64
Friendly Captcha for WordPress
Privacy is great until the subscription fees kick in.
HealthyGrowingPoor rating
64/100
Privacy enthusiasts love the tech but feel burned by hidden costs and licensing requirements.
Active installs
~15,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 10k+
Rating
3.9★
18 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
+14%
Growing
59 → 68 installs/day
What to watch out for
- MINORverified rating is 3.54★
Downloads over time
real new installs per day · release spikes shown separately from the trend2025-04-302025-08-082025-11-162026-02-232026-06-03
organicrelease spikerelease tailorganic trend · 14d rolling median
Growing · +14% in the last year
59/day a year ago→68/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayFriendly Captcha is praised for its ease of use, lightweight performance, and privacy focus, but many users criticize hidden costs and required API keys.
What people like
- +Easy to install, configure and set up×4
- +Lightweight and fast loading×2
- +GDPR-compliant and privacy-friendly×3
- +Responsive developer support×2
- +No need to solve confusing image puzzles×2
Common complaints
- −Hidden or unexpected paid licensing required to use the plugin×5
- −API key required and often not functioning×3
- −IP addresses may be sent outside the EU unless an expensive Pro plan is purchased
- −JavaScript must be enabled for the captcha to work
- −Console warning appears when no form is present on the page
Review trustMostly organic
- 3.54★Verified rating — drops from 3.90★ once one-shot reviewers are removed
- 28%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
- past spikeReview timing — up to 50% of all reviews landed in a single month
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2023-08-192025-01-102026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 18 total
Latest reviews · 18 analyzed
- 2026-04-06★★★★★You need a paid account apparentlylordmatt
- 2024-06-24★★★★★Funktioniert nichtluftsocke
- 2023-08-08★★★★★Good protection and fully privacy compliantanne2dev1-shot
- 2023-07-22★★★★★Use lessmaxobom
- 2022-11-28★★★★★Good but…thedoctorcoernel
- 2022-11-04★★★★★Best Captcha alternativedrfranzkauer1-shot
- 2022-09-10★★★★★Unseriösdigimik
- 2022-05-05★★★★★GDPR Compliant Captcha Solutionprivacyconsult1-shot
- 2022-05-05★★★★★Great alternative to reCaptchasunagency1-shot
- 2022-05-05★★★★★Deceptive MarketingRadiantFreedom
Releases
recent versions from WordPress.org SVNAlternatives to Friendly Captcha for WordPress
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 aboveDownload 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.
117
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
67
Prior 7-day baseline
65
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
1,131
Mean release-day peak (30d)
117
Latest day · 2026-06-03(organic)
+74.6%
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.
50%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
3.48
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
67%
5★ share in analyzed sample
28%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
—
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
3.94 → 3.54★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered