Ivory Search vs Ajax Search Lite
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Ivory Search v5.5.20 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 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 | 90,000+ | 70,000+ |
| Last updated | October 21, 2026 | October 19, 2026 |
| Editions | Ivory Search · Ivory Search Pro ($) · Ivory Search Pro Plus ($) | Ajax Search Lite · Ajax Search Pro ($) |
| Pros | Several search forms, each set up separately; Widget, shortcode and menu search options; Search form customiser in the admin | Live results as visitors type; Custom post types, custom fields and categories searched; Free, with WooCommerce price fields in results |
| Cons | WooCommerce SKU search and stemming need Pro Plus; Advanced options are locked behind upgrade prompts; Freemius telemetry prompt on activation | Pro features need a paid licence; Upgrade prompts appear in the admin menu and sidebar; Google keyword suggestions call an external Google endpoint |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Custom search forms, Search form shortcode, Search widget, Search item for menus, WooCommerce SKU search ($), Word stemming in search ($), Upgrade prompts for locked features | 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 | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | — | WPML, Polylang, BuddyPress, Divi |
| Other | — | Google Suggest |
| Requires WordPress | 3.9 | 3.5 |
| Requires PHP | 5.2.4 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | No |
| External services | — | suggestqueries.google.com |
| Blocks | — | 1 |
| Shortcodes | 1 | — |