Head-to-head · October 2026
Firelight Lightbox vs Pile Gallery
Firelight Lightbox comes out ahead, winning 7 of 7 head-to-head checks against Pile Gallery.
Firelight Lightbox
NEWS: Easy Fancybox is now Firelight Lightbox. Read about it here.
Pile Gallery
Create beautiful sortable and stackable galeries from your WordPress posts and media items. If you’d like to…
| Metric | Firelight Lightbox | Pile Gallery |
|---|---|---|
| Active installs | 200K+ | 40+ |
| Downloads (30 days) | 98.8K | 72 |
| Download trend | +23% | -11.1% |
| Rating | 4.8/5 | 5/5 |
| Reviews | 360 | 1 |
| Health score | 90/100 | 31/100 |
| Last updated | 2 weeks ago | 12 years ago |
| Tested up to | WP 7.1.3 | WP 4.1.42 |
| Support resolved | 67% | — |
| Requires PHP | 7.0+ | Any |
| First released | Aug 2010 | Sep 2014 |
Daily downloads, last 90 days
Firelight LightboxPile Gallery
Choose Firelight Lightbox if…
You care most about active installs, downloads (30 days) and download trend.
- Proven at scale on 200K+ active sites
- Loved by users — 4.8/5 from 360 reviews
- Actively developed — last update 2 weeks ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Momentum — downloads up 23% vs the previous 30 days
Choose Pile Gallery if…
You prefer its feature set and workflow — it holds its own on the fundamentals.
- Small user base (40+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 11 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.1 (latest is 7.1)
Both compete in: gallery
FAQ
Firelight Lightbox vs Pile Gallery: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 18, 2026
Which is better, Firelight Lightbox or Pile Gallery?
Firelight Lightbox comes out ahead, winning 7 of 7 head-to-head checks against Pile Gallery. Choose Firelight Lightbox if you care most about active installs, downloads (30 days) and download trend.
Is Firelight Lightbox more popular than Pile Gallery?
Firelight Lightbox is the more popular of the two with 200K+ active installs, compared with 40+ for Pile Gallery.
Can I use Firelight Lightbox and Pile Gallery together?
Both plugins cover gallery, so most sites only need one. Running two plugins that do the same job can cause conflicts and slow your site down — pick the one that fits best and remove the other.
Are Firelight Lightbox and Pile Gallery free?
Yes. Both are free to download from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. Either may also offer paid upgrades from its developer.
Powered by PageForge
Want thousands of pages that rank like these? Build them in an afternoon.
This directory runs on the same engine as PageForge. Turn any spreadsheet, CSV or API into thousands of fast, SEO-ready WordPress pages — with schema, internal links and AI-written copy baked in.
- CSV, Google Sheets & API data sources
- AI content, schema & internal links per page
- Works with Elementor, Gutenberg, Yoast & Rank Math
- Free on WordPress.org — no credit card
