Tag: guides 2026

If you use Forminator Forms, you may occasionally experience spam submissions. In the guide below, you’ll learn about several tools that help achieve complete spam protection for Forminator. In this post we will look at as built-in (in the plugin core) anti-spam tools like Honeypot, Google reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Cloudflare Turnstile. As well as, spam protection via third party plugins like Akismet, CleanTalk and OOPSpam.

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder

First of all, let’s figure out what Forminator Forms are.

Forminator Forms is a powerful and user-friendly form builder plugin for WordPress that allows you to create contact forms, registrations, payment forms, quizzes, and polls without coding. Developed by WPMU DEV, the plugin has gained popularity for its flexibility and reliable spam protection designed to reduce spam submissions across websites. Since its release in 2018, Forminator has continued to evolve, introducing new integrations, improving usability, and strengthening tools that help website owners fight spam more effectively. The plugin supports payment providers such as Stripe and PayPal, enabling secure transactions while maintaining strong spam protection for payment and contact forms. Regular updates keep the plugin compatible with modern WordPress versions and current security standards, helping prevent spam attacks and automated bot activity.

As WordPress.org shows, Forminator is currently used on over 600,000 websites and has 2,034 user reviews with an average rating of 4.8.

Plugin Homepage at wordpress.org | Website wpmudev.com

Install Forminator Forms, Surveys, Quizzes, Polls, Calculations and More…

Installation is as easy as following these steps.

1. Search for the plugin in WordPress console -> Plugins -> Add plugin -> Search -> Type ‘forminator‘

2. Install and Activate the plugin.

3. Add the very first contact form in WordPress console -> Forminator > Forms -> +ADD NEW -> Customer service -> Contact form.

4. Click Publish in top-left corner.

5. That’s all! Your form is ready to go, just use a short code like this on any page or post of your site.

[forminator_form id="123"]

Anti-Spam plugin by CleanTalk for WordPress

The next plugin we are going to use is the Anti-Spam plugin by CleanTalk. Here is a short description of it,

• CleanTalk is a cloud-based spam protection for websites, founded in 2012.
• It automatically blocks spam without CAPTCHAs or disrupting user experience.
• Protects multiple form types: contact forms, payment forms, registrations, comments, and surveys.
• Stops both automated bots and manual spam submissions.
• Uses advanced filtering algorithms and a global spam detection network.
• Detects spam activity based on IP addresses, email addresses, and behavioral patterns.
• Users can apply custom filtering rules.
• Allows filtering or blocking by IP, email, and country.
• Works automatically in the background with easy installation.

According to WordPress.org, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk for WordPress has over 200,000 active installations, with 3,165 reviews and an average rating of 4.8.

Plugin Homepage at cleantalk.org | Latest release at Github.com | Website cleantalk.org

Install the CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin

Show Instructions

To install the Anti-Spam plugin, go to your WordPress admin panel → Plugins → Add New.

Then enter «СleanTalk» in the search box and click the Install button for «Spam protection, Anti-Spam, FireWall by CleanTalk».

After installing the plugin, click the «Activate»‎ button.

After it is done go to the plugin settings and click the «Get Access Key Automatically» button. Then just click the «Save Settings»‎ button.

That’s it! From now you know how to completely protect your Forminator Forms from spam.

Check if spam protection works with Forminator Forms

The best way to text the spam protection by using a test email,

stop_email@example.com

1. Open page with your form (don’t forget to add the shortcode in the page content) in Incognito browser tab.
2. Fill out the Contact form using stop_email@example.com as sender’s email.
3. Send the form.
4. You should see a message from the Anti-Spam plugin confirming that a spam submission was blocked.

*** Forbidden. Sender blacklisted. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. ***

Cloud Dashboard

In addition, in the Cloud Dashboard you can find extra details regarding all submissions made via form,

• IP, Email of the donator. As well as history of activity a sender among other sites connected to CleanTalk’s cloud.
• Geolocation of the sender.
• Date and time of submission.
• Page (URL) of the submission.
• Cloud decision – Approved, Denied.
• Cloud explanation for the decision.
• Tools to move the sender to Block or Allow lists.

Google reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, and Cloudflare Turnstile

Also, let’s have a look at cloud, anti-spam services that we have for Forminator forms,

