What Are The Best WordPress Security Plugins?

When considering WordPress websites, security is an important factor to consider right from the beginning. In the absence of appropriate security measures, your server, visitor data, and website infrastructure could be vulnerable to hacks, malware, backdoor attacks, and SEO spam. In the event of a security breach, your future profits, customer loyalty, and website stability could be affected.

A security plugin is like an alarm system and insurance for your website. Just like an exciting new investment that may have hefty down payments, inspection fees, and mortgages associated with it, you would want to protect it as best as possible. This post will explore exactly that!

WordPress Security Plugins

Security measures are built into the WordPress core by default. However, reputable security plugins can enhance and improve them. WordPress security plugins offer the following features:

• Active monitoring program for security.
• File scanning
• Malware scanning
• Blacklist monitoring
• Security hardening
• Post-hacking action plan
• Firewall security
• Anti-brute force attack protection
• Security threat notifications

Choosing a good WordPress hosting platform with built-in security measures is crucial before considering WordPress security plugins. Research the top web hosting companies and select one of them to host your WordPress website. Now, let’s explore some of the best WordPress security plugins that will help you protect and monitor your website against potential threats.

Best WordPress Security Plugins

What are the best WordPress security plugins? Our list of top WordPress security plugins will help you keep all potential intruders out.

1. Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner, and Security Hardening

Sucuri Security offers both free and paid versions of its plugin, but for most websites, the free version should suffice. The website firewall feature requires a subscription to a Sucuri plan, which may not be necessary for every administrator.

The plugin’s free features include security activity auditing, file integrity monitoring, blacklists monitoring, security notifications, and security hardening. Premium plans offer customer service channels and more frequent scans. It’s even possible to request hourly scans, depending on the plan.

The Best Features of Sucuri Security

• Multiple SSL certificates are available. In some paid packages, you can get these for free.
• A 24/7/365 chat, email, and ticketing system are available for customer service.
• Website errors are notified instantly.
• DDoS protection is available in some plans.
• In addition to monitoring blocklists, scanning malware, monitoring file integrity, and hardening security, you will also receive free tools.
• Blacklist monitoring, hack patching, post-cleanup reports, and more are included in the premium platform.

Paid Plans

If you prefer to upgrade Sucuri to a paid plan you get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Sucuri has the following premium plans:

• $9.99 per month for a basic firewall
• Firewall Pro: $19.98 per month
• Monthly fee: $199.99 (cleanups, scans, firewall, and CDN)
• Platform Pro: $299 per month
• The monthly cost of the Business Platform is $499.99

2. iThemes Security

Better WP Security (previously known as iThemes Security) is a unique option for protecting your website against hacking and unwanted intrusion.

A key focus of the iThemes Security plugin is to detect plugin vulnerabilities, outdated software, and weak passwords.

While iThemes Security Pro includes some basic security features, we highly recommend upgrading. The Pro package not only provides ticketed support but also includes plugin updates for one year and support for two websites. There is also a more expensive plan available that allows you to protect additional sites.

The primary features of iThemes Security Pro include strong password enforcement, locking out malicious users, database backups, and two-factor authentication.

Here are a few ways in which this WordPress security plugin can protect your WordPress website.

The best features of iThemes Security

• File change detection is crucial as administrators often fail to notice when files are altered.
• Two-factor authentication and Google reCAPTCHA add an extra layer of security to your login process.
• The plugin allows you to check if any malicious code is present in your WordPress core files.
• It is recommended to update your WordPress keys and salts regularly to enhance complexity and security.
• “Away Mode” allows you to lock your dashboard from all users when you’re not actively updating your site.
• The plugin enforces strong passwords, detects 404 errors, and provides brute force protection.
• Brute force attacks can be prevented by banning users.
• SSL enforcement and partial backups are included in the plugin.

iThemes Security Paid Plans

For $80 a year, you get iThemes Security Pro. Plus, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Here is some information on the iThemes Security Pro paid plans:

• $80 for bloggers
• $127 for freelancers
• Annual Gold: $199
• $499 for Plugin Suite

3. Wordfence Security

One of the most popular WordPress security plugins is Wordfence Security. It offers robust login security features and the ability to recover from security incidents, making it an excellent choice for protecting your website. Wordfence provides a combination of simplicity and powerful protection tools. One of its main advantages is the ability to track changes in traffic trends and hack attempts. It offers a wide range of features, including firewall blocks and protection against brute force attacks.

