Business directories like Yelp and Angie’s List are incredibly popular websites for consumers looking for specific brands, products, or services. If you’re looking to create your own business directory using WordPress, we recommend installing a WordPress directory plugin.
With this type of plugin, you can provide users with a list of businesses in their area that includes information about each company so people can quickly determine whether or not it’s a good fit for them. Some even offer filters and refined search options so users can start engaging with businesses in no time.
Below, we’ve rounded up the 13 best directory WordPress plugins available this year — let’s dive in.
What are WordPress business directory plugins?
WordPress business directory plugins are plugins that let you create individual listings for businesses or service providers and display those listings in a filterable, searchable interface. You could display listings in a list and/or showcase them on an embedded map.
Most business directory plugins also offer features to let businesses submit listings, organize listings with categories and custom fields, show user reviews, accept payments from businesses, and more.
In a nutshell, they let you use WordPress to create your own version of something like Yelp.
Here are a couple of WordPress business directory plugin examples to give you an idea of what you might be able to create with the plugins on this list…
A restaurant directory built with GeoDirectory:
A golf course directory built with HivePress:
Best Directory Plugins for WordPress
1. Sabai Directory
Price: $29
Sabai Directory is a premium directory plugin for WordPress and one of the best of its kind. With this tool, you can create a community-driven business directory, like Yelp or Yahoo! Local.
After you install this plugin, users can search listings by keywords, category, distance, and location. Plus, the plugin offers user-friendly auto-suggestions. Sabai Directory has different rating and review options, as well as the option to let users claim an existing business as their own.
This plugin also allows visitors to upload photos to a business listing and comment on reviews and other visitors' photos. They may also flag listings, reviews, photos, and comments that may be false or inappropriate. This helps both customers and employees regulate the site and ensure all information and feedback about a business is fair and accurate.
As the image above shows, Sabai Directory has robust support for mapping and supports interactive maps, geolocation, multi-location support, directions, 16 custom Google Map styles, and support for OpenStreetMap as well.
Pros
- Supports image uploads for listings
- Offers option to upvote comments and photos
- Can show directions in the map interface
- 16 Google Map styles, 11 widgets, and 12 shortcodes
- Compatible with PayPal and Stripe
Cons
- Limited public support documentation
- Limited customization and design options
- Not WPML compatible
- Limited customer support channels (email)
2. Directories Pro
Price: $39
The Directories Pro plugin was made by the same developer as Sabai Directory, and the developer actually recommends upgrading to this new-and-improved version if you’re willing to spend an extra $10 for more features.
Like its predecessor, Directories Pro will convert your WordPress website into any kind of directory site. It allows for an unlimited number of directories and impressive customization over the fields in each listing. Plus, users can search and filter through listings, submit their own listings through the front end, and monetize their website thanks to its WooCommerce integration.
This plugin was also built with SEO in mind, made to be compatible with popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math. Reviews will also help your site’s rankings, which is why Directories Pro enables reviews, ratings, and review filters.
Pros
- Highly customizable for any kind of directory site
- Accessible for both novice and experienced site owners
- Monetize your site with the WooCommerce integration
- Unlimited directories
Cons
- More expensive than the cheaper alternative, Sabai Directory
- Some users experience a high learning curve
- Lack of integrations with email automation tools
3. Classified Listing
Price: Free, or Pro starting at $39/year
Classified Listing is one of the best classified ads WordPress plugins available, with 9,000+ active installations. The responsive plugin comes with all the features needed to build out a classified listing website, such as a job directory, booking website, local business directory, and more.
The plugin has powerful features to help make your business directory website effective and engaging. For example, it gives you the ability to create different ad promotions like Top Featured and Bump Up. The Store and Membership add-on allows you to charge users different packages.
There is also a live chat feature to allow sellers and buyers to communicate with each other easily. Other features include compatibility with Google Map API or OpenStreetMap, multiple search options, multiple payment gateways, currency controls, and many more.
