WORDPRESS PLUGINS

8 Best WordPress Security Plugins for 2021 (Ultimate List)

Last Updated: 9 mins By: Editorial Team

If you want to improve the security of your WordPress and searching for the best WordPress security plugins then you have come to the right place.

Since its introduction in May 2003, the open source software WordPress has become the most popular tool for web developers around the world. WordPress currently supports 75 million websites.

But according to industry estimates, more than 70 percent of WordPress installations are vulnerable to hacking and malware attacks.

Today in this article, we’ll show you why do we need security and how to choose the best WordPress security plugins for your site.

Why use WordPress Security Plugins for Your Site? 

If you are the kind of person who thinks, “Why should my website be hacked?” Then let us tell you one thing, hackers don’t miss a chance to cause damage and sabotage a website.

Of course, this cannot be generalized, but it is a game with fire to think that your own website is sufficiently protected without extensive measures.

One of the top priorities for website owners should be keeping their websites running smoothly and safely, and protecting them from threats like malware, bots, brute force attacks, etc.

What can WordPress website operators do to change this trend? Fortunately, installing the right WordPress security plugin helps keep the sites in question safe and ensures quick recovery in the event of a successful hacker attack.


How to Choose the Best WordPress Security Plugins for Your Site? 

There is an increasing variety of WordPress security plugins in the official WordPress repository and also solutions external to the repository or even mixed solutions. That’s why to make things easier for you here are some factor that you have to consider while choosing the best WordPress security plugins for your site.

  • Always download the updated, verified and secure versions of the plugins from official directory.
  • Choose the plugins which contains settings to avoid brute force attacks, code injections and modifications of system files.
  • Check if the plugins includes warning systems so that you are informed of any possible attack in progress.
  • Avoid vulnerabilities by updating plugin and themes regularly.
  • Always choose the plugin which protects your site using WAF (Web Application Firewall). It helps protect your site from the top 10 OWASP vulnerabilities, known and unknown security flaws, malicious code, DDoS attacks, and much more.

Best WordPress Security Plugins for 2020 (Ultimate List) 

With these plugins you can expand the security in particular which help you to protect a website from hackers, Trojans and viruses. Let’s take a look at them.

1. Sucuri Security

best wordpress security plugins

With an awesome rating in the WordPress repository (4.3 starts out of 5) this plugin is one of the best WordPress security plugin available to the WordPress users. Its great strength is the audit and monitoring of the website, which allows users to take account of the problems and changes that is in the website.

If what you want is to closely monitor any changes to your website, this is your the plugin that you have been looking for. You can easily download this plugin from the WordPress repository without any cost. This, of course, without leaving aside a great and powerful security tool.

Features of Sucuri Security Plugin:

  • Finds malicious code that is visible in the external source code of your site
  • DDoS Protection and Mitigation
  • Automatically detects any changes to your files
  • Security Notifications can be customized
  • Logs all security-related activity on your site

Price: Free or $199/year for Basic Plan


2. Wordfence

best wordpress security plugin

Wordfence is in fact one of the most popular WordPress security plugin with more than 3 million active installations. This plugin is a complete security plugin which contains firewall and its own scanner which checks your themes, plugins, core files.

If you have infected files it allows you to see the malicious code, compare the file with the original and rescue the original file to overwrite the infected file. One of the tools that we like the most about Wordfence is that it alerts you if any of the links you have published links to an infected website.

Features of Wordfence Security Plugin:

  • Scans Malware and vulnerabilities in real time
  • Country blocking allows you to restrict access to your login page or the whole site to specific countries
  • Track malicious behavior of specific IP addresses and block them
  • Premium Support

Pricing: It has a free plan, as well as payment plans starts from $99/year.


3. Defender Security

best wordpress security plugin

We would like to recommend this plugin to those users who are beginners to WordPress plugins. Because Defender is one of the basic options available in this list But you do not have to compromise on the security that this plugin has to offer. Thanks to its minimalist and effective design, it makes it very easy to configure even for the most initiated.

This plugin is specifically good at quickly detecting malware, brute force attacks, cross site scripting and other WordPress vulnerabilities and stop them. Moreover, it also allows you to restore the changes with just a few clicks.

Features of Defender Security Plugin:

  • Two-factor authentication with passwords and mobile app verification codes
  • Automatically blocks bots IP’s
  • Security scans can be scheduled
  • Ban IP permanently or temporarily
  • Resolve security recommendations and issues in bulk

Price: Free or $60/year for Defender Pro Pack


4. All In One WP Security & Firewall

best wordpress security plugin

All in One WordPress Security Plugin is a comprehensive, easy to use, stable and well supported WordPress security plugin. With more than 900,000 active installation and 5 stars reviews by more than 900 satisfied users there is no doubt that is plugin is worth on our list.

