Akismet is one of those WordPress anti-spam plugins which is not only essential, it’s also highly recommended. It’s an official free plugin by WordPress parent company Automattic and, if you aren’t using it, you should be.
Spam comments are nothing new. As soon as your WordPress blog goes live, you will start seeing lots of spam comments that look genuine. Akismet is one of the best free solutions to getting rid of WordPress spam.Â
In this quick post, I will share how you can get your Akismet API key for your new Akismet installation.
Earlier, one could get their free API key by signing up for a free account on WordPress.com, but now there’s a dedicated site for Akismet and there is no button for “free sign ups”.
Easy Way To Get Free Akismet API Key
Akismet is one of those few WordPress plugins which comes with the stock installation of WordPress. In order to activate it and start using it, you need to add an API key.
When you click on “Get your key”, you will be directed to Akismet’s website where you will get lost looking for the non-existent “free” option.
Here is the way out:
- Click on “Get your key.”
- Under the “Personal Contribution” plan, select ” Basic : Use Akismet for Free on a personal site”.Â
- On the next page, move the slider all the way to the left under the column which says “What is Akismet worth to you?”
- Finish the sign-up and click on “Continue”.
If you ever lose your Akismet API key, you can use this link to recover your lost API key.
Check your email for the key, and add it onto your Akismet configuration page. Once you have added the API key, Akismet will start protecting your blog from spam comments.
How To Configure Akismet WordPress Plugin
Here is a video which shows how to set up the Akismet WordPress plugin and how to get your free API key for Akismet:
- What To Do When Akismet Is Marking Your Genuine Comments As Spam
- Best WordPress Security Plugins To Protect Your Blog
I hope this tip will help newbie bloggers quickly get their free Akismet API key. If you still have any queries, feel free to ask me via the comments.
Like this post? Don’t forget to share it!
It took me years to figure out what Akismet is. I finally installed it today after reading this article. I guess my website is so new that it hasn’t had any spam comments yet, but it’s always good to protect it now rather than later. Thank you.
Hi Harsh, I am very thankful this blog that you’ve written. It took time and effort to do lot of research about Akismet which I wanted to sign up for FREE and found you, got the perfect answer from you. Now I am installing this to my newly started blog. Hehe.
Thanks,
Dhiraj
Hi Harsh, thanks for this article, really useful. I finally got my API key
I have a question though. When I dragged it to $0, it says that personal license is not eligible for websites with advertising. What if I have plans to engage in affiliate marketing someday or put ads on my website, does this count? Will they automatically disable my akismet personal subscription?
Thanks so much,
Suki
@Suki
They don’t automatically disable personal subscription.
I have personal and still working with Adsense and affiliates.
I have wordpress.com free site lordofsick.wordpress.com. Now just started a self hosted site and was trying to activate Akismet and get free API key. when clicked on basic as said in your one reply it asked for some USD. So I searched google and found your blog and that helped me to pull the slider to 0 and got the key and activated successfully. My site just started only and I read some of your blogs through google search. Thanks for the help.
Thanks for the tip. My blog is receiving the minimal protection from Akismet now. But am considering paying at some point.
Hey Harsh,
Very helpful …. Thanks for sharing this!! 🙂 🙂
Thank you Harsh, didn’t know what to do. You are # UNO ´´´
Hello I would like to ask about how to fix the problem of akismet.
It said that Akismet can’t connect to your site.