Pros
- Compatible with Elementor page builder and the native WordPress block editor
- Control price fields from the front end so users can add prices, price ranges, or leave out pricing on their listings
- Unlimited custom fields with extensive admin control over the fields
- Frontend submission and management
- Dedicated support team
Cons
- Many features only offered in the paid Pro plans
4. Connections Business Directory
Price: Free; individual premium extensions for $2.99-$9.99 each or get a bundle of all extensions for $29.99
A widely used, free directory plugin, Connections Business Directory packs plenty of features to help you create a successful business directory.
This plugin is compatible with popular WordPress themes and supports the native WordPress block editor. Some blocks that are supported by the native editor are the carousel block, the directory block, and the upcoming list block.
The carousel block displays your listings in a rotating module. This is ideal for both business listings and “Our Team” pages. The directory block provides a more traditional approach, with all of the company's information listed statically on your page. Lastly, the upcoming list block shows users all of the future events that are scheduled to take place.
For a free directory plugin, Connections Business Directory has an impressive number of features that give you tighter control over how visitors can use your directory. It allows you to toggle which entries are visible to the public or to logged-in users only, provides support for hierarchical categories, and lets visitors easily upload photos for their company logo and staff directory.
Pros
- Provides robust templating support
- Supports hundreds of thousands of business entries
- Offers repeatable fields for users and visitors
- Updated on a continuous basis
- Excellent customer support options
Cons
- Some features require paid add-ons for use
- Some issues reported with setup/installation
- Limited customer support options
- Template Customizer is not compatible with all WordPress page templates
5. Directorist
Price: Free; premium add-ons available from $29 each, or get a bundle of all add-ons from $139
As one of the leading freemium WordPress directory plugins, Directorist will meet the needs of many website owners with its free features and paid extensions. It aims to be the only WordPress directory plugin you’ll need, and given its features, that seems very possible.
Directorist offers everything from custom codeless form-building tools to CSV importing and exporting to advanced search filters to compatibility with Elementor, the block editor, WooCommerce, Yoast SEO, and leading WordPress themes. There’s also geolocation and integration with maps APIs, tied together with a modern and responsive design.
There are plenty of monetization options to earn passive income from your website as well, like featured listings, paid listings (premium feature), and claim listings (premium feature). Directorist works with PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net with paid extensions.
Pros
- Comprehensive solution for business directories
- Solid offerings from the free version alone
- Accommodates multiple payment gateways
- Extensive documentation
Cons
- Paid extensions are required for advance features
- Some users have mentioned slower site performance after installing
- Limited support
6. Toolset
Price: €69 for one site; €149 for three sites; €299 for unlimited sites
Toolset takes a slightly different approach to WordPress plugins. Rather than just offering the plugin for anyone to purchase and download, Toolset provides documentation after purchase. This plugin prioritizes customer success by offering a training course that teaches people how to use the plugin and maximize its value.
But, that's not all this training teaches you. It also teaches you how to build a successful business directory in general, giving you both the knowledge and the tools required to develop an engaging and — hopefully — profitable website.
Some additional features include responsive layouts, ultrafast code, and a reliable support staff that's available almost 24 hours a day. This plugin is fully customizable, so you can create the exact look and feel of your site that you were hoping for.
And, this plugin is WPML-compatible, so everything you build with it can be translated as needed. This is great when you want to scale your site and start engaging audiences that may speak different languages.
Overall, if you want a flexible toolset to build your own directory site, Toolset can work great. But if you‘re looking for an out-of-the-box WordPress directory plugin, you’ll likely want to choose a different option.
Pros
- Comes with an onboarding program and training exercises
- Training teaches both how to use the product and how to build a directory site
- Provides maps and frontend forms
- Has an option to create “related” posts
- Offers a free trial via a sandbox account
Cons
- Not as user-friendly as other options on this list
- Sometimes there are too many options to choose from, which can lead to overload
- Some confusing support documentation
- Requires some coding/programming knowledge to use
7. Directory Pro
Price: $39
Not to be confused with Directories Pro, this feature-rich WordPress plugin has several different options to customize your site and make it stand out from competitors.
For example, Directory Pro offers a signup module, a pricing table, and a rating system that you can apply to each listing. It also comes with free email templates, PayPal and Stripe integrations, and an Ajax “load more” feature.
