Allows administrators to globally disable comments on their site. Comments can be disabled according to post t...
Free
1M+ installs 4.7★ (280)
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection
The best anti-spam protection to block spam comments and spam in a contact form. The most trusted antispam solution for WordPress and WooCommerce.
The facts
- Rating
- 4.7★ from 1,186
- Active installs
- 5M+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 18 Aug 2026
- Added
- Oct 2005
- Requires WP
- 5.8
- Tested up to
- WP 7.1
- Requires PHP
- 7.2
- Downloads
- 405,106,455
Our analysis
AI-assistedAkismet Anti-spam is a WordPress plugin designed to block spam comments and spam in contact forms. It works by checking submissions against a global database of spam, allowing you to manage and review any flagged content through your site's admin interface.
This plugin is suitable for anyone running a WordPress or WooCommerce site who wants to protect their comments and contact forms from spam. It provides features such as automatic spam detection, comment status history, and a discard feature to manage the worst spam efficiently.
Best for: This plugin is best for personal bloggers and site owners looking to reduce spam in comments and contact forms.
What it does well
- ✓Automatically checks all comments for spam
- ✓Provides a status history for each comment
- ✓Reveals hidden links in comment URLs
- ✓Includes a discard feature to block severe spam
- ✓Free for personal blogs with an API key
Where it falls short
- •Requires an API key for activation
- •Paid subscriptions are needed for businesses
Verdict
Akismet Anti-spam offers effective spam protection and is widely used, making it a reliable choice for WordPress users. However, businesses may need to consider the costs associated with API keys.
From the developer
Automattic's own description of Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection, lightly tidied.
The best anti-spam protection to block spam comments and spam in a contact form. The most trusted antispam solution for WordPress and WooCommerce.
Akismet checks your comments and contact form submissions against our global database of spam to prevent your site from publishing malicious content. You can review the comment spam it catches on your blog’s “Comments” admin screen.
Major features in Akismet include:
- Automatically checks all comments and filters out the ones that look like spam.
- Each comment has a status history, so you can easily see which comments were caught or cleared by Akismet and which were spammed or unspammed by a moderator.
- URLs are shown in the comment body to reveal hidden or misleading links.
- Moderators can see the number of approved comments for each user.
- A discard feature that outright blocks the worst spam, saving you disk space and speeding up your site.
PS: You’ll be prompted to get an Akismet.com API key to use it, once activated. Keys are free for personal blogs; paid subscriptions are available for businesses and commercial sites.
Tagged as
quality
Security
Alternatives
Other plugins for stopping spam.
Antispam Bee
92Sophisticated antispam plugin for effective daily comment and trackback spam-fighting. Built with data protect...
Free
700k+ installs 4.8★ (226)
Top-rated antispam for contact forms, comments, WooCommerce, eCommerce, and login. No CAPTCHAs, no friction, j...
Free
200k+ installs 4.8★ (3,208)
Adds reCaptcha v2 from Contact Form 7 5.0.5 that was dropped on Contact Form 7 5.1
Free
200k+ installs 5★ (89)
Captcha protection against spam comments & brute force login attacks using Google reCAPTCHA.
Free
200k+ installs 4.8★ (430)
Adds WordPress login and admin protections, including CAPTCHA, login lock, login alerts, renamed login URLs, a...
Free
500k+ installs 4.3★ (15)