In this guide · 8 sections
Short answer
For most small business sites, Wordfence Free plus strong logins and regular updates is a sound start. Choose Sucuri's cloud firewall (from US$229 a year) if you want attacks filtered before they reach your server and malware cleanup included. No plugin replaces updates and off-site backups.
Wordfence vs Sucuri vs Kadence Security at a glance
The three plugins overlap but solve different problems. Prices are from each vendor's site, in US dollars, approximate, as of October 2026, and apply per site.
Wordfence
Most installedFree, Premium US$149/yr
- Endpoint firewall and malware scanner inside WordPress
- Free tier gets firewall rules and signatures 30 days late
- Login security with 2FA and reCAPTCHA in the free plugin
- 5+ million active installations on WordPress.org
Best for: Owners who want strong free protection and are fine managing settings.
Sucuri
Free plugin, firewall from US$229/yr
- Free plugin: activity audit log, file integrity and hardening
- Paid plans add a cloud firewall (WAF) with CDN
- Unlimited malware cleanups on every paid plan
- Platform agnostic: also protects non-WordPress sites
Best for: Businesses that want filtering in front of the server and cleanup included.
Kadence Security
Free, Pro via Kadence bundles
- Formerly Solid Security and iThemes Security
- Strong on logins: 2FA, password rules, brute force protection
- Pro adds Patchstack virtual patching and a site scanner
- 700,000+ active installations on WordPress.org
Best for: Sites whose main risk is weak or reused admin passwords.
Sources: Wordfence pricing, Sucuri platform plans and the Kadence Security plugin page on WordPress.org.
Free vs paid tiers: what you actually get
The free versions are useful, but each holds something back.
| Plugin | Free tier | Main paid tier | What paying adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wordfence | Firewall, scanner, 2FA, rules delayed 30 days, scans every 3 days | Premium, US$149/yr | Real-time rules and signatures, IP blocklist, country blocking, audit log |
| Wordfence Care | - | US$590/yr | Wordfence installs, configures and monitors it, with incident response |
| Sucuri | Audit log, integrity checks, hardening, no firewall | Basic platform, US$229/yr | Cloud WAF and CDN, unlimited cleanups, 30-hour malware removal target |
| Sucuri Pro / Business | - | US$339 / US$549 per yr | Faster cleanup targets (12 or 6 hours) and more frequent scans |
| Kadence Security | Login protection, 2FA, brute force network, site templates | Pro, sold in Kadence bundles | Patchstack virtual patching, version management, scanner |
Wordfence's FAQ says each installation needs its own licence key, though a Premium licence for a production site also covers its staging and development copies. Sucuri says each plan covers one site. Kadence Security Pro is now sold as part of Liquid Web's Kadence bundles rather than as a standalone plugin, so check the current bundle on Liquid Web's Kadence page before buying.
Plugin firewall vs cloud firewall
This is the biggest technical difference. WordPress.org's hardening guide describes three places a firewall can sit: inside WordPress as a plugin, at the web server (for example ModSecurity), or as a reverse proxy service between the internet and your host.
| Aspect | Plugin firewall (Wordfence) | Cloud firewall (Sucuri WAF) |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Inside WordPress on your server | On the vendor's network, in front of your server |
| Setup | Install the plugin | Change DNS so visitors pass through it |
| Attack traffic | Still reaches your hosting | Blocked before it reaches your hosting |
| Server load | Uses your server for every request it checks | Can reduce load through caching |
| Context | Knows if a visitor is logged in | Sees only the web request |
| Bypass risk | None from outside | Attackers who find your host's IP can go around it |
| Cost | Free tier available | Paid only |
Wordfence argues its endpoint approach cannot be bypassed and does not break encryption; Sucuri argues filtering before the server reduces load. Both are reasonable. If your site is on cheap shared hosting and gets hit by bot floods, a cloud firewall helps more. Our explainer on web application firewalls compares cloud options, including ones your host or CDN may already provide.
Performance: will a security plugin slow my site?
Any plugin that inspects every request or scans files uses server time. On small shared hosting plans, scheduled scans and live traffic logging are the usual culprits. Sensible settings matter more than which plugin you pick.
- Schedule full scans for quiet hours rather than during business hours.
- Turn off live traffic logging unless you are investigating something.
- Don't run two scanners or two firewalls that do the same job.
- With a cloud firewall, its caching can offset the cost; Sucuri says its CDN reduces server load, but that is a vendor claim, so measure your own site before and after.
Test page speed before and after installing, using the same page and tool each time. If the admin area becomes noticeably slower, check which plugin feature is running.
What security plugins don't do
A security plugin can be installed on a site that still gets hacked, because the common causes are an outdated plugin with a known flaw, a reused admin password, or an abandoned plugin nobody remembered. WordPress.org's hardening guide starts with updates and removing unused plugins, and says to keep backups so you can recover.
The basics no plugin replaces
If a plugin you use has a reported vulnerability, follow our guide on WordPress plugin vulnerabilities. For login protection specifically, see WordPress login security hardening.
Which plugin to choose
A short decision guide for typical SME sites:
| Your situation | Sensible choice |
|---|---|
| Brochure site, low budget | Wordfence Free, 2FA on, monthly updates |
| WooCommerce store or booking site | Wordfence Premium for real-time rules, or Sucuri's cloud firewall |
| Site keeps getting hit by bots or DDoS | A cloud firewall (Sucuri or your CDN's WAF) |
| Main worry is staff passwords | Kadence Security or Wordfence login security with 2FA enforced |
| Already hacked and need cleanup | Sucuri's malware removal or Wordfence Care, then fix the cause |
Pick one main security plugin. Installing all three adds overlap, conflicts and load without making the site much safer.
Do it yourself or get help?
Installing Wordfence and turning on 2FA takes under an hour. The ongoing part is what people skip: updating every month, checking scan results and keeping backups that work.
Our Website Security Hardening (S$290) does a one-off clean-up: core, theme and plugin updates, unused plugins and users removed, login protection with 2FA for admins, a web application firewall, security headers and an off-site backup. For the monthly part, the Care plan (S$129 a month) covers updates, daily off-site backups and uptime monitoring. IT Sorted is a Singapore-based team of developers with over 10 years of experience; you order online, pay upfront and brief us in writing.
Frequently asked questions
For many brochure sites, yes, if you also update plugins monthly, enforce 2FA and keep backups. The main limit is that the free version receives new firewall rules and malware signatures 30 days after Premium users. For a store or a site that handles bookings or payments, the US$149 a year Premium plan closes that gap.
No. The free Sucuri Security plugin on WordPress.org provides an activity audit log, file integrity monitoring and hardening options. The website firewall is a paid cloud service, with plans starting at US$229 a year per site as of October 2026, which you activate by pointing your DNS through Sucuri.
The plugin has been renamed again. Its WordPress.org page now calls it Kadence Security, formerly iThemes Security, published by Nexcess. The free version still offers login protection, two-factor authentication and brute force protection. Pro features such as Patchstack virtual patching are sold as part of Liquid Web's Kadence bundles.
You can, but it rarely helps. Two firewalls or two scanners doing the same job add server load and can conflict, for example by blocking each other's requests. A common sensible pairing is one cloud firewall in front of the site plus one plugin for login security, configured to read the real visitor IP.
It lowers the risk but does not remove it. Most WordPress compromises come from outdated plugins with known flaws, reused passwords or abandoned plugins. A security plugin can block many attacks and alert you, but monthly updates, removing unused plugins, unique admin passwords with 2FA and tested off-site backups matter as much.