SearchWP
Premium WordPress search engine that indexes custom fields, taxonomies, PDFs and documents, with adjustable relevance weights and live results.
95
Ajax Search Lite
Free live AJAX search bar from WPDreams with category filters and stats; Ajax Search Pro adds an index table, synonyms, file search and rich filters.
Free installs70K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~12KLikely 7.8K–18K
Vendor claims100K+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.8/5266 reviews
Price from€39/yrFreemium
Last updated19 Oct 2026Version 4.14.7
Overview
Ajax Search Lite is the free edition of WPDreams’ long-running live search plugin. It swaps the default WordPress search box for an AJAX-powered bar that shows results in a dropdown as visitors type, and it can also live-load results on the archive/search page. Everything runs on your own server: there is no external index, API key or monthly fee.
The Lite version already covers a lot of ground. It searches posts, pages and custom post types such as WooCommerce products, and it can match titles, content, excerpts, categories, tags and any custom field. Visitors get checkbox filters for categories and post types, results can show images, and you can exclude categories or individual posts. It is compatible with WPML, Polylang and qTranslate-X, records search statistics, caches results, and can push searches to Google Analytics as events or pageviews.
What Ajax Search Pro adds
The commercial Ajax Search Pro (sold on ajaxsearchpro.com and CodeCanyon) is a much bigger tool. Its optional index table engine enables synonyms, negative keywords, weighted relevance and file content search for PDF and Office documents (via a local parser or the WPDreams Media Service). It adds unlimited independently configured search bars, filters for custom fields, ACF, price, attributes and dates, result grouping, load-more and infinite scroll, multisite search, result priorities for pinning content, and an optional Search AI toolkit with monthly free credits.
- Lite: one live search configuration, category/post type filters, exclusions, stats.
- Pro: lifetime or annual licences in EUR on the vendor site, or a one-off CodeCanyon licence.
Strengths and limitations
The main appeal is that search stays self-hosted and the Lite version is genuinely usable. The trade-offs: there is no typo tolerance in the Elasticsearch/Algolia sense (matching is partial-word based), very large catalogues rely on the Pro index table to stay fast, and the admin has hundreds of options that can feel dense. Pricing is split between two storefronts, which can be confusing.
Who should pick it: small and medium sites that want a free live search box without a SaaS account, and stores or directories that are ready to upgrade to Pro for advanced filtering and document search.
Best for: Sites that want a free, self-hosted live search bar now, with a clear upgrade path to advanced filtering and document search.
Ajax Search Lite is one of the more capable free live search plugins, and it keeps all data on your own server. Ajax Search Pro is a strong self-hosted alternative to SaaS search for stores and directories, though it lacks the typo tolerance of hosted engines and its options can be overwhelming.
Pros
- Free version searches custom fields, categories and tags out of the box
- Everything runs locally: no API keys, record limits or monthly SaaS fee
- Built-in search statistics and Google Analytics event tracking
- Pro adds synonyms, PDF/Office content search and rich faceted filters
- Lifetime licence option for Pro keeps long-term cost predictable
- WPML and Polylang compatible in both versions
Cons
- No real typo tolerance; matching is partial-word based
- Advanced filters, multiple search bars and multisite search are Pro-only
- Very large sites need Pro's index table to stay fast
- Hundreds of settings make the admin feel dense
- Pricing split across ajaxsearchpro.com (EUR) and CodeCanyon (USD)
Key features
What Ajax Search Lite highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Live AJAX search results as you type
- Searches posts, pages and custom post types
- Matches custom fields, categories and tags
- Category and post type checkbox filters
- Exclude categories or individual posts
- Archive page live loader
- Built-in search statistics
- Google Analytics event tracking
- WPML, Polylang and qTranslate-X support
- Results cache for faster responses
- 10+ templates with colour options
- Widget, shortcode and auto-replace
Pro / paid adds From €39/yr
- Unlimited search bars with own settings
- Index table engine for large sites
- Synonyms and negative keywords
- PDF and Office file content search
- Custom field, ACF, price and date filters
- WooCommerce shop search and filtering
- Search by product SKU
- Relevance weights and result priorities
- Multisite cross-blog search
- Result grouping, load more, infinite scroll
- Keyword suggestions and autocomplete
- Search AI tools with free monthly credits
- 100+ themes and four result layouts
Feature checklist
17 of 18 features we track in Search Plugins, feature score 84/100
Relevance & indexing 7/7
Relevance weighting Key
Control how much titles, content, fields and terms count in results.
Pro relevance options assign weights to title, content, terms and fields; Lite only has ordering options.
Paid version Pro
Custom field search Key
Searches ACF and other custom fields.
Lite can search any custom field; Pro adds repeaters and special ACF field types.
Included
Category, tag & taxonomy search
Matches categories, tags and custom taxonomies.
Lite matches categories and tags; Pro adds custom taxonomy terms and terms as results.
Included
PDF & document search Key
Indexes the content of PDFs and office documents.
Pro indexes PDF and Office contents with the index table, via local parsers or the Media Service.
Paid version Pro
Partial & fuzzy matching Key
Finds partial words and tolerates typos.
Partial-word matching with optional exact mode in both versions; no typo tolerance documented.
Partial
Synonyms & stemming
Treats related words and word forms as matches.
Pro synonym lists (index table engine), with AI synonym suggestions from Search AI.
Paid version Pro
Exclusions & rules
Exclude posts, pages or post types and pin results.
Lite excludes categories and posts; Pro adds rule-based exclusions and result priorities to pin content.
