At a glance
Antispam Bee
Sophisticated antispam plugin for effective daily comment and trackback spam-fighting. Built with data protection and privacy in mind.
CF7 Apps – Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, and Addons for Contact Form 7
Add hCaptcha, Honeypot, and Redirection to Contact Form 7 with CF7 Apps, and generate forms effortlessly with AI. Improve form security, keep it light …
Full Comparison
Technical Specs
| Metric | Antispam Bee | CF7 Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Requires WP | 4.6+ | 4.8+ |
| Requires PHP | 5.2+ | 5.6+ |
| Tested up to WP | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Plugin age | 17 yrs | 15 yrs |
Quick Verdict
Antispam Bee wins for sites that need a privacy-first, no-CAPTCHA approach to comment and trackback spam. With 94% of 5-star ratings and 700K+ installs, it blocks spam without forcing users through visual challenges. CF7 Apps is a better fit if your primary attack surface is Contact Form 7 and you need hCaptcha or a saved submission database. For mixed comment-and-form sites under heavy bot attack, start with Antispam Bee.
Feature Comparison: Antispam Bee vs CF7 Apps
| Feature | Antispam Bee | CF7 Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Spam detection method | IP, referrer, email, comment content, and local blacklists | hCaptcha, honeypot field, and manual blacklists |
| CAPTCHA type | No CAPTCHA, relies on server-side checks and a honeypot | hCaptcha (invisible or checkbox challenge) |
| Comment spam coverage | Full, comments, trackbacks, and pingbacks | Not designed for comments, only Contact Form 7 submissions |
| Form spam coverage | Does not cover Contact Form 7 or other form plugins | Full, any CF7 form, including custom fields |
| WooCommerce registration / checkout spam | Blocks spam in WooCommerce registration forms | Blocks spam in CF7 forms used on WooCommerce pages |
| No-CAPTCHA / honeypot approach | Built-in honeypot with no user interaction required | Honeypot field available as an addon |
| Performance overhead per submission | Light, no external API calls for CAPTCHA validation | Moderate, each submission with hCaptcha calls an external API |
| Privacy / GDPR approach | No data sent to third parties; no user data stored by the plugin | hCaptcha sends user data to Intuition Machines; database addon stores submissions locally |
| Trackback / pingback spam filtering | Yes, dedicated trackback spam filter built in | No trackback or pingback support |
Who Should Use Antispam Bee
- Bloggers running high-traffic comment sections who want to stop comment spam without captcha. Antispam Bee blocks spam using server-side checks only, with no visual puzzles that frustrate readers.
- Teams that need a privacy friendly spam plugin. The plugin sends zero data to external services, making it a strong choice for EU sites under GDPR rules.
- Anyone who values ratings consistency, 94% of reviewers give it 5 stars, and the plugin has been actively maintained for years (last updated May 29, 2026).
Who Should Use CF7 Apps
- Site owners who rely on Contact Form 7 and want to add hcaptcha to contact form 7 submissions. CF7 Apps bundles hCaptcha, honeypot, and redirection into one plugin.
- Teams that need to save cf7 submissions to database for lead tracking or compliance. The plugin includes a built-in database addon that stores form entries locally.
- Developers managing multiple CF7 forms who want a single tool for redirection rules and spam filtering. 92% of support threads in the last 2 months were resolved, indicating active maintenance.
Community & Support
CF7 Apps shows a support team that responds quickly: 12 out of 13 recent threads were resolved (92% resolution rate). The plugin carries a 67% 5-star rating and a 26% 1-star rating, suggesting that while many users get the features they need, a notable minority hit issues. Antispam Bee's support sample over the same period is too small to draw conclusions, but its 94% 5-star rate across 226 total reviews points to a mature, stable plugin that rarely needs support.
Verdict: Antispam Bee or CF7 Apps for high-traffic sites with comment sections and contact forms under bot attack?
