Akismet
Akismet is a cloud-based anti-spam service that filters comments, forms, and user-generated text via machine learning, bundled by default with WordPress and protecting 100M+ websites with reported 99.99% accuracy under a freemium subscription and enterprise pricing model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersShanghai, China
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Akismet does
Akismet is a cloud-based anti-spam service that filters comments, form submissions, forum posts, and other user-generated text in real time using a continuously trained machine learning model. Founded in 2006 as the original anti-spam plugin for WordPress and operated as a product of Automattic Inc. (the company behind WordPress.com, Jetpack, and WooCommerce), Akismet is pre-installed and activated by default on WordPress installations and reports protecting more than 100 million websites with a claimed 99.99% accuracy rate. The system processes user-submitted content against a global spam database that has accumulated over 571 billion blocked pieces of spam, improving with every feedback signal (mark-as-spam or mark-as-ham) from any site on the network. Akismet offers an open REST API, an official PHP SDK, and community libraries across a dozen languages, plus native integrations with Jetpack contact forms, WooCommerce product reviews, Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, GiveWP, and Drupal, with additional ecosystem extensions for Discourse, Moodle, MediaWiki, Piwigo, phpBB, Flarum, and vBulletin.
Akismet monetizes through a freemium subscription model. The Personal plan is free for non-commercial sites with unlimited API calls. Paid tiers include Pro ($9.95–$39.80/month billed annually for 500–2,000 monthly API calls across 1–4 sites), Business ($49/month billed annually for unlimited sites and 5,000 monthly checks), Enterprise (custom pricing with dedicated support and a pre-configured ladder of $135/month for 15,000 calls and $200/month for 25,000 calls), and a Non-profit program offering 60,000 API calls per month. Distribution is dominated by the WordPress/Automattic ecosystem, supplemented by a self-serve purchase flow on akismet.com and a dedicated enterprise sales motion. Named enterprise users include Microsoft, WordPress.com, Bluehost, and ConvertKit. Akismet maintains legal entities through Automattic Inc. (USA, governing California law) and Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. (for Designated Countries), and has released mobile apps on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Akismet firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Akismet
- Legal name
- Automattic Inc.
- Website
- https://akismet.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Akismet is a cloud-based anti-spam service that filters comments, forms, and user-generated text via machine learning, bundled by default with WordPress and protecting 100M+ websites with reported 99.99% accuracy under a freemium subscription and enterprise pricing model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Akismet industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Anti-Spam Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Spam, Fake Engagement & Content Abuse Prevention (HDADALAG)
Keywords
Where Akismet is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Shanghai
- HQ country
- China
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Akismet business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription plans (Personal, Pro, Business, Enterprise): Paid subscription tiers for commercial sites with varying API call limits. Personal plan is free for non-commercial use. Paid plans provide API call allowances per month with automatic renewal.
- Freemium model: Free API keys provided for personal, non-commercial sites. This drives broad adoption and network effects while converting commercial users to paid plans.
- Enterprise custom pricing: Custom-tailored spam protection solutions for large businesses with dedicated support and custom spam check allowances, priced based on organization needs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Personal (Free) - Non-commercial use only, unlimited API calls |
| Subscription | Annual | Pro - Commercial use, 500 to 2,000 spam calls/month, up to 1-4 sites |
| Subscription | Annual | Business - Large networks and multisite installations, unlimited sites, 5,000 spam calls/month |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise - Custom solutions for large businesses |
| Subscription | Monthly | Non-profit Accounts - 60,000 API calls/month |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Akismet product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Akismet provides an automated spam detection service for websites, delivered via a cloud API that analyzes user-submitted text (comments, contact forms, forum posts, reviews) in real time using machine learning. The service is distributed primarily through official plugins for WordPress (bundled by default) and Drupal, plus a PHP SDK and REST API for custom integrations. It claims 99.99% spam detection accuracy and has blocked over 571 billion pieces of spam across 100+ million websites.
Product overview
Akismet is an anti-spam service offered primarily as a cloud-based API with official plugins for WordPress and Drupal, plus a PHP SDK for developers. The core Akismet Anti-Spam Service uses machine learning to analyze user-submitted text content and detect spam with 99.99% accuracy. The WordPress plugin is the original and most widely deployed integration, while the Drupal plugin and PHP SDK extend accessibility to other platforms. For large organizations, Akismet Enterprise provides customized solutions with dedicated support and custom API allowances. All offerings share the same underlying machine learning-powered spam detection engine that learns from over 100 million protected websites.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Akismet Anti-Spam Service Cloud-based anti-spam service that checks all user-submitted content (comments, forms, forum posts, reviews) against a constantly-growing global spam database using next-generation machine learning filters. Achieves 99.99% accuracy and has blocked over 571 billion pieces of spam across 100+ million websites.
- Akismet WordPress Plugin The original Akismet plugin for WordPress that protects comments and contact form submissions out of the box. Powers spam filtering on millions of WordPress sites and is the most widely deployed anti-spam integration for the WordPress ecosystem.
- Akismet Drupal Plugin Official Akismet integration for Drupal that filters comments, webforms, and user-submitted content against Akismet's global spam database without requiring custom code. Extends Akismet's protection beyond WordPress to Drupal-based websites.
- Akismet PHP SDK Official PHP client library for the Akismet REST API, ideal for building custom PHP applications or integrating Akismet into frameworks without a native plugin. Provides comment checking, spam submission, false positive reporting, key verification, and usage analytics.
