10 Best Lazy Loading JavaScript and jQuery Plugins (2026 Update)
What is Lazy Loading
Lazy Loading a modern web technology to speed up your web app, improve user experience and boost search engine rankings.
The Lazy Loading web technology has the ability to defer the loading of images or other DOM elements (e.g. iframes, videos, Google Maps, Youtube players, scripts, stylesheets, etc) when they come into view when scrolling through the page.
Thanks to the IntersectionObserver API, implementing the Lazy Loading on your web app is a simple task via a little bit of JavaScript. But now there is an easier way: Native Lazy Loading.
What is Native Lazy Loading
Google will introduce the native lazy loading feature in the next browser version (Chrome 75+).
The new loading attribute which brings native <img> and <iframe> lazy-loading to the web:
<img src="jqueryscript.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="..." />
However, you may still need a third-party tool to achieve this feature for those who are using other browsers or legacy browsers.
The Best Lazy Loading Plugins:
In this post you will find the 10 best jQuery and Vanilla JavaScript lazy loading plugins to achieve the lazy loading functionality on your cross-browser and cross-platform web apps. I hope you like it.
Originally Published Nov 28 2017, updated Feb 02 2026
Table of contents:
jQuery Lazy Loading Plugins:
Feature-rich High-Performance Image Loading Plugin - jQuery loadimage.js
A jQuery plugin that helps enhance your website's image loading and browsing experience.
It provides a smooth and efficient image loading experience by allowing only a certain number of images to load in parallel. This way, images close to the top of the page are loaded first, ensuring that the user has a quick and responsive experience. The images that are not immediately loaded will wait in a queue and are loaded as soon as other images have finished loading.
In addition, the plugin comes with several other helpful features that enhance the image browsing experience, such as the ability to display large images in a modal popup on click, a loading spinner that shows while the image is loading, an X icon that displays when an image fails to load, and more.
Lightweight jQuery Youtube Video Lazy Load Plugin - LazyYT.js
A small and fast jQuery plugin for delaying the loading of YouTube videos on your website to reduce the page loading time to improve user experiences.
It works by initially loading a preview image, and then waiting until the video is actually clicked to load and start the full YouTube video.
Lazy Load Images, Backgrounds, and AJAX with query-lazy Plugin
A simple jQuery-powered lazy loader that allows you to defer loading images, background images, and external pages until they are scrolled into view.
Lazy Load Scripts To Speed Up Webpages - jQuery lazyloadscripts
A lightweight yet useful jQuery plugin for lazy loading a single or multiple scripts to speed Up your websites and improve the user experience.
Useful for lazy loading heavy JavaScript libraries (such as Google Maps, Disqus Comments, etc) to increase your page speed.
The biggest difference between lazyloadscripts and defer/async is that the plugin delays the loading of any scripts until they're scrolled into view.
Lightweight & Powerful jQuery Image Lazy Load Plugin - lazyload
A simple, lightweight yet powerful jQuery plugin that provides image lazy load functionality on your web page
Vanilla JS Lazy Loading Plugins:
Display Blurry Placeholders While Loading Images – unlazy
An SEO-friendly and framework-agnostic lazy loading library that displays a blurry image placeholder until the original image is completely loaded. It works with the native loading=”lazy” attribute and uses the Intersection Observer API to detect when an image enters the viewport.
Pure JavaScript Library For Lazy Loading Images – lazyload.js
lazyload.js is a stand-alone JavaScript library for lazy loading images without any dependencies. It supports the srcset attribute and with and takes best advantage from the progressive JPEG image format.
Responsive Image Lazy Load JS Library – lazysizes
lazysizes is an easy yet robust JS library used to delay the loading of images (iframes, scripts, etc) until they come into view, as well as loading the appropriate sources according to the breakpoints defined in the markup to fit any screen size.
Lazy Loading Video Backgrounds with IntersectionObserver
A performance-focused JS implementation that creates smooth, mobile-friendly video backgrounds with lazy loading and bandwidth optimization.
Features:
- Lazy loading with IntersectionObserver – Prevents bandwidth waste by loading video only when needed
- Mobile-optimized playback – Uses muted, autoplay, and playsinline attributes for iOS compatibility
- Smooth fade-in transitions – Video appears only after buffering completes via canplaythrough event
- Multiple format support – WebM for Chrome efficiency, MP4 for Safari compatibility
- GPU acceleration – Uses object-fit: cover and will-change CSS properties for smooth rendering
- Battery preservation – Optional pause-when-offscreen functionality
- Responsive design – Maintains aspect ratio across different screen sizes
Progressive Image lazy Loading With Blur Effect
A small script to progressively load images with a blur effect. The script will show your low res image with a progressive blur until the high res image has been loaded entirely.
More Resources:
Want more jQuery plugins or JavaScript libraries to create awesome lazy loading effects on the web & mobile? Check out the jQuery Lazy Loading and JavaScript Lazy Loading sections.
