Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection vs Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles… (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection
6.0M+ active installs
Free + Premium
Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles…
100K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles… has a higher user rating (5/5 from 3 reviews) while Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection leads in active installations (6.0M+ vs 100K+). Both are free + premium WordPress plugins. Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection has accumulated 386M+ total downloads while Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles… has 35K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection | Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles… | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.7/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 1,175 | ◄ | 3 |
| Active Installs | 6.0M+ | ◄ | 100K+ |
| Total Downloads | 386M+ | ◄ | 35K+ |
| Support Resolution | 17% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 4 months ago | ► | 2 weeks ago |
| First Released | 2005 | 2011 | |
| Age | 21 years | 15 years | |
| WP Requires | 5.8+ | 6.6+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.2+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free + Premium | Free | |
| Latest Version | 5.6 | 0.13.1 |
Rating Breakdown
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection
Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles…
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection averaged approximately 26,339 daily downloads while Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles… averaged 156.
Recent Reviews
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection Reviews
Helpful Spam Filter
Catches most spam without much effort. Easy to use n saves time, though a few things still require manual checks sometimes. Overall, pretty useful for daily use.
Stops Spam Well
Installed Akismet on my blog, and spam comments dropped a lot. Works quietly in the background and filters most junk automatically. Didn’t need much setup either. Really helpful plugin. tnkz devs.
Spam Under Control
Akismet helped cut down spam a lot on my blog. Didn’t realize how bad it was until this filtered most of it. Runs quietly in the background. Misses a few sometimes, but still very useful. 👍
Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles… Reviews
Überfällig
Tut, was es soll. Und das für Automattic-Verhältnisse erstaunlich datenschutzfreundlich. Gleich installiert (und fertig übersetzt).
Fantastic additions to Gravatar
It’s great to have a straightforward way to enhance the existing Gravatar abilities. I hope some of these work their way into core too (such as the alt-text).
Finally, more Gravatar Options!
This plugin handily extends WordPress’s built-in Gravatar support with some frequently asked for enhancements. Besides the handy new Gravatar Profile block, the plugin adds both privacy and accessi
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.