WP Fast Total Search – The Power of Indexed Search
View on WordPress.orgScores higher than 34% of indexed plugins
About
Extends the default fulltext search with relevance, jet speed and ability to search any posts, metadata, taxonomy, shortcode content and more data.
Security History
What It Does
WP Fast Total Search replaces the default WordPress search engine with an indexed fulltext search that can query post content, custom metadata, taxonomy terms, shortcode output, and PDF documents. It returns relevance-ranked results instead of the default date-based ordering. Search speed is the core differentiator, claiming 'jet speed' through its own search index.
Who It's For
This plugin fits content-heavy or archive-style sites where the default WordPress search feels slow or returns poor results, such as document libraries, real estate listings, job boards, and online course catalogues with rich metadata. It also suits publishers who want PDF files indexed and searchable without configuring a heavier enterprise solution.
Who Should Skip It
Small sites with under a few hundred posts and basic search needs will gain little from an indexed search layer and should stick with the WordPress default or a lighter free alternative. Anyone needing live ajax-style search suggestions or facet filtering on the search results page will want a more full-featured competitor instead.
The Bottom Line
WP Fast Total Search is a well-maintained, compatibility-tested indexed search plugin with strong user ratings, but its small install base and zero recorded support history make it harder to recommend than Relevanssi for most use cases. It is a sensible pick for a site that specifically needs fast PDF and metadata search and is comfortable with a quieter support ecosystem. Treat it as a capable niche option rather than a proven mainstream choice.
Related Plugins
Pick Relevanssi if you want the same relevance-ranked, metadata-aware search but with 100,000 installs and a far larger community of users who have tested it.
Pick Ajax Search Lite when you specifically need live dropdown search suggestions and on-page filters, which WP Fast Total Search does not provide.
Pick ACF Better Search if your site is built around Advanced Custom Fields and you specifically want ACF field data surfaced in search results.
Pick Better Search if you want a similar relevance-based approach from an older, more familiar plugin name with 5,000 installs behind it.
Pick SearchIQ if you prefer a service-based search with a hosted component, rather than a self-contained on-server index like WP Fast Total Search.