83
Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin
A search powerhouse that occasionally hits a premium paywall.
HealthyDeclining
83/100
The plugin provides excellent free search functionality despite some complaints about premium locks.
Active installs
~150,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 100k+
Rating
4.9★
1,552 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
-19%
Declining
423 → 344 installs/day
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 · -19% in the last year
423/day a year ago→344/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayIvory Search is well-regarded as a feature-rich free search plugin with strong AJAX capabilities and generally responsive support, though some users hit a wall with premium-only features or have experienced being ignored by support entirely.
What people like
- +AJAX-powered live search works well and is highlighted as a standout free feature×3
- +Generous free tier with a wide range of functionality, including searching both WooCommerce products and regular posts/pages×3
- +Easy to set up and user-friendly×2
- +Support is responsive and helpful for most users×3
Common complaints
- −Some desired features are locked behind the paid/premium version×2
- −Support can be unresponsive — at least one user reports being ignored over multiple years
- −UI customization options are scattered across locations (e.g., Custom CSS vs. Appearance > Customize), which is awkward especially with FSE themes
Review trustReviews look organic
- 4.77★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 4.90★
- 22%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2025-05-102025-12-062026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 1,552 total
Latest reviews · 90 analyzed
- 2026-05-20★★★★★Does what it says on the tinlsnicholls
- 2026-05-15★★★★★Solved My Issuemarshafox1
- 2026-05-09★★★★★AJAX, Woo, posts search freebfbca
- 2026-05-01★★★★★No supportsinisas
- 2026-04-21★★★★★Es preciso en las busquedas dentro del sitio webAlfonso
- 2026-04-14★★★★★Works perfectlyskigirl1369
- 2026-04-12★★★★★Works perfectlyziwaphi1-shot
- 2026-04-08★★★★★Very Helpful and Simple Plugintwowithink
- 2026-02-23★★★★★Great plugin!lrgovela
- 2026-02-17★★★★★Can't disable search mediaegocefalo
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.
302
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
353
Prior 7-day baseline
313
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
19,388
Mean release-day peak (30d)
1,910
Latest day · 2026-06-03(spike)
-14.4%
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.
14%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
0.58
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
90%
5★ share in analyzed sample
22%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
-43%
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.76 → 4.77★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered