Best WordPress Anti-Spam Plugins in 2026
Data from WordPress.org Updated First published 5 min read
Comment and form spam blocking, from honeypots to hosted filtering services.
Any public comment box or contact form on WordPress starts receiving automated submissions within days. Anti-spam plugins stop them in one of two ways: a trap the bot falls into, or a service that scores every submission against what it has seen elsewhere.
Together these 10 plugins run on more than 7,080,000 active WordPress sites. Ranked from both WordPress.org orderings for "spam", its tag listing and its search results.
On this page
Best Anti-Spam Plugin for each measure
One plugin per measure, taken from the same WordPress.org figures as the ranking. A measure with nothing behind it is left out rather than guessed.
- Most installed
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Akismet Anti-spam
5 million+, active installs reported by WordPress.org
- Highest rated
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Honeypot
5.0 out of 5, from 1,436 reviews, counting only plugins with at least 50
- Most reviewed
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CleanTalk
3,211 reviews, the largest body of feedback behind a score
- Most recently updated
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Honeypot
September 3, 2026, the latest release in this list
- Longest established
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Akismet Anti-spam
October 20, 2005, first published on WordPress.org
- Best support record
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CleanTalk
93 of 99 resolved, recent threads on the WordPress.org support forum
- Most languages
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Honeypot
13 languages, translated to 90% or more on translate.wordpress.org
Anti-Spam Plugins compared: rating, reviews, installs
| # | Plugin | Rating | Reviews | Active installs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akismet Anti-spam | 4.7 | 1,186 | 5 million+ |
| 2 | Honeypot | 5.0 | 1,436 | 400,000+ |
| 3 | CleanTalk | 4.8 | 3,211 | 200,000+ |
| 4 | Antispam Bee | 4.8 | 226 | 700,000+ |
| 5 | CF7 Apps | 3.8 | 135 | 300,000+ |
| 6 | Titan Anti-spam & Security | 4.5 | 370 | 50,000+ |
| 7 | Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile | 4.7 | 255 | 200,000+ |
| 8 | Gravity Forms Zero Spam | 4.3 | 24 | 100,000+ |
| 9 | Maspik | 4.7 | 87 | 30,000+ |
| 10 | CloudSecure WP Security | 5.0 | 2 | 100,000+ |
The 10 best Anti-Spam Plugins, ranked by WordPress.org
Ranked from both WordPress.org orderings for "spam", its tag listing and its search results. Arrows show movement against the previous snapshot.
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Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection
4.7 (1,186) 5 million+ active installs Updated Aug 18, 2026 Tested up to 7.1 Paid version availableThe best anti-spam protection to block spam comments and spam in a contact form. The most trusted antispam solution for WordPress and WooCommerce.
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2.Honeypot
WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam
5.0 (1,436) 400,000+ active installs Updated Sep 3, 2026 Tested up to 7.1Fastest growing Anti Spam plugin. No API calls, subscriptions, captcha or puzzle. Full GDPR complaint. For comments, contact form, login, registration
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Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk
4.8 (3,211) 200,000+ active installs Updated Sep 2, 2026 Tested up to 7.1Top-rated antispam for contact forms, comments, WooCommerce, eCommerce, and login. No CAPTCHAs, no friction, just background anti spam protection.
4.8 (226) 700,000+ active installs Updated Aug 23, 2026 Tested up to 7.1Sophisticated antispam plugin for effective daily comment and trackback spam-fighting. Built with data protection and privacy in mind.
5.CF7 Apps
CF7 Apps – Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, and Addons for Contact Form 7
3.8 (135) 300,000+ active installs Updated Aug 6, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4Add hCaptcha, Honeypot, and Redirection to Contact Form 7 with CF7 Apps, and generate forms effortlessly with AI. Improve form security, keep it light …
Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter
4.5 (370) 50,000+ active installs Updated Aug 20, 2026 Tested up to 7.1Block spam comments, defend against login attacks, strengthen site security. Anti-spam, brute-force protection & two-factor authentication built in.
4.7 (255) 200,000+ active installs Updated Jul 27, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4Add Cloudflare Turnstile to WordPress, WooCommerce, Contact Forms & more. The user-friendly, privacy-preserving reCAPTCHA alternative. 100% free!
4.3 (24) 100,000+ active installs Updated Sep 1, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4Block form spam in Gravity Forms with an invisible token check, email rejection rules, and optional AI review. No CAPTCHAs for your visitors.
9.Maspik
Maspik – Multi-Layer Spam Protection
4.7 (87) 30,000+ active installs Updated Aug 26, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4Multi-layer spam protection for forms, comments and WooCommerce. No CAPTCHA, no puzzles — accurate blocking that works out of the box.
