If you are working on a WordPress site, you should make sure your site is well protected by installing security plugins. There are numerous security plugins in the WordPress official plugin repo. Although there are numerous options available while you choose the right plugin for your website, you need to be wise enough and choose one among the best WordPress security plugins.
You should work on securing your websites from the start to make sure that you protect your website from hackers who are trying to steal your data and get rid of destroyed and defaced data. Also, plugins can help you to get rid of losing data, getting locked out, or getting proper SEO rankings.
Here is the list of some popular WordPress security plugins which you can choose according to your will to protect your website. Have a look and choose one from these to secure your site.
Wordfence Security Plugin
The Wordfence security plugin is one of the biggest names in WordPress security. This all in one security plugin is the most popular because of the powerful security tools it has. The security features of this plugin can keep your website face and block the third party attacks.
As Wordfence is the most powerful among the WordPress security plugins, it protects malicious traffic, hacking, and malware.
Features
- Blocks malicious traffic
- Scans malware to check themes, plugins, and files before uploading
- Monitors analytics
- Two-factor Authentication (2FA)
- Limited failed login attempts
- Runs on your own server
- Single Dashboard
- Removes hacked file
- WordPress Security Scanning
All in one WP Security & Firewall
For beginners who want to secure their website, All in One WP Security & Firewall can be among the best free WordPress security plugins 2020. The user-friendly interface makes it easy for beginners to use the plugin.
This plugin is absolutely free and can improve the security of your site by preventing attackers.
Features
- Monitors file integrity
- Filters IP
- Prevents brute force attack
- Account Monitoring
- Firewall protection
- Comment spam prevention
- File editing, backups, protection and restoration
Sucuri Security
When it comes to your WordPress site protection, the Sucuri Security plugin is the best free WordPress security plugin you can choose. This plugin offers you protection from the threat of an attack and makes sure that your site performance increases as it scans and filters out malicious requests.
You can choose among the free version or the premium one, which costs $299 per year. The premium version offers more protection, which consists of block brute force and malicious attacks. It is also the best antivirus plugin for WordPress as its antivirus package helps to monitor your site in every 4 hours to make sure that your website is free from the malware and any potential attacks.
Features
- File Monitoring
- Malware Scanning
- Activity auditing
- Variations of SSL Certificates
- Security Notifications
- Advanced DDoS Protection
- Protects against XSS and SQL Injections
- Blocks brute force and malicious attacks
iThemes Security
iThemes Security plugin also falls under the category of best WordPress security plugin and is popular among the users. The tools used by this plugin offers an easy-to-use interface in order to protect the website from malware and brute force attacks.
The free version of the iThemes Security plugin comes with a limited version. However, the pro version has many upgraded benefits.
Features
- File comparisons
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
- WordPress Security Keys
- WordPress Login Protection
- Malware Protection
- Security Report
- Dashboard widgets
- Google reCAPTCHA
Cerber Security, Antispam & Malware Scan
The free WordPress security plugin, Cerber, is highly preferred by the users. It uses content-based algorithms and heuristic to detect dots. This plugin secures the website site by scanning files and folders and also by limiting the login attempts.
Features
- Anti-spam engine
- Google reCAPTCHA to protect comments, forms, registration, and contact
- Advanced Malware Scanner
- Integrity Checker
- File Monitor
- Limits Login Access
- Two-factor Authentication (2FA)
- Scheduled Scans
Security & Malware scan
If you are looking for a free WordPress security plugin to secure your site, you should keep the Security & Malware scan on your list. It is a popular plugin among WordPress users, which can prevent you from malware attacks before they even happen. With this plugin, you can also store logs in the cloud for about 45 days.
Along with the basic features, this plugin also offers facility of checking outbound links and gives your SEO a boost.
Features
- Real-time traffic monitor
- Two-factor Authentication
- Limits Login Attempts
- Emails daily security reports
- Web Application Security Firewall
- Checks Outbound Links
- Security Protection for WordPress login form
NinjaFirewall
NinjaFirewall is a true Web Application Firewall but can be installed and configured like a plugin. It blocks threats before they can reach your blog. This web application firewall offers some unique features which are not available in other plugins.
The level of security provided by NinjaFirewall is strong and prevents any brute force attacks on WordPress. Also, it can detect Linux malware as well. This plugin is available free. Also, you can get the premium version of the plugin starting at $45 per year.
Features
- Blocks SQL injection and Cross-site Scripting
- Detects and Rejects Unknown Vulnerabilities
- Blocks hacking attempts
- Real-time detection
- File Integrity Monitoring
- Anti-Malware scanner
- Linux Malware detecter
BulletProof Security
Bulletproof security plugin is a popular, impressive, and easy plugin to use. With the basic as well as advanced features, the users of this plugin are increasing. This plugin is easy to install and use.
