If you manage a growing blog, you’ve probably had those moments where you’re scrolling endlessly through comments, wondering, “Did I already answer this one?”
The challenge is simple: WordPress doesn’t offer a built-in way to filter comments you haven’t replied to, so you end up wasting time manually checking each thread.
After testing different solutions, we found that Thrive Comments stands out for its ability to efficiently filter and manage unanswered comments directly from the moderation dashboard.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to filter unanswered comments by admin in WordPress, so you can stay on top of conversations and never miss an opportunity to engage with your readers. 💬
Why Filter Unanswered Comments by Admin in WordPress?
Keeping track of unanswered comments is important for building a community on your WordPress site.
When users leave comments or ask questions, they’re looking for a response. If their comments go unanswered, your site can feel less active and even turn visitors away.
Here’s why filtering unanswered comments by admin is helpful:
- Keeps you organized: Easily find and respond to comments that need attention.
- Boosts engagement: Shows users that their input matters, encouraging more interaction.
- Builds trust: Visitors feel valued when their questions or feedback are acknowledged.
- Promotes active discussions: Responding quickly can keep conversations going and attract more participation.
In this tutorial, we’ll show you two methods to help you filter unanswered comments – using Thrive Comments and DX Unanswered Comments (see Alternative Method).
Both methods will help you easily filter and respond to unanswered comments. Here’s how to decide which one is right for you:
| Plugin | Best For | Reasons to Choose |
|---|---|---|
| Thrive Comments | Sites with active communities and higher engagement needs | ✔️ You already have Thrive Suite ($299/year includes 8 plugins) ✔️ You want advanced engagement features such as badges, upvoting, and metrics ✔️ You manage high-traffic sites with active communities |
| DX Unanswered Comments | Bloggers looking for a simple, free solution | ✔️ You need a simple, focused free solution ✔️ You’re budget-conscious or just starting out ✔️ You have a small to medium-sized WordPress blog |
With that in mind, filtering unanswered comments is a simple way to show that you care about your audience and create a more engaging user experience on your site.
How to Filter Unanswered Comments by Admin
To make sure no comment goes unnoticed, you’ll want an easy way to find unanswered comments and respond to them quickly.
Thrive Comments offers an easy way to do this through its Comment Moderation dashboard. We’ve explored and tested all of its features, and you can learn more about it in our complete Thrive Themes Suite review.
In the next sections, we will show you, step by step, how to filter unanswered comments by admin:
Ready? Let’s get started.
Step 1. Install and Activate the Thrive Comments Plugin
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Thrive Comments plugin.
As Thrive Comments is part of the Thrive Suite, you’ll need to create an account on the Thrive Themes website. Click on the ‘Start Now’ button and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the signup process.
Thrive Suite costs $299 per year for the first year (renews at $599/year) and includes access to all 8 Thrive plugins. If you already have Thrive Suite, you can use Thrive Comments at no additional cost.
Once you’ve created an account, you’ll arrive on your Thrive Themes account dashboard.
From here, let’s download the Thrive Product Manager plugin.
Simply click on the link, and the download should start right away.
The next step is to upload the Thrive Product Manager zip file to your WordPress site.
To do this, you can navigate to Plugins » Add New Plugin from your dashboard.
After that, click on the ‘Upload Plugin’ button to open the file uploader.
If you need help, you can see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you’ll see a ‘Product Manager’ menu in your admin area. Let’s give it a click.
On the next screen, Thrive will ask you to connect your account with your site. So, go ahead and click the ‘Log into my account’ button.
Once connected, you’ll be able to install Thrive Comments.
In the Thrive Dashboard, locate the ‘Thrive Comments’ section and check the box labeled ‘Activate Product.’
Next, you can scroll to the bottom of the panel and press the ‘Activate selected products (1)’ button.
After a successful installation, a message saying ‘Ready to use’ will appear.
From here, click the ‘Go to the Thrive Themes Dashboard’ button to proceed.
Step 2. Activate the Comments Moderation Settings
Thrive Comments has built-in comment moderation that works right out of the box. In this step, we will make sure the comment moderation feature is enabled.
