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Cookies for Comments

by Donncha O Caoimh (a11n) · Security

Also makes 9 other plugins · 21.4K+ installs across the portfolio →

Sets a cookie on a random URL that is then checked when a comment is posted. If the cookie is missing the comment is marked as spam.

⚠ Stale⚠ Likely abandoned
How scoring works →
50 Health · D
Maintenance 3/100
Rating quality 89/100
Support 70/100

50 health vs 64 average across 997 Security plugins

High removal-risk signals

63/100

Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.

  • Long abandoned. No update in 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
  • Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.2.26, well behind 6.8.

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.

42 / 100

Under-optimized

Biggest win: Update recency

Update recency 1/100
WP compatibility 15/100
Rating quality 77/100
Listing tuning 84/100

To rank higher: Last updated 2643 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.

Get the full rank-higher report →

Daily downloads

Since 2022-10-05 · 1,425 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive

+43% vs prior 30d
12Downloads · Aug 26

30-day downloads

Rolling 30-day volume · peaks are release surges

399

now · peak 720

40730d downloads · Aug 26

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

Cookies for Comments · #1430 you Akismet Anti-spam: S · #8 Throws SPAM Away · #1449 Delete Pending Comme · #2020

Rating trend

Star average over time · dips mark rough releases

4.9Stars · Aug 26

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.

41per 1k installs · Aug 26

Release cadence

No release in a year
from wp.org release tags

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

0

releases in the last 12 months

7.2y ago

latest release · v0.5.5

7

tagged releases on record

Recent releases

0.5.5 · 7.2y ago0.5.4 · 13.6y ago0.5.1 · 17.1y ago0.5 · 18.0y ago0.4 · 18.1y ago0.3 · 18.1y ago0.2 · 18.2y ago

What its installed base runs

via wordpress.org

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

v0.5 100%

Estimated active installs

The public count shows “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.

modeled estimate
10K–20K ≈14K

Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.

Install history · since 2015-06-12 · 1,500 observations

10KInstalls · Aug 26

Estimated value

What this plugin might earn a year, and what it might sell for. Modeled from public signals; we don't see anyone's books.

Est. annual revenue

N/A

Est. acquisition value

N/A

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price.

Details

Version
0.5.5
Last updated
7.2y ago
Added
2008-03-06 · 18 yrs old
Requires WP
3.1
Tested up to
5.2.26
Requires PHP

Recent reviews

All reviews on wp.org ↗
  1. Annonnimmo
    5.8y ago

    (REVIEW UPDATED August 2021) Based on my long experience, I think this the simplest, fastest e most effective plugin to avoid spam in WordPress comments. I’m using this plugin on several sites, since years, and it works like a charm. Also on a big website with thousands of daily views (using .htaccess) P.s. It works very well with all versions of WP 5.x This topic was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by Jan Dembowski. This topic was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by Annonnimmo. This topic was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by Annonnimmo. Reason: updated for date

    Read on wp.org ↗
  2. Pothi Kalimuthu
    9.6y ago

    If you don’t use any other spam filter plugins, then you can rely on this to stop spam comments for sure!

    Read on wp.org ↗
  3. Spitt
    10.6y ago

    There used to be 2 types of anti-spam plugins. The first one will block all comments, and also block shopping carts if you run a site where people need to pay. The second doesn’t work. There is now a 3rd category, and this one not only works, but also will not block shopping carts. This anti-spam works well with Clickbank and WP eMember possibly other carts as well. Thank you so much! The last update stopped the anti-spam from Tips and Tricks HQ with their WP Security plugin, and I was inundated with 100s of spam comments per day. Now, this solution works, and everything is sent to spam, without messing with my shopping cart. Thank you so much. mmoexploiters.com

    Read on wp.org ↗
  4. Jason G.
    11.5y ago

    I originally found out about this plugin on Justin Tadlock’s blog. He was all for it so I figured it has to be a good one. I currently have it installed on all of my sites along with the recommended .htaccess rule, and now I do not ever see any spam! Awesome job guys! Thanks for a great plugin!

    Read on wp.org ↗
  5. Jon Christopher
    11.6y ago

    Love the premise of this plugin, and the results are respectable & accurate. Can’t ask for more than that! If a project I’m working on supports comments, this is my go-to plugin to reduce spam.

    Read on wp.org ↗
  6. Hugh Lashbrooke
    11.8y ago

    This plugin is 100% essential for any WordPress site. In fact, it would be great if this was added to core.

    Read on wp.org ↗
  7. Alexander Gounder
    11.9y ago

    The graph Spam Blocked in Akismet went from 111 comments blocked in April 2014 to barely one if not zero comments a month.

    Read on wp.org ↗
  8. chamacs
    12.0y ago

    Some of the plugins that I tried before promised cutting the SPAM but failed miserably to do so. I now believe that at my site [Link redacted], this plugin has served me very well.

    Read on wp.org ↗

Latest updates

via wp.org changelog

Recent releases and news for this plugin

  1. Version 0.5.5 Sanitize the cookie key before setting it. Props Matt Cutts and @planetzuda 0.5.5
  2. Version 0.5.4 Added a rejection message for when people trip over the cookie protection. Plugin requires WordPress 3.1+ now. 0.5.4
  3. Version 0.5.2 Use an image to deliver cookie as well as stylesheet. Don’t load WordPress to set the cookie. Makes pageload much faster! Added “time to post comment” to comment notification emails. Support for SSL sites. If user is log 0.5.2
  4. Version 0.5.1 Generate cfc_key all the time if it’s missing, not just on serving the css html Added MU signup form mod_rewrite rules to docs and admin page Added Settings page link to plugins page. Add explanation text to css file. Ad 0.5.1

Behavioral tests

via WP Hive

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3

Low memory footprint
Low page-speed impact
Runs on latest PHP + WP
No PHP errors
No JS errors
Activates cleanly
No resource errors
No external HTTP errors
Optimized database use
Frequently updated

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

  1. 2026-08-27 20K+ → 10K+ down after 458 days in tier
  2. 2025-05-26 30K+ → 20K+ down after 429 days in tier
  3. 2024-03-23 40K+ → 30K+ down after 471 days in tier
  4. 2022-12-08 50K+ → 40K+ down

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).

Compare head to head →

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Cookies for Comments into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

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Preview card ↗

Cookies for Comments: 10K+ active installs, 4.9★ (18 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-29. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/cookies-for-comments