The best features of WordFence Security:

• Smaller websites can use the free version.
• Multiple site keys can save developers tons of money.
• A full firewall suite includes country blocking, manual blocking, brute force protection, and real-time threat defense.
• The plugin’s scan component combats spam, malware, and real-time threats. All your files are scanned for malware.
• In addition to tracking Google crawl activity and logins and logouts, the plugin also monitors live traffic.
• Sign in with your cell phone and audit your website with unique tools.
• A separate plugin is not required for the comment spam filter.
• Checks your plugins to see if they have been removed from the WordPress plugin repository (usually for being unsafe, hacked, or abandoned).

Paid Plans

For one site, various versions are available, starting at $99 per year.

In addition, the plugin creators provide steep discounts for multiple site keys when you sign up. Get 25% off if you buy 15+ licenses.

You should consider Wordfence if you are developing multiple websites.

Here’s the whole discount structure:

• $99 per year for one site
• Licenses for 2-4 sites: $89.10 (10% off)
• Licenses for 5-9 sites: $84.15 (15% off)
• Licenses for 10-14 sites: $79.20 (20% off)
• 15+ site licenses: $74.25 (25% off)

4. All In One WP Security & Firewall

All In One WP Security & Firewall offers an intuitive interface and decent customer support for free.

With this plugin, you will be able to visually see the security strength of your site and identify the necessary actions to enhance it.

The plugin is divided into three categories: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. Even if you are an advanced developer, you can still utilise the plugin.

The plugin provides protection for user accounts, blocks unauthorised login attempts, and enhances registration security. It also includes security features for databases and files.

The best features of All In One WP Security & Firewall

• A blocklist tool is available in the WordPress security plugin.
• Back up .htaccess and .wp-config files. Whenever something goes wrong, you can restore them.
• The plugin shows two graphs to describe your website’s strengths and weaknesses. This feature lets users see what’s going on with a site’s security.
• For emergencies, there’s a lockdown button.
• Export and import security features.
• Use iframes to prevent other sites from showing your content.
• Defend your website from bots.
• No upsells included in the plugin.

Paid Plans

• Free

5. BulletProof Security

BulletProof Security is actively developed and updated, and it offers more features compared to most other security plugins. It includes quarantines, email alerting, anti-spam, and auto-restore features.

The plugin performs well in terms of WordPress security, particularly in handling backups and logins.

Here are some tools available with the free plugin:

• Monitoring and security.
• Restoring database backups.
• MScan Malware Scanner.
• Tools for spam prevention and hacking protection.
• Security log.
• Unlisted plugins.
• Maintenance mode.
• Complete setup wizard.

The plugin may not be the easiest to use for beginners, but it works well for advanced developers who wish to utilise the anti-exploit guard and FTP file-locking features. To simplify the process, it also offers an auto-fix setup wizard.

The best features of BulletProof Security

• The plugin offers features such as ARQ Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (ARQ IDPS), encryption
• solutions, scheduled cron cURL scans, and folder locking.
• The free version includes sufficient features for average websites.
• The free version enables database backups.
• It allows hiding plugin folders.
• Maintenance mode is a unique feature not commonly found in other security plugins.
• HTTP error logging tracks vulnerabilities.
• The plugin enforces strong passwords.
• You receive update notifications.

Paid Plans

The BulletProof Security program is free and premium. With the paid option, you pay $69.95 once and get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Best Plugins for Virus Scanning and Blocking Malware

6. SecuPress

Our favorite aspect of SecuPress is its strong capability in blocking malware and viruses. It was developed by Julio Potier, the co-founder of WP Media, who also developed WP Rocket and Imagify.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use security plugin, consider SecuPress. The free version includes a firewall and anti-brute force login feature.

In addition to protecting your security keys, SecuPress blocks bots (which are often paid features in other security plugins). It also performs malware scans to block intruders if necessary.