5.0 (2) 100,000+ active installs Updated Aug 27, 2026 Tested up to 7.1CloudSecure WP Securityは、管理画面とログインURLをサイバー攻撃から守る、国産・日本語対応のセキュリティ対策プラグインです。 簡単な設定だけで、不正アクセスや不正ログインからWordPressを保護し、サイトのセキュリティを高めます。
How to choose a Anti-Spam Plugin for WordPress
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1
Try the invisible methods first
Honeypot fields and timing checks stop a large share of bots and cost the visitor nothing. Reach for a visible challenge only if they are not enough.
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2
Check where submissions are sent
Hosted filters score spam by sending the content, and often the address and IP, to a third party. That is a privacy decision as much as a technical one.
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3
Look at what happens to a false positive
The message that matters is the one wrongly binned. A spam queue you can review beats silent deletion.
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4
Do not stack three filters
A CAPTCHA, a honeypot and a hosted filter on one form mostly punishes real people. One layer that works is better.
Anti-Spam Plugin comparisons: side by side
The top four against each other on installs, ratings, reviews and updates. Each measure names its own leader; there is no overall winner.
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vs
Akismet Anti-spam vs Honeypot#1 vs #2 · 5 million+ vs 400,000+ installs
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vs
Akismet Anti-spam vs CleanTalk#1 vs #3 · 5 million+ vs 200,000+ installs
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vs
Honeypot vs CleanTalk#2 vs #3 · 400,000+ vs 200,000+ installs
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vs
Honeypot vs Antispam Bee#2 vs #4 · 400,000+ vs 700,000+ installs
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vs
CleanTalk vs Antispam Bee#3 vs #4 · 200,000+ vs 700,000+ installs
How we rank Anti-Spam Plugins
WordPress.org publishes two orderings for "spam" and neither is reliable alone. The tag listing covers every tag the directory files these plugins under, "spam", "anti-spam", "antispam", "spam-protection" and "honeypot", and is sorted by active installs, which lets a large plugin carrying one of them loosely sit above the ones the category is about. Its search results are sorted by relevance and carry their own noise. So a plugin is placed here by where it sits across both lists: high in each one lifts it, high in only one does not. We fetch both every day at 03:00 UTC, keep every day's snapshot, and add nothing of our own. No plugin is inserted, removed or sponsored, and each entry shows its position in both lists on its own page. Full methodology.
Anti-Spam Plugins FAQ
What is the best Anti-Spam Plugin for WordPress?
On WordPress.org's own ranking for "spam", Akismet Anti-spam is #1 as of September 7, 2026, with 5 million+ active installs and a 4.7 out of 5 rating. By rating, Honeypot scores 5.0 out of 5 from 1,436 reviews.
Which Anti-Spam Plugin has the most active installs?
Akismet Anti-spam, with 5 million+ active installs reported by WordPress.org as of September 7, 2026. It ranks #1 in this list.
Which Anti-Spam Plugin has the highest rating?
Honeypot, rated 5.0 out of 5 by 1,436 reviewers on WordPress.org. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted, so a single 5-star review does not win.
Which Anti-Spam Plugin was updated most recently?
Honeypot shipped its latest release on September 3, 2026. 10 of the 10 plugins in this list were updated in the last 90 days, which is the usual sign of active maintenance.
How many Anti-Spam Plugins are there on WordPress.org?
WordPress.org lists 811 plugins tagged "spam", "anti-spam", "antispam", "spam-protection" and "honeypot" as of September 7, 2026. This page shows the top 10 in the directory's own order.
Are these Anti-Spam Plugins free?
All 10 are free to install from WordPress.org. 1 of them are listed as commercial, meaning the developer sells a paid version or add-ons: Akismet Anti-spam.
Is a honeypot as good as a CAPTCHA?
For ordinary bots, usually yes, and it costs the visitor nothing because they never see it. A hidden field that only automated scripts fill catches most of what arrives. A targeted attack aimed at your specific form will get past it, which is when a scoring service or a challenge earns its place.
Why am I still getting spam with an Anti-Spam Plugin installed?
Two common reasons. The form plugin may not be wired into the filter, so submissions never get checked, which is worth confirming rather than assuming. And a share of spam is submitted by people, not scripts, which no filter reliably catches. Requiring approval for first-time senders helps there.
Anti-Spam Plugins: the bottom line
As of September 7, 2026, Akismet Anti-spam holds the #1 spot for "spam" on WordPress.org, followed by Honeypot and CleanTalk. If install base matters most, Akismet Anti-spam leads with 5 million+ active installs. If ratings matter most, Honeypot scores 5.0 out of 5 across 1,436 reviews.
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