Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection vs Native PHP Sessions
Two WordPress plugins head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
These aren’t all alternatives to each other — they do different jobs — so this page compares popularity only, not features.
At a glance
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #8, ahead of Native PHP Sessions at #1,595. Over the last 7 days Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection held its place and Native PHP Sessions climbed 4 places. Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection has the largest install base, roughly 500× the next: 5M+ active installs against 10K+ for Native PHP Sessions. Downloads this week: Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 401,815 and Native PHP Sessions 5,201. Ratings: Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 4.7★ from 1,187 and Native PHP Sessions 4.9★ from 16 reviews.
| Metric | Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection | Native PHP Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #8 ▬ | #1,595 ▲ 4 |
| Active installs | 5M+ | 10K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 401,815 | 5,201 |
| Rating | 4.7★ (1,187) | 4.9★ (16) |
| Last updated | Aug 18, 2026 | Dec 4, 2025 |
| Current version | 5.7.2 | 1.4.5 |
| Best rank on record | #7 | #1,593 |
| Days in the top 50 | 97 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Oct 2005 | Sep 2014 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 150 | 0 |
Highlighted cells mark the strongest figure in each row. Rank and installs are from the latest WordPress.org capture; downloads are the last seven captured days.
Ranking history Lower is better
Active installs
Downloads per day
More comparisons
- Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection vs Antispam Bee
- Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection vs Anti-Spam by CleanTalk
- Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection vs WP Armour - Honeypot Anti Spam
- Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection vs Throws SPAM Away
- Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection vs Spam Protection | Maspik
- Native PHP Sessions vs Throws SPAM Away
- Native PHP Sessions vs Cookies for Comments
- Native PHP Sessions vs Disable Comments RB
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection or Native PHP Sessions?
By active installs, Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection: 5M+ sites run it against 10K+ for Native PHP Sessions, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 29, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection or Native PHP Sessions?
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection, at #8 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Native PHP Sessions at #1,595. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection or Native PHP Sessions alternatives to each other?
Not all of them. Some of these plugins do different jobs and many sites run more than one. This page compares their popularity, not their features.
Where do these numbers come from?
WordPress.org publishes each plugin’s active install count and its position on the popular list. This site records both every day, along with per-day downloads and ratings, so the charts above show how the plugins have moved over time rather than a single day.