The premium version offers additional features such as alerts, notifications, two-factor authentication, IP geolocation blocking, PHP malware scans, and PDF reports.

The Best Features of SecuPress

• SecuPress has one of the best user interfaces, making it easy for beginners to use.
• The plugin performs 35 security checks to ensure your website’s security.
• With the premium version, you can block specific countries based on their geolocation, receive security alerts, and conduct comprehensive malware scans.
• Changing your WordPress login URL makes it more difficult for bots to discover.
• By using this tool, you can identify vulnerable themes and plugins or detect if they have been tampered with to include malicious code.
• SecuPress provides the detection and blocking of suspicious IP addresses.
• The system effectively prevents brute force login attempts.
• You have the option to save or print security reports in PDF format.

Paid Plans

SecuPress offers malware scanning and bot blocking as part of its free version. The pricing for each site is $69.99 per year. There are discounted rates available for purchasing multiple sites, such as 5, 10, 25, or 200.

SecuPress provides the following products and services:

• Professional setup: $120
• Malware removal: $30
• WordPress security training: $449
• Security maintenance: $39

7. WPScan – WordPress Security Scanner

The WPScan WordPress security plugin takes a different approach to security. It maintains a database that is manually curated and updated daily by security specialists and the general public. The database, sponsored by Automattic, contains over 21,000 known security vulnerabilities.

WPScan utilises this database to check for known vulnerabilities in your WordPress core, plugins, and themes.

The plugin also performs scans for debug logs, backed-up wp-config.php files, weak passwords, and more. For most WordPress websites, the Free API plan offered by WPScan is suitable. However, users requiring more API calls can opt for a paid plan.

If you are in need of malware, IP, or file scanners, WPScan is your best option.

The Best Features of WPScan

• A constant vulnerability database keeps it up-to-date.
• Scan core files, debug.logs, and database files regularly.
• Email notifications can be sent when vulnerabilities are found.
• Scheduling scans is possible.
• You can change weak passwords with the plugin.
• Download reports.
• Find out how vulnerable your site is.
• Using the security scanner, you can see what a hacker sees.
• You can find links and references on how to fix each vulnerability found.
• For submitting vulnerabilities, they even offer rewards.

Paid Plans

The free plan allows up to 25 API requests per day and is available indefinitely. Typically, having up to 22 plugins should suffice for the average WordPress site. Premium plans have varying prices based on the number of API requests.

The premium plans are as follows:

• Monthly Plan: $5 per month
• Monthly Fee: $25 per month
• Custom Pricing: Available for enterprises

8. Security Ninja

In the WordPress security space, Security Ninja is a veteran. In 2016, it switched to a freemium model from being one of the first security plugins available on CodeCanyon.

As part of this change, add-ons were removed, and two versions were introduced: a free version and a premium version. The free module of Security Ninja performs more than 50 security tests, including malware scanning and checking MySQL permissions.

Security Ninja also includes a brute force check for user passwords, preventing the use of weak passwords like “12345” or “password.”

Users can benefit from an enhanced understanding of security through this approach. While a hack fix tool is included, Security Ninja provides detailed explanations of each test, along with manual code to fix any identified issues.

For those who prefer a more hands-on approach and are cautious about plugins making changes to their site, Security Ninja offers an excellent alternative. When the vulnerability scanner raises a warning, users can make an informed decision on the appropriate actions to take.

The best features of Security Ninja:

• You can perform over 50 security tests across your website with the free security tester module.
• Not techie? Any issue detected can be resolved by the auto-fixer module.
• Check your WordPress files against a secure copy from WordPress.org to ensure their integrity.
• Find suspicious code and malware in plugins and themes.
• Automate the blocking of known bad IPs.
• Track all WordPress events, from users logging in to settings changing.
• Scan regularly.
• Make your database faster.
• Testing debug, database configuration, and WP options.
• X-XSS protection, unwanted files in the root folder, and strict-transport-security tests are included in the premium version.

Paid Plans

• Free
• Starter: $49.99 per year
• Plus: $149.97 per year
• Pro: $199.99 per year
• Agency: $249.99 per year

The Starter plan starts at a one-time payment of $139.99, while a monthly plan starts at $8.99 per month.

