The best security plugins for WordPress

This is a figure that is both thought-provoking and somewhat chilling. According to security specialist iThemes Security, 50% of cyberattacks target very small and small businesses.

It's a fact: a hack can affect any website, not just the "big" large-scale websites. 

In order to protect you, A good practice is to use a security plugin for WordPress.

We present 15 trustworthy options in this article, along with our advice to help you choose the ones that will best suit your needs.

Why secure a WordPress site?

Securing a WordPress site comes down to asking one question beforehand: If the popular CMS (Content Management System) needs to be protected, is it because it is not secure?

The answer is no. The WordPress core, meaning all the files and folders that make it up when you download it, is secure. Many security experts work daily on its development and maintenance.

In practice, as soon as a security vulnerability is detected by a member of the WordPress community, it is fixed very quickly.

In its analysis of vulnerabilities within the WordPress ecosystem Published in 2022, the security expert Patchstack reports, for example, that Only 0,58% of the vulnerabilities detected on WordPress originate from the core of the software.. 

Nevertheless, the risks of hacking are very real. So, where does the problem lie? The primary culprits are your extensions. Security vulnerabilities are most often detected in their code.

Furthermore, webmasters also bear some responsibility. Having an up-to-date WordPress site (running on the latest major version) is essential to strengthen website security.

However, in reality, only 6 out of 10 websites were running on the latest version of WordPress at the time of writing these lines.

Protecting yourself against malicious attacks remains essential for several reasons: 

• WordPress is a prime target for hackers and other bots (malicious robots) because It is the most widely used CMS on the planet., with 63,5% market share.
• A hacked website can cost you a lot of money.Hackers may first demand a ransom payment, not to mention the costs involved in cleaning up and restoring your website.
  These hackers can also use your customers' bank details to carry out fraudulent transactions.
• A poorly secured website makes you more vulnerable to the loss and theft of sensitive data (documents, login, identity and payment information, etc.). This includes yours and your clients' information.
• With a well-protected website, you take care of your online reputation. A hack can damage your brand image and drive away your visitors..
• Search engines like Google penalize insecure websites.For example, an error message will be displayed on some browsers if Your site is not using HTTPS..
  Furthermore, following a hack, you risk losing your rankings on Google search results pages. If you are no longer easily found, your actions will be negatively impacted. natural search engine optimisation (SEO) and your revenue will be impacted.

By using a security plugin, you can minimize these kinds of problems. Discover our hand-picked selection below.

The best general-purpose WordPress security plugins

Before revealing our list of the best free WordPress security plugins, let's address a fundamental point of understanding for the rest of this article.

It is important to know that there are two types of security extensions on the market: 

1. Generalist extensions such as WordFence Security or Sucuri. They allow, within the same interface, the implementation of several security actions at once (firewall, scanner, IP address blocking, protection against brute-force attacks, anti-spam, etc.).
2. Extensions for targeted useThese allow you to perform a single main action. This could be, for example, moving the login page or backing up your website.

To begin, discover our selection of 6 general-purpose plugins. We have highlighted those that seem to us to be the most effective, taking into account their popularity on the official directory (number of active installations). 

We have also chosen to present you with a French extension, which has the advantage of offering a clear dashboard available in French (which is very rare). 

WordFence Security, the giant

With over 4 million active installations, WordFence Security is the most popular security plugin in the official directory. 

WordFence is an excellent extension, already very comprehensive in its free version. It is backed by a security specialist company, present within the ecosystem for many years, a testament to its reliability and commitment.

Most of its options work automatically.This makes it easier to use. However, its dashboard is only available in English and the options offered are sometimes quite technical to understand. 

Key features of this WordPress security plugin

• WordFence offers a malware scanner to block requests that include malicious code or content.
• Protection against brute force attacks, limiting attempts to connect to your administration interface.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA, Two Factor Authentication) to log in to your WordPress site and protect yourself from hackers.
• A reCAPTCHA is present to limit spam with WordFence.
• Option to receive email alerts if a security problem is detected.
• WordFence allows blocking of certain IP addresses by manual entry.
• Manage the security of multiple sites simultaneously using WordFence Central.

The added benefit of the extension

One of WordFence's major advantages lies in the presence of a web application firewall (WAF) in its free versionThis tool is particularly capable of protecting your WordPress sites against cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection attacks, and directory traversal attacks.

WordFence Security Pricing

WordFence Premium is priced at $119/year for use on one website. Compared to the free version, the paid version has the advantage of updating all the tools offered (firewall, scanner, etc.) in real time as soon as a new threat is detected. 

With the free version, the deadline is extended to 30 days. 

