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Akismet Alternatives?

by Nightengale
9 replies
Hi Warriors,

I just went in to activate my Akismet plugin and I noticed they now charge for the service. I'm not trying to be cheap, but I just don't see paying for this. I feel like I'm being nickeled and dimed to death right now and am trying to keep my expenses as low as possible. Preventing spam is important, but I'm not willing to pay for it (MONTHLY!!!???), especially since I haven't launched yet and have no traffic.

What are the best free alternatives to Akismet? I don't really want to use a captcha since I don't want to frustrate anyone. (Have you ever seen one where one or both words/numbers were completely illegible?)

I'd appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks,
Michelle
#akismet #alternatives
  • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
    You could consider using Disqus for your comments. They have their own spam filter thingies. Not terribly good ones, though.

    Another option would be to use a facebook-comments plugin. There are many of those and I honestly can't tell you which is the best one.

    Note that there still is a free version of Akismet available, though. They do state the following:

    "Free account: If your site is for a business, or if it promotes a product or service, you should pick from one of our paid account options."


    So it might be out of the question.
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  • Profile picture of the author iDevesh
    GASP - One of the best anti spam plugin.

    It just include a check box in the comment form and it works like a charm.

    I'm using this plugin on many of my blogs. If you install gasp, then remove akismet.
    I can bet you will rarely get any spam on your blog/site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cataclysm1987
    Originally Posted by Nightengale View Post

    Hi Warriors,

    I just went in to activate my Akismet plugin and I noticed they now charge for the service. I'm not trying to be cheap, but I just don't see paying for this. I feel like I'm being nickeled and dimed to death right now and am trying to keep my expenses as low as possible. Preventing spam is important, but I'm not willing to pay for it (MONTHLY!!!???), especially since I haven't launched yet and have no traffic.

    What are the best free alternatives to Akismet? I don't really want to use a captcha since I don't want to frustrate anyone. (Have you ever seen one where one or both words/numbers were completely illegible?)

    I'd appreciate your suggestions.

    Thanks,
    Michelle
    You can always do what I do and hit the personal blog on the Akismet sign up instead of business. After all, it's pretty subjective and not really something they go around and check .
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    • Profile picture of the author wingman7
      Also notice Akismet is now a pay for. They ask you to make a volunteer donation for a private site but want cash for anything commercial. I understand they are providing a good service and want to be paid for it. However the way the web is it requires a lot of experimentation without any cashflow. So paying for these services is tough when theres little cash coming in. will be using alternatives. Appreciate any suggestions.
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  • Profile picture of the author typhoon
    +1 to what Devesh said. I am also using the same wordpress plugin (growmap anti spam bot).

    ZERO spam comments from BOTS. But you will have to deal with human spammers in future if it becomes a popular blog.
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