PluginSift

String locator vs ACF: Better Search (2026)

Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.

String locator

String locator

4.6(124)

100K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 year ago
View String locator
VS
ACF: Better Search

ACF: Better Search

4.9(164)

40K+ active installs

Free

Updated 3 months ago
View ACF: Better Search

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, ACF: Better Search has a higher user rating (4.9/5 from 164 reviews) while String locator leads in active installations (100K+ vs 40K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. String locator has accumulated 1.4M+ total downloads while ACF: Better Search has 814K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.6/5String locator
►
ACF: Better Search4.9/5
Total Reviews
124String locator
►
ACF: Better Search164
Active Installs
100K+String locator
◄
ACF: Better Search40K+
Total Downloads
1.4M+String locator
◄
ACF: Better Search814K+
Support Resolution
N/AString locator
ACF: Better Search0%
Last Updated
1 year agoString locator
►
ACF: Better Search3 months ago
First Released
2013String locator
ACF: Better Search2016
Age
13 yearsString locator
ACF: Better Search10 years
WP Requires
4.9+String locator
ACF: Better Search5.0+
PHP Requires
false+String locator
ACF: Better Search7.0+
Business Model
FreeString locator
ACF: Better SearchFree
Latest Version
2.6.7String locator
ACF: Better Search4.4.1

Rating Breakdown

String locator

4.6/5(124 reviews)
5
90%
4
0%
3
1%
2
2%
1
7%

ACF: Better Search

4.9/5(164 reviews)
5
95%
4
3%
3
1%
2
1%
1
1%

Recent Reviews

String locator Reviews

by ishraqued

Great

Great

by Adrian Tobey

Great for support

I’ve used this plugin now a dozen times to track down plugins conflicts for my customers. Truly one of the best debug utilities, up there with Query Monitor!

by masvil

A translation passepartout

Some plugins don’t allow translations in a standard way. For those, there is String locator.

ACF: Better Search Reviews

by mkdes

Great, works perfectly

Great, works perfectly. Fast.

by wu-wei

Has worked without fail for years

Thanks for the super useful plugin, with the perfect amount of easy to configure flexibility. I don’t recall ever having an issue and I appreciate that it doesn’t spam the dashboard with noise.

Amazing Plugin!!

This plugin has been instrumental in allowing us to customize our posts by category which has improved our website immensely. The custom posts have made our content creation much more streamlined and

Frequently Asked Questions

Is String locator or ACF: Better Search more popular?
String locator has 100K+ active installations while ACF: Better Search has 40K+. String locator is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — String locator or ACF: Better Search?
String locator has a 4.6/5 rating from 124 reviews, while ACF: Better Search has a 4.9/5 rating from 164 reviews.
Are String locator and ACF: Better Search free?
String locator is free and ACF: Better Search is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — String locator or ACF: Better Search?
Support resolution data is not available for all plugins. Check each plugin's WordPress.org support forum for current response quality.
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
String locator was last updated 1 year ago and ACF: Better Search was last updated 3 months ago.

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.