9. MalCare Security

With MalCare Security, your entire website is scanned for everything from plugin issues to risky IP addresses. It excels as a quick malware finder, in addition to providing bot protection.

You can remove the plugin with a single click, ensuring that search engines don’t detect any issues with your site. Moreover, the intelligent scanning process examines thousands of websites to identify potential threats to your own.

In the event of your site going down, MalCare Security promptly sends you a notification, allowing you to respond in a timely manner. Last but not least, MalCare Security is lightweight, which is beneficial considering that most malware scanning tools use bulky plugins.

The Best Features of MalCare

• A system that scans an entire website for malware in the cloud.
• You can block bots with bot protection in addition to identifying them.
• Monitoring plugins and a firewall to prevent intrusions.
• You can block IP addresses from specific countries, eliminate unusual traffic sources, and fight hackers on the login page.
• An easy-to-use malware scanner.
• Login pages with Captcha technology are more secure.
• Website hardening that uses industry-best practices and applies them instantly to your site.
• Monitoring of uptime.
• We protect you from favicon virus hacks, cookie theft, and Google blocklist hacks.
• Hacks can be viewed and instantly removed.

Paid Plans

You can access malware scanning, a plugin firewall, login protection, and bot detection for free.

With premium plans, you gain the ability to view hacked files, remove malware, and update your firewall in real-time. Here are the pricing options:

• Basic Plan: $99 per year
• Plus Plan: $149 per year
• Pro Plan: $299 per year

The pricing for the plans increases as you add more websites. Additionally, there are optional add-ons available:

• Real-time backups: $100 per site per year
• Hourly backups: $500 per site per year
• Visual regression testing: $100 per site per year
• Premium Staging Environments: $20 per month per environment (prorated)

10. Security & Malware Scan by CleanTalk

Another excellent solution for detecting suspicious IPs and bots is CleanTalk’s Security & Malware Scan. With CleanTalk, website owners can automatically block threats and gain valuable information to enhance their future security measures using cloud security.

To access most features, you need to sign up for the premium cloud security service. CleanTalk’s plugin diligently monitors bad IP addresses and malware, which is why we highly recommend it.

Moreover, the cloud connection helps maintain a respectable site speed by offloading most security activities from your servers.

Plugins like this provide a list of files that may cause trouble. However, to access and diagnose those files, coding knowledge is required. In contrast, CleanTalk allows paying users to submit files for analysis and cleaning by CleanTalk’s customer support staff.

While the scanner may not be as automated as some competitors, its efficiency and accuracy are unparalleled.

Furthermore, CleanTalk offers features such as blocking brute force attacks, checking outbound links, and enabling two-factor authentication.

The Best Features of Security & Malware Scan by CleanTalk

• Cloud-based malware scanning ensures you don’t waste server resources.
• Anti-virus scanning and malware detection are included.
• A security firewall is automatically installed.
• Daily reports, audit logs, and traffic monitoring are provided.
• Every outbound link is checked.
• Scan results are automatically stored in the cloud (every day).
• Send in vulnerable files for the CleanTalk team to fix.
• A few login security features are included in this plugin, including brute force protection and login attempt logs.
• Threats are notified to the admin via email.

Paid Plans

For any of the features to work, you need CleanTalk Cloud Security.

Pricing for CleanTalk’s cloud security services:

• 1 website: $49 per year
• 3 websites: $24 per year
• 5 websites: $36 per year
• 10 websites: $63 per year
• 20 websites: $117 per year
• A 40-site package costs $180 per year or $18 a month for an unlimited plan.

Conclusion

You should now have a better understanding of how to utilise WordPress plugins to enhance the security of your website. These plugins are particularly important if you operate an online shopping cart that processes payments.

If you have any WordPress security-related questions that were not addressed in the instructions above, please send us a message through our contact form. Our team will respond to you within 24 hours.

WordPressDevelopmentAgency is dedicated to providing assistance in every possible way. We are a reliable firm staffed with knowledgeable professionals, and we possess extensive experience in WordPress web design and development.