Ajax Search Lite vs Search Exclude
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Ajax Search Lite v4.14.7 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.8/5 Visit Details | Search Exclude v2.6.8 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.8/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 70,000+ | 50,000+ |
| Last updated | October 19, 2026 | October 5, 2026 |
| Editions | Ajax Search Lite · Ajax Search Pro ($) | Search Exclude |
| Pros | Live results as visitors type; Custom post types, custom fields and categories searched; Free, with WooCommerce price fields in results | Simple per-item checkbox in editor, list, quick and bulk edit; Block editor sidebar control included; Free, with no paid tier in the code |
| Cons | Pro features need a paid licence; Upgrade prompts appear in the admin menu and sidebar; Google keyword suggestions call an external Google endpoint | Only changes WordPress's built-in search results; Promotional notices for other QuadLayers products appear in admin |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | — |
| More features | ||
| Other 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 | Exclude checkbox in post and page editor, Column and quick edit toggle on list screens, Bulk exclude or include from list screens, Filters the main search query, Block editor sidebar control, Settings page under Settings menu, REST endpoint for settings |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | WPML, Polylang, BuddyPress, Divi | bbPress |
| Other | Google Suggest | — |
| Requires WordPress | 3.5 | 4.7 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 5.6 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | suggestqueries.google.com | quadlayers.com |
| Blocks | 1 | — |