81
Grade B

Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection

by Automatticupdated 2026-04-23🌿The Dependable Sort

It kills the spam bots but charges a premium for the privilege.

HealthyDeclining
81/100

This reliable tool effectively silences spam bots but requires an API key and paid plans for commercial sites.

Loved36/40
Trustworthy11/15
Fair & Honest14/15
Maintained18/18
Momentum2/12
Active installs
~6.5 million
our estimate · wp.org shows 6.0M+
Rating
4.7
1,189 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
-46%
Declining fast
61,592 → 32,998 installs/day
!

What to watch out for

  • MINORdownloads down 46% vs a year ago

Downloads over time

real new installs per day · release spikes shown separately from the trend
2025-04-30 · 39,992 · organic2025-05-01 · 34,825 · organic2025-05-02 · 31,857 · organic2025-05-03 · 22,103 · organic2025-05-04 · 22,564 · organic2025-05-05 · 33,494 · organic2025-05-06 · 34,876 · organic2025-05-07 · 2,171,527 · spike2025-05-08 · 2,359,876 · spike2025-05-09 · 229,621 · spike2025-05-10 · 106,711 · spike2025-05-11 · 97,526 · spike2025-05-12 · 165,399 · spike2025-05-13 · 233,491 · spike2025-05-14 · 264,475 · spike2025-05-15 · 255,733 · spike2025-05-16 · 110,251 · spike2025-05-17 · 61,196 · tail2025-05-18 · 59,813 · tail2025-05-19 · 96,210 · spike2025-05-20 · 101,205 · spike2025-05-21 · 90,128 · spike2025-05-22 · 88,665 · spike2025-05-23 · 77,938 · tail2025-05-24 · 50,680 · tail2025-05-25 · 60,572 · tail2025-05-26 · 76,687 · organic2025-05-27 · 79,716 · organic2025-05-28 · 80,545 · organic2025-05-29 · 78,086 · organic2025-05-30 · 69,014 · organic2025-05-31 · 47,899 · organic2025-06-01 · 46,869 · organic2025-06-02 · 78,727 · organic2025-06-03 · 75,505 · organic2025-06-04 · 74,425 · organic2025-06-05 · 65,984 · organic2025-06-06 · 57,584 · organic2025-06-07 · 41,813 · organic2025-06-08 · 40,201 · organic2025-06-09 · 61,916 · organic2025-06-10 · 66,578 · organic2025-06-11 · 63,213 · organic2025-06-12 · 69,203 · organic2025-06-13 · 61,403 · organic2025-06-14 · 38,813 · organic2025-06-15 · 36,964 · organic2025-06-16 · 59,527 · organic2025-06-17 · 62,806 · organic2025-06-18 · 61,781 · organic2025-06-19 · 56,395 · organic2025-06-20 · 51,451 · organic2025-06-21 · 37,229 · organic2025-06-22 · 35,910 · organic2025-06-23 · 57,143 · organic2025-06-24 · 59,221 · organic2025-06-25 · 58,360 · organic2025-06-26 · 56,265 · organic2025-06-27 · 49,859 · organic2025-06-28 · 36,640 · organic2025-06-29 · 33,013 · organic2025-06-30 · 53,820 · organic2025-07-01 · 54,875 · organic2025-07-02 · 54,519 · organic2025-07-03 · 55,092 · organic2025-07-04 · 46,064 · organic2025-07-05 · 33,994 · organic2025-07-06 · 32,128 · organic2025-07-07 · 53,726 · organic2025-07-08 · 54,358 · organic2025-07-09 · 51,735 · organic2025-07-10 · 49,352 · organic2025-07-11 · 45,430 · organic2025-07-12 · 32,696 · organic2025-07-13 · 31,944 · organic2025-07-14 · 48,135 · organic2025-07-15 · 2,089,994 · spike2025-07-16 · 2,538,486 · spike2025-07-17 · 253,983 · spike2025-07-18 · 144,674 · spike2025-07-19 · 87,153 · tail2025-07-20 · 77,097 · tail2025-07-21 · 129,828 · spike2025-07-22 · 116,204 · spike2025-07-23 · 102,378 · tail2025-07-24 · 95,441 · tail2025-07-25 · 23,214 · organic2025-07-26 · 13,616 · organic2025-07-27 · 13,390 · organic2025-07-28 · 15,977 · organic2025-07-29 · 15,918 · organic2025-07-30 · 16,411 · organic2025-07-31 · 16,462 · organic2025-08-01 · 15,909 · organic2025-08-02 · 14,575 · organic2025-08-03 · 13,929 · organic2025-08-04 · 15,430 · organic2025-08-05 · 15,474 · organic2025-08-06 · 15,536 · organic2025-08-07 · 94,152 · spike2025-08-08 · 74,164 · spike2025-08-09 · 42,211 · spike2025-08-10 · 41,584 · spike2025-08-11 · 65,094 · spike2025-08-12 · 64,754 · spike2025-08-13 · 78,432 · spike2025-08-14 · 78,732 · spike2025-08-15 · 67,978 · spike2025-08-16 · 40,977 · spike2025-08-17 · 39,406 · tail2025-08-18 · 62,703 · spike2025-08-19 · 63,973 · spike2025-08-20 · 61,182 · spike2025-08-21 · 57,361 · spike2025-08-22 · 52,049 · spike2025-08-23 · 37,717 · tail2025-08-24 · 38,058 · tail2025-08-25 · 57,015 · spike2025-08-26 · 59,182 · spike2025-08-27 · 58,895 · spike2025-08-28 · 56,375 · tail2025-08-29 · 50,268 · tail2025-08-30 · 41,313 · tail2025-08-31 · 37,933 · organic2025-09-01 · 56,276 · organic2025-09-02 · 57,357 · organic2025-09-03 · 55,686 · organic2025-09-04 · 54,188 · organic2025-09-05 · 49,814 · organic2025-09-06 · 36,089 · organic2025-09-07 · 35,221 · organic2025-09-08 · 54,459 · organic2025-09-09 · 56,706 · organic2025-09-10 · 54,462 · organic2025-09-11 · 51,420 · organic2025-09-12 · 46,545 · organic2025-09-13 · 33,905 · organic2025-09-14 · 33,296 · organic2025-09-15 · 51,973 · organic2025-09-16 · 53,656 · organic2025-09-17 · 52,237 · organic2025-09-18 · 49,846 · organic2025-09-19 · 45,097 · organic2025-09-20 · 32,852 · organic2025-09-21 · 31,618 · organic2025-09-22 · 49,675 · organic2025-09-23 · 51,971 · organic2025-09-24 · 49,676 · organic2025-09-25 · 49,469 · organic2025-09-26 · 46,200 · organic2025-09-27 · 31,946 · organic2025-09-28 · 31,900 · organic2025-09-29 · 52,276 · organic2025-09-30 · 65,333 · organic2025-10-01 · 88,392 · organic2025-10-02 · 37,990 · organic2025-10-03 · 36,971 · organic2025-10-04 · 23,431 · organic2025-10-05 · 23,469 · organic2025-10-06 · 36,860 · organic2025-10-07 · 35,334 · organic2025-10-08 · 34,359 · organic2025-10-09 · 32,765 · organic2025-10-10 · 28,469 · organic2025-10-11 · 21,188 · organic2025-10-12 · 20,605 · organic2025-10-13 · 30,960 · organic2025-10-14 · 32,207 · organic2025-10-15 · 30,969 · organic2025-10-16 · 31,522 · organic2025-10-17 · 28,432 · organic2025-10-18 · 19,513 · organic2025-10-19 · 18,937 · organic2025-10-20 · 28,794 · organic2025-10-21 · 31,591 · organic2025-10-22 · 29,571 · organic2025-10-23 · 29,121 · organic2025-10-24 · 27,019 · organic2025-10-25 · 19,714 · organic2025-10-26 · 20,125 · organic2025-10-27 · 29,914 · organic2025-10-28 · 29,524 · organic2025-10-29 · 29,912 · organic2025-10-30 · 27,264 · organic2025-10-31 · 25,764 · organic2025-11-01 · 20,508 · organic2025-11-02 · 19,622 · organic2025-11-03 · 29,274 · organic2025-11-04 · 28,951 · organic2025-11-05 · 28,701 · organic2025-11-06 · 27,161 · organic2025-11-07 · 25,286 · organic2025-11-08 · 18,502 · organic2025-11-09 · 17,677 · organic2025-11-10 · 28,200 · organic2025-11-11 · 27,855 · organic2025-11-12 · 2,258,494 · spike2025-11-13 · 2,190,617 · spike2025-11-14 · 197,953 · spike2025-11-15 · 108,674 · spike2025-11-16 · 96,620 · spike2025-11-17 · 155,253 · spike2025-11-18 · 133,322 · spike2025-11-19 · 117,428 · spike2025-11-20 · 104,672 · spike2025-11-21 · 90,828 · spike2025-11-22 · 63,844 · tail2025-11-23 · 60,683 · tail2025-11-24 · 96,878 · spike2025-11-25 · 95,586 · spike2025-11-26 · 85,640 · spike2025-11-27 · 76,781 · spike2025-11-28 · 70,596 · spike2025-11-29 · 53,296 · tail2025-11-30 · 53,024 · tail2025-12-01 · 86,465 · spike2025-12-02 · 83,449 · spike2025-12-03 · 121,940 · spike2025-12-04 · 182,792 · spike2025-12-05 · 66,579 · organic2025-12-06 · 41,202 · organic2025-12-07 · 38,654 · organic2025-12-08 · 57,627 · organic2025-12-09 · 105,224 · organic2025-12-10 · 166,918 · spike2025-12-11 · 55,459 · organic2025-12-12 · 50,377 · organic2025-12-13 · 33,073 · organic2025-12-14 · 32,838 · organic2025-12-15 · 50,078 · organic2025-12-16 · 50,404 · organic2025-12-17 · 47,174 · organic2025-12-18 · 46,525 · organic2025-12-19 · 40,248 · organic2025-12-20 · 30,163 · organic2025-12-21 · 29,579 · organic2025-12-22 · 42,670 · organic2025-12-23 · 39,652 · organic2025-12-24 · 32,322 · organic2025-12-25 · 26,896 · organic2025-12-26 · 30,360 · organic2025-12-27 · 27,741 · organic2025-12-28 · 27,546 · organic2025-12-29 · 37,308 · organic2025-12-30 · 36,052 · organic2025-12-31 · 31,130 · organic2026-01-01 · 27,246 · organic2026-01-02 · 34,242 · organic2026-01-03 · 28,262 · organic2026-01-04 · 28,368 · organic2026-01-05 · 42,881 · organic2026-01-06 · 41,268 · organic2026-01-07 · 42,795 · organic2026-01-08 · 42,153 · organic2026-01-09 · 37,645 · organic2026-01-10 · 27,339 · organic2026-01-11 · 26,588 · organic2026-01-12 · 40,591 · organic2026-01-13 · 42,327 · organic2026-01-14 · 39,440 · organic2026-01-15 · 36,946 · organic2026-01-16 · 34,157 · organic2026-01-17 · 25,106 · organic2026-01-18 · 25,293 · organic2026-01-19 · 37,273 · organic2026-01-20 · 39,124 · organic2026-01-21 · 40,026 · organic2026-01-22 · 36,841 · organic2026-01-23 · 33,062 · organic2026-01-24 · 24,473 · organic2026-01-25 · 24,559 · organic2026-01-26 · 36,817 · organic2026-01-27 · 37,172 · organic2026-01-28 · 35,663 · organic2026-01-29 · 38,059 · organic2026-01-30 · 33,117 · organic2026-01-31 · 24,610 · organic2026-02-01 · 24,599 · organic2026-02-02 · 35,253 · organic2026-02-03 · 38,531 · organic2026-02-04 · 40,041 · organic2026-02-05 · 36,112 · organic2026-02-06 · 32,619 · organic2026-02-07 · 23,706 · organic2026-02-08 · 23,415 · organic2026-02-09 · 34,084 · organic2026-02-10 · 35,010 · organic2026-02-11 · 32,372 · organic2026-02-12 · 32,763 · organic2026-02-13 · 28,756 · organic2026-02-14 · 20,177 · organic2026-02-15 · 20,742 · organic2026-02-16 · 30,757 · organic2026-02-17 · 31,340 · organic2026-02-18 · 30,953 · organic2026-02-19 · 29,803 · organic2026-02-20 · 28,057 · organic2026-02-21 · 21,080 · organic2026-02-22 · 20,790 · organic2026-02-23 · 29,476 · organic2026-02-24 · 30,796 · organic2026-02-25 · 29,533 · organic2026-02-26 · 29,384 · organic2026-02-27 · 27,029 · organic2026-02-28 · 20,302 · organic2026-03-01 · 18,927 · organic2026-03-02 · 28,309 · organic2026-03-03 · 28,435 · organic2026-03-04 · 27,942 · organic2026-03-05 · 28,765 · organic2026-03-06 · 25,514 · organic2026-03-07 · 18,982 · organic2026-03-08 · 18,570 · organic2026-03-09 · 27,628 · organic2026-03-10 · 30,772 · organic2026-03-11 · 70,309 · spike2026-03-12 · 52,684 · spike2026-03-13 · 33,760 · tail2026-03-14 · 18,793 · organic2026-03-15 · 19,115 · organic2026-03-16 · 28,183 · organic2026-03-17 · 27,365 · organic2026-03-18 · 27,234 · organic2026-03-19 · 27,988 · organic2026-03-20 · 25,802 · organic2026-03-21 · 17,744 · organic2026-03-22 · 16,854 · organic2026-03-23 · 25,551 · organic2026-03-24 · 27,224 · organic2026-03-25 · 25,813 · organic2026-03-26 · 26,863 · organic2026-03-27 · 23,627 · organic2026-03-28 · 17,613 · organic2026-03-29 · 17,271 · organic2026-03-30 · 25,611 · organic2026-03-31 · 26,231 · organic2026-04-01 · 25,090 · organic2026-04-02 · 23,689 · organic2026-04-03 · 21,385 · organic2026-04-04 · 16,896 · organic2026-04-05 · 15,741 · organic2026-04-06 · 23,516 · organic2026-04-07 · 24,864 · organic2026-04-08 · 25,070 · organic2026-04-09 · 23,557 · organic2026-04-10 · 21,552 · organic2026-04-11 · 16,188 · organic2026-04-12 · 16,359 · organic2026-04-13 · 23,494 · organic2026-04-14 · 25,669 · organic2026-04-15 · 24,808 · organic2026-04-16 · 22,912 · organic2026-04-17 · 21,618 · organic2026-04-18 · 15,599 · organic2026-04-19 · 16,356 · organic2026-04-20 · 23,536 · organic2026-04-21 · 25,039 · organic2026-04-22 · 24,313 · organic2026-04-23 · 190,077 · spike2026-04-24 · 2,262,689 · spike2026-04-25 · 1,703,912 · spike2026-04-26 · 118,858 · spike2026-04-27 · 182,178 · spike2026-04-28 · 141,978 · spike2026-04-29 · 129,083 · spike2026-04-30 · 131,496 · spike2026-05-01 · 91,574 · spike2026-05-02 · 67,627 · spike2026-05-03 · 65,404 · spike2026-05-04 · 102,812 · spike2026-05-05 · 99,119 · spike2026-05-06 · 93,898 · spike2026-05-07 · 93,988 · spike2026-05-08 · 78,525 · spike2026-05-09 · 54,230 · tail2026-05-10 · 51,467 · tail2026-05-11 · 82,273 · spike2026-05-12 · 83,973 · spike2026-05-13 · 80,811 · spike2026-05-14 · 74,126 · tail2026-05-15 · 71,519 · tail2026-05-16 · 48,773 · tail2026-05-17 · 46,312 · organic2026-05-18 · 71,915 · organic2026-05-19 · 71,858 · organic2026-05-20 · 74,365 · organic2026-05-21 · 155,724 · organic2026-05-22 · 112,321 · organic2026-05-23 · 35,716 · organic2026-05-24 · 34,107 · organic2026-05-25 · 47,071 · organic2026-05-26 · 51,686 · organic2026-05-27 · 84,814 · organic2026-05-28 · 161,365 · spike2026-05-29 · 48,010 · organic2026-05-30 · 31,889 · organic2026-05-31 · 31,300 · organic2026-06-01 · 48,155 · organic2026-06-02 · 47,511 · organic2026-06-03 · 48,269 · organic
2025-04-302025-08-082025-11-162026-02-232026-06-03
organicrelease spikerelease tailorganic trend · 14d rolling median
Declining fast · -46% in the last year
61,592/day a year ago32,998/day today