Without any cost, this plugin can take your website’s security to a whole new level. Furthermore, it reduces your security risk by checking for vulnerabilities and implementing and enforcing the latest recommended WordPress security practices and techniques.

Features of All In One WP Security & Firewall Plugin:

  • Notify about critical security issues
  • Ability to see a list of all the users who are currently logged into your site
  • Brute force attack protection
  • Active security monitoring
  • Malware scanning

Pricing: Free


5. iThemes Security

best wordpress security plugin

iThemes Security, formerly known as Better WP Security, is the most downloaded WordPress security plugin (over 2 million downloads). This plugin offers a good number of protection options which works on the principles of “Hide, Protect, Detect and Recover”.

iThemes Security Pro provides strong passwords, malicious user locks, backups as well as two factor authentication. And if that is not enough, the user can activate 30 total security measures to increase their value.

Features of iThemes Security:

  • It offers file change detection, which is extremely useful to check if a file has been tampered with.
  • Add an extra layer of protection during login through a reCaptcha integration.
  • Compare core WordPress files with the current version of WordPress.
  • It includes a “away mode” feature to notify you when you won’t make constant edits or want to freeze.

Price: Free Plan, Premium Plan cost $80/year for Blogger Plan, $127/year for Small Business Plan and $199/year for Gold Plan


6. Jetpack Scan

Next on the list we have Jetpack, this WordPress security is designed by WordPress developers. This plugin is well known for its comprehensive variety of services. Similarly, Jetpack have lots of functionality in a single plugin so you do not have to choose between countless different plugins.

This plugin offers several measures to protect your website included in the free option. But if you want to have the complete security pack, then you should consider using the paid version. Premium version includes advantages such as security analysis to check that everything is in order in any moment.

Features of Jetpack Scan Plugin:

  • Continuous downtime monitoring
  • Brute force attack protection
  • Malware scanning and one-click threat resolution
  • Whitelist IP Address

Price: $7.95/mo for Backup Daily plan


7. VaultPress

VaultPress is part of Jetpack, a more comprehensive plugin that comes with social sharing features and user stats. You can easily back up all the data on your site in real time, and when it comes to migration, it’s incredibly useful.

VaultPress also comes with a threat search feature to make sure there are no threats on the site before adding the plugin. Similarly, this plugin is also updated regularly with many improvements.

Features of VaultPress Plugin:

  • Automatically fix common threats
  • WordPress-optimized backups and security scans runs automatically
  • Fix detected viruses, malware, and other dangerous threats with a single click
  • Regular backup and restore
  • Reliable spam protection

Price: Free or $19.95/mo on Security Daily Plan


8. BulletProof Security

Another famous WordPress security plugin is Bulletproof Security. Bulletproof Security protects all of the WordPress website against all types of hacker attacks, such as XSS, RFI, CRLF, CSRF, Base64, Code Injection and SQL injection.

This plugin basically uses the .htaccess file to strengthen the security of a website, since this file is the one that is processed first in the loading of the website, before any other web code. In addition, it protects and improves the security of the login and allows you to monitor your website for any vulnerability.

Features of Bulletproof Security Plugin:

  • Monitor and logs security issues
  • Malware scans
  • Backup and restore database
  • Includes anti-spam and anti-hacking tools

Price: Free or $69.95 on Premium Version


To Sum Up:

You don’t have to worry about any potential threats after carefully analyzing these security plugins for your WordPress website. Remember, you don’t have to run a large website to get attacked by hackers. That is why prevention is always better than cure and choosing the right protection.

Having a good WordPress security plugin can save you a lot of headaches down the road. By installing any of the plugin mentioned above, you get the functionalities like malware scanning, IP blocking, blacklist monitoring, vulnerability detection or security alerts to keep your website safe.

Incase, if you’re looking for other essential plugins for your site or want to improve your site rankings, check out our handpicked list of best WordPress SEO Plugins. Many of our suggestions offer free services for basic needs.

Hope you find our article helpful, if you do make sure to share this piece of information on your social media channels.

8 Best WordPress Security Plugins for 2021 (Ultimate List)
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Editorial Team

We are a team of SEO copywriters and editors who work together to present the best quality content related to WordPress. We also promote our product via our blog. Please follow us on Twitter @Zakra_Theme and Facebook Zakra Theme to get regular updates.

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