9 Best Sucuri Alternatives to Protect Your WordPress Site

If you are considering investing in a WordPress security plugin to protect your site—as you absolutely should—you have undoubtedly heard of Sucuri.

Sucuri is widely used by WordPress sites, but nevertheless has serious shortcomings:

• Scanner often misses malware
• Firewall blocks real users
• Lots and lots of false alerts
• Limited vulnerability scanner

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

Security cannot be taken so lightly. It leads to loss of revenue and branding. 

So if you are looking for an alternative to Sucuri, look no further. We’ve rounded up the biggest and best, tested them all out, and published the results. 

TL;DR: The best alternative to Sucuri is MalCare. MalCare is a comprehensive security plugin, right from its deep scanning capabilities and advanced firewall for protection, to one-click cleanups for easy malware resolution you can have.

Alternatives to Sucuri as a security plugin

Sucuri is a widely used security plugin available for WordPress. While it has a malware scanner, firewall, and manual cleanup service, it isn’t always the best available security for your WordPress site.

When we reviewed alternative plugins to Sucuri, we focused on three main factors: malware detection, malware cleaning, and firewall. These are the most important aspects for your WordPress website’s safety.

We also checked for the security features each one advertised. We looked at things like brute force protection, vulnerability checks, and two-factor login. But if the main factors aren’t good enough, the other features don’t really matter.

As this is a comparison for Sucuri, we also put Sucuri through its paces. We were not impressed.

In our tests, Sucuri did not detect any malware on our sites, and only detected 2 out of 3 vulnerabilities. We found this alarming because not detecting malware on a hacked WordPress site can have catastrophic consequences. The cleanup services were great, but it was after their scanner left us befuddled. Additionally, the configurations and firewall installation were confusing, to say the least. 

1. MalCare

MalCare is a top security plugin for WordPress and easily excelled in all areas.

It scans every file and database entry for malware and identifies it quickly. After detecting hidden malware on our site, it took just minutes to remove it with a simple one-click cleanup. You can schedule scans, and get alerts for any suspicious activity.

The malware scanner didn’t slow down our site, which was a problem with other WordPress security plugins. In fact, after installing the plugin, we noticed an improvement in site performance.

The firewall worked effectively, keeping out harmful bots and requests, as shown in real-time logs.

Although it might sound like we’re boasting, these tests were done by team members who hadn’t used the product before. Their findings were unbiased and highlighted the strong security MalCare offers WordPress sites.

The best part is that, unlike Sucuri or Wordfence, MalCare does not bombard you with false positives and alerts. So if there is an attack, the alert will not get buried under other emails. 

Features

• Advanced malware scanner
• One-click auto cleanups
• WordPress-specific firewall
• Activity log
• Login protection
• Vulnerability detection
• Bot protection
• Two-factor authentication
• Geo-blocking IPs
• IP whitelisting
• Uptime monitoring
• Scheduled reports
• WordPress backups
• Staging and migration
• Excellent support
• Unlimited manual malware removal

Pros

Cons

Price: Free/ Starting at $149 a year

Summary

The best WordPress security we could find

MalCare protects your website with an advanced firewall that blocks out malicious traffic and reduces the risk of an attack.

But where it truly shines is with cleanups. With its one-click auto-clean feature, you can get rid of the malware on your site within minutes. Given that malware causes a lot more damage, the longer it is left on your site, this feature is a life-saver. 

Reliable and hassle-free security

The problem with Sucuri was its unreliability. How can you trust a plugin that gives you a clean bill of health, when it is full of malware?

The answer is that you can’t.

MalCare, on the other hand, sent us precise alerts for malware and vulnerabilities right after scans.

Plus, our inboxes weren’t flooded with alerts about incorrect logins or blocked bots. This meant we could quickly address urgent issues on our site. The additional information is available in reports on the MalCare dashboard.

Comprehensive security for WordPress

MalCare provides various features that boost WordPress security, including WordPress hardening, backups, staging, and migration. Priced at $149 a year, MalCare offers great value.

2. Wordfence

Another big fish in the security pond is Wordfence. Wordfence is quite honestly, the best free security plugin that there is. But if you are looking for complete security, the free version does not cut it.

We expected a lot from Wordfence, considering the brand’s reputation.

And, initially, it impressed us. Installing and setting it up was easy. The first malware scan was slow, but the following ones were quicker.

However, we found that the free version really falls short.

Features

• Malware scanner
• Firewall protection
• Login protection
• Country blocking
• Two-factor authentication
• Reputation checks

Pros

Cons

Price: Starts at $99/year; Premium cleanups at $490 per site

Summary

Scanning left us jittery

Wordfence offers a malware scanner that looks for malware by matching malware signatures from their database. Now admittedly, Wordfence’s signature database is quite thorough.

But if it so happens that the particular malware on your site is not in their database, which happens with newer malware, malware in premium themes and plugins, and database malware, Wordfence will not detect it. 

And on the flip side, Wordfence is known to show several false positives on its scans.

Free firewall gets updates only after 30 days

Wordfence has a firewall which looks really good to the untrained eye.

(This is where working with a security company comes in handy, because we got the engineering team to explain its shortcomings.)

The firewall loads too late. More specifically, it loads after WordPress, and therefore it only blocks out a part of the malicious traffic, not all.

Since firewalls operate on rules, you would need the latest and best firewall rules to really protect a site. Wordfence free users will get the rules on a 30-day delay. We get that every company needs funds to function, but those 30 days leave free users wide open to exploits.