Additional features include Ajax filter faceted search so your users can view results without needing to load a new page, a review module to increase engagement, and a contact form. You can also differentiate between free and paid listings on your site.
Aside from the features, Directory Pro’s design is clean, sleek, and modern, which will make your website look professional to attract more business listings. Its designs are also fully responsive for mobile devices and SEO-friendly. This helps your site rank higher on search engines, which ultimately improves your organic traffic.
Pros
- Can be translated into 13 languages
- Provides a variety of shortcodes
- Comes with 11 pre-made email templates
- Compatible with Mailchimp
- Provides a “coupon” feature for discounts and promotions
- Clean, modern designs
Cons
- Not as user-friendly as other plugins on this list
- Limited customer support options
- Does not offer an “auto-complete” field for forms
8. Business Directory Plugin
Price: Free; premium version from $149 (discounted to $99 for the first year)
If you're looking for something simple but effective, Business Directory Plugin may be the right tool for you. This plugin is versatile, easy to use, and can be set up in just a few moments.
Some notable features include a builder with customizable form fields, drag-and-drop image uploads, and a built-in CSV import function so you can create listings in bulk rather than having to upload them one by one.
There are also plenty of payment options available for this plugin. For instance, not only can you accept payments in your listings, but you can set up recurring payments and fee plans as well. To do this, the plugin is compatible with numerous payment software, like PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, and more.
With this option, you’re not going to get the feature-packed experiences offered by other paid plugins on this list. However, there are paid extensions allowing you to purchase any additional capabilities that you need, like file uploads on listings, ratings and reviews, Google Maps integration, the option to claim listings, discount codes, and more.
Pros
- Plenty of options for collecting payments from visitors
- Ideal for those working under a tight budget
- Offers reCAPTCHA to prevent spam listings
- Mobile-friendly and responsive design
- Compatible with NavXT Breadcrumbs and WP-PageNavi
Cons
- Requires premium add-ons for some features
- Requires premium add-on for payment integrations
- Tough to scale with this plugin without purchasing an add-on
- Unable to edit labels for listings
- Limited customer support options
9. GeoDirectory
Price: Free; paid add-ons available individually for $29+ or get a bundle of all add-ons for $139
GeoDirectory is a WordPress plugin that turns any website theme into a business directory. It's compatible with the native block editor and popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi.
After activating the plugin, you’ll be able to list locations in your local area and leverage its over 40 widgets, blocks, and shortcodes to customize your site to your liking. Users will be able to easily locate results with the Google Maps integration and location filtering.
GeoDirectory is fully responsive, so your directory site will look great on any device or browser it's loaded on. This plugin also comes with a built-in user review system and business inquiry forms so visitors can send listings to friends. Users can also submit their own business listing through a form that you can customize with drag-and-drop.
Lastly, there is a wealth of premium features available through paid add-ons, including enabling a global directory, custom post types, multiple rating categories for reviews, enhanced search filters, and more customizable map styles.
Pros
- Compatible with most WordPress themes and page builders
- Offers a drag-and-drop form builder
- Ability to search listings by zip code or location
- WPML compatible
- Offers various features for SEO optimization
Cons
- The free version only supports creating a directory for a single location — you need the paid version for multi-location directories
- Limited support documentation (but an excellent customer support team)
- Could be more user-friendly
- Requires add-ons for many features
10. ListingPro
Price: $69
Although it's not really a plugin, this WordPress directory theme has a lot of plugin functionality prepackaged in its design. It comes complete with a slew of features you can use for your directory site, including a drag-and-drop page builder and a custom lead form builder that gives you full control over which information you want to obtain for listings.
As frontend submissions are approved, you can organize them categorically on your listing page using a unique set of criteria. These listings can be ordered by title, publish date, highest rating, and more. Frontend users can take advantage of the theme‘s advanced search features like "instant filters" to search for a company they’ve worked with before or look for a new one that meets their current needs.
Some additional features for this theme include a built-in ads management tool and an events calendar. There's also a “free maps” feature as well as a checkout and payment processing system.
