50 jQuery Lightbox Plugins for Photo Galleries

jQuery lightbox plugins are a great way to present your videos, HTML content and images in an appealing way. A page fused with lightbox enables elements such as modals, which is a box that users are able to click to get a glimpse of a larger eye catching glimpse of the original image. First introduced as rather hard to implement JavaScript, these plugins have come a long way and most of them today are powered by a robust intuitive jQuery library. Here’s our take of the top 50 jQuery lightbox plugins, which will definitely come handy for any web/blog enthusiast.

Lightbox 2 (2.04) [ Demo ]

Lightbox 2 allows to you render images in an appealing window, while darkening the unused part of the page. It also helps lower page load times, and does not require any additional browser plugins to work its magic.

ColorBox [ Demo ]

There are many reasons to use ColorBox including support for slideshows, photos, grouping, inline, Ajax and iframe content. The overall appearance is controlled by CSS, which allows users to restyle any box as they see fit. Generates W3C valid XHTML and is written in jQuery plugin format, making it compatible with other jQuery commands.

FancyBox [ Demo ]

This Mac-style lightbox displays images and website content, and floats above other web pages. With support for fancy transitions and completely customizable through CSS, FancyBox is compatible with iframes and various other HTML elements.

PrettyPhoto [ Demo ]

This intuitive jQuery plugin not only provides support for videos, but images, flash, YouTube videos, and iframes. With a setup that’s quick and easy combined with a robust interface, prettyPhoto is extremely flexible and can be launched from anywhere.

Litebox [ Demo ]

This modified version of Lightbox v2.0 is designed exclusively for size reduction. Powered by prototype.lite combined with 3kb Javascript library moo.fx, Lightbox is reverse compatible and can be expanded if necessary.

Lightview [ Demo ]

If you’re looking for a way to change the way you overlay content, Lightview is the plugin to explore. Some of its features include customizable without CSS, clean design to compliment your website/blog, ability to resize content to fit various screen sizes and one button slideshow.

ThickBox [ Demo ]

Written in JavaScript, and with its ability to show a single image, multiple images, iframed content and inline content, ThickBox ranks high in terms of functionality. This plugin automatically resizes images bigger than the user’s browser window, and will conceal unwanted elements in IE 6.

JQuery lightBox plugin [ Demo ]

This simple, elegant and unobtrusive plugin is used to overlay images and requires no additional markup. Powered by the jQuery JavaScript library, the jQuery lightBox plugin uses just two Javascript files in the header and eliminates the need to modify or amend your existing HTML markup.

Slightly ThickerBox [ Demo ]

This plugin can be used to create image galleries and groups of galleries, and is an amended version of Cody Lindley’s Thickbox script.

Slimbox 2 [ Demo ]

This plugin is a clone of the popular script by Lokesh Dhakar and is fully customizable, friendly, efficient, small and even compatible with its original version. Compatible with horizontal scrolling websites, Slimbox 2 is more responsive and more robust than its predecessor.

Facebox [ Demo ]

This Facebook style lightbox displays divs, images and entire remote pages. Facebox is easy to use and is powered by the jQuery library and can also be used to display external images using Ajax.

Boxy [ Demo ]

Boxy is a versatile Facebook-style dialog box for jQuery that provides support for size tweening and ragging. For simple user scenarios, this plugin also automatically sets up forms and links.

ModalBox [ Demo ]

This plugin allows you to create modern wizards and dialogs, without using conventional page loads and popups. ModalBox can handy when trying to display bigger versions of images, and is inspired by inspired by Mac OS X modal dialogs.

Shadowbox [ Demo ]

This web based media viewer application is written entirely in CSS and Javascript, and allows website/blog owners to render various kinds of media in all browsers. This plugin supports a host of options and popular web publishing formats including Windows Media Player, QuickTime, HTML and Flash video.

SimpleModal [ Demo ]

If you’re looking for a powerful interface for modal dialog development, SimpleModal is a great choice. It offers you the flexibility to build whatever you desire, while protecting you from cross browser issues resulting from UI development.

GreyBox [ Demo ]

This plugin can be used to display content, images and websites in an appealing way. There are many reasons to use GreyBox including its size of only 22kb, ability to be controlled with CSS, easy to use and setup and its compatibility with pop-up blockers.

Highslide JS [ Demo ]

This open source gallery, media and image viewer is elegant and quick looking, and requires no additional plugins such as java or Flash to work its charm. With a single click, users are able to scroll down and there’s also excellent user support for commercial and non-commercial users.

WordPress jQuery Lightbox Plugin [ Demo ]

As the name suggests, this is Word Press’s take of the jQuery Lightbox Plugin, and is fully compatible with K2 and WordPress 2.2 and up.

Picasa LightBox [ Demo ]

If you’re looking to display Picasa images on your WordPress blog, this plugin is an excellent choice. Picasa LightBox does not require any additional or custom tags to add images to your pages and posts, and its ability to use pure HTML code, makes it extremely easy to customize in any way you see fit.

Flexible lightbox [ Demo ]

This plugin allows you to create thumbnails, and allows you to insert them as a simple gallery to your blog. You can also upload, insert and organize images with a few clicks, and can be easily activated through the WordPress interface.

PIROBOX EXTENDED V.1.0 [ Demo ]

This plugin allows you to choose between three styles, and also has a slideshow and multiple image set option. This new enhanced version of this script only weighs 15kb or 40% less than its predecessor.