Included
WooCommerce 2/2
Product search (SKU & attributes) Key
Searches SKUs, attributes and product data.
Lite searches products and their meta fields; documented SKU search and attribute filtering are Pro.
Partial
Variation search
Finds individual product variations.
Pro's index table can return WooCommerce variations as results, per vendor support.
Paid version Pro
Search experience 5/5
Live (AJAX) search Key
Shows results as visitors type.
Dropdown results appear as visitors type, plus a live loader on the results page.
Included
Filters & facets Key
Filter results by category, price, attributes or fields.
Lite has category and post type checkboxes; price, attribute, field and date filters are Pro.
Partial
Custom search forms
Multiple search forms with their own settings.
Pro supports unlimited search bars, each with its own configuration and shortcode.
Paid version Pro
Term highlighting
Highlights the search term in results.
Keyword highlighting in results and on the single result page.
Included
Did you mean? suggestions
Suggests corrections for misspelled searches.
Shows keyword suggestions (Google, titles, terms) when nothing matches, not true spell correction.
Partial
Insights & scale 3/4
Search analytics Key
Shows what visitors search for and which searches return nothing.
Lite statistics track search phrases, result counts and devices; Pro also shows popular phrases.
Included
External or hosted index
Uses Algolia, Elasticsearch or a vendor cloud index for large sites.
Self-hosted only: searches the WordPress database or a local index table.
Not included
Multilingual support
Works with WPML, Polylang or similar.
Compatible with WPML, Polylang and qTranslate-X.
Included
Multisite search
Search across sites in a network.
Pro can search across selected blogs in a multisite network.
Paid version Pro
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Lite
Freeper yearUnlimited
Free on WordPress.org.
Pro Single (annual)
€39per year1 site
Vendor site advertises Pro 'from €39/year'; annual licence renews with one year of updates and support.
Pro Single (lifetime)
€99lifetime1 site
Pay once; all Pro features plus Search AI (100K free credits/month). 14-day refund.
Pro Multi (lifetime)
€229lifetime3 sites
5- and 10-site options listed without public prices; priority support.
Pro Agency (lifetime)
€799lifetime25 sites
50 and 50+ site options on request; dedicated support.
Pro via CodeCanyon (Regular)
$139one-off1 site
Envato Regular licence with lifetime updates and 6 months of support; Extended licence also available.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Ajax Search Lite?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
70K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
100K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~12K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: The vendor counts 100K+ sites in total; taking away about 75K free installs (the middle of the WordPress.org range) leaves 25K, of which we count 80% (20K). 23,009 paying customers or sales over 14 years; assuming 30% still use it and 1.3 sites per licence gives 9K. About 75K free installs x 8% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when some key features are paid) gives 6K. Combining these (weighted average) gives about 12K. Likely range: 7.8K to 18K. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
8,456 downloads last week, 2.4M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 4.14.7 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 19 Oct 2026 (15 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 3.5+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 1 of 2 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 17 Nov 2012 |
Company & policy
| Paying customers claimed | 23K+ (source, 14 Oct 2026) 23,009 sales of Ajax Search Pro on CodeCanyon, before direct sales on ajaxsearchpro.com. |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 (source, 14 Oct 2026) WPDreams has offered WordPress plugins since 2012; Ajax Search Pro is its flagship. |
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back (source, 14 Oct 2026) Applies to direct purchases on ajaxsearchpro.com. |
Ajax Search Lite compared
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FAQ
Is Ajax Search Lite free?
Yes. Ajax Search Lite has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at €39/yr.
How many sites use Ajax Search Lite?
WordPress.org reports 70K+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 100K+ sites in total. We estimate around 12K sites run the paid version.
Does Ajax Search Lite have relevance weighting?
Yes: paid version (Pro). Pro relevance options assign weights to title, content, terms and fields; Lite only has ordering options.
Does Ajax Search Lite have custom field search?
Yes: included. Lite can search any custom field; Pro adds repeaters and special ACF field types.
Does Ajax Search Lite have pdf & document search?
Yes: paid version (Pro). Pro indexes PDF and Office contents with the index table, via local parsers or the Media Service.
Does Ajax Search Lite have partial & fuzzy matching?
Yes: partial. Partial-word matching with optional exact mode in both versions; no typo tolerance documented.
Does Ajax Search Lite have product search (sku & attributes)?
Yes: partial. Lite searches products and their meta fields; documented SKU search and attribute filtering are Pro.
Does Ajax Search Lite have live (ajax) search?
Yes: included. Dropdown results appear as visitors type, plus a live loader on the results page.
Does Ajax Search Lite have filters & facets?
Yes: partial. Lite has category and post type checkboxes; price, attribute, field and date filters are Pro.
Does Ajax Search Lite have search analytics?
Yes: included. Lite statistics track search phrases, result counts and devices; Pro also shows popular phrases.
What is the difference between Ajax Search Lite and Ajax Search Pro?
Lite gives you one live search configuration with category/post type filters, exclusions and stats. Pro adds unlimited search bars, the index table engine, synonyms, file content search, advanced filters, multisite search and result priorities.
Does Ajax Search Lite need an external service?
No. Searches run against your own WordPress database, so there are no API keys or record limits. Only Pro's optional Media Service and Search AI use vendor servers.
Can it search WooCommerce products?
Yes, Lite can search products and their custom fields. Pro adds documented SKU search, shop page filtering and price/attribute filters.
Where should I buy Ajax Search Pro?
It is sold directly on ajaxsearchpro.com (annual or lifetime licences in EUR, 14-day refund) and on CodeCanyon (one-off USD licence with 6 months of support).
Last updated 13 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.