Key Features
Sabai Directory is a feature-rich business directory plugin for WordPress that transforms your site into a powerful, community-driven local search engine. Developed by veteran coder onokazu, this plugin has been trusted by over 9,400 users and offers a robust toolkit for building listings, managing reviews, and monetizing your directory. It is designed to help you create a Yelp-like experience — complete with interactive maps, user ratings, and paid listing options — all from within your WordPress dashboard.
Below are the standout capabilities that make this plugin a versatile choice for anyone looking to launch a local business directory.
- Interactive Listing Search: Users can search by keywords, category, distance, and location with auto-suggestions. The search is fully Ajax-powered, meaning results update instantly without a page reload. You can embed this search on any page using a simple shortcode.
- Fully Responsive & Flat Design: The front-end interface is fully responsive and uses a modern, flat design aesthetic. Listings display beautifully in list, grid, or map views, ensuring a consistent experience on desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.
- Custom Fields with Visual Form Editor: You can create an unlimited number of custom fields using a drag-and-drop visual form editor. Field types include Choice, Date, HTML, Markdown Text, Number, ON/OFF, Paragraph Text, Single Line Text, CAPTCHA, User, Section Break, File Upload, Image Upload, Video, Email, and Phone Number. This allows you to tailor each listing form to your specific niche.
- Interactive Filters: Listings and reviews can be filtered by any custom field. The filter form is fully Ajaxified and can be customized in the backend, giving visitors a powerful way to narrow down results by criteria like price range, service type, or amenities.
- Multi-Criteria Rating & Rating Charts: Go beyond a simple star rating. You can add any number of rating criteria — such as Price, Quality, Service, or Food — and display beautiful rating charts that help users visualize the strengths and weaknesses of each listing.
- Geolocation & Google Maps Integration: The plugin includes a fully interactive map with features like clustered markers, auto-complete location fields, and search-on-drag. You can display directions, change marker icons by category, and even use 16 custom Google Map styles or switch to OpenStreetMap.
- User-Generated Content: Drive engagement by allowing users to post reviews with 1-5 star ratings, upload photos, comment on reviews and photos, and vote on content as helpful or not. Users can also bookmark listings, reviews, and photos for later reference.
- Paid Listings & Monetization: Create multiple pricing plans to monetize your directory. You can set up featured listings, offer recurring payments (weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual) via PayPal and Stripe, and accept one-time payments through Authorize.net, 2Checkout, or manual payments. The plugin also provides a complete order management system.
- Claim Listings: Allow business owners to claim existing listings and manage their own profiles. This feature is essential for building a self-sustaining, community-driven directory where businesses can update their own information.
- Multi-Directory Support: You can create multiple distinct directories on a single WordPress installation, each with its own set of categories, fields, and pricing plans. This is ideal for running separate directories for different cities, industries, or client projects.
- Role-Based Permissions: A flexible permission system lets you control exactly what each user role can do — from submitting and editing listings to managing reviews and payments.
- Schema.org Microdata: Built-in support for Schema.org markup helps search engines understand your directory content, which can improve your SEO rankings and enable rich snippets in search results.
- Import/Export CSV: You can bulk import or export listings using CSV files, saving hours of manual data entry. The importer supports all field types and includes a progress indicator for large datasets.
- Integrations & Extras: The plugin integrates with BuddyPress for user profiles and activity streams, supports the myCRED points system for gamification, includes 11 widgets and 12 shortcodes, and offers RTL language support. It also includes translations for French, Dutch, and Italian.
Who Is This For? Use Cases
Sabai Directory is built for anyone who needs a robust, feature-complete directory solution without hiring a developer. Its extensive feature set makes it suitable for a wide range of use cases.
Local Business Directories (Yelp-Style Sites)
If you want to build a community-driven local business directory — similar to Yelp, Google+ Places, or Yahoo! Local — this plugin is an excellent starting point. You can allow users to add new businesses, search by location and category, read multi-criteria reviews, and upload photos. The interactive map and claim listing features make it easy for business owners to take control of their profiles.
Real Estate & Property Listings
Real estate agents and property portals can use the custom fields to store details like price, number of bedrooms, square footage, and property type. The geolocation features allow buyers to search by distance from a landmark or city center, and the multi-criteria rating system can be used for property condition or neighborhood scores.
