ActiveLayer Anti-Spam vs Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder

Anti-Spam Protection Without CAPTCHAs ActiveLayer is an intelligent anti-spam solution that stops contact form spam, comment spam, and registration spam without CAPTCHAs, puzzles, or extra steps for your visitors. Your forms stay fast and frictionless while unwanted messages get caught automatically. Your time and attention are expensive — stop spending them on spam. ActiveLayer protects popular form builders like WPForms, Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, Elementor Forms, Fluent Forms, WS Form, and FunnelKit Funnel Builder, plus native WordPress comments, WooCommerce (product reviews and customer registration), Easy Digital Downloads (store reviews and customer registration), AffiliateWP, MemberPress, and BuddyPress / BuddyBoss signup forms, all from a single plugin. With 18 integrations, you manage all your spam protection from one settings page. Create a free account and get started Zero Friction Spam Filtering Most anti-spam tools either show visitors a CAPTCHA or make every form wait while the check runs. ActiveLayer takes a different approach. Async integrations complete immediately while background checks run through Action Scheduler; registration and inline-blocking integrations can run a synchronous check when spam must be stopped before an account, entry, or affiliate record is created. This keeps normal form workflows fast while still allowing high-risk signup flows to block spam inline. If a submission is clean, notifications are sent as normal. If it is flagged, notifications are suppressed or the signup is blocked depending on the integration. Intelligent Spam Detection ActiveLayer analyzes submission patterns, content reputation, behavioral signals, and environment data to catch both automated bots and human bad actors with high accuracy. Unlike simple honeypot or keyword-blocklist approaches, ActiveLayer uses multiple signals to make smarter decisions about every submission. Optional behavioral tracking monitors how users interact with your forms — keystrokes, mouse movements, touch events, and scroll patterns. Environment detection identifies headless browsers and automated tools. These client-side signals are sent alongside form data for deeper analysis. Per-Form Control and Sync Mode You decide exactly which forms to protect. ActiveLayer protects all supported forms and WooCommerce surfaces by default after your API key is connected — you can disable protection per form if needed. This gives you granular control over every contact form, registration form, or comment section on your site. Sync Mode lets supported integrations wait for the API verdict before the submission completes, so spam can be blocked inline. By default, ActiveLayer runs checks asynchronously for maximum speed. Turn Sync Mode on when you prefer inline blocking and can tolerate a small added latency on submissions. Fail-Safe by Design If the ActiveLayer API is temporarily unavailable, your forms keep working. ActiveLayer is designed to fail open — it restores provider defaults, preserves every submission, and retries background checks automatically when connectivity returns. No lost submissions, no blocked emails, no broken forms. Automatic retries handle transient failures. A built-in watchdog checks queue health every 15 minutes and shows admin notices when pending items build up or Action Scheduler is unavailable. You always know the status of your protection. Full Visibility Dashboard See exactly what is happening with your form protection at a glance. The ActiveLayer dashboard shows submission totals, spam caught, accuracy rates, queue health, and integration status — all in one place. Filter submissions by status or provider, and use bulk actions to recheck, mark as clean or junk, or trash items you no longer need. Every submission is logged in a custom database table. You can review verdicts, recheck past submissions with a fresh API call, and override any decision. Debug logging (opt-in, PII-redacted) gives you even deeper insight when troubleshooting. Who Is ActiveLayer For? Small Business Websites Protect your contact forms and inquiry forms without adding friction for potential customers. Async form submissions from real visitors go through instantly while junk gets caught behind the scenes. Bloggers and Publishers Stop comment spam on your posts without requiring readers to solve CAPTCHAs or prove they are human. ActiveLayer checks comments in the background and can auto-approve clean ones or auto-mark detected spam. Agencies Managing Multiple Sites One plugin covers WPForms, Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, Elementor Forms, Fluent Forms, Formidable Forms, WooCommerce, and more — every integration managed from one settings page. No need to configure separate anti-spam tools for each form builder or WooCommerce surface your clients use. E-commerce and Service Businesses Keep inquiry and support forms clean while maintaining a fast, professional user experience. Async checks keep contact forms moving quickly, while registration gates can block spam accounts inline. WooCommerce stores get dedicated protection for product reviews and My Account customer registration — and the checkout itself is never gated, so spam protection can’t get in the way of a sale. Membership Sites and