How To Install Akismet Anti-Spam and Get API Key For Free

Everyone hates spam. When you start a blog every now and then you will notice a few comments on your blog that have nothing to do with your content containing spammy links.

These links usually point to gambling sites or websites containing explicit content. This unscrupulous activity of posting spam comments and pingbacks are done using spambots.

And as the spammers are getting smarter, it gets really difficult to distinguish between the real and fake comments.

The websites that receive a huge amount of traffic on a daily basis also gets lots of spam. This makes the manual comment moderation a difficult, as well as time, consuming task. That is the using an anti-spam plugin is recommended.

If you are a WordPress user you can stay safe from spam using the Akismet plugin.

In this article, we will learn how to install the Akismet plugin and get a free API key.

What is Akismet?

Launched on October 25, 2005, Akismet is a spam filtering service by Automattic. Akismet helps fight spam by catching it before it lands on the list of comments to be approved. The comments caught are sent straight to the spam folder.

The name of the plugin is the combination of two words the letter ‘A’ from Automattic and ‘Kismet’ meaning destiny or fate.

Akismet uses a crowd-sourced algorithm to catch comments and pingbacks. This algorithm works using the information obtained from participating websites and then use those signals to prevent spam.

For example, if someone leaves a comment on your blog, first the comment is checked against all the information in the Akismet database. If it has signals of spam it lands in the spam folder else you can see these comments on the list of unapproved comments.

In case, any participating website marks some comment as spam, the information is then added to the pool of database and it is used to mark content of similar nature as spam.

Did you know?

Why use Akismet over other Anti-spam plugins?

Spam is one of the largest and most annoying problems and it never stops. Every morning when you log in to your dashboard to engage with the genuine readers, you also find spam in the mix.

If you do not take steps and use a spam filtering plugin, the problem will only increase and will become a nightmare. Like Akismet, there are other anti-spam plugins. But here are 4 reasons to choose Akismet over others.

Akismet is created by Automattic, the company behind WordPress. Here is an interesting fact WordPress powers 32% of the web which is remarkable. This plugin uses a self-learning algorithm, where it learns from the information gathered from various participating sources and based on that database, it will look for signs to mark the comments accordingly. Every action taken using this plugin makes Akismet more efficient. Akismet catches 7.5 million spam every hour. There is a very high possibility, it will prevent the spam almost every time. This plugin will also save your time by easing the process of comment moderation. On quite a few occasions the free plugins are abandoned by the creators due to various reasons. But Akismet is a product by a highly reputed company and receives regular updates and also you don’t have to fear about the product being abandoned.

With that said, let’s jump to the pricing of the plugin.

Akismet Pricing Plans

Akismet is such an important and valuable plugin and offers 3 different pricing plans.

Personal Plus Enterprise

Personal plan is for free and you can use this plan on small websites and blogs.

Plus plan is for 5$ per month for a single site and it offers additional features such as support for commercial sites, advanced stats, and priority support.

Enterprise plan offers spam protection for large networks and multi-site installations. This plan is available for 50$ per month.

In this tutorial, we will be using the personal plan and I will share how can you get Akismet API key for free.

How to Install and Activate Akismet WordPress plugin

Akismet is one of the default plugins that come pre-installed in WordPress but it is not activated you have to activate the plugin.

In case you do not have the plugin installed or may have deleted it by mistake, you need to download it. To download the plugin login to your WordPress dashboard and then click Plugin >> Add New. You will see a search box and you need to search for Akismet.

Click the Install now button to install the plugin. If you are a new WordPress user you can check our guide on How to install plugins in WordPress.

Once the plugin is installed, click Activate as shown in the image below.

In case you already have the plugin, just activate the plugin by navigating to the list of installed plugins.

How to get Akismet free API key for WordPress Blog

To generate the free Akismet API key, in your WordPress dashboard head over to Settings >> Akismet Anti-Spam.

Note:- If you are using Jetpack plugin then you will find the Akismet Anti-Spam plugin listed under the Jetpack menu.

Click Get your API key. It will take you to the Akismet website where you will find the button to activate Akismet. Click it.

When you click the activate button it will take you to a new screen where you need to sign up for a WordPress.com account.

If you are using other WordPress products like Jetpack you may already have an account associated with WordPress.com and you can use those credentials to log in.

After you sign up for WordPress.com account you will receive a confirmation email. When the setup is complete it will take you to the pricing plans where you need to select Personal in order to get the free API key.

Once you select the personal plan, it will take you to the payment screen. On the right, you will see a slider under the heading “What is Akismet worth to you”.

For a free plugin simply drag the price amount to 0$, fill in the rest of the information and click continue with the personal subscription.

In the next screen, you receive the Akismet API key.

Copy this key somewhere safe. Remember, this API key is similar to any passwords and should not be shared.

Adding the API key to the Akismet Plugin

Copy this key and head over to your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to Settings >> Akismet Anti-Spam.

Enter the API key in the box and click Connect with the API key.

In case you are using Jetpack plugin, then you will find the Akismet settings in the Jetpack settings as shown in the screenshot below.

Enter the API key in the box at the bottom of the screen and click Connect with the API key.

And that’s it you have successfully installed and configured Akismet.

Now let the plugin do its job and stop the spam.

Over To You

Akismet is an amazing anti-spam plugin and is highly recommended by us as well. Before I conclude this post I would again like to remind you that there is a very small chance that 1-2 spam comments may pass through the filters or a real comment may land in the spam folder.

Check your spam folder once a week to approve if any genuine comments have landed in the spam section.

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I hope you find this article useful and use Akismet to stay away from the spammers. If you are an existing Akismet user do share your experience of using the plugin with us and also don’t forget to share this post on social media.

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