What is a WordPress Comment Plugin and Why Do You Need One?
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems out there, and one of the things that makes it so popular is the wide range of plugins that are available for it. One of the most important types of plugins for a WordPress site are comment plugins.
Comment plugins can help to enhance user engagement on a WordPress site by making it easier for users to leave comments, and by providing features that make comments more user-friendly.
Commenting is a great way to get feedback from your readers and build a community around your content.
There are a wide range of comment plugins available for WordPress, so choosing the best WordPress plugin for your site can be a bit daunting.
To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the best comment plugins for WordPress, based on features, ease of use, and price.
Most Popular WordPress Comment Plugins
There are a ton of great comment plugins out there for WordPress, but which ones are the best? Here are our top picks to help you boost user engagement on your WordPress site.
1. Disqus
Disqus comment system allows users to comment on your posts and pages using their Disqus account, which makes it easy for them to get started. Plus, it includes features like threading and upvoting, which can help encourage more discussion. And if you’re worried about spam, Disqus has robust tools to help you keep it under control. So if you’re looking for a way to boost engagement on your WordPress site, the Disqus comment plugin is definitely worth a try.
Key Features (some features available in Pro/Business plan only):
- Real Time Comments
- Rich Media Commenting
- Adapts to Your WordPress Style
- Comment Moderation Panel and Tools
- User Reputation
- Banned and Trusted Lists
- Email Moderation
- Automated Spam Moderation
- Commenter Badges
- Star Ratings
- Comment Editing
- Custom Reactions
- Ad-Free
- Shadow Banning – Ban users without them knowing
- Timeouts – temporary ban users from commenting and give them warnings or feedback
Free and Paid plans available starting at $11/month.
2. WPDiscuz
WPdiscuz include the ability to upvote and downvote comments, flag comments for moderation, and even attach images and files to comments. This last feature is particularly handy if you want to allow users to upload screenshots or other files to help support their argument.
Overall, the WPdiscuz plugin is a great way to encourage discussion on your WordPress site and make it more interactive. If you’re looking for a way to increase engagement, this is definitely a plugin you should check out!
WPDiscuz is absolutely free, but if you want to add more features. Check out their add-ons page using this link
WPDiscuz Add-ons (Price ranging from $15-$49 each):
- User Notifications when new comment or reply was posted
- Voice Commenting
- GIPHY Integration
- Tenor GIFS Integration
- BuddyPress Integration
- Syntax Highlighter
- Embeds
- Private Comments
- Ads Manager
- Google Recaptcha
- Many more..
3. Jetpack Comments Module
The JetPack comment module is a great option if you’re already using the Jetpack plugin for WordPress. It includes all the features you need, like spam protection and social media integration, and is very easy to set up.
4. Intense Debate
One of the great things about Intense Debate is that it makes it easy for readers to follow the conversation. Threaded comments allow readers to see how other people are responding to specific comments, and comment voting lets them easily weigh in on the discussion.
It also has the ability to import comments from other platforms and includes some unique features like comment highlighting and the ability to reply to comments via email.
5. GraphComment Comment System
GraphComment WordPress comments plugin is a great way to improve the comments section on your site. If you’re looking for a way to make it easier for visitors to leave comments, and if you want to make it easier for moderators to manage comments, then this plugin is definitely worth checking out.
GraphComment Free Plan Features:
- Automatic Registration
- Sliding Sidebar Panel
- Mobile Integration
- Discussion Sharing
- Media embedding
- Text Formatting
- Badges and awards
- Activity Indicators
- Notification & Reply system
- Community Profiles
- Easy Installation
- Smart Moderation
- Advanced banning tools
- Filtering insults
- Counter Widget
- Top Widget (comments, articles)
- Customized validation of your T&Cs
- Customizable category label
- Easy Administration
- Analytics
- Community relationship management
- Spam Protection
- Import old comments
- Light/dark theme appearance
- Graphical themes
- Multilingual (EN, FR, ZH, ES, PT, IT, FA, CZ, DE, HE, RU, VI, UK, TR, AR, ID, HU, CA)
- Multi-moderators
- SEO Friendly
- Structured Data
- Direct Links
6. Social comments by WpDevArt
WpDevArt Social comments allows you to add social media commenting to your site, so that users can login and comment using their Facebook, Twitter account. This makes it easy for people to leave a comment, and it also helps to build up your social media following.
Free Version Features:
- User friendly and easy to use
- Tested with other popular plugins
- Ability to set the box Title
- Ability to set the Title text color, font-size, font family and position
- Ability to select where to display it
- Ability to set the width
- Ability to set ordering and number to display
- Ability to set the language
Pro Version Features
- All Features on the free version
- Ability to set the color scheme
- Ability to set the Background color
- Ability to set position
- 39 awesome animation effects
- Premium Support
7. Fancy Comments WordPress
Fancy Comments can add Facebook-style comments to your WordPress site, complete with avatars and like/dislike buttons.
Not only does this make for a more engaging commenting experience for your users, but Fancy comment also makes it easier for you to moderate comments, as you can see all the comments in one place (on your Facebook page) instead of having to check each individual post.