- Akismet Enterprise Customized enterprise solutions for large organizations with more complicated needs. Provides dedicated support, custom spam check allowances (pre-configured tiers: 15,000 calls/month at $135/month, 25,000 calls/month at $200/month), and tailored pricing based on organizational requirements.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99.99% spam detection accuracy
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Akismet
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Akismet technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration17 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
Akismet partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- WordPresscoreAkismet is the original WordPress anti-spam plugin, bundled and pre-installed with WordPress by default. It is the default spam protection solution for WordPress sites and is available in the WordPress plugin directory.
- JetpackcoreJetpack integrates with Akismet to provide contact form spam protection. Jetpack contact forms leverage Akismet for spam filtering via the Feedback section of WP Admin.
- DrupalminorAkismet offers an official Drupal plugin on Drupal.org that provides anti-spam protection for Drupal sites, mirroring the WordPress integration for the Drupal CMS ecosystem.
- AutomatticcoreAkismet is a product of Automattic. Automattic provides the infrastructure, distribution (WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack ecosystems), and parent company governance for Akismet. Automattic is a distributed company with 2,000 employees across 90 countries.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Akismet competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- SpamAssassin: SpamAssassin is the de facto open-source anti-spam framework historically used for email spam filtering. While focused on email rather than web comments/forms, it shares the underlying concept of rule-based and ML-driven content classification and is referenced in adjacent developer communities considering Akismet alternatives.
Broad incumbents
- Akamai Bot Manager: Akamai Bot Manager is an enterprise bot detection and mitigation solution from a major CDN/security vendor. It overlaps with Akismet on form and comment spam protection but is sold as part of a broader application security portfolio to large enterprises.
- Google reCAPTCHA: Google reCAPTCHA is the dominant CAPTCHA and bot-detection service on the web, available for free and integrated across the Google ecosystem. While it uses friction-based challenges rather than Akismet's invisible approach, it remains a primary alternative for spam protection on web forms and competes for the same security budget.
- Cloudflare Turnstile: Cloudflare Turnstile is a free, invisible CAPTCHA-replacement bot management widget integrated into the Cloudflare network. It overlaps with Akismet's CAPTCHA-elimination value proposition and, as a free offering from a major infrastructure provider, represents both a direct substitute and a distribution threat for Akismet's commercial customers.
Direct peers
- Antispam Bee: Antispam Bee is a widely used free WordPress anti-spam plugin that filters comment spam without third-party services. While it does not offer a paid tier or cloud API, it competes with Akismet for the same default-protection slot on WordPress sites and represents a free alternative that pressures Akismet's freemium conversion funnel.
- OOPSpam: OOPSpam is an anti-spam API service that filters comment, contact form, and registration spam using machine learning. It offers a direct API-first alternative to Akismet, targeting developers and platforms that want spam protection without bundling into WordPress.
- CleanTalk: CleanTalk is a cloud-based anti-spam service that integrates with WordPress, Joomla, and other CMS platforms via plugin, offering comment, registration, and form spam protection. It is the most direct standalone competitor to Akismet in the WordPress anti-spam plugin category, with a similar API/SaaS model and tiered pricing.
- hCaptcha: hCaptcha is a privacy-focused CAPTCHA and bot detection service used by websites to filter automated submissions. It competes with Akismet for the comment/form spam protection use case and offers a developer-friendly API model comparable to Akismet's REST API approach.
Emerging players
- HUMAN Security (formerly PerimeterX): HUMAN Security provides bot management and account protection for websites and applications, including comment and form abuse protection. Its Bot Defender product is a more enterprise-grade, fraud-focused alternative that overlaps with Akismet's use cases at the higher end of the market.
- DataDome: DataDome is a bot management and online fraud protection platform that protects websites, mobile apps, and APIs from automated threats including comment and form spam. It is a more enterprise-focused, broader fraud-prevention alternative to Akismet's comment-form-specific scope.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Akismet social profiles
Digital presenceAkismet financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Akismet leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Akismet funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Akismet M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Akismet
What does Akismet do?
Akismet provides an automated spam detection service for websites, delivered via a cloud API that analyzes user-submitted text (comments, contact forms, forum posts, reviews) in real time using machine learning. The service is distributed primarily through official plugins for WordPress (bundled by default) and Drupal, plus a PHP SDK and REST API for custom integrations. It claims 99.99% spam detection accuracy and has blocked over 571 billion pieces of spam across 100+ million websites.
Is Akismet a public or private company?
Akismet is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Akismet founded?
Akismet was founded in 2006. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Akismet based?
Akismet is headquartered in Shanghai, China, in the Asia region.
How does Akismet make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Subscription plans (Personal, Pro, Business, Enterprise) is the primary driver. The others are freemium model and enterprise custom pricing.
Who are Akismet's main competitors?
SpamAssassin is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Akamai Bot Manager, Google reCAPTCHA and Cloudflare Turnstile. Direct peers are Antispam Bee, OOPSpam, CleanTalk and hCaptcha. Emerging players are HUMAN Security (formerly PerimeterX) and DataDome.
Does Akismet have an API?
Yes. Akismet offers a REST API that developers can use to integrate anti-spam capabilities into any application. The API enables comment checking, spam submission (missed spam), false positive reporting (ham), key verification, and usage analytics. Built-in official SDKs available for PHP, Dart, Elixir, JavaScript, Kotlin/Java, Python, Ruby, Go, .NET, Perl, and Haxe. Users can also generate client libraries from the OpenAPI specification. Developer documentation is at akismet.com/developers.
What industry is Akismet in?
Akismet's product category is Anti-Spam Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADALAG, Spam, Fake Engagement & Content Abuse Prevention. Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 7370.