83
ACF: Better Search
The missing link for your custom field search queries.
Declining
83/100
This lightweight utility solves a specific search problem with almost no configuration required.
Active installs
~45,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 40k+
Rating
4.9★
164 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
-79%
Declining fast
474 → 100 installs/day
What to watch out for
- MINORreviews unevenly distributed over time
- MINORdownloads down 79% vs a year ago
Downloads over time
real new installs per day · release spikes shown separately from the trend2025-04-302025-08-082025-11-162026-02-232026-06-03
organicrelease spikerelease tailorganic trend · 14d rolling median
Declining fast · -79% in the last year
474/day a year ago→100/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayACF: Better Search is a well-regarded, lightweight plugin that extends WordPress search to include ACF custom field values, praised for working out of the box with minimal configuration and responsive development support, though a small number of users note limitations in search scope.
What people like
- +Works out of the box with little or no configuration required×6
- +Successfully extends WordPress search to include ACF custom field values×5
- +Offers useful settings for field type selection and performance tuning without overwhelming the user×3
- +Does not clutter the WordPress dashboard with unnecessary notices or promotions
- +Developer is responsive and has shipped fixes very quickly in response to support requests×2
Common complaints
- −Some users find the feature set limited for more advanced search needs×2
- −Cannot search posts by author name or login
Review trustReviews look organic
- 4.93★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 4.90★
- 8%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2023-07-202025-01-102026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 164 total
Latest reviews · 90 analyzed
- 2026-03-12★★★★★Great, works perfectlymkdes
- 2026-02-04★★★★★Has worked without fail for yearswu-wei
- 2025-07-08★★★★★Amazing Plugin!!qwurk
- 2025-05-29★★★★★Great plugin from a great plugin authormatthewmorete
- 2025-03-26★★★★★Lots of ACF Fields? This works!hommealone
- 2024-10-10★★★★★ExcellentSimone
- 2024-10-02★★★★★Excellent little pluginjamieplexus
- 2024-09-25★★★★★Amazing Plugin!kazzied
- 2024-09-17★★★★★Exactly what I was looking fornaturundtierverlag
- 2024-07-15★★★★★Good onekapitaniuk
Releases
recent versions from WordPress.org SVNFor developers & the curious
the raw signals behind the grade — none of this is on the friendly summary aboveDownload signals
Baselines are computed on organic days only — release spikes and their tails are excluded, so they're not inflated by the auto-update wave.
80
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
86
Prior 7-day baseline
129
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
1,277
Mean release-day peak (30d)
1,554
Latest day · 2026-06-03(spike)
-7.0%
Week-over-week organic trend
Review signals
Concentration and drive-by metrics drive the review-burst and fake-review flags. 30–40% solo reviewers is normal; we only flag the extremes.
15%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
1.55
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
96%
5★ share in analyzed sample
8%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
—
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.89 → 4.93★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered