Joris Le Blansch

<p>I like to use Contact Form 7 on most of my WordPress sites. It’s a powerful form manager that suits all my needs. I don’t like to use external calls to protect the forms from spam submissions though (like reCaptcha or hCaptcha) and don’t want to present a manual captcha to a user (math or other puzzle). Since I couldn’t find a really basic honeypot script that works on most entries, I created one here. Hopefully it’s useful to someone else also.</p>
<h3>Setup</h3>
<ul>
<li>Install the plugin using the regular plugin setup routine or upload the entire apiosys-honeypot-cf7 folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.</li>
<li>Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” menu in WordPress, you MUST have Contact Form 7 AND Flamingo installed and enabled.</li>
<li>Add the following shortcodes to your Contact Form 7 forms:</li>
</ul>
<p>[honeypot] – Adds the hidden honeypot field<br />
[timestamp] – Adds time-based validation</p>
<ul>
<li>Complete the rest of the options which you can find in Admin > Contact > Honeypot. A generally good working set of values is enabled by default there.</li>
</ul>
<h3>What tests are used?</h3>
<ul>
<li>A Honeypot Field</li>
<li>A Checkbox Trap</li>
<li>Time-Based Validation</li>
<li>Email domain Check</li>
<li>Basic Content Analysis</li>
</ul>
<h3>Does it really work?</h3>
<p>It has been tested on several high-traffic WP sites. I see a return of ~ 1 ‰ (i.e. 1 in a thousand) of spam going through. That usually corresponds to humans paid to fill forms or sophisticated bots. Please feel free to contribute to make it even better. You can contribute directly <a href="https://github.com/apio-sys/apiosys-honeypot-cf7" rel="nofollow ugc">here</a>.</p>


Apio systems – Honeypot for Contact Form 7

Basic Honeypot plugin for Contact Form 7 to drastically reduce spam on form submissions without user interaction.