Online Communities Running a community on BuddyPress or BuddyBoss Platform? ActiveLayer hooks the public signup form and blocks spam registrations before they create fake accounts — no extra CAPTCHA in front of your real members, no manual moderation queue to babysit. The integration covers both free BuddyPress and BuddyBoss Platform with a dedicated admin toggle for each. Full ActiveLayer Feature List Async processing – Background queue via Action Scheduler for supported async integrations No CAPTCHA required – Invisible protection with zero friction for visitors WPForms integration – Per-form enable, async checks with email replay, optional sync-save strategy Contact Form 7 integration – Synchronous checks, field mapping via activelayer:* tags, per-form control Gravity Forms integration – Entry-based spam detection with per-form control and notification management Elementor Forms integration – Protect Elementor Pro form widgets with per-form spam filtering Fluent Forms integration – Per-form spam detection with email notification handling Formidable Forms integration – Notification interception and replay, sync fallback option Forminator integration – Form submission interception with per-form toggles and notification management Ninja Forms integration – Email action capture, clean verdict replay, spam suppression SureForms integration – Spam protection for SureForms with per-form control WS Form integration – Synchronous spam blocking before WS Form saves entries or runs actions, with per-form control WordPress Comments protection – Auto-approve clean comments, auto-spam detected ones, fail-open restore WooCommerce Reviews protection – Score every product review on submission, with optional verified-owner bypass, logged-in-user bypass, and high-confidence auto-delete WooCommerce Registration protection – Block bot signups on the My Account registration form before the account is created (the checkout flow is never gated, so it can’t block a purchase) BuddyPress signup protection – Block spam registrations on the public /register/ page; sync check fires after BuddyPress’s own validation and writes the block message next to the username field BuddyBoss Platform signup protection – Same sync gate against the BuddyBoss Platform signup form, with automatic xprofile-name fallback because BuddyBoss auto-generates the username from the email AffiliateWP registration protection – Block bot affiliate signups before the affiliate and WordPress user are created; sync check fires after AffiliateWP’s own validation MemberPress registration protection – Block bot membership signups before the account is created; free, free-trial, and fully-discounted signups are gated by default, while paid checkouts are never blocked (opt in to gate those too) FunnelKit Funnel Builder integration – Synchronous spam blocking for opt-in forms before FunnelKit runs email, CRM contact, and webhook actions, with per-form control Easy Digital Downloads integration – Spam protection for product reviews and the standalone customer registration form; the EDD checkout is never gated, so it can’t block a purchase Silent discard for high-confidence spam – Optional hard-delete of comments and WooCommerce reviews that exceed a configurable spam score threshold (default 95), skipping spam-folder storage entirely Per-form toggles – Protection enabled by default per form; disable on individual forms as needed Sync Mode – Optional synchronous spam checks for inline blocking on supported integrations Dashboard analytics – Submission totals, spam caught, accuracy rates, queue health at a glance Submissions management – Filter by status and provider, bulk recheck, mark clean or spam, trash Fail-open architecture – Forms keep working if the API is temporarily unavailable Automatic retries – Failed submissions are re-queued and retried automatically Queue watchdog – 15-minute health checks with admin notices for stalled queues Behavioral signal collection – Keystroke, mouse, touch, and scroll tracking for deeper analysis Environment detection – Identifies headless browsers and automated submission tools Debug logging – Opt-in ring buffer (last 200 entries), PII-redacted, view and clear in admin Bulk recheck – Re-queue past submissions for fresh API verdicts anytime Default protection – Forms protected by default after API connection; disable per form if needed. Sanitized logging, masked secrets, hashed emails Integrations WPForms (Lite and Pro) Contact Form 7 Gravity Forms Elementor Forms (Pro) Fluent Forms Formidable Forms Forminator Ninja Forms SureForms WS Form WordPress Comments (built-in) WooCommerce (product reviews and customer registration) BuddyPress (public signup form) BuddyBoss Platform (public signup form) AffiliateWP (affiliate registration form) MemberPress (membership registration form) FunnelKit Funnel Builder (opt-in forms) Easy Digital Downloads (product reviews and customer registration) External services This plugin connects to the ActiveLayer API to analyze form submissions and comments for spam. It is the core service that powers all spam detection — without it, the plugin cannot classify submissions. ActiveLayer API What it does: Provides spam detection verdicts (clean or spam) for form submissions and comments. When data is sent: Each time a protected form submission, comment, review, or registration is checked, the submission data is sent to the API for analysis. Depending on the integration, this can happen through the background queue or during a synchronous inline-blocking check. What data is sent: * Submission content (name, email, message, URL if provided) * IP address and user agent of the submitter * Form metadata (form ID, form name, provider name) * Site URL and WordPress locale * Behavioral and environment signals (if enabled in settings) Service provider: ActiveLayer (activelayer.com) * Terms of Service * Privacy Policy

