Swiftype Site Search Plugin for WordPress
by matthewtyriley · Search
Fast, intelligent, and fully customizable search for your site.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 43/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
400+
≈460 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “better search”, “custom search” and “relevant search” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
43 health vs 63 average across 979 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.3%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 138.4K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 645 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Search plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 5+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 1872 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19; the current branch is 6.8
3.7★ over 24 reviews, smoothed to 3.97★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 1872 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| swiftype | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| better search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| custom search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| relevant search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search by category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “better search”, “custom search” and “relevant search” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
- Already on top for “swiftype”. #1 without listing it. A tag would change little there; your slots are better spent on a search you don't yet win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 854 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
5.1y ago
latest release · v2.0.5 · 15 Sep 2021
63
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 92% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 56% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Jan 2017
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ JustBruno5.6y ago
@moderator This plugin does not belong in the WP repository. It gives you only a 14 day free trial. This topic was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by JustBruno.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Luis Martins6.0y ago
The plugin does not integrate well with the customization options the dashboard offers. Support to the plugin seems to be inexistent.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous8.4y ago
HUGE WEAKNESS: It doesn’t search your pages. The search functionality is creates doesn’t search your pages. It only searches your posts. SECOND WEAKNESS: Swiftype is NOT FREE. It is COSTLY. You are paying a third party to run a server to search your website and create “relevant” search from the data it obtains from your website. And if it gets the relevance wrong, you have to manually correct it on their website. This is tedious work. The minimal cost is $79 a month and goes up the searches and documents are used on your website. BASIC COST OF SWIFTYPE: STANDARD Search Account: Your site is crawled once every 3 days – so any updates won’t show up for 3 days. $79 PER MONTH for 5k documents, 50k searches, 1 engine + $25 per additional 5k documents + $25 per additional 50k searches + $50 per additional engine — PRO Search Accouint: Your site is crawled every 12 hours – so any updates won’t show up for 12 hours. $199 PER MONTH for 10k documents, 100k searches, 1 engine + $25 per additional 5k documents + $25 per additional 50k searches + $100 per additional engine —
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Arhidiablo9.8y ago
Доброго времени суток, тестировал для своего сайта плагины для поиска, этот плагин сразу запросил API, зарегистрировался без проблем, только как оказалось этот плагин бесплатный на 14 дней, дальше нужно приобретать его, самый дешевый вариант 299 доларов, однако зачем мне приобретать на сайт визитку где посещаемость в месяц 20 человек ? По стоимости больше чем сам некоммерческий проект. Каждый разработчик зарабатывает как может и сам выбирает путь, но политика этого плагина мне не понравилась.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jabalina10.1y ago
Not recommended. Cheaper (or even fully functional and free) and better options
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nene10.8y ago
I’m sure Swiftype is a good service but I think it’s overpriced. Their PRO plan is good for nothing as all the goodies are for the Business plan which will cost you 249 $ per month I pay that much for my VPS.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kokdemir11.2y ago
There are great alternatives with lower price.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ macgyvertr11.4y ago
very useful.. 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.8.1
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
1 of 8 pass · checked 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,272 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("better search", "custom search", "search by category" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-24 500+ → 400+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-05-23 400+ → 500+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-05-21 500+ → 400+ down after 224 days in tier
- 2025-10-09 600+ → 500+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2025-10-07 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-10-06 600+ → 500+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-10-05 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-10-04 600+ → 500+ down after 299 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Better Search – Relevant search results for WordPress 5K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags A -
Site Search 360 300+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags B -
Bing Custom Search for WordPress 40+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags D -
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
ACF: Better Search 40K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Swiftype Site Search Plugin for WordPress into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/swiftype-search" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Swiftype Site Search Plugin for WordPress — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Swiftype Site Search Plugin for WordPress: 400+ active installs, 3.7★ (24 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/swiftype-search
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