Floatbox Plus [ Demo ]

This plugin can be used to overlay videos, display images, and to automatically correct the overlay on images. Floatbox gives you the ability to showcase video content, pop up thumbnails and context menus, and is easy to deploy and highly customizable.

ImageZoom Mootools plugin [ Demo ]

This plugin is based on the lightbox JS and can display large images on the top of the page. With Imagezoom, users are still able to open multiple images at the same time, and can group multiple images in one set.

TopUp Javascript lightbox [ Demo ]

Topup is an easy to use JQuery plugin for showing WebPages and images in a web 2.0 style. This absolutely free plugin even for commercial use is cross browser compatible, and is complimented with fancy layouts, transitions and animations

iLightBox [ Demo ]

This plugin uses the jQuery JavaScript library to create beautiful responsive windows, and provides exceptional browser support. The iLightBox is not only limited to browsers, but works well with tablets and Smartphone browsers as well.

Lytebox [ Demo ]

Written from the lightbox class, Lytebox supports HTML content, themes and images. This lightweight, cross browser compatible plugin is fast, easy to use and best of all, its open source.

CeeBox [ Demo ]

This jQuery based plugin creates a pop-up style overlay for images, flask movies, and iframes. It also creates prev/next buttons and also supports auto-embedded popups for YouTube, Google video, Dailymotion and iFilm.

Zoomimage [ Demo ]

This jQuery lightbox plugin preloads images and presents them in a stylish way. some of the features of Zoomimage include the ability to group images in galleries, scaling images to fit user screen sizes and keyboard navigation.

Visuallightbox [ Demo ]

This free wizard programs allow you to create beautiful lightbox photo overlay effects without writing any code and with a few clicks. Some of the appealing features include cross browser compatibility, lightweight (12kb), Picasa, Photobucket and Flickr support, and an astounding 31 language interface.

ppGallery [ Demo ]

This advanced jQuery lightbox system is lightweight and installs with ease. Some of the features include compatibility with CSS, elegant yet snappy tool, easy surfing and navigation and thumbnail preview.

html5box [ Demo ]

html5box adds stylish lightbox effects to YouTube videos, images, webm videos. It is easy to install and works well with Windows Android, iPhone and all modern web browsers.

jQuery Speedo Popup [ Demo ]

This small yet robust customizable jQuery plugin allows you to play videos, and render mixed content in almost any browser, tablet or Smartphone.

Showcase v1.2 [ Demo ]

This plugin in complimented with over 60 animations that can be implemented with each bullet. This amazingly fast and lightweight script is compatible with all modern mobile devices and tablets, and also writes your own HTML directly inside each lightbox and tooltip.

Titan Lightbox [ Demo ]

This amazing jQuery lightbox script is both easy to customize and implement.

Smart Notification [ Demo ]

Smart Notification is a cross browser compatible jQuery plugin that features toggle mode, sound effects, video support and is extremely easy to use.

Repose [ Demo ]

This innovative Javascript plugin is creates an amazing showcase for different stuff including photo galleries. Some of the features include well documented, eight demo templates, well styled captions and various styles and captions.

JQuery Thumbnail Gallery With LightBox [ Demo ]

This ultimate thumbnail gallery is available in two variants ¨C vertical and horizontal and grid and line. Some of the features include support of HTML, thumb orientation, and ability to specify size limits.

Dynamic Lightbox [ Demo ]

This plugin is complete with a visual editor and allows you to customize literally anything you can dream of. Some of the features of Dynamic Lightbox are ability to edit your own design, works in all major browsers, 5 different layout in the box, smooth animations and HTML, YouTube, Google maps, Vimeo and iframe support.

Megafolio Pro Responsive Grid JQuery Plugin [ Demo ]

This plugin is a fully responsive plugin and is compatible with all modern web browsers. With intelligent and dynamic grid layouts, Megafolio includes 2 lightbox plugins and is the ultimate smart animation solution.

JackBox ¨C Responsive Lightbox [ Demo ]

Jackbox boasts of real social sharing, deep linking and retina ready graphic abilities. Being 100% compatible with responsive websites, this application works with mobile devices and even Smartphone’s.

JBMarket Image Gallery [ Demo ]

This jQuery based plugin can display thumb images, big images for the lightbox and supports full screen mode.

MetroBox ¨C Responsive LightBox [ Demo ]

This plugin can be used to display photos in their best form, and also features a custom content box for HTML, text and PHP. Some of the features include responsive design, easy to implement galleries, ESC key to close the application, and the ability to create infinite galleries.

Flare [ Demo ]

This plugin is easy to setup and comes with full documentation. Some of the features include touch capabilities, easy setup, easy lightbox plugin, optional thumbs and two full screen gallery variants.

CSS3 Lightbox [ Demo ]

This plugin is driven by animate.css and can be used to display your images in the most pleasing manner. Being mobile and tablet friendly, CSS3 Lightbox is definitely an excellent choice for both beginner and advanced web designers.

Lightbox Evolution [ Demo ]

This plugin can be used to display HTML content, images, video in a Lightbox style that renders above web pages. With this plugin, users are able to showcase a wide assortment of media in various devices and all browsers.

Lightbox JS [ Demo ]

This unobtrusive script comes handy for those looking to overlay lay images in the most appealing form. It’s easy to setup and works on all modern browsers.

jQuery Superbox [ Demo ]

This plugin allows you to display windows with the lightbox effect. JQuery Superbox is an open source plugin that is easy to implement and use.

Fancy Zoom (jQuery) [ Demo ]

This plugin is powerful and flexible and works with any headings, text, images, flash and HTML.