Not your typical form-making plugin. Forminator is the easy-to-use WordPress form builder plugin for every website and situation. It’s the easiest way to create any form – contact form, order form, payment form, email form, feedback widgets, interactive polls with real-time results, buzzfeed-style “no wrong answer” quizzes, service estimators, and registration forms with payment options including PayPal and Stripe. It’s the magical WordPress form builder for, well, everyone! Forminator’s drag and drop visual builder makes it easy to setup and add forms to your WordPress website. Collect information, make your content interactive and generate more conversions with Forminator. Unlock all form fields and premium addons from the start with Forminator Pro. Level up immediately with exclusive Pro features like Stripe subscription forms, dynamic PDF generation, and easy geolocation & autocomplete. Learn more about Pro. Forminator Forms, Surveys, Quizzes, Polls, Calculations and More… Forms – Custom forms for all your needs with as many fields as you like. Polls – Interactive polls to collect users opinions, with lots of dynamic options and settings. Quizzes – Fun or challenging quizzes for your visitors to take and share on social media. Calculations – Collect information, generate leads, take orders, and engage visitors. Payments – Take payments, donations, down payments, sell merch with the included Stripe and PayPal integrations. Learn The Ropes With These Hands-On Forminator Tutorials Creating the Perfect Contact Form with Forminator Create an Easy Payment Form (for free!) with Forminator How to Get the Most Out of Using Forminator How To Capture eSignatures Using Forminator How To Collect Emails and Generate Leads With a Forminator Quiz Accept Payments With Stripe and PayPal Start taking payments with Forminator. No Pro upgrade required! SCA compliant Stripe and PayPal come included. Just enter your publish keys to activate the Forminator payment module for both fixed and variable payments. Stripe Verified Partner Forminator is also proud to be a Stripe Verified Partner. This partnership allows us to help you get the most out of our Stripe integration thanks to additional resources, e.g. the ability to escalate support questions, or request custom pricing reviews. Stripe Dynamic Payments Offer 40+ payment methods with Stripe’s Dynamic Payment Element, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, and more. Easily manage which payment options are available to your users. Calculations are a Lead Magnet There are literally thousands of combinations for adding value to your site with Calculations: Registration forms with upgrade packages Sell a tee shirt with size, color, price, and tax variations Add a BMI and/or calorie intake calculator to your health and fitness blog Embed a loan calculator into your finance site Give a midwife a due date calculator Insta-quote or service estimator Put an ROI calculator on your agency site And on, and on, and on… Drag and Drop Form Blocks Forminator has a bunch of drag and drop blocks that make it easy to put forms together – name, email, phone number, text, file upload, website, date, time, number, HTML, pagination, radio boxes, GDPR-friendly opt-ins, payments, calculations, and hidden field. Your Favorite Integrations Including +1000 Apps Already Added Forminator comes stacked with crowd favorite third-party integrations – email services, CRM, storage, and project managers. HubSpot Campaign Monitor ActiveCampaign Google Sheets Webhooks (n8n, (Zapier, Make, Tray, etc) Trello MailChimp AWeber Slack Develop And Sell Your Own Extensions Forminator is free and open to millions of WordPress users! Use the developer API and the included hooks and filters to build your own integrations or custom apps and sell them or give them away free here on WordPress.org. Poll Your Visitors Polls are a brilliant way to engage visitors. Forminator gives real-time feedback with live stats displayed in beautiful pie charts and graphs. Your Own Facebook-Style Quizzes Who hasn’t been roped into taking “IQ tests” and “figure out which Star Wars character you are” quizzes on Facebook? Now you can run all that traffic to your site. Create both knowledge and no wrong answer quizzes with Forminator. Collect Leads With Your Quizzes Looking to use your quizzes for more than just entertainment and a way to engage your audience? Forminator also allows you to collect participants’ details (e.g., name, email, etc.) by integrating a lead generation form in your quiz. Gutenberg Block Forminator’s got you, whether you’re a classic editor or Gutenberg early adapter. Say goodbye to shortcodes and quickly add forms to posts with the Forminator block for Gutenberg. Email Routing and Pre-Populate Make your site more efficient from visitor input to email response times. Use query strings