Ajax Search Lite vs Search & Filter
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 & Filter v1.2.18 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.5/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 70,000+ | 40,000+ |
| Last updated | October 19, 2026 | August 22, 2026 |
| Editions | Ajax Search Lite · Ajax Search Pro ($) | Search & Filter · Search & Filter Pro ($) |
| Pros | Live results as visitors type; Custom post types, custom fields and categories searched; Free, with WooCommerce price fields in results | Filters by taxonomy, post type and date from one shortcode; Simple setup with no code needed for common forms; Free edition is lightweight with few extra assets |
| Cons | Pro features need a paid licence; Upgrade prompts appear in the admin menu and sidebar; Google keyword suggestions call an external Google endpoint | Some advanced options are only in the separate pro edition; Admin screens show promotion for the pro edition |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 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 | Shortcode search and filter form, Filter by post type, Filter by post date range, Taxonomy fields rendered as dropdowns, checkboxes or radios, Pro edition announced in admin |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | — |
| Plugins | WPML, Polylang, BuddyPress, Divi | — |
| Other | Google Suggest | — |
| Requires WordPress | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | — |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | suggestqueries.google.com | — |
| Blocks | 1 | — |
| Shortcodes | — | 1 |