Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed
Awesome Motive's Instagram feed plugin for WordPress, part of the Smash Balloon family with separate Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X feed plugins.
90
Social Feed Gallery
QuadLayers' Instagram gallery and carousel plugin with free block and Elementor support, plus low-cost premium plans and lifetime deals.
Free installs80K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~3.4KLikely 1.7K–6.8K
Rating4.5/5303 reviews
Price from$49/yrFreemium
Last updated21 Oct 2026Version 5.0.13
Overview
Social Feed Gallery by QuadLayers (previously Instagram Feed Gallery) displays Instagram posts as a gallery or carousel. You connect an account with a one-click token, create a feed in a settings modal with a preview, and place it with a shortcode, a Gutenberg block or a native Elementor widget.
The free plugin supports one Instagram account with unlimited feeds from it. It offers gallery and carousel layouts, a popup that shows likes, comments and captions, image masks and hover colours, button styling, an option to hide Reels and API caching (media for six hours, Stories for one hour) with a manual cache reset.
Premium
The premium add-on, which runs alongside the free plugin, adds multiple accounts, hashtag feeds, tagged feeds and Stories for professional accounts, masonry and highlight layouts, a load more button, profile header details, boxed styling and separate mobile and tablet settings. Plans start at $49 a year for one site, and QuadLayers also sells lifetime licences from $99, which is unusual in this category. TikTok feeds are a separate QuadLayers plugin.
- Block and Elementor widget free
- Lightbox with comments free
- Lifetime licence option
Limitations
The plugin is Instagram focused, with no Facebook, YouTube or X support. It has no shoppable posts, no per-post moderation or keyword filtering, no GDPR consent mode and no documented local image storage, so images load from Instagram. Caching refreshes when the cache expires rather than in the background. Hashtag feeds are subject to Instagram’s limit of 30 hashtags per week.
Who should pick it: small sites that want an inexpensive Instagram gallery or carousel, especially Elementor users, or anyone who prefers a one-off lifetime payment over subscriptions.
Best for: Budget-conscious Instagram sites, particularly on Elementor, that want a gallery or carousel and possibly a lifetime licence.
Social Feed Gallery is a solid, inexpensive Instagram gallery with good free page-builder support and a useful lightbox. It lacks the moderation, shoppable and privacy features of the leaders, so it suits simpler showcase feeds.
Pros
- Gutenberg block and Elementor widget included free
- Popup with likes, comments and captions in the free version
- Low annual prices and lifetime licence options
- Hashtag, tagged and Stories feeds in premium
- Gallery and carousel layouts free
Cons
- Free version limited to one Instagram account
- Instagram only; TikTok needs a separate plugin and there is no Facebook or YouTube
- No shoppable posts, moderation or GDPR consent mode
- Images load from Instagram and cache refreshes on page requests
Key features
What Social Feed Gallery highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Gallery and carousel layouts
- One connected Instagram account
- Unlimited feeds from that account
- Popup with likes and comments
- Reels support with hide option
- Image masks and hover styling
- Gutenberg block included
- Native Elementor widget
- Instagram API caching with reset
- One-click token setup
Pro / paid adds From $49/yr
- Multiple Instagram accounts
- Hashtag feeds
- Tagged post feeds
- Instagram Stories
- Masonry and highlight layouts
- Load more button
- Profile header with avatar
- Boxed mode styling
- Mobile and tablet settings
- Lifetime licence option
Feature checklist
10 of 18 features we track in Social Feed Plugins, feature score 49/100
Sources 3/8
Instagram feeds Key
Displays Instagram posts from your account.
Displays posts and reels from one connected Instagram account free.
Included
Facebook feeds
Displays Facebook page posts, photos or events.
No Facebook feeds.
Not included
YouTube feeds
Displays YouTube channel or playlist videos.
No YouTube feeds.
Not included
TikTok feeds
Displays TikTok videos.
Handled by the separate QuadLayers TikTok Feed plugin.
Via add-on
X (Twitter) feeds
Displays posts from X.
No X feeds.
Not included
Other networks
Pinterest, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky or others.
Only Instagram is supported.
Not included
Combined social wall Key
Mixes several networks into one feed.
Cannot mix networks in one feed.
Not included
Hashtag & tagged feeds Key
Shows posts by hashtag or posts you were tagged in.
Premium hashtag and tagged feeds for professional accounts.
Paid version Personal
Display 5/6
Grid, carousel & masonry layouts Key
Several layouts with responsive columns.
Free gallery and carousel; premium adds masonry and highlight layouts.
Included
Visual feed customiser
Live editor for layout, colours and content.
