Spam can get out of control fast. I learned that the hard way.
My business site and even client projects started getting flooded with spam. No matter what I tried, the comments just kept coming.
Worse, my contact forms were filled with fake messages. It got so bad that spam bots were actually slowing down my websites.
If you run a WordPress site, you’ve probably dealt with this, too.
Like me, maybe you tried handling it manually. But let’s be honest. Those tricks don’t cut it anymore.
So I went looking for a better solution.
Over the past few months, I tested a bunch of anti-spam plugins to find out what really works.
I wasn’t just looking for any security tool- I wanted plugins that were user-friendly, reliable, and could handle all kinds of spam threats.
And now, I’m ready to share what I found.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best anti-spam plugins for WordPress based on real tests and hands-on experience.
Some are great for blocking comment spam. Others protect contact forms. A few even stop bots before they hit your server.
The best part? They’re easy to use and won’t slow down your site.
Whether you’re dealing with light spam or a full-on bot invasion, you’ll find a plugin here that fits your needs-and your budget.
How We Tested Anti-Spam Plugins
As mentioned, after dealing with so much spam, I knew I needed to find the right anti-spam plugin. But how could I be sure which ones really worked? Here is how we tested the anti-spam plugins.
- I used my own WordPress websites to test each plugin. I wanted to see how they worked in real situations. So, I looked at different types of spam. Comment spam was one type. Form spam was another type.
- I checked how well each plugin blocked spam. I wanted to see if they caught most of the spam. But I also checked if they let real comments through.
- Ease of use was important too. I wanted to see how easy they were to use. A good anti-spam plugin should be simple to set up, even for beginners.
- I also looked at website speed. Plugins can sometimes slow down your site. So, I checked if these anti-spam plugins made websites slower.
- Finally, I checked the features of each plugin. Some plugins have extra tools. For example, some anti-spam WordPress tools offer reports or stats features. I wanted to find the plugins that gave you the most protection and the best experience.
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Our advice is based on our own testing, as we conduct it ourselves. We only recommend what we know actually works.
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Best WordPress Anti-Spam Plugins
Now that you understand why spam protection is so important, let me share plugins that will help equip you. Let’s explore the best anti-spam tools for your WordPress site.
1. WPForms: Top Form Builder with Excellent Spam Protection
WPForms is the best drag and drop form builder. But what really stands out about this visual form builder is that it is really good at stopping spam.
In fact, spam protection is included even in the free version, making it my favorite anti-spam plugin.
To start with, WPForms has its own feature called Custom Captcha, a simple but effective way to block bots. You can set up Custom Captcha in 2 ways.
You can either ask a math question or a custom question and answer. I like how you can add several questions and answers, and WPforms will ask one of them randomly to users.
For even stronger spam blocking, WPForms also works with some of the best CAPTCHA services. For example, you can easily add Google reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha. These are advanced tools that make sure only real people can submit forms.
I have found this to be very effective. To add to that, WPForms integrates with Akismet. Akismet is a very popular anti-spam service. When you connect Akismet to WPForms, you get even better spam filters for your contact forms.
As you will see later in this post, Akismet uses its large database of known spam to help screen for submissions. Apart from that, it also looks at user behavior to identify spam.
In addition to these features, WPForms supports Cloudflare Turnstile. This connection allows WPForms to block bad traffic before it even reaches your website, adding another layer of spam protection. 
But my favorite WPForms anti-spam feature is that it gives you country and keyword filters so you can block spam proactively. For instance, you can block form entries from certain countries.
Or, you can block entries that contain specific spam words. Finally, WPForms has a useful feature to flag suspicious entries. If WPForms thinks an entry might be spam, it will flag it.
You can then review these flagged entries and delete the ones that are actually spam. If an entry is wrongly flagged, you can mark it as “Not Spam,” helping WPForms learn and improve its spam detection over time.
Check out the latest WPForms review here »
Get started with WPForms here »
Pricing: Offers a free version of the plugin. The WPForms Pro starts from $49.50/ Year.
2. WP Armour: Smart Honeypot Spam Protection
WP Armour is second on this list of best anti-spam plugins because of its practical honeypot approach. This is a clever trick to catch spam bots by adding a hidden field to your forms.
The trick here is that human users cannot see this field, but spam bots will try to fill it out. As a result, if the hidden field is filled, WP Armour knows it’s a bot and blocks it.