Sucuri Security, the auditing specialist

Where most of its competitors offer at least a paid version of their free plugin, Sucuri (800,000 active installations) stands out in this area. He is completely freeA real advantage if you're on a tight budget.

Although it offers a security plugin adapted for WordPress, Sucuri Security – owned by the hosting provider GoDaddy – can also be used on other CMS such as Magento, Drupal or Joomla.

Technically speaking, the Sucuri tool on WordPress primarily allows you to...audit your website for potential security issues (at least in its free version).

Main features of Sucuri

• Automatic analysis of WordPress core files.
• Application firewall (Sucuri firewall) but only if you opt for a premium plan.
• Displaying failed login attempts to your sites.
• Malware scanning and detection of obsolete software.
• Security notifications sent by email to users of your website.

The added benefit of the extension

We appreciate the presence of'security enhancement options, which can be automatically activated with one click' blocking the execution of certain PHP files, removing the display of your WordPress version, updating security keys, etc.

Prices

Sucuri is free, but this version is very limited. To get at least its firewall (coupled with a CDN), you'll have to pay $9,99/month. Sucuri also offers security packages starting at $199/year.

All-in-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall, top-rated

All-in-One Security (AIOS) is among the highest-rated WordPress security plugins in the official directory (5 out of 5 stars). 

This is an all-in-one plugin capable of protect both your site's files, its content, and its accessNot bad for fighting pirates.

AIOS is owned by UpdraftPlus, one of the most famous backup plugins, which you will discover throughout this article.

Main features of All-in-One Security

• Application firewall capable of monitoring your traffic and blocking malicious incoming requests.
• Malware scan.
• Two-factor authentication.
• Protection against spam and brute-force attacks.

The added benefit of the extension

Beyond its already comprehensive security options, All-in-One Security stands out by its options to protect your contentFor example, you can prevent your content from being copied by disabling right-clicking and securing your iframes.

Prices

AIOS offers a premium version for $80/year for use on a single site. It includes more advanced options for malware scanning and two-factor authentication implementation.

iThemes Security, the “historical” WordPress security plugin

iThemes Security – formerly Better WP Security – is one of the "veterans" in this selection. The plugin has been around since the early 2010s and has carved out a prominent place in the official WordPress directory, boasting over a million active installations.

iThemes Security offers around thirty user settings on a dashboard translated into FrenchTo make it easier for beginners to get started, iThemes adopts a modular approach: to activate an option, simply click on a button.  

Key features of iThemes Security

• A clean interface.
• Two-factor authentication. 
• Protection against brute-force attacks. 
• Analysis of your site for malware detection. 
• Password strengthening.
• IP address blocking. 
• Security settings based on user role.
• Modifying the database table prefix.
• Move the login page to the URL of your choice (other than yoursite.com/wp-admin or yoursite.com/wp-login).
• Backing up the database.
• File corruption detection.
• Spam protection.
• Sending notifications by email. 

The added benefit of the extension

In its offering, iThemes Security provides a setup assistant capable of suggesting optimal security settings based on the category of your site(s) (Blog, Ecommerce, Portfolio, Membership Site etc). 

Pricing for this WordPress security plugin

If you want to take advantage of all iThemes features, a Pro version is available starting at $99/year for use on a single website. However, it doesn't offer an application firewall and its options are quite limited. 

In most cases, the free version will be sufficient to start protecting your website.

Jetpack, the multitasker

Jetpack is the ultimate Swiss Army knife of WordPress plugins. With over 5 million active installations, it's among the 10 most downloaded plugins of all time.

Its free version, consisting of around fifty modules that can be activated with one click, allows you to act on features related to the performance, marketing and therefore the security of your WordPress site.

Main features of Jetpack

• Protection against brute-force attacks.
• Monitoring downtime and availability of your WordPress site.
• Activity log to keep track of all changes made to your site.
• Two-factor authentication.
• Automatic real-time backup option and one-click restore.
• Blocking unwanted comments and form responses.
• Automatic update of extensions.

The added benefit of the extension

Jetpack has the advantage of being developed and maintained by Automattic, the company that runs WordPress. Thanks to this, The extension is frequently updated and is enriched with new features quite often..

Prices

Some Jetpack features are free (brute force protection and outage monitoring, for example). For the rest, you'll need to upgrade to a more expensive paid plan, priced at €25/month. Note that this premium license includes a firewall, a malware scanner, and backup options. 

SecuPress, the security extension made in France

Among the most popular general-purpose security extensions, SecuPress (30,000 active installations) is the only one that is 100% French. Behind it is security expert Julio Potier, who created and continues to maintain this security plugin for WordPress.

As stated on its profile page in the official directory, SecuPress is “Easy for you to use and difficult for hackers to hack” Most of the recommendations are easy to implement via a simple checkbox."Very few manual operations are required."

Key features of SecuPress

• A scanner capable of checking more than thirty security points in search of vulnerabilities and malware, among other things.
• Automatic correction (you just need to click a button) of detected security vulnerabilities.
• Presence of a firewall.
• Two-factor authentication.
• Detection of vulnerable themes and extensions.
• Alerts via email and Slack.
• Option to schedule backups and scan.
• Blocking bad bots and suspicious IP addresses.

The added benefit of the extension

At SecuPress, we appreciate the meticulous attention paid to the interface and user experienceThe dashboard is clear, and the features are precise and well explained. This makes this security plugin an excellent choice for beginners. The fact that all settings and support are available in French is also a real plus.

Pricing for this security extension

SecuPress Pro offers pricing based on your intended use of the extension. The more sites you install it on, the lower the cost per site. For example, usage on a single site is billed at €60/year.

Besides this selection, there are of course other general-purpose plugins for securing a WordPress site. Here are a few to consider in your research: Defender Security, WP Cerber Security, Malcare Security, Security Ninja, ShieldSecurity, BulletProof Security.
They all have at least a free version. So you can try them at home without taking any risks.

After general-purpose plugins, let's move on to the second category of security plugins for WordPress: targeted extensions. Get to know nine of them.

The best security plugins for targeted use

Google Authenticator, to enable two-step authentication

Google Authenticator allows you to activate Two-factor authentication to log in to your WordPress administration interface. 

It requires the use of the Google Authenticator app on your Android smartphone, iPhone or Blackberry.

Once the extension is active on your back office, you will be asked to enter a security code provided by the application, after entering your username and password. 

This adds an extra layer of protection to your website if a malicious person gets hold of your username and password.

Google Authenticator is 100% free.

WP Hide & Security Enhancer, to hide your WordPress files

WP Hide & Security Enhancer is capable of hide all WordPress core files, the URL of the login page, your theme, and all the paths to your plugins.

Therefore, it will be impossible to know that your website is running on WordPress, which will deter potential attackers and malicious bots. 

The extension specifies that: 

• The plugin code uses URL rewriting techniques and WordPress filters to apply all internal features and functionalities. No files or directories are modified.
• No knowledge of PHP is requiredsince all modifications are automatic.
• The plugin allows you not only to modify your WordPress default URLs, but It also hides/blocks these default values.

However, the free version of this WordPress security plugin will not be effective for Nginx servers (it only works with Apache and IIS). To avoid this limitation, you will need to purchase the Pro version of the extension, which costs $39/year for use on one site.

UpdraftPlus, the WordPress security plugin to back up your site

It's not something you necessarily think about immediately, but regularly backing up your site is an excellent practice to protect your site.

This will not prevent you from being hacked, however, if that happens, you will have a recent copy of your site web, essential in order to be able to restore it as quickly as possible.

One of the most reliable extensions for this is UpdraftPlus. It's one of the most popular on the official repository (3 million active installations) and offers several advantages: 

• Sophrology allows to back up your files AND your database.
• You have an option to Schedule your backups automatically (no manual action is required in the PHP code or otherwise).
• It is possible tosend your backups to the cloud (Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3 etc.) to keep a secure copy.
• La one-click restoration is possible.

The free version is already very good for backing up your site. If you are looking for even more advanced options, UpdraftPlus Premium (starting at $70/year for use on 2 sites) allows you to perform incremental backups (backing up only files modified since the last backup) and migrate your site.

Really Simple SSL, to switch to HTTPS

To secure your website, you need to switch it to HTTPS. This is made possible by activating an SSL certificate, which is usually free with most hosting providers. This is the case with [Company Name]. Kinsta, which we recommend.

When your site switches to HTTPS, a padlock will appear in your browser tab to indicate to your visitors that the connection is secure.

If your showcase site, blog or ecommerce is not yet in HTTPS, migrating to this protocol can be daunting, as many technical steps must be followed.

It was from this observation that the Really Simple SSL security plugin for WordPress was born (4 million active installations). Among its features, it offers, for example, an option for migrate to HTTPS protocol in one click.

Its Pro version (starting at €39 for use on a site with priority support) notably allows you to analyze and detect mixed content (content that loads in HTTP instead of HTTPS).

WPS Hide Login, to change the login page URL

By default, the login page URL for any new WordPress installation is accessible at one of the following URLs:

• www.yoursite.com/wp-login
• www.yoursite.com/wp-admin

For a robot or a hacker, it is therefore It's very easy to try to log in to your administration interface by making multiple attempts..