Pros
- Prepackaged with a ton of useful features and tools
- Provides several unique filter and categorization options for listings
- Includes a built-in payment and checkout system
- Protects against spam with Google reCAPTCHA
Cons
- It's an all-in-one WordPress theme, so it will be difficult to change themes in the future because of theme lock-in
- Requires premium add-ons for some features
- Not easily compatible with WooCommerce
- Technical support only included for six months
11. Ultimate Member
Price: Free; premium add-ons available individually or via $249 all-access pass
Ultimate Member is a little bit different than many of the other plugins on this list, but it can be a good option if you're primarily looking to create a WordPress business directory of individual service providers.
With Ultimate Member, you can create a much more robust user registration and profile system. Beyond letting users fill out more profile information from the frontend of your site, you can also display some or all of the users in a frontend directory.
For example, let's say you want to create a business directory of personal trainers in a certain area. You could let personal trainers register on your site and fill out information about their specialties, rates, and so on. Then, people who are interested in hiring a personal trainer could browse the frontend directory to find a provider that meets their needs.
Pros
- Lets you create a frontend directory of users on your site
- Includes useful search and filter options to help people browse the directory
- Individual service providers can register for their own accounts and fill out their profile details
- Includes features like private messages and notifications, which makes it easy for visitors to contact service providers right from your site
Cons
- Not a good option if you want to create a directory of actual businesses
- Can be expensive depending on which add-ons you want to use
12. HivePress
Price: Free; premium extensions that you can purchase individually for $29+ each or get a bundle of all extensions for $199
HivePress is a popular freemium directory plugin that works for any type of listing site, whether that's a business directory, a classified site, a service provider directory, or anything else.
It lets you set up your directory in a flexible way, with features like listing categories, custom fields for listing items, ratings and reviews, and more. It also includes some helpful engagement features, including the ability for users to send private messages to listing providers or “favorite” listings.
To help you monetize your business directory, HivePress makes it easy to charge users to submit new listings, promote their existing listings with “featured listings,” and/or claim an existing listing. There are also some unique options, such as being able to charge users to view listings (instead of charging the service providers). You can also allow users to “book” listings, which opens up another method of monetization.
HivePress will work with any WordPress theme. However, the developer also offers its own business directory themes specifically built to work with HivePress, which can be a great option if you want a simple way to get started.
Pros
- The free version is pretty functional, and you can find free extensions
- Has some unique features, such as the ability to charge users to view listings and allow listing bookings
- Excellent reviews and user ratings
- The premium version offers lifetime updates at no extra cost
- The developer offers dedicated themes (though it works with any theme)
Cons
- Requires premium add-ons for some important features, like the ability to claim listings
- The premium version only offers six months of technical support (you can upgrade to a year for an extra fee)
13. ListingHub
Price: $39
Launched in February 2023, ListingHub is one of the “youngest” WordPress business directory plugins on this list. However, it comes from a developer who‘s been selling on Envato’s CodeCanyon marketplace since 2015.
ListingHub aims to offer an all-in-one WordPress business directory solution. You can create unlimited directory listings and display them in different views, including a map view with filters (with support for Google Maps and OpenStreetMap). To add the listings, you can create a customizable frontend submission form or bulk import them by uploading a CSV.
To help you monetize your directory, ListingHub lets you accept one-time or recurring payments via PayPal or Stripe. There's also a WooCommerce integration that lets you process payments using any of the gateways that WooCommerce supports.
The most unique feature is probably ListingHub's OpenAI integration, which lets you use AI to generate unique content and images for your listings.
Pros
- Drag-and-drop form builder to create the listing submission form
- Supports the native WordPress block editor (with dedicated blocks) and Elementor (with native Elementor widgets)
- Flexible payment options, including one-time or recurring payments and free/paid trials
- Option to bulk import listings via CSV
- OpenAI integration to use AI to generate listing content, images, and FAQs
Cons
- No free version
- ListingHub hasn't been around for as long as some of the more established directory plugins on this list
Build a business directory in WordPress.
If you want to find a certain business or product, then you should reach out to a business directory for help. The best directories help visitors find the brands they're looking for, and they provide them with everything they need to know about a company from its listing page.
If you want to create an attractive, user-friendly site for listings, these WordPress directory plugins are a good place to start.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in Jan 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
