Stop Spammers, WP Armour, and Antispam Bee are all free, privacy-focused anti-spam solutions that do not send data to cloud services. They work differently and their combination is often more effective than any single plugin.
What Each Does
WP Armour: Adds hidden honeypot fields to forms. Blocks submissions that fill those fields. Zero server-side processing per page view, minimal overhead. Works at the form level before submission data is processed.
Antispam Bee: Analyses comment submissions using IP reputation, timing analysis, and content checks. Runs on your server after submission is received. Comments only (not contact forms).
Stop Spammers: Operates at the access level – checks IPs, email addresses, and countries against blocklists before allowing access to forms. Broader scope but more configuration needed.
The Layered Approach
The most effective privacy-compliant setup uses these three together:
- WP Armour catches bots that fill all form fields (fast, no overhead, no cloud)
- Antispam Bee catches comment spam that gets past honeypots (timing, IP checking)
- Stop Spammers blocks known-bad IPs and email domains at the gate
Together they provide layered defence without any data leaving your server – appropriate for EU sites, healthcare sites, and any WordPress installation with strict data handling requirements.
| Plugin | Mechanism | Coverage | Cloud API | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WP Armour | Honeypot | All forms | No | Free |
| Antispam Bee | Timing + IP | Comments only | No (uses public lists) | Free |
| Stop Spammers | IP/email/country | All access points | No | Free |
Not sure which anti-spam solution fits your site? Describe your setup and get a free recommendation.
Which Combination for Which Site Type
Personal blog with comments enabled: Antispam Bee alone is sufficient. Simple, effective, zero configuration needed.
Business site with contact form, no comments: WP Armour for honeypot protection on forms. No need for Antispam Bee if comments are disabled.
Membership or e-commerce site: Stop Spammers for registration/login protection + WP Armour for form honeypots. Consider adding CleanTalk for checkout-specific spam if stop-rate is insufficient.
High-traffic site with all of the above: All three running together, plus consider CleanTalk for cloud-level backup classification on persistent spam sources.