to pre-fill your visitor information and deliver forms direct to specific teams with email routing, auto-response and conditions. User Front End Post Submissions Want to let your visitors share a post submission without needing access to the WordPress dashboard? With Forminator visitors can submit post ideas from the front end of your site so you can easily curate and publish their thoughts. Assign post to a default author, save to draft, publish immediately, etc. Google reCAPTCHA You don’t want your inbox flooded with a bunch of form spam. Google ReCAPTCHA is free with Forminator. Now you can stop the crazy bots without making it hard on your visitors. No more hard to read random phrases. Antispam Features Protect your forms with built-in antispam tools like reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, and Cloudflare Turnstile. You can also allow or block specific email addresses, domains, or TLDs using customizable email filters. Cloud and Preset Templates Jumpstart form creation with Preset Templates, or save time by reusing your own custom forms across sites using Cloud Templates synced through the HUB. Collect, Track and GDPR Ready Forminator stores and organizes submissions so you can sort, analyze and manage responses – of course, all while making it super easy to comply with the GDPR and other legal privacy policies. Import Your Existing Contact Form 7 Data Looking to move existing forms over from CF7? Forminator’s Import Wizard allows you to migrate all, or selected forms in a matter of clicks. You can also transfer data from a range of Contact Form 7 add-ons and settings. Custom Login and Registration Forms Create and embed custom login and registration forms for your sites (or multisites!). Take L&R forms to the next level: choose from a range of form fields, and customize settings, style, and behavior. Multi-file Upload Field Along with enabling single file uploads, Forminator takes things up a notch by allowing users to upload multiple files. You can also choose to set specific file types, limit the number of files that can be uploaded, as well as the individual file size. The upload field’s drag and drop interface also makes it a breeze for users to upload files. Group And Repeat Form Fields The Field Group feature allows you to group any number of fields together in one form. You can also enable users to add as many additional field groups as needed when filling out your form. Great for repeatable data entry such as employment history, event attendees, lists, etc. Advanced Date Field Restrictions Perfect for appointment and hotel bookings – Forminator’s Date Picker Limits feature allows you to restrict the available dates shown on your date field calendar. For example, you might show future dates only, a selected number of dates from today, dates between a specific date range, specific days of the week, and more! Add An E-Signature Form Field (Pro Only)* Have an online application that requires a signature, or a contract you need your customers to sign? Forminator’s E-signature feature allows visitors to use their mouse, trackpad, or finger (on touch devices) to leave a signature upon submitting the form. Just insert the “E-Signature” field and voila! Receive Subscriptions and Recurring Payments on Stripe (Pro Only)* Create fully-customized subscription forms with Forminator Pro’s Stripe Subscription add-on. Allow your customers to choose plans/pricing, billing cycle, custom upsells, a free trial option, and of course, make secure card payments. Forminator also saves you time by instantly and automatically syncing all subscription form data straight to your Stripe account. *Note: These features are only available with Forminator Pro. Get instant access to Forminator Pro – as well as all our other premium plugins, managed WP hosting, our site management platform: The Hub, and 24/7 expert support – all with a WPMU DEV membership. What Do People Say About Forminator? ★★★★★ Amazing plugin, it really seems that only your imagination can limit its uses. Loads of features like taking payments, calendar, for free. Can’t believe everything I need is in there, it sparks creativity and makes it fun to work on a website. – araca ★★★★★ This plugin has an excellent, well-thought-out, well-designed UI and offers everything I was looking for (and I think I’ve tried every serious competitor). – tvsmvp ★★★★★ This plugin is the best free form builder by far! I have researched many but this is so easy to use… Try it. I am SURE you will LOVE IT. – johncarteroz ★★★★★ Great interface design, super easy to use and great functionality. I don’t normally write reviews, but I loved it so much, I just had to this time! – istavridi Shameless Plug(ins) Love Forminator! WPMU DEV has some other awesome free plugins you should checkout. Smush – Image Compression and Optimization Hummingbird – Page Speed Optimization Hustle – Pop-ups, Slide-ins and Email Opt-ins SmartCrawl – SEO Optimizer Defender – Security, Monitoring, and Hack Protection About Us WPMU DEV is a premium supplier of quality WordPress plugins, services and support. Join here: https://wpmudev.com/ Don’t forget to stay up to date on everything WordPress from the Internet’s number one resource: WPMU DEV Blog Hey, one more thing… we hope you enjoy our free offerings as much as we’ve loved making them for you! Contact and Credits WPMU DEV