ACF: Better Search vs Ajax Search Lite
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | ACF: Better Search v4.5.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details | Ajax Search Lite v4.14.7 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.8/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 40,000+ | 70,000+ |
| Last updated | August 18, 2026 | October 19, 2026 |
| Editions | ACF: Better Search | Ajax Search Lite · Ajax Search Pro ($) |
| Pros | Works through the normal WordPress search; Choose which ACF fields are searched; Option to match whole phrases | Live results as visitors type; Custom post types, custom fields and categories searched; Free, with WooCommerce price fields in results |
| Cons | Needs Advanced Custom Fields installed; Slower on large sites since it queries post meta; Donation prompts appear in the admin and readme | Pro features need a paid licence; Upgrade prompts appear in the admin menu and sidebar; Google keyword suggestions call an external Google endpoint |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Choose which ACF fields are searched, Adds matches on ACF meta to the search query, Joins post meta into the search query, Whole phrase matching option, Settings page for the search options, Removes duplicate posts from results | Live AJAX search results as the visitor types, Search by custom fields, Category and taxonomy search, Google keyword suggestions, Cached search results with hourly retention cron, WooCommerce price field in results, Upgrade to Pro menu item |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | — | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | Advanced Custom Fields | WPML, Polylang, BuddyPress, Divi |
| Other | — | Google Suggest |
| Requires WordPress | 5.0 | 3.5 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | — | suggestqueries.google.com |
| Blocks | — | 1 |