Ivory Search vs Better Search
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 | Better Search v4.5.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.4/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 90,000+ | 5,000+ |
| Last updated | October 21, 2026 | October 16, 2026 |
| Editions | Ivory Search · Ivory Search Pro ($) · Ivory Search Pro Plus ($) | Better Search · Better Search Pro ($) |
| Pros | Several search forms, each set up separately; Widget, shortcode and menu search options; Search form customiser in the admin | Relevance-ranked search with weighting for titles and content; Live search, popular-search heatmap and search widgets |
| Cons | WooCommerce SKU search and stemming need Pro Plus; Advanced options are locked behind upgrade prompts; Freemius telemetry prompt on activation | Some options and features are reserved for the paid Pro edition; Extra settings and tables can take time to tune |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Custom search forms, Search form shortcode, Search widget, Search item for menus, WooCommerce SKU search ($), Word stemming in search ($), Upgrade prompts for locked features | Relevance-ranked search results, Live search as visitors type, Popular searches heatmap shortcode, Search form shortcode, Search box widget, Search heatmap widget, Language-aware search for Polylang and WPML, Freemius upgrade and account prompts |
| Integrations | ||
| Analytics | — | Freemius |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | — | Polylang, WPML, Yoast SEO |
| Requires WordPress | 3.9 | 6.9 |
| Requires PHP | 5.2.4 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | Only if you agree |
| External services | — | api.freemius.com |
| Shortcodes | 1 | 2 |