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
Spotlight Social Feeds
RebelCode's Instagram-only feed plugin with unlimited free accounts and feeds, plus paid hashtag, shoppable and analytics tiers.
Free installs50K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~3.5KLikely 2.3K–5.3K
Vendor claims60K+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.7/5171 reviews
Price from$59/yrFreemium
Last updated21 Oct 2026Version 1.8.1
Overview
Spotlight Social Feeds by RebelCode is an Instagram feed plugin built around a guided feed editor: pick a design, connect an account and place the feed with a block, shortcode or widget. Despite the name it only handles Instagram, including photos, videos, reels and carousel posts.
The free version is generous on volume. You can connect unlimited Instagram accounts, create unlimited feeds and merge several accounts into one feed. It includes a popup lightbox, a feed header with avatar and bio, follow and load more buttons, ordering by date or popularity and per-device design settings. Posts are imported on a schedule using WordPress cron, thumbnails are saved locally and the feed is rendered without Instagram scripts or cookies.
Paid plans
Essentials unlocks every template and layout (highlight, masonry, slider and thumbnails), Instagram Stories and the Elementor widget. PRO adds public hashtag feeds, tagged posts, mixed source feeds, caption and hashtag filtering, visual moderation, link-in-bio pages and shoppable feeds that can link posts to WooCommerce products. Agency covers up to 20 sites and adds Instagram and feed analytics, Google Analytics integration and media management. All plans are annual with prices locked for life.
- Unlimited accounts and feeds in the free version
- Access Token Generator so clients can connect without sharing passwords
- No Instagram cookies set on the front end
Limitations
There is no support for Facebook, TikTok, YouTube or any other network, so it cannot build a social wall. The free version is limited to the grid layout, and the Essentials and PRO plans each cover only one site. There is no dedicated consent-plugin integration, although the feed itself avoids third-party scripts.
Who should pick it: sites and agencies that only need Instagram, want several accounts without paying, or want shoppable Instagram feeds at a lower price than larger competitors.
Best for: Instagram-only sites and agencies that want many accounts free and affordable shoppable or hashtag feeds.
Spotlight gives away more than most rivals, including unlimited accounts and a lightbox, and its PRO plan is reasonably priced for hashtag and shoppable feeds. Look elsewhere if you need any network other than Instagram.
Pros
- Unlimited Instagram accounts and feeds in the free version
- Popup lightbox included free
- Feeds render without Instagram scripts or cookies
- Posts imported in the background with locally stored thumbnails
- Shoppable feeds with WooCommerce product links in PRO
- Agency plan covers 20 sites for $199
Cons
- Instagram only: no Facebook, TikTok, YouTube or social wall
- Free version limited to the grid layout
- Essentials and PRO cover a single site each
- No built-in integration with cookie consent plugins
Key features
What Spotlight Social Feeds highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Unlimited Instagram accounts
- Unlimited feeds per site
- Combine accounts in one feed
- Photos, videos, reels and carousels
- Popup lightbox
- Feed header with avatar and bio
- Follow and load more buttons
- Per-device design settings
- Block, shortcode and widget
- Access Token Generator for clients
Pro / paid adds From $59/yr
- Highlight, masonry, slider and thumbnails layouts
- Instagram Stories (Essentials)
- Elementor widget (Essentials)
- Hashtag and tagged feeds (PRO)
- Caption and hashtag filtering (PRO)
- Visual moderation (PRO)
- Shoppable feeds with WooCommerce (PRO)
- Link-in-bio pages (PRO)
- Instagram and feed analytics (Agency)
- 20-site licence (Agency)
Feature checklist
12 of 18 features we track in Social Feed Plugins, feature score 62/100
Sources 2/8
Instagram feeds Key
Displays Instagram posts from your account.
Shows photos, videos, reels and carousel posts from connected accounts.
Included
Facebook feeds
Displays Facebook page posts, photos or events.
Instagram only; no Facebook page feeds.
Not included
YouTube feeds
Displays YouTube channel or playlist videos.
No YouTube support.
Not included
TikTok feeds
Displays TikTok videos.
No TikTok support.
Not included
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.
Can mix Instagram sources only, not multiple networks.
Not included
Hashtag & tagged feeds Key
Shows posts by hashtag or posts you were tagged in.
PRO adds public hashtag feeds and tagged-post feeds.
Paid version PRO
Display 6/6
Grid, carousel & masonry layouts Key
Several layouts with responsive columns.
