Blackhole for Bad Bots

82 Quality Score

Active Installs

20/30

With 30,000 active installs, the plugin has a modest but focused user base that fits its niche purpose, scoring above average for a single-purpose security tool.

Update Freshness

25/25

Last updated in April 2026, the plugin is clearly actively maintained and has received consistent updates over time, earning a perfect maintenance score.

User Rating

14/15

A 94 out of 100 rating from 148 users indicates strong satisfaction among those who have installed and reviewed the plugin.

Support Health

8/15

Only two support threads exist in the record and both are resolved, but the extremely low thread volume limits confidence in support responsiveness under heavier demand.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Tested with WordPress 7.0 and requiring PHP 5.6.20 or WordPress 4.7 as a minimum, the plugin supports an unusually wide range of environments.

Scores higher than 86% of indexed plugins

About

Blackhole is a WordPress security plugin that detects and traps bad bots in a virtual black hole, where they are denied access to your entire site.

Active Installs 30k+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.7/5

Last Updated 2026-08-21 4:47pm GMT

Requires WordPress 4.7+

Tested Up To 7.1

Requires PHP 5.6.20+

Security History

2 known vulnerabilities, all patched

1 Critical 1 High

Most recent: March 25, 2026

View details ▸

What It Does

Blackhole for Bad Bots adds a hidden link on your site that only automated bots will follow. When a bot follows the link, its IP address is added to a block list that denies access to your entire WordPress site, blocking scrapers, spammers, and other unwanted crawlers without affecting real visitors.

Who It's For

This plugin is well suited for content-heavy WordPress sites that face constant scraping or unwanted bot traffic, such as news sites, high-traffic blogs, and membership communities. It works best for site owners comfortable with a set-and-forget honeypot approach rather than a full firewall suite.

Who Should Skip It

Sites that already run a comprehensive security plugin like Wordfence or Sucuri do not need Blackhole, since those tools include bot-blocking features alongside malware scanning and login protection. Small personal sites with low traffic will likely see no meaningful benefit from adding another security layer.

The Bottom Line

Blackhole for Bad Bots is a lightweight, well-maintained honeypot plugin that does one job effectively and has earned strong user ratings. It is not a replacement for a full security suite, but it is a solid addition for sites struggling with aggressive scrapers or comment spam bots. With a quality score of 81.65 out of 100, it is a worthwhile pick within its narrow use case.

Choose Akismet if your primary concern is filtering comment and form spam rather than blocking bots site-wide.

Really Simple Security 99/100

Pick Really Simple Security when you need SSL management and basic hardening instead of bot trapping.

Wordfence Security 97/100

Go with Wordfence if you want an all-in-one firewall with malware scanning, login security, and bot blocking together.

Jetpack 94/100

Choose Jetpack when you need bot protection bundled with backups, performance, and growth tools.

CleanTalk Anti-Spam 92/100

Pick CleanTalk if you prefer a cloud-based spam firewall that handles bots and spam without a honeypot trick.