Top 69 WordPress Security Plugins in 2022

69 Best WordPress Security Plugins 2022

Asking 10 people about their ideal CMS platform, more than 4 of them spell out WordPress. Originally functioning as blogging software, it has been gradually developed into the most popular CMS platform ever.

But, alas, every rose has its thorn.

The more popular WordPress is, the higher chance it gets attacked by hackers and malware.

How Secure is Your WordPress Site?

WordPress is secure, as long as you take your site security seriously and proactively protect it.
About 90% of all cleanup requests were from WordPress websites, reported by Sucuri in 2018.
According to Wordfence, there are up to 90,000 attacks on WordPress sites every minute.

What are Types of WordPress Website Security?

There are various causes of WordPress vulnerabilities. 52% of them are related to WordPress plugins. Other reasons include cross-site scripting, outdated WordPress core, and vulnerable - nulled themes.

Brute Force Attack

Keep guessing admin login info until successfully accessing your admin area.

Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Allow unwanted JavaScript code on your site and steal your data.

Backdoors

Enabling attackers to bypass the standard WordPress login via a code file.

Phishing

Pretend as a company or service to ask for your information or force you to visit a spam website and download malware.

Hotlinking

Embed images hosted on your site on another site to steal your bandwidth.

Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks

Block authorized users from accessing their website.

Privilege Escalation

Let unpermitted users make changes to your content.

SQL Injection

Insert malicious SQL statements into your database, including in-band, inferential (or blind), and out-of-band SQL injections.

How WordPress Security Plugins Protect Your Site

WordPress security plugins greatly assist you in protecting your site from malware, brute force attacks, and hacking attempts.

 Prevent brute force attacks

 Conduct malware scanning

 Notify you of any malicious changes

 Add 2-Factor Authentication

 Proceed real-time backups

 Auto-block spam comments

 Monitors website visits

 Backlist suspicious IP addresses

 Create firewalls

 Post-hack actions

Top 69 WordPress Security Plugins

To help you get started making your WordPress site secure, we’ve put together a collection of 69 best WordPress security plugins with their main features and pricing.

#PluginProtectionActive InstallsPricing
1Wordfence SecurityGeneral4+ millionFree
Sucuri SecurityMalware Protection800,000+Free
iThemes SecurityGeneral 1+ millionFree
All In One WP Security & FirewallGeneral1+ million
JetpackGeneral5+ million
SecuPressGeneral30,000+
BulletProof SecurityGeneral50,000+
WPScan – WordPress Security ScannerGeneral 9,000+
VaultPressBackup50,000+
Google Authenticator – Two Factor Authentication2FA30,000+
Security NinjaMalware Protection10,000+
DefenderGeneral60,000+
Astra Web SecurityGeneral 2,000+
WP fail2banLogin70,000+Free
Shield SecuritySpam Protection60,000+
Hide My WPGeneral
WebARXMalware Protection
WP Activity LogActivity Log
MalCare Security
Malware Protection
miniOrange's Google Authenticator
2FA
Wordfence Login SecurityMalware Protection
WP Cerber Security, Anti-spam & Malware ScanGeneral
Titan Anti-spam & SecuritySpam Protection
WP Hide & Security EnhancerGeneral
Security & Malware scan by CleanTalkMalware Protection10,000+
WP Security Audit LogLogin$99
Astra Security Suite – Firewall & Malware ScanMalware Protection2,000+
Block Bad QueriesMalware Protection
Acunetix WP Security
General
AntiVirusMalware Protection
htaccess protectLogin1,000+
DuplicatorBackup
Limit Login Attempts ReloadedLogin
SiteGround SecurityGeneral
Cookies and Content Security PolicyGeneral9,000+
Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force FirewallMalware Protection
Stop Spammers SecuritySpam Protection
Really Simple SSLSSL
CAPTCHA 4WPreCaptcha
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress2FA
WebTotem SecurityGeneral
SiteAlert – Uptime, Speed, and Security Monitoring for WordPressGeneral
WordPress Password Protect Page – PPWP PluginPassword Protection
Login Security reCAPTCHAreCaptcha
Captcha by BestWebSoftreCaptcha
Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins SecurityGeneral
Limit Attempts by BestWebSoftLogin
UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup PluginBackup
WP Encryption – One Click Free SSL Certificate & SSL / HTTPS Redirect to fix Insecure ContentSSL
SX User Name SecurityLogin
Secure Copy Content Protection and Content LockingContent Protection
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right ClickContent Protection
WP Copy Content ProtectionContent Protection
Spam protection, AntiSpam, FireWall by CleanTalkSpam Protection
Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress FilesFile Protection
WP Content Copy Protection with Color DesignContent Protection
Akismet Spam ProtectionSpam Protection
Passster – Password ProtectionPassword Protection
WP Private Content PlusContent Protection
Email Address EncoderEmail Protection100,000+
Hotlink File PreventionFile Protection
Block Bad Bots and Stop Bad Bots Crawlers and Spiders and Anti Spam ProtectionContent Protection10,000+
LoginizerGeneral
Protection Against DDoSGeneral6,000+
SiteGuard WP PluginGeneral
Email Encoder – Protect Email AddressesEmail Protection60,000+
Antispam BeeSpam Protection
Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WPGeneral 1,000+
Simple History – user activity log, audit toolActivity Log

Wordfence vs iThemes Security - Which is Better?

Among a bunch of free and premium WordPress security plugins, choosing the right ones for your site is definitely not an easy task. We’ll pick the 2 most popular plugins, Wordfence Security and iThemes Security, to compare.

This comparison is based on multiple factors to give you a big picture of their performances. We’ll go through the main features, pricing plan, as well as pros and cons of each plugin.

Wordfence Security vs iThemes Security Features in a Nutshell

Both Wordfence and iThemes Security help safeguard your site against malware and vulnerabilities. While iThemes Security works best in recognizing vulnerabilities in plugins, weak passwords, and software, Wordfence provides robust protection tools for security recovery.

Wordfence Security
vs

iThemes Security
Login Security
Free version
2FA
 Free version
Free version
Leaked Password Protection
Free version
ReCAPTCHA Integration
 Pro version only
Magic Login Links
 Free version
Passwordless Logins
 Pro version only
Password Expiration
 Pro version only
Hiding Login & Admin URL
 Free version
Free version
Brute Force Protection
 Free version
Free version
Live Traffic Monitoring
Free version
User Action Logging
 Free version
Free version
Security logs
 Free version
Security Scanner
Free version
Online File Comparison
 Free version
File Permission Checking
 Free version
Free version
Change Database Table Prefix
 Pro version only
Free version
Site Blacklist Checking
Version Management
 Pro version only
Website Security Grade Report
 Pro version only
Free version
Site Scanner
 Pro version only
Free - 8 steps; Pro - 11 steps
Malware Scanner
Free version
Hack Repair
Free version
Scheduled Malware Scanning
 Free version
Free version
Content safety checks
Remove RSD header info
 Pro version only
Change wp-content Path
 Pro version only
Database Backups
 Free version
Firewall
Free version
Firewall
Free version
File Change Detection
 Free version
Free; Pro - Real-time IP blocking
IP Blocking
 Free version
Free version
Rate Limit Blocking
Pro version only
Country Blocking

How Many Security Plugins Are Required?

We have listed the 69 best WordPress security plugins for your WordPress site. Some offer General site protection methods while others focus on a specific solution.

Do you need to install all these plugins?

Not only do plugin features overlap but they may be also covered by your WordPress host. As a result, using multiple security plugins is unnecessary. Plus, having too many plugins activated at a time may slow down your site.

To narrow down the list, we sort them into categories and recommend the best plugins for you to choose from.

Backup

VaultPress and Duplicator for post, comment, media file, revision, and dashboard setting backups.

General WordPress site security

Wordfence and iThemes Security. These 2 plugins provide almost protection capabilities, from SSL, 2FA to Limit login attempts, Passwordless login, and Malware scan.

File protection

PDA Gold plugin to protect WordPress files and folders. Secure both digital products and other private files.

In case you just need some security functions for certain areas on your site, make use of the following plugins.

Login

Shield Security and WP Security Audit Log to limit login attempts and prevent bot comments.

Query monitor

Query Monitor to enable debugging of database queries

Content protection

PPWP Pro to lock premium and private WordPress content