Free uses a responsive grid; highlight, masonry, slider and thumbnails need Essentials.
Partial
Visual feed customiser
Live editor for layout, colours and content.
Feed editor with templates and 20+ design options, including per-device settings.
Included
Lightbox & popups
Open posts, videos and comments in a lightbox.
Free popup lightbox; PRO adds a sidebar with captions and comments.
Included
Shoppable feeds Key
Link posts to products or custom URLs.
Shoppable feeds link posts to URLs or WooCommerce products.
Paid version PRO
Moderation & filtering
Hide posts or filter by word or type.
Manual moderation plus caption and hashtag filtering.
Paid version PRO
Blocks & page builder widgets
Gutenberg blocks or Elementor widgets.
Free block; dedicated Elementor widget needs Essentials.
Included
Performance & privacy 4/4
Feed caching & background updates
Feeds cached and refreshed in the background so pages stay fast.
Posts are imported on a cron schedule you set and served from the database.
Included
Local image storage
Resized images stored on your site instead of loaded from the network.
Thumbnails are downloaded and served locally; Agency adds media management.
Included
GDPR mode Key
Avoids loading third-party content until consent, or works without it.
Feed loads no Instagram scripts or cookies, but there is no consent-plugin integration.
Partial
Multiple accounts & feeds
Connect several accounts and create many feeds.
Unlimited accounts and feeds in the free version.
Included
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Free
Freeper yearUnlimited
Unlimited accounts and feeds, grid layout, lightbox, block/shortcode/widget.
Essentials
$59per year1 site
All layouts and templates, Stories, Elementor widget. Price locked for life.
PRO
$99per year1 site
Adds hashtag and tagged feeds, filtering, moderation, link in bio and shoppable feeds.
Agency
$199per year20 sites
Adds Instagram and Spotlight analytics, media management and priority support.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Spotlight Social Feeds?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
50K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
60K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~3.5K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: WordPress.org shows 50K+ free installs, which could mean anything from 50K to 60K. The vendor says 60K+ sites, so we put the free count halfway between the middle of that range and the vendor figure, at about 58K. Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder spotlight-social-photo-feeds-premium) on 887 live sites; they find the free version on 13,574 sites against about 58K WordPress.org installs, so each site found stands for about 4.2, giving 3.8K. About 58K free installs x 4% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when most features are free) gives 2.3K. Combining these (weighted average) gives about 3.5K. Likely range: 2.3K to 5.3K. 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
8,983 downloads last week, 1.6M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 1.8.1 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 21 Oct 2026 (12 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 6.3+, PHP 7.1+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 3 of 4 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 23 Jun 2020 |
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back (source, 14 Oct 2026) Full refund on request within 30 days. |
|---|
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FAQ
Is Spotlight Social Feeds free?
Yes. Spotlight Social Feeds has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $59/yr.
How many sites use Spotlight Social Feeds?
WordPress.org reports 50K+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 60K+ sites in total. We estimate around 3.5K sites run the paid version.
Does Spotlight Social Feeds have instagram feeds?
Yes: included. Shows photos, videos, reels and carousel posts from connected accounts.
Does Spotlight Social Feeds have combined social wall?
No: not included. Can mix Instagram sources only, not multiple networks.
Does Spotlight Social Feeds have hashtag & tagged feeds?
Yes: paid version (PRO). PRO adds public hashtag feeds and tagged-post feeds.
Does Spotlight Social Feeds have grid, carousel & masonry layouts?
Yes: partial. Free uses a responsive grid; highlight, masonry, slider and thumbnails need Essentials.
Does Spotlight Social Feeds have shoppable feeds?
Yes: paid version (PRO). Shoppable feeds link posts to URLs or WooCommerce products.
Does Spotlight Social Feeds have gdpr mode?
Yes: partial. Feed loads no Instagram scripts or cookies, but there is no consent-plugin integration.
Can Spotlight show Facebook or TikTok feeds?
No. Spotlight only displays Instagram content. For other networks you need a different plugin.
How many Instagram accounts can I connect for free?
There is no limit. The free version supports unlimited accounts and feeds and can combine several accounts into one feed.
Which plan do I need for hashtag or shoppable feeds?
Both are in the PRO plan at $99 a year for one site. The Agency plan includes them for up to 20 sites.
Does Spotlight set cookies?
Spotlight's documentation says the feed is rendered without Instagram or Facebook code and sets no Instagram cookies on your site.
Last updated 13 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.