Is Akismet The Best Tool To Block WordPress Comment Spam?

Everton | Jan 07, 2008 | Comments


I’ve just decided to switch back to using Akismet to protect this site from comment spam. In the past I wasn’t a big fan of Akismet, because it didn’t provide a lot of ways to deal with false positives, but I feel that I need to try something new as too much spam has been getting through.

Previously I was using Spam Karma 2 as it offered the most control that allowed me to ensure that regular commentators on this blog got through ok, but recently it has been letting too many spam comments through. I was getting so many each day that I’ve been logging on nearly every hour and spending around an hour a day just deleting spam.

I think that Spam Karma 2 has lost it’s position as the best WordPress anti-spam tool because the developer isn’t actively developing it because he said he couldn’t see the point of trying to compete with Akismet, which is bundled with WordPress. I can kind of see his point, but I still think it’s a real shame.

So, what do you think is currently the best WordPress anti-spam tool? Is it now Akismet? Or is there a new kid on the block that has stepped in where Spam Karma 2 has left off?


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About the Author: Everton is based in London and has worked in the internet and mobile space for over ten years now, and before that worked in corporate strategy and consulting. He has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University.He also writes for Windows 7 News, Windows 8 News and One Tip A Day.

  • I’m having serious problems with Aksiment. It says that it caught 5 comments, but it’s only displaying two. I want to just go and delete those other three but I can’t view them. I’m going to have to disable Akismet, pathetically bad
  • Heather
    @Everton
    Akismet definitely has its uses - I use them both. SpamFree has just made a HUGE difference. It also uses no server resources. I'm all about having a fast site too. :)
  • PS plus Akismet doesn't use server resources - I'm convinced it's one of the reasons my site seems faster.
  • @Heather

    Thanks-will take a look. Akismet is making about 2-4 mistakes a day, which is very good going. So, the need to switch isn't as pressing as I thought. Akismet has definitely got a lot better over the last year, and will probably continue to do so given that WP run it.
  • There actually is a new kid on the block...I've been using this new Anti-Spam plugin called WP-SpamFree - It's awesome...you don't even get 1% of the spam comments in the Akismet queue.
  • I use askimet in all my wordpress installations and it is obviously the first plugin I activate. The only issue is to remember the activation key, which is provided on wordpress pages.
  • Hmmm... I'd rather let the legit messages get trashed than deal with 45K spam a week. Askimet saves me heartpain!
  • Akismet worked OK for me, but I've since given up on it since I had to disapprove so many scam messages.
  • Everton you won't believe it but I switched to Akismet a week ago and switched back to Spam Karma yesterday.Akismet is blocking more spam but puts more false positives into the spam folder as well.

    The real problem that I had with Akismet was that you had to look at ALL spam messages to pick the the real comments from the spam folder. This took ages. There are no filters in Akismet, no options and the only button that you can press is to delete all spam comments.

    I prefer the Spam Karma way which reduces the time spent on moderating comments to several minutes a day.
  • I switched like you a couple of weeks ago.
    Originally I used the default settings of Spam Karma. A couple of times however users who commented, got a session start error message, even though their comment was stored on my site. I decided to switch instead of looking for support and Akismet is working well so far.
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