Pick Antispam Bee if your site receives heavy comment and trackback spam. It handles that workload with zero CAPTCHA friction and zero external data sharing, 94% of users rate it 5 stars, and 700K+ installs confirm its reliability. It also blocks spam in WooCommerce registration forms, making it a good fit for membership sites.
Pick CF7 Apps if your primary attack vector is Contact Form 7 and you need a visual CAPTCHA layer. The plugin resolves support issues quickly (92% resolution rate) and adds database storage and redirection. But it does not cover comment spam, trackbacks, or pingbacks, so you would need a second plugin for those areas.
For a mixed-traffic site with both comments and forms, Antispam Bee is the stronger starting point. It covers the comment side completely, and you can add CF7 Apps later for form-specific protection if needed.
This comparison is AI-generated from live WordPress.org data. Install counts, ratings, versions and support statistics sync weekly, so the numbers on this page stay current. Content passes automated quality checks before publishing, and pages below our quality threshold are held for human review.
Read our full methodologyFrequently Asked Questions
Q How many people use Antispam Bee compared to CF7 Apps?
Antispam Bee has 700K+ active installs while CF7 Apps has 300K+, meaning Antispam Bee is used on more sites.
Q Which has better user ratings — Antispam Bee or CF7 Apps?
Antispam Bee averages 4.8/5 from 226 reviews, while CF7 Apps averages 3.8/5 from 135 reviews — Antispam Bee has the higher average rating.
Q Which is more actively maintained — Antispam Bee or CF7 Apps?
CF7 Apps was last updated on Jun 9, 2026 and Antispam Bee on May 29, 2026, so CF7 Apps received the more recent update.
Q Are Antispam Bee and CF7 Apps both free?
Yes — both Antispam Bee and CF7 Apps are free to install from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. Some features may require a paid upgrade offered by the plugin author.
Q Is Antispam Bee or CF7 Apps better for high-traffic sites with comment sections and contact forms under bot attack?
Antispam Bee is the better choice for comment-heavy high-traffic sites because it filters spam silently without adding captcha friction for your users. CF7 Apps focuses on Contact Form 7 spam protection and includes a database for form entries, which is useful if your main attack vector is contact forms rather than comments. For a site under heavy bot attack on both comments and forms, most users find Antispam Bee handles the comment side more efficiently while you pair it with a dedicated form spam tool.
Q Which is easier to set up for a WordPress beginner — Antispam Bee or CF7 Apps?
Antispam Bee is easier for a beginner because it works immediately after activation with no configuration required, automatically filtering comment and trackback spam. CF7 Apps requires you to have Contact Form 7 already installed and then configure its captcha and honeypot settings for each form. Most beginners can install Antispam Bee and see results in under a minute.
Q What is the biggest feature difference between Antispam Bee and CF7 Apps?
Antispam Bee is a dedicated comment and trackback spam filter that works site-wide without needing any other plugin, while CF7 Apps is specifically built to protect Contact Form 7 forms and includes a database to store form submissions. Antispam Bee does not store any data or require user interaction like captchas, making it more privacy-friendly. CF7 Apps adds honeypot and captcha fields to your forms, which is useful if you rely heavily on Contact Form 7.
Q Can you switch from Antispam Bee to CF7 Apps (or the other way) without losing data?
You can switch between them without losing existing comment or form data because both plugins work by filtering incoming spam rather than modifying your database. Antispam Bee marks spam comments but does not delete them, so your existing comments remain intact. CF7 Apps stores form submissions separately, so switching away from it means you lose access to that stored database unless you export it first.
Q Which type of site should choose Antispam Bee, and which should choose CF7 Apps?
Choose Antispam Bee if your site relies heavily on blog comments, trackbacks, or membership discussions and you want a set-and-forget privacy-friendly solution that never bothers users with captchas. Choose CF7 Apps if your primary spam problem comes through Contact Form 7 forms and you need to store form entries for review or follow-up. A membership site with both comments and contact forms would benefit more from Antispam Bee for comments and a separate form-specific tool.
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