Feed modal with preview and options for layout, box, image, mask and buttons.
Included
Lightbox & popups
Open posts, videos and comments in a lightbox.
Free popup with likes, comments, captions and navigation arrows.
Included
Shoppable feeds Key
Link posts to products or custom URLs.
Posts can only link to Instagram; no product or custom URL links.
Not included
Moderation & filtering
Hide posts or filter by word or type.
Can hide Reels or highlight chosen posts; no per-post hiding or word filters.
Partial
Blocks & page builder widgets
Gutenberg blocks or Elementor widgets.
Gutenberg block and native Elementor widget in the free version.
Included
Performance & privacy 2/4
Feed caching & background updates
Feeds cached and refreshed in the background so pages stay fast.
API data cached for hours with manual reset; refresh happens when cache expires.
Partial
Local image storage
Resized images stored on your site instead of loaded from the network.
No local image storage described; media loads from Instagram.
Not included
GDPR mode Key
Avoids loading third-party content until consent, or works without it.
No consent mode or consent-plugin integration documented.
Not included
Multiple accounts & feeds
Connect several accounts and create many feeds.
Free supports one account; premium adds multiple accounts.
Paid version Personal
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Free
Freeper yearUnlimited
One Instagram account, gallery and carousel layouts, popup, block and Elementor widget.
Personal
$49per year1 site
Lifetime licence also offered at $99.
Agency
$99per year5 sites
Lifetime licence also offered at $199.
Developer
$149per yearUnlimited
Lifetime licence also offered at $299. Site popup advertises 20% off a first licence.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Social Feed Gallery?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
80K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
100K+
Paying customers claimed by the vendor. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~3.4K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: About 85K free installs x 4% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when most features are free) gives 3.4K. Likely range: 1.7K to 6.8K. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
10,810 downloads last week, 5.6M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 5.0.13 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 21 Oct 2026 (13 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 4.7+, PHP 5.6+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 3 of 5 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 15 Dec 2016 |
Company & policy
| Paying customers claimed | 100K+ (source, 14 Oct 2026) Site popup claims 100,000+ customers across all QuadLayers plugins, not this one alone. |
|---|---|
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back (source, 14 Oct 2026) Full refund within 30 days of purchase. |
Social Feed Gallery compared
Alternatives to Social Feed Gallery
Juicer
Hosted social media aggregator that combines posts from 15+ networks into one moderated feed, embedded in WordPress by shortcode or Elementor widget.
93
WP Social Ninja
Freemium plugin for Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok feeds, plus review widgets, chat buttons and testimonials, from WPManageNinja.
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Flow-Flow Social Feed Stream
Social wall plugin that mixes posts from 14+ networks into one cached stream, with a free Lite edition and a PRO version…
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Feed Them Social
SlickRemix's free multi-network feed plugin for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, extended by paid Premium, TikTok and Combined Streams add-ons.
68
Elfsight Instagram Feed
Hosted Instagram feed widget you design in Elfsight's online editor and embed on WordPress with a code snippet; free plan, then monthly…
62
FAQ
Is Social Feed Gallery free?
Yes. Social Feed Gallery has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $49/yr.
How many sites use Social Feed Gallery?
WordPress.org reports 80K+ active installations of the free version. We estimate around 3.4K sites run the paid version.
Does Social Feed Gallery have instagram feeds?
Yes: included. Displays posts and reels from one connected Instagram account free.
Does Social Feed Gallery have combined social wall?
No: not included. Cannot mix networks in one feed.
Does Social Feed Gallery have hashtag & tagged feeds?
Yes: paid version (Personal). Premium hashtag and tagged feeds for professional accounts.
Does Social Feed Gallery have grid, carousel & masonry layouts?
Yes: included. Free gallery and carousel; premium adds masonry and highlight layouts.
Does Social Feed Gallery have shoppable feeds?
No: not included. Posts can only link to Instagram; no product or custom URL links.
Does Social Feed Gallery have gdpr mode?
No: not included. No consent mode or consent-plugin integration documented.
Can I show more than one Instagram account?
Only with premium. The free version supports one account, although you can create several feeds from it.
Do I keep the free plugin installed with premium?
Yes. QuadLayers' FAQ says both the free and premium plugins must stay installed and active.
Are there limits on hashtag feeds?
Hashtag feeds need a professional Instagram account and premium, and Instagram allows up to 30 unique hashtags per seven days.
Is there a lifetime licence?
Yes. Lifetime licences are offered at $99 for one site, $199 for five and $299 for unlimited sites.
Last updated 13 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.