yonifre

WpMaspik

<p>Maspik is an advanced WordPress anti-spam plugin that blocks bots, fake leads, and unwanted submissions across your entire site — without hurting real users.</p>
<p>Trusted by thousands of websites worldwide. Works automatically on activation.</p>
<p>👉 Works with all major form plugins. No CAPTCHA. No coding. Immediate results.</p>
<h3>Why block spam with Maspik?</h3>
<ul>
<li>🚀 <strong>Instant protection</strong> – Works as soon as you activate the plugin.</li>
<li>🎯 <strong>High success rate</strong> – Better protection than traditional CAPTCHA.</li>
<li>🔍 <strong>Smart detection</strong> – Identifies spam patterns automatically with advanced rules and optional AI spam detection.</li>
<li>🌐 <strong>Wide compatibility</strong> – Supports all major form plugins and WordPress core forms (comments, registration).</li>
<li>🛠️ <strong>Fully customizable</strong> – Blacklists, IP blocking, character limits, link limits, countries, languages, and more.</li>
<li>👥 <strong>Spam Block Guarantee</strong> – We are committed to helping you block spam. See the <a href="#-spam-block-guarantee---for-all-users" rel="nofollow ugc">Spam Block Guarantee</a> section.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Features</h3>
<p>✅ Works instantly with popular form plugins and core WordPress forms<br />
✅ No CAPTCHA required – silent protection for your visitors<br />
✅ Forbidden keywords list system (Blacklist/Blocklist) – block any word, phrase, or pattern you want per field type<br />
✅ IP blacklist & API integrations<br />
✅ Phone number validation<br />
✅ Multiple honeypot methods and advanced key checks<br />
✅ Multi-language support<br />
✅ Maspik Matrix – Cloud-based Multi-layer spam protection engine</p>
<h3>Detailed Features – Advanced Spam Protection & Filtering</h3>
<h3>Maspik Matrix – Advanced Multi-Layer Spam Protection</h3>
<p>Maspik Matrix is a powerful layered spam filter that combines multiple detection methods into one unified protection system.</p>
<p>This engine performs several checks in parallel to increase accuracy and reduce false positives, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>IP reputation and risk scoring  </li>
<li>Pattern matching and keyword analysis  </li>
<li>Heuristic behavior checks  </li>
<li>Structural and content-based evaluation  </li>
<li>AI Spam Check scoring mechanisms  </li>
<li>Learn from spam submissions and improve over time</li>
</ul>
<p>Maspik Matrix provides stronger, faster, and more reliable spam detection by evaluating each submission through multiple layers of protection simultaneously.</p>
<p>Maspik includes <strong>100 free Matrix checks</strong> so you can start protecting forms immediately.<br />
<strong>Pro users get unlimited Matrix checks</strong>.</p>
<p>Note – Local checks are not counted towards the monthly limit, only API calls are counted.</p>
<h3>Blacklisting by Field Type</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Text fields/Text area fields</strong> (e.g. name, subject, message)</li>
<li><strong>Email fields</strong> (supports regex/wildcard patterns)</li>
<li><strong>URL fields</strong></li>
<li><strong>Phone number fields</strong> (regex/wildcard support)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Blocking Capabilities</h3>
<ul>
<li>Specific IP addresses</li>
<li>Spam submissions in:
<ul>
<li>WordPress comments</li>
<li>WordPress registration forms</li>
<li>Contact forms from supported plugins (see list below)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Option to block submissions containing emojis in textarea fields</li>
<li>Blocking bot-generated submissions</li>
<li>Advanced key checks to detect automated submissions</li>
</ul>
<h3>Advanced Blocking</h3>
<ul>
<li>Honeypot fields (multiple strategies)</li>
<li>IP verification (100 checks/month in free version)</li>
<li>Advanced key check engine</li>
</ul>
<h3>Character Control</h3>
<ul>
<li>Maximum characters in text fields</li>
<li>Maximum characters in textarea fields</li>
</ul>
<h3>Link Limitation</h3>
<ul>
<li>Limit the number of links allowed in textarea fields (for example, 0–1 links)</li>
</ul>
<h3>API Integrations</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Proxycheck.io</strong> – Check IP addresses against proxy/VPN/TOR</li>
<li><strong>AbuseIPDB.com</strong> – Check IP addresses against abuse/spam/malicious/proxy/VPN/TOR</li>
<li><strong>Numverify.com</strong> – Validate phone numbers to block spam phone numbers</li>
</ul>
<h3>Spam Log</h3>
<ul>
<li>Review blocked submissions</li>
<li>Understand why and how spam was blocked</li>
<li>Use logs to fine-tune your spam protection</li>
</ul>
<h3>Detailed Statistics</h3>
<ul>
<li>Track how many spam submissions were blocked</li>
<li>Analyze patterns</li>
<li>Monitor protection over time</li>
<li>Advanced spam statistics dashboard in the admin</li>
</ul>
<h3>Supported Forms</h3>
<p>Maspik integrates seamlessly with a wide range of popular form plugins and WordPress core forms:</p>
<ul>
<li>Elementor Forms</li>
<li>Elementor Atomic Forms</li>
<li>Contact Form 7</li>
<li>Hello Plus</li>
<li>Ninja Forms</li>
<li>Everest Forms</li>
<li>Formidable Forms</li>
<li>JetFormBuilder</li>
<li>Forminator Forms</li>
<li>Fluent Forms</li>
<li>Bricks Builder Forms</li>
<li>Breakdance Builder Forms</li>
<li>Divi Contact Form (Divi theme or Divi Builder plugin)</li>
<li>BuddyPress</li>
<li>Bitforms</li>
<li>Metform</li>
<li>WordPress comments</li>
<li>WordPress registration form</li>
<li>Custom PHP forms</li>
<li>WPForms*  </li>
<li>Gravity Forms*  </li>
<li>WooCommerce registration form*  </li>
<li>WooCommerce review*</li>
<li>WooCommerce checkout*</li>
</ul>
<p>(*) Pro license required.</p>
<h3>Pro Version Features 🌟</h3>
<p>Upgrade to Maspik Pro to unlock powerful additional features:</p>
<ul>
<li>⭐ Maspik Matrix – Unlimited checks</li>
<li>⭐ Custom spam dashboard for multiple sites – manage all spam settings from one place</li>
<li>⭐ Country-based filtering – block spam by country or allow only specific countries</li>
<li>⭐ Language-based filtering – block spam by language or allow only specific languages</li>
<li>⭐ Settings import/export</li>
<li>⭐ Premium support</li>
</ul>
<p>Learn more and get Maspik Pro at:<br />
https://wpmaspik.com/?readme-file</p>
<h3>Important Note</h3>
<p>Be cautious when selecting words to blacklist, as every website has different needs.<br />
For example, if you are a digital marketing agency and blacklist the word “SEO”, you may lose some valid leads.</p>
<p>The plugin is provided “as is” and the user assumes full responsibility for configuring and using it appropriately for their specific needs.</p>
<p>Maspik is GDPR compliant.</p>
<h3>Support & Community</h3>
<ul>
<li>🚀 <a href="https://wpmaspik.com/documentation/getting-started/?readme-file" rel="nofollow ugc">Get Started guide</a></li>
<li>📚 <a href="https://wpmaspik.com/documentation/?readme-file" rel="nofollow ugc">Documentation</a></li>
<li>💬 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/maspik" rel="nofollow ugc">Community Forum</a></li>
<li>🐛 <a href="https://wpmaspik.com/#support?readme-file" rel="nofollow ugc">Report Issues</a></li>
<li>💡 <a href="https://wpmaspik.com/#support?readme-file" rel="nofollow ugc">Feature Requests</a></li>
<li>💰 <a href="https://wpmaspik.com/get-maspik-pro-for-free-share-your-expertise/?readme-file" rel="nofollow ugc">Receive Maspik Pro for free</a></li>
<li>💖 <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/contact-forms-anti-spam/reviews/#new-post" rel="ugc">Support us with a 5-star review</a></li>
<li>✨ <a href="https://wpmaspik.com/?readme-file" rel="nofollow ugc">WP Maspik Website</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>🛡️ Spam Block Guarantee – for all users</h3>
<p>We stand behind our protection. If spam is still getting through your forms, our team is here to help and guide you to block it.</p>
<h3>Getting Help is Easy</h3>
<ol>
<li>Join our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/maspik" rel="nofollow ugc">Community Forum</a></li>
<li>Create a new post with:
<ul>
<li>Your website URL and form page URL (optional)</li>
<li>Description of the spam you are receiving</li>
<li>Screenshot or text of sample spam submissions</li>
<li>Your Maspik version</li>
<li>Screenshot or export of your current Maspik settings</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Our team will guide you step-by-step to block the spam effectively.</p>


Maspik – Ultimate Spam Protection


Easily the best solution for fighting spam. Their support is top notch as well.


Excellent solution

No more fake leads or unwanted submissions — Maspik blocks spam instantly across all forms without using CAPTCHA.

Apio systems – Honeypot for Contact Form 7 vs Maspik – Ultimate Spam Protection