Ivory Search vs SearchWP
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 | SearchWP v4.6.1.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Paid Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 90,000+ | — |
| Last updated | October 21, 2026 | — |
| Editions | Ivory Search · Ivory Search Pro ($) · Ivory Search Pro Plus ($) | SearchWP ($) |
| Pros | Several search forms, each set up separately; Widget, shortcode and menu search options; Search form customiser in the admin | Indexes posts, taxonomies, attachments, comments and users; Fuzzy, partial and synonym matching with stopword control; Search forms placed by shortcode or Gutenberg block |
| Cons | WooCommerce SKU search and stemming need Pro Plus; Advanced options are locked behind upgrade prompts; Freemius telemetry prompt on activation | Paid licence required; this code has no free edition; Weekly usage tracking runs unless a filter disables it |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Custom search forms, Search form shortcode, Search widget, Search item for menus, WooCommerce SKU search ($), Word stemming in search ($), Upgrade prompts for locked features | Index posts, taxonomies, attachments, comments and users ($), Fuzzy and partial matching ($), Synonyms and stopwords ($), Search form Gutenberg block ($), searchwp_template shortcode for results ($), Weekly email summaries ($), Page builder search blocks ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | WooCommerce ($) |
| Plugins | — | Divi ($), bbPress ($), WPML ($), Polylang ($), Elementor ($), Advanced Custom Fields ($), WP All Import ($) |
| Requires WordPress | 3.9 | 5.3 |
| Requires PHP | 5.2.4 | — |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | Yes |
| External services | — | searchwp.com, plugin.searchwp.com, swpusage.com |
| Blocks | — | 3 |
| Shortcodes | 1 | 2 |