1. The plugin has core integration with many CAPTCHA services,
   • Forminator integrates with Google reCAPTCHA, helping users reduce spam submissions while adding an extra layer of security to contact forms, registrations, and surveys. This allows website owners to protect their forms automatically without complex configuration. To activate this service obtain Site key and Secret key on the site.
   • hCaptcha support. Forminator users can reduce spam submissions while maintaining better privacy for visitors and improving overall form security.
     • Key benefits of hCaptcha over reCAPTCHA,
       • Better privacy for visitors. hCaptcha collects less user tracking data compared to Google reCAPTCHA, which is important for privacy-focused websites and GDPR-sensitive regions.
       • Reduced dependence on Google services. Using hCaptcha allows Forminator users to avoid relying on Google infrastructure, which some organizations prefer for compliance or branding reasons.
       • Potential monetization option. hCaptcha offers a program where site owners can earn small rewards for solving challenges, something reCAPTCHA does not provide.
     • hCaptcha requires Site Key and Secret key as well, which can be obtained on site.
   • Cloudflare Turnstile. By integrating with Cloudflare Turnstile, Forminator users can protect their forms from spam and bots without showing traditional CAPTCHA challenges. Turnstile works invisibly in the background, helping improve user experience while maintaining strong spam protection for contact forms, registrations, payments, and surveys. This reduces friction for real visitors, increases form completion rates, and keeps submissions clean without interrupting the workflow.
     • Main benefits of Cloudflare Turnstile over Google reCAPTCHA,
       • Invisible verification. Turnstile works mostly in the background without puzzles or image challenges, so visitors can submit Forminator forms faster and with less frustration compared to reCAPTCHA.
       • Higher form conversion rates. Because users are not interrupted by CAPTCHA challenges, contact forms, surveys, and payment forms typically see fewer abandoned submissions.
       • Strong privacy approach. Turnstile is designed to minimize user tracking and does not rely on extensive behavioral profiling, which makes it more privacy-friendly than reCAPTCHA.
     • Site Key and Secret key can be obtained on site.
       
   • All CAPTCHA services are aviable under settings Settings are under path WordPress console -> Forminator > Forms -> Settings -> CAPTCHA -> reCAPTCHA | hCaptcha | Turnstile.

Honeypot, Akismet and third-party Anti-Spam Plugins

Additionally, let’s consider standalone plugins and anti-spam mechanics that also works for Forminator forms,

1. Honeypot. Which is most simple anti-spam mechanic against primitive spam bots. It works by adding hidden fields that are only detected and filled by bots, allowing spam to be blocked automatically while legitimate users never see additional challenges. Because no CAPTCHA or interaction is required, honeypots help maintain a smooth user experience and improve form completion rates. This lightweight method is easy to enable and adds an extra layer of protection for contact forms, surveys, and registrations.
   • Settings are available per each individual form, the path is WordPress console -> Forminator > Forms -> FORM -> Settings -> Behavior -> Security. Please look at screenshots down below.
2. Third-party Anti-Spam plugins.
   • Akismet. Akismet helps Forminator users automatically filter spam submissions by analyzing form data against its global spam detection network. It works in the background to identify suspicious content and prevent unwanted messages from reaching your inbox or database. This reduces manual moderation and helps keep contact forms, surveys, and registrations clean. As a widely used WordPress anti-spam solution, Akismet is easy to enable and integrates naturally into existing WordPress workflows.
     • In order to activate protection user must install, activate and get API key for third-party plugin Akismet and then turn integration under the settings WordPress console -> Forminator > Forms -> FORM -> Settings -> Behavior -> Security. Please look at screenshots down below.
   • WP Armour, OOPSpam, Maspik, and Simple CAPTCHA Alternative are universal anti-spam plugins for WordPress that provide reliable spam protection for Forminator users. All of these solutions can be found in the search results at wordress.org.

Here is a guide by WPMU DEV. It tells how to protect Forminator with additional cloud services such as Honeypot (not as service), Google reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Cloudflare Turnstile. Third party plugins like Akismet, and OOPSpam.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Cannot stop spam from coming through forms no matter what…

If nothing works in this guide, try a few more things,

1. Block spammers by particular IPs, Countries via Personal lists under your CleanTalk’s account.
2. Submit a support request, we will do our best to tune spam protection for your specific case.

v3 reCAPTCHA not saving in Forminator Settings. V2 shows ‘ERROR for site owner: Invalid key type’

Forminator’s team doesn’t have a solution for this error, but advices to switching to hCaptcha, read more.

Forminator x hCaptcha does not prevent spam

The main recommendation is to avoid relying on hCaptcha alone, enable Forminator’s honeypot protection, prevent plugin conflicts, and use layered anti-spam methods for better results. WordPress.org.

Emails from website contact form going to spam.

The recommended solution is to check SMTP configuration using a real email account so the website sends messages through authenticated mail servers instead of the default PHP mail system. Installing and configuring an SMTP plugin ensures proper email delivery and improves sender reputation, preventing form notifications from being marked as spam. WordPress.org.

Recommended Anti-Spam Stack for Forminator (2026)

Finally, no single anti-spam tool can stop every type of spam submission. The most reliable approach for Forminator users is a layered protection stack, where each tool blocks a different category of bots and spam behavior.

Recommended setup by site type

• Business website: CleanTalk + Honeypot.
• High-traffic landing pages: CleanTalk + Turnstile.
• Membership / registration sites: CleanTalk + Turnstile or hCaptcha.

By now, all spam issues in your Forminator contact, survey, poll, or quiz forms should be resolved. If not, Sign Up for an account and our support team will be happy to help you.