-gallery
npm install --global yarn
yarn install
yarn start

Then open localhost:8001 in a browser.

License

MIT