Due to this honeypot method, WP Armour provides users with a smooth and seamless experience. This is because it does not use CAPTCHAs or puzzles, so real users don’t have to do anything extra. This makes things easier for your website visitors.
I like that you can also connect WP Armour with WPForms and other popular WordPress form builders. As a result, you can use WP Armour and WPForms together for even stronger spam defense, adding extra layers of protection to your forms.
Added to that, WP Armour records spam submissions and logs the IP addresses of spam bots. This means you can identify what spam bots are trying to send and gain a better understanding of spam attacks.
But WP Armour not only integrates with form builders, it also connects with WooCommerce, allowing you to protect your online stores.
It protects WooCommerce checkout and registration pages, which are important steps if you sell things on your website.
Best of all, WP Armour is very simple to use.
You just activate the plugin. No setup is needed after that. It starts protecting your site right away. It’s really that easy.
Get started with WP Armour here »
Pricing: Offers a free version of the plugin. The WP Armour Pro plan starts from $19.99/ Year.
3. Akismet: The Well-Rounded Spam Fighter
Akismet is one of the best anti-spam WordPress plugins because it blocks many kinds of spam. It filters comment spam and stops form spam and trackback spam, protecting your site in many ways.
What I really loved is that Akismet analyzes user submissions in real-time. This means it checks for spam as it happens and can quickly identify and filter out spam comments and form entries.
Plus, Akismet is made by WordPress.com. WordPress.com is a trusted name in the WordPress world. They have built this spam plugin based on the feedback they received and their own experiences.
This also means that Akismet works with both WordPress.com and WordPress.org sites. No matter which type of WordPress site you have, Akismet can protect it. Added to that, it works with different form builders.
For example, it works with WPForms, Contact Form 7, and many more. As a result, you can continue using your favorite form builders with added layers of protection.
For those who are more tech-savvy, Akismet offers an API. You can use this API to build Akismet’s spam protection into other applications, ensuring you are not limited to WordPress.
As you can see, setting up Akismet does need an API key. This is a little extra step compared to some other plugins, making it slightly less user-friendly for beginners.
But I like how Akismet works quietly in the background. Once it is set up, you don’t have to do much. It automatically filters spam without bothering your users.
This background operation is very efficient and keeps your site clean without interrupting visitors.
Get started with Akismet here »
Pricing: Free. The Pro version starts from $9.95/ Month.
4. Titan Anti-Spam & Security: Multi-Layered Protection
Titan Anti-Spam & Security is a top spam plugin because of the many layers of protection it offers. For starters, it utilizes firewall rules to block malicious traffic and employs malware signatures to identify and block threats.
On top of that, it utilizes a database of known malicious IP addresses to block known malicious threats. So, it stops problems before they even reach your site.
Like Akismet, Titan Anti-Spam & Security works in the background by automatically screening comments. This background screening is really helpful and easy for users because you don’t need to take any action to filter spam comments.
The only downside is that Titan Anti-Spam & Security has a smaller spam database compared to Akismet. As a result, it may not catch as much spam as Akismet in some cases.
But Titan Anti-Spam & Security updates its database often, helping it block new types of spam. It continues to improve in protecting your site. Added to its anti-spam features, Titan Anti-Spam & Security offers other WordPress security tools.
It includes brute force protection to prevent hacking attempts and features a malware scanner to detect malicious code on your site. Another feature I like is that Titan Anti-Spam & Security supports multiple languages.
While translations primarily enhance usability, they also make the plugin more accessible to users worldwide. And since spam can come from anywhere, having a globally-aware plugin definitely helps.
Get started with Titan Anti-Spam & Security here »
Pricing: Offers a free version of the plugin. The Pro version starts from $55/ Year.
5. AntiSpam Bee: Free and Feature-Rich
AntiSpam Bee is one of the best spam protection plugins, as it detects spam in multiple ways.
It looks at language patterns in comments, helping it spot comments that sound like spam. It also checks IP addresses against spam databases to identify known spammers.
Added to that, it searches local databases for spam. What I like about AntiSpam Bee is that it lets you customize your spam settings. You can create custom folders for spam comments and set up filters to fit your needs.
This gives you more control over how spam is handled. If you want, you can allow comments only in certain languages or countries. This is helpful if your website is for a specific audience.