Although Bulletproof Security was launched a decade ago, it is still one of the best WordPress plugins. It has both free and premium versions and provides a 30-day money-back guarantee. The payment is one time and contains more security options in comparison to the similar plugins in the market.
Features
- File Monitoring
- Firewall Protection
- Bulletproof Security Dashboard
- Security Log
- Database backups and restoring
- Login Security
- Full Setup Wizard
- MScan Malware Scanner
- Malware Scanning
WP Hide & Security Enhancer
WP Hide & Security Enhancer is a popular WordPress security plugin when it comes to brute-force attacks. This plugin is popular as it helps to change the admin URL from wp-admin or wp-login.php to something else. It returns a default 404 error page and blocks all the URL functionality when the security gets triggered.
Features
- Blocks default upload URL and new upload URL
- Custom Admin URL
- Blocks XML-RPC path
- Remove wpemoji
- Minify Html, CSS, and Js
- Individual plugin URL change
- Custom plugin URLs
- New Child Theme URL
- Adjustable Theme URL
Shield Security
With the mission of ‘no website left behind’, Shield Security has become one of the greatest WordPress security Plugins. As their goal is to make the advanced level security available for everyone, Shield Security is a free WordPress security plugin.
It offers basic security options for your website free of cost. The plugin is easy to use as it comes with a guided configuration wizard.
Features
- Automatic blacklisting of the offending IP address
- Automatic Spam Protection
- Protects from brute force attacks
- Security Dashboard
- WordPress Core Scanning
- 2 Factor Authentication (2FA)
Jetpack WordPress Security Plugin
Jetpack is the most preferred WordPress security plugin among WordPress users. The plugin can quickly scan your website and detect the vulnerabilities. With around 5 million active installs, this plugin is very popular. It is a good solution for securing and protecting your website from suspicious activities.
Although Jetpack comes with a free version, the premium version is highly preferred due to the features it offers. The premium plans have two packages in which a $99 package includes basic and mid-level security options. A year plan for $299 can provide you advanced features and real-time backup options as well.
Features
- Automatic Comment filtering
- Automatic updates
- Downtime Monitoring
- Secure Authentication
- Email Marketing, Site Customization and Social Media
- Security Scanning
- Spam Protection
- Protects against brute force attacks
- Protection from malware
WP Security Audit Log
WP Security Audit Log is a popular WordPress security plugin that is the most comprehensive real-time user monitoring plugin. It helps WordPress users to secure their sites by keeping an eye on it. As a popular WordPress plugin, it has been featured on various popular sites like WPBeginner, Kinsta, and GoDaddy.
The plugin is available in free as well as premium version. The premium edition starts from $89 per site for the Starter and costs $99 for the Professional edition. The professional edition includes all the major features of the plugin.
Features
- Woo Commerce activity log solution
- Notice and stop suspicious activity
- Comprehensive activity logs
- Activity logs of file changes
- User & Site privacy reports
- Automated scheduled reports
- Add free (Premium version)
Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall
Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall Plugin is a great WordPress security plugin that is easy to setup. This plugin stops the malware to infect the website and also stops brute force attacks.
This plugin is available in both free and premium versions. The free version of this plugin has basic features, whereas the premium version has updated features. Checking the integrity of WordPress files and patching wp-login falls under the premium features of this plugin.
Features
- Automatically removes backdoor scripts, security threats, and database injections
- Prevents DDoS and brute force attacks by patching login
- Powerful firewall
- Comprehensive Website scanner
- Prevents other plugins with known vulnerabilities
Really Simple SSL
Rally Simple SSL is one of the best WordPress Security Plugins, which helps you to automatically detect and configure your website to run over the https. With this plugin, the site will move to SSL.
This plugin is available in packages of premium versions, which includes an unlimited package of $159, a professional package of $59, and a personal package of $29 for a yearly plan.
Features
- Premium email support
- Mixed content fixer in the back-end
- Enables HTTP Script Transport Security
- Detection of source of mixed content
- Easy implementable security headers
Conclusion
Choosing the right and affordable security plugin for your website is essential as you need to be aware of certain malware and attacks. Hence, you need to be very careful and choose a free or a premium plan as per your website. If you want to make your website free from any kind of attack, you should certainly choose a premium plan.
However, you can choose any among the listed WordPress security plugins to secure your website. Go through the features of all the plugins listed and choose according to the demand of your website.