Store & Branch Locator
Companies with multiple locations can use the plugin as a store locator. You can create a private or internal directory where customers search by zip code or city to find the nearest branch. The map view with clustered markers and the “Get Directions” feature provide a seamless user experience.
Event & Venue Directories
From wedding venues to conference halls, you can build a searchable directory of venues. Use custom fields for capacity, pricing, amenities, and availability. The multi-criteria rating system lets users rate venues on ambiance, service, and value, helping others make informed decisions.
Service Provider Listings (Doctors, Lawyers, Tradespeople)
Professional directories require specialized fields — such as years of experience, board certifications, or service areas. Sabai Directory’s visual form editor lets you add these fields easily. You can also monetize the directory by charging professionals for featured listings or premium placement.
Niche Hobby & Interest Directories
Whether you are building a directory of breweries, hiking trails, or dog-friendly parks, the plugin’s flexibility allows you to tailor the submission form and search filters to your niche. The CSV import feature makes it easy to seed your directory with existing data.
Technical Details & Compatibility
Sabai Directory is a standalone WordPress plugin that runs on its own framework. It is important to understand its technical requirements and limitations before purchasing.
- WordPress Compatibility: The plugin has been tested with WordPress versions up to the latest 5.x and 6.x releases. The developer has actively maintained it with bug fixes for PHP 8.0 and 8.2 compatibility, as evidenced by the changelog entries from 2022 through 2024.
- PHP Version: Requires PHP 7.0 or higher. Recent updates (v1.4.15/v1.4.16 and v1.4.17) addressed fatal errors and warning issues with PHP 8.0 and 8.2, so it should run well on modern hosting environments.
- Browser & Device Support: The front-end is fully responsive and uses a flat design. It works on all modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) and mobile devices.
- Maps: Supports Google Maps API (requires an API key) and OpenStreetMap as an alternative. Includes 16 custom map styles and custom marker icons by category.
- Payment Gateways: Integrates with PayPal (including recurring payments), Authorize.net, 2Checkout, and Stripe. Recurring payments with trial periods are supported for PayPal and Stripe.
- Languages: Comes with French, Dutch, and Italian translations. The .pot file is included for creating your own translations. RTL language support is built in.
- Last Update: The most recent update was v1.4.17, released in April 2024, which fixed a WordPress Embeds bug and a PHP8 fatal error. This indicates the plugin is still actively maintained despite the developer’s recommendation to consider the newer Directories Pro.
- Important Note: The developer recommends Directories Pro for new projects, as it is based on WordPress custom post types and taxonomies, offering greater flexibility and more features. Sabai Directory uses its own custom framework, which may limit integration with some WordPress-native tools and plugins.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Extremely Feature-Rich: Offers nearly everything you need to build a professional directory — custom fields, maps, ratings, payments, claims, and CSV import/export — all for a one-time price of $25.
- Proven Track Record: With over 9,400 sales and years of active development and bug fixes, it is a stable and mature product with a large user base.
- Flexible Monetization: Multiple payment gateway integrations and the ability to create custom pricing plans (including recurring billing) give you full control over how you earn from your directory.
- Excellent Search & Filtering: The interactive, Ajax-powered search and filtering by custom fields provides a premium user experience that rivals custom-built solutions.
- Multi-Directory Support: The ability to create multiple distinct directories on one site is rare at this price point and is a huge time-saver for agencies or site owners with diverse needs.
- Active Maintenance: The changelog shows consistent updates and bug fixes through April 2024, including compatibility patches for PHP 8.
Cons
- Uses Proprietary Framework: Unlike modern directory plugins that use WordPress custom post types, Sabai Directory relies on its own framework. This can make it harder to integrate with some themes and plugins that expect native post types.
- Developer Recommends Newer Alternative: The developer openly states that new users should consider Directories Pro, which may cause some hesitation for potential buyers about the long-term viability of Sabai Directory.
- Some UI/UX Roughness: Based on the changelog, there have been numerous bug fixes related to CSS conflicts, display issues with themes, and JavaScript errors, suggesting that setup might require some technical troubleshooting.
- Limited Native Integration: While it integrates with BuddyPress and myCRED, it


