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SearchWP alternative for large WooCommerce stores
SearchWP is a general WordPress search plugin with a WooCommerce integration. Searchmaker is a catalog engine built only for WooCommerce stores: search, filters and feeds from one local index. This page sets out what each does, using SearchWP's own pages, so you can decide which fits your shop.
Last verified · 10 of 11 facts verified from SearchWP's own pages
First, the fair part
Who SearchWP is best for
Sites that need better search across all of WordPress (posts, pages, documents, custom post types and fields), with a WooCommerce shop as one part of the content.
Side by side
SearchWP and Searchmaker, fact by fact
Each SearchWP entry links to the vendor's own page. Where we could not confirm something it says "Not verified" rather than a guess.
| What | Searchmaker | SearchWP |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Search 179 €, Filters and catalog 219 €, Feeds 119 €, Complete (all three) 449 € per year for 1 site, excluding VAT. 5 and 25-site bundles and a one-time lifetime option exist. Searchmaker page | Standard $99 per year (introductory price, regular $199), Pro $199 per year (introductory, regular $399), All Access Bundle $399 per year (introductory, regular $699). Full price on renewal. Prices in USD as listed on the page. Introductory price wording is the vendor's.Source: searchwp.com |
| Free version | No free version. Searchmaker page | The pricing page lists only paid plans. Source: searchwp.com |
| Sites and product limits | 1, 5 or 25 sites per license. The price does not depend on the number of products. Searchmaker page | Standard 1 site, Pro up to 3 sites, All Access Bundle up to 100 sites. Unlimited search queries and engines. No product-count limit is stated on the pricing page. Source: searchwp.com |
| How it indexes | Purpose-built local index in the uploads folder. Built aside, checksummed and switched in atomically; price and stock are patched in place, edits become small delta layers; rollback is built in. Searchmaker page | Builds its index in a set of custom database tables using tokenization; the indexer runs as its own background process. Source: searchwp.com |
| Hosting and memory needs | WordPress 6.5+, WooCommerce 8.0+, PHP 8.1+ with the sodium extension. No Redis, daemon, shell access or extra database. Build memory on a 100,000-product synthetic catalog: peak about 57 MB. Peak memory is a development measurement, see /benchmarks.Searchmaker page | A WordPress plugin; WordPress must be within one minor release of the current release. PHP, database and memory requirements were not found on the pages checked. PHP, MySQL and memory requirements: not verified.Source: searchwp.com |
| Live search | Yes (Search module): instant dropdown on your existing search box. Searchmaker page | Yes: live AJAX search is listed under the Standard plan. Source: searchwp.com |
| WooCommerce: variations, SKU, attributes | Parent products are the result unit; variation SKUs, attributes, stock and min/max price roll up into the parent. Searchmaker page | WooCommerce integration is listed from the Pro plan; it indexes product attributes and details such as SKU, color, size, tags, categories and product type. The knowledge base describes a custom-code snippet for adding variation SKUs and variation data to the index. Variation snippet: https://searchwp.com/documentation/knowledge-base/search-woocommerce-skus-and-variation-skus/Source: searchwp.com |
| Faceted filters | Yes (Filters and catalog module): faceted filters with live counts, Fast Grid or Compatibility mode. Searchmaker page | Through a separate product, WPFilters, included in the All Access Bundle. Source: searchwp.com |
| Google Merchant feed | Yes (Feeds module): static Google Merchant XML feed, with one item per variation (grouped by item_group_id) for variable products. Searchmaker page | Not verified |
| WP-CLI index commands | Yes: wp searchmaker status, rebuild, rollback, feed, synonyms, learn. Searchmaker page | Yes: wp searchwp index [--rebuild], wp searchwp reindex, wp searchwp diagnostics. Source: searchwp.com |
| Refund terms | 30-day money-back guarantee. Searchmaker page | 14-day money-back guarantee on every plan. Source: searchwp.com |
| Performance, end to end | Engine timings on a synthetic 100,000-product catalog are published with their setup. Benchmarks | Not measured yet. See the protocol on /benchmarks |
Last verified 4 October 2026. Prices and terms change; check the linked page before you decide.
Where Searchmaker differs
What is different, and only what we can back up.
- Searchmaker is WooCommerce-only. It indexes products, categories, brands, attributes, stock and prices, and does not index posts, pages or documents.
- Search, faceted filters and the Google Merchant feed read from one index and are sold as one package (Complete). With SearchWP, filtering is the separate WPFilters product, included in the All Access Bundle.
- Variation SKUs, attributes, stock and min/max price are rolled up into the parent product by default. SearchWP's documentation describes a custom-code snippet for indexing variation SKUs and variation data.
- The public query path is a small endpoint that does not bootstrap WordPress, and an unhealthy index falls back to normal WooCommerce results.
- Searchmaker's price is per site and does not depend on the number of products; see the pricing page for the current table.
When to choose SearchWP instead
When SearchWP is the better fit.
- You also need to improve search for posts, pages, PDFs, Office documents or custom post types, not only products.
- You want a multi-engine search setup, custom result ordering, redirects and search statistics inside one plugin.
- You want a lower entry price for one site: SearchWP lists Standard at $99 and Pro (with the WooCommerce integration) at $199 per year as introductory prices.
Performance
Head-to-head measurements are pending.
Not measured yet. We have not run SearchWP and Searchmaker on the same server and catalog, so this page makes no speed comparison.
What we have measured is Searchmaker's own engine on a synthetic 100,000-product catalog, with the setup attached. The protocol for the end-to-end comparison, which we will publish with raw numbers and scripts, is on the benchmarks page.
Questions
Questions people ask when comparing.
Is Searchmaker a drop-in replacement for SearchWP?
Only for product search. Searchmaker indexes the WooCommerce catalog; it does not index posts, pages, documents or custom post types. If you rely on SearchWP for non-product content, keep it for that content or choose it.
How does SearchWP index content?
According to SearchWP's documentation, it builds its index in a set of custom database tables, tokenizes each entry, and runs the indexer as its own background process. Searchmaker keeps its index as files in the uploads folder, built aside and switched in atomically.
Does SearchWP support WooCommerce variations and SKUs?
SearchWP's WooCommerce integration lists SKU among the indexed product details, and its knowledge base describes a snippet that adds variation SKUs and variation data to the index. Check the current documentation for your version.
Does SearchWP have faceted filters?
Filtering is a separate product, WPFilters, which SearchWP's pricing page includes in the All Access Bundle. Searchmaker's Filters and catalog module is a separate paid module too, or part of Complete.
Which is faster on a large catalog?
We have not measured SearchWP against Searchmaker yet. Our own engine numbers are on the benchmarks page together with the protocol for the head-to-head, and we do not publish competitor numbers we have not measured.
What does it cost?
SearchWP's pricing page lists Standard, Pro and All Access Bundle per year, with introductory prices and full price on renewal (see the table). Searchmaker prices are in euros per site and year, or one-time for a lifetime key. WooCommerce support is listed with SearchWP Pro and above.
What if I switch and it does not work for me?
Searchmaker has a 30-day money-back guarantee. SearchWP's pricing page states a 14-day refund guarantee.
See how it fits your catalog.
Try the in-browser demo, then pick a plan. Every license has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
SearchWP and all other product names are trademarks of their owners. They are used here only to describe those products. Searchmaker is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them. Information about other products comes from their public pages on the date shown and may have changed.