{"id":41775,"date":"2014-09-07T12:15:17","date_gmt":"2014-09-07T06:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=41775"},"modified":"2026-10-13T13:42:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:12:58","slug":"4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Best WordPress Plugins to Stop Comment Spam in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How do you stop comment spam on WordPress? Spam bots never sleep. Over the years QuickOnlineTips has received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/04\/comment-spam\/\">more than 3 million spam comments<\/a>, and without good filters the real comments get buried. Akismet alone is not always enough on busy blogs, and the GASP plugin we once recommended is no longer maintained. Here are the best WordPress plugins to <strong>stop comment spam<\/strong> in 2026, and how to combine them.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-64005\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-wordpress-comment-spam-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"Best WordPress plugins to stop comment spam\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-wordpress-comment-spam-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-wordpress-comment-spam-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-wordpress-comment-spam-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-wordpress-comment-spam-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-wordpress-comment-spam.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> The best plugins to stop comment spam are Akismet (cloud spam filter by Automattic), Antispam Bee (free and privacy-friendly), WP Armour (invisible honeypot), Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile (free, cookie-less CAPTCHA) and CleanTalk (paid cloud service). Use one filter plus one bot blocker, not five plugins at once.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad829a4cc7a9\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad829a4cc7a9\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#Best_WordPress_plugins_to_stop_comment_spam\" >Best WordPress plugins to stop comment spam<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#1_Akismet\" >1. Akismet<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#2_Antispam_Bee\" >2. Antispam Bee<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#3_WP_Armour_%E2%80%93_Honeypot_Anti_Spam\" >3. WP Armour \u2013 Honeypot Anti Spam<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#4_Simple_CAPTCHA_with_Cloudflare_Turnstile\" >4. Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#5_Anti-Spam_by_CleanTalk\" >5. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#Best_combination\" >Best combination<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#Built-in_WordPress_settings_that_cut_spam\" >Built-in WordPress settings that cut spam<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#Is_Akismet_free\" >Is Akismet free?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#Do_CAPTCHAs_hurt_real_comments\" >Do CAPTCHAs hurt real comments?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/09\/4-best-wordpress-plugins-to-stop-comment-spam\/#Why_do_spammers_target_my_blog\" >Why do spammers target my blog?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_WordPress_plugins_to_stop_comment_spam\"><\/span>Best WordPress plugins to stop comment spam<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Akismet\"><\/span>1. Akismet<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/akismet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Akismet<\/a> checks every comment against a huge cloud database of spam and catches most of it automatically. It is free for personal blogs and paid for commercial sites. By default it can silently delete the worst spam, which you can change in settings.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Antispam_Bee\"><\/span>2. Antispam Bee<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/antispam-bee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Antispam Bee<\/a> is free, needs no account and does not send personal data to outside servers, making it popular with sites that care about GDPR. It uses honeypots, local spam databases and country or language filters. Over 700,000 sites use it.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_WP_Armour_%E2%80%93_Honeypot_Anti_Spam\"><\/span>3. WP Armour \u2013 Honeypot Anti Spam<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/honeypot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WP Armour<\/a> adds an invisible honeypot field that bots fill in but humans never see, so spam is blocked before it is saved. No CAPTCHA, no annoyance for readers.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Simple_CAPTCHA_with_Cloudflare_Turnstile\"><\/span>4. Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/simple-cloudflare-turnstile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile<\/a> adds Cloudflare&#8217;s free, privacy-preserving Turnstile check to comments, login and registration forms. Most visitors never have to solve a puzzle. It also protects forms from Contact Form 7, WPForms and WooCommerce.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Anti-Spam_by_CleanTalk\"><\/span>5. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/cleantalk-spam-protect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CleanTalk<\/a> is a cloud anti-spam service that blocks spam comments, registrations and form submissions without CAPTCHA. It costs about $12 a year per site after a free trial.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_combination\"><\/span>Best combination<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Small blog:<\/strong> Antispam Bee or Akismet.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Busy blog:<\/strong> Akismet plus WP Armour or Turnstile.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sites with many forms:<\/strong> CleanTalk or Turnstile to cover comments, login and contact forms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Built-in_WordPress_settings_that_cut_spam\"><\/span>Built-in WordPress settings that cut spam<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Go to <strong>Settings &gt; Discussion<\/strong> and:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Close comments on articles older than 60 or 90 days.<\/li>\n<li>Hold comments with two or more links for moderation.<\/li>\n<li>Require the comment author to have a previously approved comment.<\/li>\n<li>Add common spam words to the &#8220;Disallowed Comment Keys&#8221; list.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/ban-ip-to-stop-wordpress-comment-spam-forever\/\">ban spammer IP addresses<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/remove-spam-links-in-wordpress-comments\/\">remove the URL field from comments<\/a> so there is less reason to spam you, and learn to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/moderate-wordpress-comments-quickly\/\">moderate WordPress comments quickly<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Akismet_free\"><\/span>Is Akismet free?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Free for personal, non-commercial blogs. Business sites need a paid plan.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_CAPTCHAs_hurt_real_comments\"><\/span>Do CAPTCHAs hurt real comments?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Hard puzzles do. Invisible honeypots and Cloudflare Turnstile block bots without bothering most humans.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_do_spammers_target_my_blog\"><\/span>Why do spammers target my blog?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>To get links. Nofollow comment links and a hidden URL field reduce the incentive.<\/p>\n<p>How much spam does your blog get? Share your favourite plugin in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you stop comment spam on WordPress? Spam bots never sleep. Over the years QuickOnlineTips has received more than&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":64005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[52,17],"class_list":["post-41775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-popular","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41775"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65513,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41775\/revisions\/65513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}