Key Features
- GDPR Compliant
- Recover comments lost after installing SSL
- Compatible with Gutenberg editor
- Compatible with PHP 8
- Can be upgraded to Pro version
- Post comment on Facebook timeline along with posting at the webpage
- Website visitors can sort comments by Time or Social Ranking in real-time using the menu on the top right of the Facebook Comments interface
- Set default comment ordering from plugin options page
- Change language of Facebook Comments
- Enable/Disable Facebook Comments on default posts, pages
- Enable/Disable Facebook Comments on custom posts
- Enable/Disable Facebook Comments on WooCommerce products
- Enable/Disable Facebook Comments on BuddyPress activities and groups
- Enable/Disable Facebook Comments on BBPress topics and forums
- Free options to customize the look and design of Facebook Comment interface
- Many more.
8. ReplyBox
ReplyBox is a privacy-focused comment system that’s lightweight and blazingly-fast. This powerful plugin enables you to easily moderate comments and keep the conversation flowing. Plus, it comes with a slew of features that make it a must-have for any serious WordPress site.
Some of the key features of Replybox include:
- Comment moderation
- Easy integration with WordPress
- Powerful API for developers
- Comment threading
- Support for multiple languages
- Pin a comment
- Emoji Reactions
- Social Login
- Webhooks
- Custom CSS
- Comment Import
- Comment Syncing
ReplyBox comment subscription starts at $5/month
9. Thrive Comments
Thrive Comments offers everything you need to manage comments on your WordPress site, including the ability to moderate comment section, reply to comments, and even upvote or downvote comments.
Plus, with its built-in spam protection, you can be sure that your comments section will stay clean and free of unwanted spam comments.
Pricing: $49/year for Standalone Thrive comment plugin or get full access to Thrive Suite for $299/year for 5 website licenses including all plugins.
Thrive Plugins Included on the Thrive Suite:
- Thrive Theme Builder
- Thrive Architect
- Thrive Leads
- Thrive Apprentice
- Thrive Automator
- Thrive Quiz Builder (Included on Best WP Quiz Maker)
- Thrive Comments
- Thrive Ovation
- Thrive Ultimatum
- Thrive Optimize
10. Super Socializer
Super Socializer is a powerful WordPress comment plugin that allows you to quickly and easily add social login, social share, and social comments to your WordPress site. With Super Socializer, you can easily add social login buttons to your WordPress login page, share buttons to your WordPress posts and pages, and social comments to your WordPress comments section.
Feature List
- Compatible with PHP 8 and almost any WordPress hosting
- GDPR Compliant
- Compatible with Gutenberg editor
- Social Share from around 100 social networks
- Social Media follow icons
- Share counts
- Enable url shortening to use in sharing
- Horizontal and Vertical (floating) layout for sharing
- Customizable target url for sharing
- Rearrange order of sharing icons
- FREE icon customization options
- Enable Social Login at WooCommerce checkout page and customer login form – user will be able to login using their social media account
- Enable Sharing at WooCommerce products
- Compatible with BuddyPress, bbPress, WooCommerce
- Multisite Compatible
- Many more.
11. Gravatar
Gravatar is a WordPress plugin that allows you to manage your Gravatar (a Globally Recognized Avatar) account from within your WordPress dashboard. With Gravatar, you can easily add your own Gravatar image to your blog post and default WordPress comment system, and manage your account settings directly from WordPress.
Add a personal touch to your comments section now using Gravatar.
WordPress Native Comments vs WordPress Comment Plugins
There are a few key differences between native WordPress comments and WordPress comment plugins.
First, comment plugins usually offer more features and customization options than the built-in commenting system. For example, you may be able to moderate comments more easily, have deeper comment nesting, option to disable comments on specific pages, add CAPTCHA to prevent spam, better WordPress theme compatibility, comment form customization, and allow commenters to log in with their preferred social network.
Second, WordPress comment plugins often integrate with other third-party services, such as Disqus or WP Social Comments. This can make it easier for visitors to leave comments, as they may already be logged in to one of these services.
Finally, WordPress comment plugins may offer better performance than the built-in commenting system.
If you have a lot of traffic to your website, the built-in commenting system may start to slow down. Using a comment plugin can help to improve performance.
Overall, there are a few key differences to consider when deciding whether to use WordPress native comments or a WordPress comment plugin. Weigh the pros and cons to decide what’s best for your website.
Benefits of Using a WordPress Comment Plugin
Here are just a few of the benefits that you can enjoy by using a WordPress comment plugin:
Improved comment management: A plugin can help you to better manage your comments, including moderating comments and managing comment threads.
Increased engagement: A plugin can help to encourage more comments and interaction on your site.
Improved SEO: As mentioned above, comments can help to boost your SEO efforts. A plugin can help to ensure that your comments are properly formatted and tagged for maximum SEO benefit.
Improved user experience: A plugin can help to make the commenting experience on your site more user-friendly, which can encourage more people to leave comments.
As you can see, there are a number of great benefits that you can enjoy by using a WordPress comment plugin. If you’re looking to improve your commenting system, then a plugin is definitely worth considering.
These are just a few of the best WordPress comments plugins out there for WordPress website. Do you have a favorite that we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments!
You can also check my next article about utilizing WordPress Quiz plugins to increase your website engagement and social shares.