Reviews

what people actually say
Akismet is well-regarded as a reliable, set-and-forget spam filter for WordPress comments, though users note it is not perfectly accurate and its pricing and free-tier limits cause some friction.
What people like
  • +Dramatically reduces or eliminates spam comments with little ongoing effort×9
  • +Runs quietly in the background without requiring manual intervention×4
  • +Quick and straightforward setup process×6
Common complaints
  • Occasionally lets some spam comments slip through×6
  • Sometimes incorrectly flags legitimate comments as spam (false positives)×4
  • Pricing considered high for business/commercial sites
  • Free tier limits are not clearly communicated
  • API key setup process is seen as a minor annoyance
Review trustReviews look organic
  • 4.38★Verified rating — drops from 4.70★ once one-shot reviewers are removed
  • 24%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2025-02-092025-10-072026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 1,189 total
5★
1,032
4★
71
3★
16
2★
13
1★
57
Latest reviews · 90 analyzed

Releases

recent versions from WordPress.org SVN
  • 2026-04-23v5.7
  • 2025-11-12v5.6
  • 2025-07-15v5.5
  • 2025-05-07v5.4
  • 2025-04-14v5.3.7
  • 2025-02-04v5.3.6
  • 2024-11-19v5.3.5
  • 2024-11-18v5.3.4

Alternatives to Akismet Anti-spam

Top Anti-spam plugins, ranked by score.

For developers & the curious

the raw signals behind the grade — none of this is on the friendly summary above

Download signals

Baselines are computed on organic days only — release spikes and their tails are excluded, so they're not inflated by the auto-update wave.

48,010
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
51,686
Prior 7-day baseline
38,555
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
122,669
Mean release-day peak (30d)
48,269
Latest day · 2026-06-03(organic)
-7.1%
Week-over-week organic trend

Review signals

Concentration and drive-by metrics drive the review-burst and fake-review flags. 30–40% solo reviewers is normal; we only flag the extremes.

12%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
0.49
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
70%
5★ share in analyzed sample
24%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
+67%
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.51 → 4.38★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered