6 Best WordPress Security Plugins in 2023

Are you finding the best WordPress security plugins? And want to protect your WordPress website from hackers.

This comprehensive guide will provide you with a complete list of the best security plugins for WordPress. Everything you need to protect your site is here.

We know it’s difficult to pick just one plugin in a list of thousands. That’s why we compiled a list and extracted the right ones for you.

These security plugins will protect your WordPress website from any type of online threats. Online threats such as brute force attacks, malware, malicious traffic, viruses, SQL injection attacks, and many other security threats.

First of all, let’s see why do you need a security plugin. The first question that often arises in every beginner’s mind.

Why do I Need a Security Plugin for WordPress Website?

You should know that millions of websites are infected with malware and online threats every month. And many hackers steal information about the site’s authors and users every day.

In fact, WordPress is a fully-secure Content Management System. The problem begins when we install different third-party themes and plugins. These things open your site to security vulnerabilities.

Another thing you need to know is that your hosting provider takes responsibility for your site’s security. But that is only server-side security, they do not take responsibility for the security of your WordPress that is in your control.

Although, some hosting providers do have server-side malware scanning features. But that’s not enough to completely secure a WordPress website.

That’s a simple reason, you should use a WordPress security plugin to protect your site from hackers.

Why WordPress Security is Important?

Security vulnerabilities do not just affect your website performance and data but also your users and Google rankings. Any website can be hacked due to weak security. That’s why security is important.

For any WordPress user, security must be the first priority. Because today millions of WordPress websites exist on the internet and hackers try to hack them every minute.

Fortunately, there are a lot of the best WordPress security plugins available to protect your site from hackers. So, what do you need to do? Just pick your favorite plugin and install it in your WordPress.

So, what are the best security plugins for WordPress?

Let’s see the plugins.

Best WordPress Security Plugins in 2023

So, here is the list of the top WordPress security plugins that we’re going to explore.

  1. WordFence
  2. Sucuri
  3. iThemes Security Pro
  4. All in One WP Security & Firewall
  5. Jetpack – WP Security
  6. WP Cerber Security

These plugins will provide you with a lot of features that will protect every single file of your website.

Apart from that, every plugin is unique. All these security plugins have their own unique features, pros, and cons that we’re going to see. Every plugin works in a slightly different way from one other but their mission is the same.

So, Let’s dive in and see more about these best WordPress security plugins.

1. WordFence – Best WordPress Security Plugin

WordFence Security Plugin for WordPress

Wordfence is the best free WordPress security plugin that protects WordPress sites from online threats. With over 5 million active installations, this plugin is on the list of the top security plugins for WordPress in the market.

The main goal of WordFence company is to completely secure WordPress sites. That’s the only reason, they take WordPress security very seriously.

The security features that WordFence provides are outstanding. And most of the necessary features are included in the free version. From malware scanning, and firewall protection, to two-factor authentication, everything is included in the basic plan.

As you can see below, the dashboard is very simple and easy to use.

WordFence Best WordPress Security Plugin

However, the plugin is best for beginners.

Let’s find out which features do WordFence provides to secure WordPress sites.

Features include in WordFence Security Plugin

  • It scans Malware and other security threats for free.
  • Protects your site from brute force attacks.
  • Gives free Web Application Firewall (WAF) protection.
  • Tracks and sends notifications about any type of file changes in your WordPress.
  • Also, provides a Login lockdown feature for free to limit login attempts.
  • IP blocker that automatically blocks IP addresses that have too many failed login attempts.
  • It provides Free Two Factor Authentication (2FA) feature. It is just another layer of security that gives you the ability to log in with your smartphone.
  • Monitors hack attempts and send you email alerts.
  • It also sends email alerts automatically on every login attempt.
  • Protects your WordPress database from SQL injection attacks.

Most of the features in the above list are free. If you want to try more advanced features then you should buy the premium version.

WordFence Premium Plan Price: $99 for 1 website.

2. Sucuri – Cloud-Based Security Plugin for WordPress

Sucuri WordPress Security Plugin

Sucuri is a cloud-based premium WordPress Security plugin that protects WordPress sites without affecting the server’s performance. With 800K+ active users and excellent user experience, it is the most amazing WordPress security plugin that you must have.

A lot of online businesses and websites are using it. If you opt for Sucuri for your WordPress website. Then, you have one big advantage of Sucuri over Wordfence.

The advantage is that Wordfence runs on your server. While Sucuri runs the security scans on its own cloud servers. Which reduces the load on your server and even does not affect your server’s performance.

But don’t worry, both are the best WordPress security plugins. Wordfence and Sucuri are top on the list. And if we see the features then Wordfence offers more features in the free version as compared to the Sucuri plugin.

Yes, that’s the reason you should try to buy Sucuri Premium. Sucuri premium security plugin features are amazing and help in any matter of WordPress security.

Let’s explore the features.

Features included in Sucuri Security Plugin

  • Sucuri SiteCheck feature that remotely scans for malware, spam, and other malicious activities daily.
  • Protects your site from Brute Force attacks.
  • Sends email notifications when something wrong happens on your site or any file updates.
  • Detects DNS Changes.
  • Blocks malicious traffic.
  • Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect your site from DDOS attacks (include in premium version only).
  • Premium CDN service to speed up your site.
  • IP Blocker which is included in the premium version only.
  • Free features are limited.
  • You can also contact their premium support to get their help if your site hack.

Sucuri Premium Plan Price: $299 per year for 1 website.

3. iThemes Security Pro – Popular Security Plugin

iThemes WordPress Security Plugin

iThemes Security Pro is the most reliable and best WordPress security plugin with tons of features. It plays an important role in WordPress security and protection. The same team that built the BackupBuddy plugin is behind the iThemes security plugin.

The plugin has more than 1 million active installations. The premium version of this plugin is enough to defeat all the intentions of hackers.

The plugin is very easy-to-use and set up. It provides many extra layers of WordPress security. They categorized the security features separately according to different sites. Such as e-commerce sites, blogs, brochures sites, etc.

After using this plugin, you will consider it the best.

So, Let’s explore the features of iThemes Security Pro.

Features Included in iThemes Security Pro

  • Scanner to find any type of security issues.
  • Recaptcha to protect your site from comment spamming.
  • Provides Brute Force protection
  • You can opt-in for the type of notifications you want to receive.
  • IP Blocker
  • User Roles manager
  • Two Factor Authentication (2FA) to log in with your smartphone.
  • You can opt-in to include security features according to your website.
  • You can change your WordPress login page URL.
  • Also, you can track unknown login attempts and more.

The plugin has an extensive amount of features, you can see more about it on their official website.

Pricing Plans

iThemes Security Pro has 3 flexible pricing plans.

GoldSmall BusinessBlogger
$120 for the first year$77 for the first yearIn $48 for the first year
unlimited sites10 sites1 site

4. All-in-One WP Security & Firewall Plugin for WordPress

All in One Security Plugin

All-in-One Security is a 100% free and best WordPress Security Plugin. It takes WordPress security to the next level with tons of features. It adds various layers of security to protect your site from online threats.

This plugin has 900K active installations and an excellent rating.

The plugin is very easy-to-use and understand. To reduce security vulnerabilities, you can opt-in for different features from the dashboard. Their user interface is pretty simple.

A ton of features in one plugin which is why they call it an All in One Security plugin. Due to the many features in one plugin, this plugin reduces the number of plugins installed in your WordPress which is good.

Let’s see what security features are included in this plugin.

Features included in All in One WP Security Plugin

  • Secures user’s Accounts by detecting weak usernames and passwords.
  • Protects from Brute Force attacks and provides complete login security.
  • Monitors the failed login attempts and blocks the unauthorized IP address.
  • Protects your database from SQL injection attacks.
  • It Protects and backups up your wp-config.php and .htacess files.
  • Provide Web Firewall Application with rules.
  • Scans and alerts you about file changes in your WordPress.
  • Protects your posts from comment spamming.
  • Another amazing feature is blog post text copy protection.

You can see more about the plugin features on their site.

5. Jetpack – One Plugin with Multiple Features

Jetpack WP Security Plugin

Jetpack is not just a WordPress security plugin. This plugin is like a Swiss army knife. You can use it to add multiple features to WordPress. As you know, more plugins cause more security problems. So, Jetpack reduces the need for so many plugins on your site.

In the matter of WordPress security, Jetpack’s free version is limited. Jetpack provides the most basic features to protect your site from hackers. The features are very limited but trustworthy.

Jetpack has amazing features and tools that we’ll see. But first, you’re here for WordPress security.

So, Let’s see the security features.

Features include in Jetpack WP Security Plugin

  • Free Brute Force attacks protections.
  • Real-time malware scanning.
  • SPAM protection.
  • Free CDN to speed up your WP site.
  • Two Factor Authentication (2FA) is also included.

In addition to security, Jetpack has other powerful premium tools given below.

  1. Jetpack Automated WordPress Backup Tool.
  2. VideoPress (video hosting service with built-in video player).
  3. Jetpack CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Tool.
  4. Automated Scanner and Fixer (it scans for malware and other security issues and notifies you).
  5. Site Search

The pricing of the Jetpack premium plugin starts at $14.97/month, which is suitable. Site Backup, security scanner, and spam protection features are also included in the premium version.

This plugin is the best choice if you want to use fewer plugins.

6. WP Cerber Security

WP Cerber WordPress Security Plugin

WP Cerber Security is another one of the best WordPress security plugins. It provides a lot of features to protect WordPress sites from hackers. With over 200K+ active installations, this plugin adds more value to WordPress security.

The user interface is very simple and easy to understand. With plenty of security features and reliability. The plugin has everything you need to protect your site from hackers.

Now, let’s see the features.

Features include in WP Cerber Security Plugin

  • Blocks malicious traffic and activities.
  • Protects from brute force and SQL injection attacks.
  • Anti-spam for any type forms.
  • It also protects user registration and login forms.
  • WooCommerce chect out protection.
  • Automatically removes viruses and malware.
  • Sends email alerts about any type of activity related to security.

Like other plugins, the free version is very limited. The above features are the most basic features. You can see more about features on their official site.

The pricing of this plugin starts from $29/month, which is low as compared to others.

Conclusion

It’s very complicated to find the best WordPress security plugin in the list of thousands of plugins. But now you have a collection of the six best WordPress security plugins in your toolbox.

If you want to know which one is perfect. Actually, there is no such thing as perfect. Every plugin has some ups and downs.

In my opinion, if you’re a beginner and want to use a free plugin with quality features. Then, use WordFence. And if you want to buy a premium WordPress security plugin. Then, I will recommend you try Sucuri Premium, iThemes Security Pro, or Jetpack Pro.

According to my experience, these are the best WordPress security plugins that I want to use.

So, that’s enough for now. Hope this guide will be helpful.

Also, see the list of the best SEO Plugins for WordPress.

Finally, if you have any questions, related to this topic then feel free to ask in the comments section.