How to Delete All WordPress Comments in Bulk (4 Methods – Updated 2026)

Spam comments, leftover test comments from development, or simply a decision to disable discussions altogether, there are many valid reasons you might want to delete all WordPress comments in bulk. The good news: you don’t have to click through pages of comments one by one.

In this guide, you’ll learn 4 proven methods to bulk delete WordPress comments from the simplest built-in dashboard approach to advanced database-level cleanup. Choose the one that fits your comfort level.

⚠️ Important: Back Up Your Site Before You Start

Deleting comments is permanent and irreversible unless you have a backup. Before using any method below, take a full site backup or, at a minimum, export your database through phpMyAdmin (use the Export → Quick option to download a .sql file).

Once deleted, comments cannot be recovered.

Why Would You Delete All WordPress Comments?

• Spam overload: bots flood your comment section faster than you can moderate
• Development cleanup: dummy/test comments created during site development
• Site pivot: changing from a personal blog to a business site where comments don’t fit
• SEO cleanup: spam comments with junk links can hurt your site’s credibility and rankings
• Database bloat: thousands of comments slow down your database and affect page speed

🏆Now, let’s look at your options:

Method 1: WordPress Admin Dashboard (No Plugin, No Database)

This is the easiest starting point and requires nothing extra; it’s already built into WordPress. It works well if you have a few hundred comments to clear.

Steps:

1. Go to Comments in your WordPress admin sidebar.
2. At the top of the comments list, check the Select All checkbox.
3. From the Bulk Actions dropdown, choose Move to Trash.
4. Click Apply.
5. Repeat across all pages (WordPress shows 20 comments per page by default; you can increase this under Screen Options).
6. Once all comments are trashed, go back, select all, and choose Delete Permanently.

 Limitation: This method works fine for a few hundred comments, but becomes tedious if you have thousands. For large volumes, use Method 2 or 3 below. 

Method 2: Use a Plugin (Easiest for Beginners)

Plugins are the most user-friendly way to bulk delete all WordPress comments with one click. Here are the best options in 2026:

Option A: WP Comment Cleaner (Recommended)

Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/delete-all-comments-of-website/

WP Comment Cleaner is currently one of the most capable free options available. It lets you:

• Delete comments by status (Approved, Pending, Spam, Trash)
• Filter by date range (e.g., delete comments older than a specific date)
• Works with WooCommerce product page comments, too
• Disable comments site-wide in the same interface
• The premium version adds scheduled auto-cleanup and CSV export before deletion

How to use it:

1. Go to Plugins → Add New, search for WP Comment Cleaner, install and activate it.
2. A new Delete Comments menu item will appear in your WordPress admin sidebar.
3. Select your filters – status, post type, or date.
4. Click Delete Comments. Done.

Option B: WP Bulk Delete

Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-bulk-delete/

WP Bulk Delete is an older but reliable option that offers more granular control, especially useful if you want to delete comments only from a certain time period while keeping newer ones.

How to use it:

1. Install and activate WP Bulk Delete from the plugin directory.
2. Go to WP Bulk Delete → Delete Comments.
3. Check the comment statuses you want to remove (Pending, Spam, Trash, Approved).
4. Optionally set a date filter to only delete older comments.
5. Click Delete Comments.

 Note for WooCommerce users: WooCommerce uses WordPress comments for order notes. If you run a WooCommerce store, use WP Comment Cleaner’s post type filter to avoid accidentally deleting order notes. 

Method 3: phpMyAdmin (Direct Database Method)

This method is ideal when plugins aren’t working or when you want a fast, complete wipe at the database level. It requires access to your hosting control panel (cPanel, hPanel, or similar).

WordPress stores all comments in two database tables:

• wp_comments – stores the actual comment content
• wp_commentmeta– stores additional metadata for each comment

Sub-Method A: Empty Tables (Point-and-Click)

• Log in to your hosting control panel and open phpMyAdmin.
• Select your WordPress database from the left sidebar.
• Check the boxes next to wp_comments and wp_commentmeta. (For me it is sv_ )

• Scroll to the bottom of the page and find the “With selected:” dropdown.
• Select Empty from the dropdown.

• Click Yes to confirm the query.

All comments will be permanently deleted instantly.

Sub-Method B: Run an SQL Query (More Control)

If you want to run targeted deletions, for example, delete only spam comments or only comments older than a certain date, use the SQL tab in phpMyAdmin.

Click on the SQL tab in phpMyAdmin and run any of the following queries:

Delete ALL comments (complete wipe):

TRUNCATE `wp_commentmeta`;
TRUNCATE `wp_comments`;

Delete only spam comments:

DELETE FROM wp_comments WHERE comment_approved = 'spam';
DELETE FROM wp_commentmeta WHERE comment_id NOT IN (SELECT comment_id FROM wp_comments);

Delete only approved comments:

DELETE FROM wp_comments WHERE comment_approved = '1' AND comment_type = 'comment';

Delete pending (unapproved) comments:

DELETE FROM wp_comments WHERE comment_approved = '0';

After running any SQL query, also clean up the orphaned metadata with:

DELETE FROM wp_commentmeta WHERE comment_id NOT IN (SELECT comment_id FROM wp_comments);

 Pro tip: Use the Simulate Query button in phpMyAdmin before executing, it shows how many rows will be affected without actually deleting anything. 

Method 4: WP-CLI (For Developers & Server Users)

If you have SSH access to your server, WP-CLI is the fastest and most efficient method, especially for sites with millions of comments. No GUI needed.

Connect to your server via SSH, navigate to your WordPress root directory, and run:

# Delete ALL comments on the site
wp comment delete $(wp comment list --format=ids) --force

Delete only spam comments:

wp comment delete $(wp comment list --status=spam --format=ids) --force

Delete only trash:

wp comment delete $(wp comment list --status=trash --format=ids) --force

WP-CLI processes the request efficiently and is ideal for large-scale sites where a plugin or phpMyAdmin query might time out.

After Deleting Comments: What to Do Next

Once you’ve cleared your comments, here are a few important follow-up steps:

1. Reset your comment count. If the comment count in the admin still shows old numbers, go to Settings → Discussion and save or clear your site’s cache.

2. Optimise your database. After a mass delete, run a database optimisation to reclaim space:

• In phpMyAdmin: select your database tables and choose Optimize table from the “With selected” dropdown.
• Or use a plugin like WP-Optimize.

3. Disable comments going forward (if needed). If you don’t want comments on your site at all:

• Go to Settings → Discussion
• Uncheck “Allow people to submit comments on new posts”
• To disable on existing posts, use the WP Comment Cleaner plugin’s disable feature.

4. Prevent spam comments in future. If you’re keeping comments enabled, install Akismet Anti-Spam (official WordPress spam filter) or add a CAPTCHA plugin like hCaptcha for WordPress to block bots before they post.

Quick Comparison: Which Method Should You Use?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I recover deleted WordPress comments? No, once permanently deleted, comments cannot be recovered unless you have a pre-deletion database backup.

Q: Will deleting comments affect my SEO? Spam comments can actually hurt your SEO by adding low-quality, spammy content to your pages. Deleting them generally helps. Legitimate, high-quality discussion comments may have some SEO value; consider that before doing a full wipe.

Q: Does deleting comments affect WooCommerce order notes? WooCommerce stores order notes as WordPress comments. If you use WooCommerce, use the post-type filter in WP Comment Cleaner to only delete comments on blog posts, not WooCommerce orders.

Q: My table prefix is not wp_ — what do I do? Replace wp_ in any SQL query or table selection with your actual prefix. You can find it in your wp-config.php file under the line $table_prefix.

Q: Will this affect my site speed? Yes, positively. A database bloated with thousands of spam comments slows down queries. Cleaning it up and then optimising your tables will typically improve database response times.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re doing a post-launch cleanup, fighting a spam wave, or simplifying your site, deleting all WordPress comments in bulk is straightforward once you know the right method. For most users, a plugin like WP Comment Cleaner is the safest and fastest option. For developers or large-scale cleanups, phpMyAdmin with SQL queries or WP-CLI gives you more control and speed.

Have questions or tried a different method? Let us know in the comments below.