ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments
by Syed Balkhi · Security
Also makes 99 other plugins · 21.7M+ installs across the portfolio →
Intelligent spam protection for WordPress forms, comments, and reviews. No CAPTCHA needed. Works with WPForms, Contact Form 7, WooCommerce, and more.
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Health
A 87/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈11K estimated
Momentum
+4%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “contact form” and “antispam” for “spam” and “bot protection”. “contact form” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “spam” sits at #8 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “antispam” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “bot protection” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
87 health vs 66 average across 1,786 Security plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →17%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 57.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Security plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,061 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Security plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 13 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 25 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.9★ over 10 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.2★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
2 of 2 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
64
Momentum
Gaining ground
+1.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
69%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+1.4
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| comment spam your tag | #3 | #6 | up 4 |
| spam protection your tag | #4 | #9 | up 1 |
| anti spam your tag | #6 | #10 | up 4 |
| anti | #7 | #13 | up 3 |
| spam | #8 | #15 | up 8 |
| comment protection | #3 | #8 | up 3 |
| remove spam comments | #3 | #7 | 0 |
| protection | #11 | #19 | up 4 |
| comments spam | #4 | #9 | up 2 |
| comments | #14 | #15 | up 6 |
| get comments | #5 | #10 | 0 |
| spam comment | #5 | #10 | up 2 |
| spam comments | #5 | #10 | up 1 |
| stop comment spam | #5 | #8 | 0 |
| comments form validation | #5 | #11 | — |
| antispam comment spam | #5 | #8 | 0 |
| bot protection | #9 | #15 | up 4 |
| anti spam bot | #5 | #7 | up 1 |
| anti spam bots | #5 | #8 | 0 |
| form spam | #6 | #15 | up 9 |
| contact form your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
406 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 332 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “contact form” and “antispam” for “spam” and “bot protection”. “contact form” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “spam” sits at #8 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “antispam” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “bot protection” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 22 Feb 2026 · 255 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 17K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
13
releases in the last 12 months
25d ago
latest release · v1.7.2 · 9 Oct 2026
13
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 33 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just over 10K.
At the current install trend, crossing 20K+ in roughly 146 days.
Install history since 21 Feb 2026
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ beatty674mo ago
This plugin works great for a client’s website that was getting hammered with j0nk and now is not. A perfect solution since I have no control over the web hosting settings. But I think I’m going to start using ActiveLayer on my other websites where I do have access to the server. Nice job.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ marcbeziat4mo ago
It does the work, and you can have a summary of the emails that were accepted, and those that were considered as spam. Very nice, simple and clean. I used to receive spam sometimes, now I am free of it! Thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Rinni4mo ago
great plugin I recommend it
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ scrubzbody4mo ago
Thanks for working. The spam was very annoying and it’s now been 3 days since I installed Active Layer and now there is none. Yay!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.6.0 Added: WordPress Abilities support (WordPress 6.9+) — registers read-only abilities (list, search, and view submissions; get statistics; get settings) so compatible tools and AI assistants can query your anti-spam data w 1.6.0
- — Version 1.5.0 Added: Easy Digital Downloads integration — spam protection for product reviews and the standalone customer registration form. The EDD checkout is never gated, so spam protection can’t interrupt a purchase. Added: Funnel 1.5.0
- — Version 1.4.1 Improved: WooCommerce — account registration during checkout now completes smoothly without an inline spam check, keeping the purchase flow uninterrupted. The standalone My Account registration form stays protected. Impr 1.4.1
- — Version 1.4.0 Added: AffiliateWP integration — synchronous protection for affiliate registration before the affiliate and WordPress user are created. Added: MemberPress integration — synchronous protection for membership registration 1.4.0
- — Version 1.3.1 Fixed: Internal plugin version constant was left at 1.2.0 in the 1.3.0 release, so browsers and page caches kept serving outdated CSS/JS assets after the update. Asset cache-busting now works correctly again. 1.3.1
- — Version 1.3.0 Changed: Form protection now enabled by default for all supported providers after API key connection. Existing forms with explicit disable setting remain disabled until re-saved. Added: BuddyPress and BuddyBoss integrati 1.3.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 4 languages, 1 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 12 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 12 of 12 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, Elementor, Contact Form 7, WPForms and 6 more.
- ✓ Headings and lists 16 headings and 2 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 11,434 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "antispam" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-01 9K+ → 10K+ up after 12 days in tier
- 2026-09-19 8K+ → 9K+ up after 12 days in tier
- 2026-09-07 7K+ → 8K+ up after 12 days in tier
- 2026-08-26 6K+ → 7K+ up after 13 days in tier
- 2026-08-13 5K+ → 6K+ up after 10 days in tier
- 2026-08-03 4K+ → 5K+ up after 11 days in tier
- 2026-07-23 3K+ → 4K+ up after 9 days in tier
- 2026-07-14 2K+ → 3K+ up after 19 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
Antispam Bee 700K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ installs · 5.0★ · 3 shared tags A -
Honeypot Anti-Spam 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags B -
oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
Human Presence – Stop Form Spam Without ReCaptcha 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/activelayer-anti-spam-spam-protection-for-forms-comments" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments: 10K+ active installs, 4.9★ (10 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/activelayer-anti-spam-spam-protection-for-forms-comments
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