First, you can head over to the ‘Thrive Dashboard’ and click ‘Thrive Comments.’ This will take you to the Thrive Comments settings area, where you can configure your WordPress comments settings.
On the next screen, scroll down to find the ‘Comment Moderation’ section. Click on it to expand the section.
From here, verify that comment moderation is activated on your site.
By default, Thrive Comments assigns the Administrator, Authors, and Editors as users who can moderate comments. It also follows the rules in the ‘Before a comment appears’ section.
If you wish to modify the default settings, you can do so here. Thrive Themes will automatically save any changes.
Step 3. Filter Unanswered Comments by Admin
Now that comment moderation is set up, let’s look at how to filter unanswered comments.
First, you can navigate to Comments » Thrive Comments Moderation from your WordPress admin area. After that, you’ll want to switch to the ‘Unreplied’ tab.
If needed, use the sort feature to organize comments by oldest or newest first.
That’s all – now you can see all the unanswered comments and reply to them one after the other.
Alternative Method: Video Tutorial (Free Plugin)
If you prefer not to use Thrive Comments, we also have a video tutorial that shows you how to filter unanswered comments using a free plugin called DX Unanswered Comments.
It is a completely free plugin available from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Once installed, DX Unanswered Comments adds two useful filter options to your Comments menu:
- Non-replied – Shows all comments across your site that haven’t received any response from your admin team.
- Non-replied – Top Level – Shows only top-level comments (not replies) that are awaiting your response. This is helpful if visitors are replying to each other in a thread, but you (the site admin) haven’t actually replied to the person who started the conversation.
The plugin automatically ignores pingbacks and trackbacks, so you only see genuine comments from real readers.
You can also configure which usernames count as “admin” responders, which is helpful if you have multiple team members managing comments.
The video tutorial below walks you through each step:
💡 On the fence about using a free plugin? Don’t worry, DX Unanswered Comments is actively maintained and compatible with the latest WordPress versions (tested up to WordPress 6.9.4 as of 2026). It receives regular updates to ensure security and compatibility.
FAQs: Filter Unanswered Comments by Admin
If you’re managing comments regularly, you’ll probably run into a few related questions along the way. Here are some quick answers to help you keep your discussion area organized and running smoothly:
How do I turn off comments in WordPress?
You can disable comments by going to Settings » Discussion, and turning off the option that allows people to post comments. If you only want to disable comments on certain posts or pages, you can do that from the content editor.
What are Disallowed Comment Keys (formerly Comment Blacklist)?
The Disallowed Comment Keys feature lets you automatically block comments that contain certain words, phrases, email addresses, or IPs. If a comment matches anything on this list, WordPress will send it straight to the trash.
How do I stop spam comments on my WordPress blog?
The easiest way is to use an anti-spam plugin like Akismet. You can also enable comment moderation, require users to register before commenting, or add a CAPTCHA to reduce bot submissions.
Can user-generated comments be moderated in WordPress?
Yes. You can choose to manually approve every comment, hold comments with links for review, or automatically approve comments from people you’ve approved before. All of this is controlled under Settings » Discussion.
Bonus Resources to Improve WordPress Comments
That’s all for now. We hope this article helped you filter unanswered comments on your WordPress site.
Next up, you may also want to take a look at our guides on:
- How to Highlight the Author’s Comments
- How to Display the Most Commented Post in WordPress
- How to Allow Users to Like or Dislike Comments in WordPress
- How to Add a Simple User Ranking System for WordPress Comments
- How to Allow Users to Report Inappropriate Comments in WordPress
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Lou
Same question as Mariska, is there any other solution you know of?
Mariska
This plugin doesn’t work anymore. Any suggestions on what to use in stead?
Sharon Jacksoon
I do not have Non-replied and non-replied top level. What verson of WP is this? I have the most up to date and only see Pending Approved Spam and Trash.
Non-replied would be great if it existed.
WPBeginner Support
You will need to install a plugin for that. Please read the article above for instructions.
Admin
WPBeginner Staff
See: how many WordPress plugins you should install on your site.
wekwa
You recommend plugins for almost every task. Some people argue that many plugins will slow down your site. Not sure then which is the best.