You can also whitelist trusted commenters, ensuring their comments are never mistakenly marked as spam. On top of that, it validates user IP addresses. This means it checks for suspicious activity from IP addresses.
AntiSpam Bee also shows you spam statistics on your dashboard. This lets you see how well the plugin is working. Now, the reason AntiSpam Bee is lower on my list is that it does not have strong bot protection.
It is more focused on comment spam and less on blocking advanced bots.
Get started with AntiSpam Bee here »
Pricing: Free.
6. CleanTalk: Wide-Ranging Security
CleanTalk gives you anti-spam protection for many parts of your site. It protects comments, of course. But it also protects forms and even login pages from spam.
As a result, it is more versatile and covers more areas than some other plugins. This spam protection plugin is also good at working with both simple and advanced forms, including order and booking forms.
Apart from that, it also works with subscription forms and even surveys and polls. So, it’s useful for many types of websites with different forms. I like how it even protects search forms from spam, something not many anti-spam plugins do.
If you have a search bar on your site, this plugin can stop spam submissions through it. If you have an online store, this plugin is helpful too because it is compatible with WooCommerce.
This means it can protect your eCommerce site from spam, which is very important for online businesses. Added to that, it offers real-time email validation.
This feature checks email addresses when they are entered, ensuring that the email addresses are real and valid, reducing fake submissions.
Finally, CleanTalk can check for spam that is already on your site. It can remove existing spam comments and users, helping to lean up your website and keep it free of old spam, too.
Get started with CleanTalk here »
Pricing: Offers a free version of the plugin. The Pro version starts from $12/ Year.
That’s it! You now have a collection of the best anti-spam WordPress plugins you can try out. If anything is unclear, check out the commonly asked questions below.
FAQs: Best WordPress Anti-Spam Plugins
Which is the best free form anti-spam plugin?
WPForms Lite is the best free form anti-spam plugin. Even though it’s free, it still offers great spam protection features. It includes a Custom Captcha to block basic spam bots. Plus, it works well as a form builder. So, you get both a form builder and spam protection for free with WPForms Lite.
What do anti-spam tools do?
Anti-spam tools help protect your website from unwanted content called spam. Spam can be in comments, contact forms, or even user registrations. Anti-spam plugins work to filter out this spam automatically. They use different methods to identify and block spam. This keeps your website clean, safe, and user-friendly for real visitors.
What is the best free anti-spam plugin for WordPress?
Akismet Anti-Spam is the best, well-rounded free anti-spam plugin for WordPress. The people behind WordPress.com make it. Akismet is very effective at filtering comment spam and works in the background to automatically catch spam and keep your comments clean.
How do I bulk delete spam users in WordPress?
To bulk delete spam users in WordPress, you can manually do it through your dashboard. Go to “Users” in your WordPress menu. You’ll see a list of all users. Check the boxes next to the spam users you want to remove. Then, in the “Bulk Actions” dropdown, choose “Delete” and click “Apply.” This will delete the selected users all at once. For an easier way, some anti-spam plugins can help. For example, CleanTalk plugin can automatically check for and remove existing spam users. This makes it faster to find and delete many spam users at once.
Final Verdict: Choosing the Right Anti-Spam Plugin
Stopping spam is really important for your WordPress website. Spam can cause problems and make your site look bad. As a result, using an anti-spam plugin is a smart move for any website owner.
We have talked about some of the best anti-spam plugins. I have discussed what each spam plugin does well and what it can improve on.
For the best form spam protection, I like WPForms a lot. It is easy to use and has many spam-fighting tools. If you want a simple and smart honeypot approach, WP Armour is a great choice.
Akismet is a well-rounded plugin that is good for all types of spam. It is made by WordPress.com, which is a name you can trust. Titan Anti-Spam & Security gives you many layers of protection and extra security features.
AntiSpam Bee is a free option with lots of features for comment spam. And CleanTalk covers many areas of your site, including forms and login pages.
The best plugin for you depends on what you need. Think about your website and the type of spam you get. Consider your budget and how much setup you want to do. Then, choose the anti-spam plugin that fits your website best.
I know this guide will help you find the right one!
Now, if you are looking for more ways to protect your site, here is the Ultimate WordPress Security Guide. Once you are done with that, you can use this Ultimate WordPress Security Checklist to make sure you don’t miss anything.