Unless you are using an extension that modifies the login page URL like WPS Hide Login (a French security plugin, by the way).

Thanks to it, you benefit from an option for define the URL of the login form page of your choiceAs a result, the wp-admin directory and the wp-login.php page will become inaccessible.

Patchstack, to identify vulnerabilities

Patchstack is a monitoring extension in the sense that it instantly notifies you by email as soon as a new security vulnerability is detected on one of your sites. 

The extension is capable ofanalyze both the WordPress core, as well as your plugins and your theme.

Once a vulnerability is reported, the tool provides suggestions for resolving it. Another interesting aspect of this extension: You can add up to 99 sites to monitor in its free version.. 

Extremely practical if you maintain multiple websites and blogs, whether they are your own or those of your clients.

In premium (starting at $13,48/month per site), Patchstack blocks hacking attempts through its firewall and automatically fixes security vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

WP Activity Log, to monitor activity on your WordPress site

WP Activity Log is an activity log plugin. It is capable of... transcribe everything that happens on your WordPress site, such as changes made by users to: 

• Pages, articles and custom post types (modification of status, content, title, URL etc).
• Labels and categories (creation, modification, deletion).
• User profiles (modification of email, password, name or role).
• Your themes and plugins (installation, deactivation, removal, modification of PHP code, etc.).
• Your database (modification of a table for example).

Basically, if anything suspicious happens on your site or blog, you'll know about it thanks to WP Activity Log.

A premium version is available starting at $99/year, but it offers few new features. To access more powerful options (e.g., SMS alerts, real-time user overview, support, etc.), you'll need to pay at least $149/year.

BBQ Firewall, to activate a firewall

BBQ Firewall, also known as Block Bad Queries, automatically activates a firewall on your WordPress site or blog. 

The latter analyzes incoming traffic, checks all types of requests (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.) and blocks malicious requests and bad bots.

Thanks to this, you benefit from additional protection against many threats such as SQL injection attacks, directory traversal attacks, or XSS attacks.
The extension is very easy to use as it requires no configuration.It also offers a Pro version with advanced security rules for a price of $25 for use on one site (one-time payment, lifetime access thereafter).

Limit Login Attempts Reloaded, to limit brute-force attacks

By default, WordPress does not impose any limit on the number of attempts you can make to log in to its administration interface.

This unfortunately leaves the door open to brute-force attacks. To minimize these, use the WordPress security plugin called Limit Login Attempts Reloaded.

The latter allows limit the number of WordPress admin login attempts per IP addressYou can also choose the duration for which a user or users who have made multiple login attempts will be banned. 

The extension is also able to display the number of attempts remaining to be able to connect to the admin.

In its paid version (starting at $8/month for a website), Limit Login Attempts Reloaded notably optimizes performance by repelling brute-force attacks in the cloud.

How to choose a security plugin for WordPress?

While reading our selection, you're sure to find one or more security plugins that caught your eye. When making your final choice, apply the following advice: 

• Activate only one general-purpose plugin at a time.To avoid bugs and incompatibilities, WordFence Security is one of the most effective, but it can slow down your page load times. Alternatively, consider SecuPress, which has the advantage of being very comprehensive in terms of options, with the best-designed interface on the market.
• Opt for an intuitive and easy-to-use extension.To avoid getting lost in incomprehensible settings menus (and making mistakes), it's also simpler to choose a tool that doesn't require you to touch the code (PHP, CSS, JavaScript, etc.). The ones suggested in this article should do the trick.
• Check user ratings and reviews The higher the rating of an extension, the better. 
• Set a budgetWhile all the extensions presented in this article have a free version, some offer essential features only in their paid versions. All of this comes at a cost.
• Assess your needs beforehandDo you really need this or that option? Does this plugin offer the level of security you expect for your site or blog? Do you want access to support in case of problems? To find out, carefully examine its features.

We also advise you to to get closer to your hosting service before choosing a security extension. 

Some of them, like Kinsta, which we recommendThey offer advanced security features such as a firewall, a backup system, a scanner, a free SSL certificate, etc. 

Depending on the answers you receive, you can decide whether you need a general-purpose plugin as an addition, or whether a few plugins for specific uses are sufficient to complement the protection you already have. 

Finally, don't forget that Using a security plugin does not represent a 100% infallible shield.First, because no website is. And second, because it's up to you to implement best practices. We explain them in detail in our article that teaches you how to secure WordPress. 

Despite all this advice, do you still need professional assistance to secure your site or repair it after a hack? The WP Maintenance team of experts is available 7 days a week to provide you with tailored support. Contact us for more information.