Hack cleanups can either break your site or break your bank

Wordfence has a repair functionality, which allows you to delete some files and repair others. There is no clear indication of what they are deleting: whether it is custom code or actual malware. As Wordfence doesn’t backup your site before this cleanup, the risk is all on you.

They also have a premium cleanup service, which costs a bomb. We cannot comment on the effectiveness of their premium cleanups given that we have not tried them.

Drain on site resources

Another glitch in Wordfence is that it has a very high impact on server resources. So much so, that many web hosts ban Wordfence from their servers altogether. 

Having said all of this, our overall verdict is positive for Wordfence. If you have no budget and need WordPress security, Wordfence will do the job for you. 

3. Jetpack

You may have heard of Jetpack, given that it comes from the people who created WordPress.

Formerly known as VaultPress, Jetpack is a bundle of a plugin that offers security, backups, and performance. Their plans differ, but you can avail all of these services in a single plugin. We are focusing on Jetpack security for now, as it is most relevant.

Jetpack offers a malware scanner, activity log, login protection, two-factor authentication, and a few more security features. 

Features

• Malware scanner
• Brute force protection
• Activity log
• Vulnerability detection
• Two-factor authentication
• Downtime monitoring

Pros

Cons

Price: Starting at $150/year

Summary

If you want an honest recommendation, this is not it. Sucuri may have its flaws, but it is definitely a better security plugin than Jetpack.

Doesn’t fully secure a site

Jetpack claims to provide malware scanning, brute force attack protection, and an activity log as part of its security features. When we tested the scanner, it found some hacked files, but not all. It also missed some site vulnerabilities.

The kicker with Jetpack is that it neither offers firewall protection, nor does it provide cleanups. So all it is good for is its UI, which can generate a pretty-looking alert that says you’ve been hacked.

Maintenance features, not security features

Jetpack does have its upsides, it is one of the best-designed plugins that there are. Moreover, Jetpack integrates with a WordPress.com account, acting as an external dashboard for your site. 

It does bundle in backups, which are an excellent insurance policy in the case of failed security.

4. All-in-one Security

All-in-One Security often ranks as a popular WordPress security plugin because it’s completely free, with no upsells. It draws in users who are less familiar with WordPress security. It offers a malware scanner, login protection, firewall, and backup of your site’s core files. 

But the key question is: does it work? For a security plugin, being free is less important than being effective.

Features

• Security scanner
• Spam security
• Firewall protection
• Brute force protection
• User account security

Pros

Cons

Price: Free

Summary

Consider this plugin if you have no budget, and cannot go with Wordfence.

That’s not a malware scanner

All-in-One includes a “scanner”, which is actually a file change detection tool that alerts you to changes in your WordPress files. A file change detection scanner only looks for modified files instead of actively looking for malware. Since hackers can alter timestamps or conceal changes, this scanner falls short in providing adequate security.

Ineffective firewall

While it offers some firewall protection, it only secures your .htaccess files. This isn’t full protection because if a plugin has a vulnerability, protecting just the .htaccess file won’t help much.

Another major issue with the plugin is that its bot protection is not refined. So the plugin blocks all bot traffic, including good bots such as googlebot—interfering with the indexing process while doing so.

No options to clean hacks

It also offers no cleanups whatsoever. 

5. SecuPress

SecuPress entered the WordPress plugin market in 2016 and quickly gained a reputation. It’s known for its user-friendly design and appealing interface. While these features are beneficial, they aren’t the core requirements for a WordPress security plugin.

A deeper look into the plugin tells you about how SecuPress functions.

Features

• Malware scanner
• Scheduled scans
• Firewall protection
• Security Logs
• IP blocking
• Security audit
• Geoblocking
• Backups

Pros

Cons

Price: Starting at $59 a year

Summary

This is not malware scanning, folks.

The plugin’s malware scanner claims to look for the following: 

• Bad files in your FTP.
• Your uploads folder for dangerous files.
• Potential phishing attempts via index.php loads.

The issue with this is that FTP is not a location. FTP is a way to access your website files, much like a file explorer on your personal computer. And looking for malware only in the uploads folder and index.php loads is not even close to being enough.

So it is safe to say that the scanner is not remotely adequate.

Clear issues with the firewall

SecuPress provides a basic firewall and some brute force protection. It seems that because it’s aimed at a French market, users in other regions may find themselves locked out of their sites. From this, we concluded that the firewall could block legitimate users due to issues with geoblocking or global IP protection.

Cleanups, anyone?

SecuPress also does not offer any cleanups, and the support is often a cause of contention with its users. 

6. BulletProof Security

BulletProof Security has all the standard features you wish to have in a security plugin. It offers malware scanning, firewall protection, logs, partial backups, and repairs, to name a few features. 

However, these features can be challenging for users unfamiliar with them. Installation and setup may involve trial and error for beginners, and the interface suits more advanced users.

Features

• Malware scanning
• Firewall protection
• Security logs
• Database backups

Pros

Cons

Price: $69.95

Summary

Overall, we do not recommend BulletProof security as a Sucuri alternative in any case. But if the licensing and features are convenient for you, the plugin is not all bad. We would still recommend Wordfence over Bulletproof Security when looking for a free security solution.

Confusing malware scanner

Our main issue with BulletProof Security is its overly complex malware scanner. Their documentation states that scanning for malicious code in files isn’t helpful since hackers might install files without harmful code. This is true. However, others like developers, designers, and Google Analytics may also add custom files with non-malicious code. You get the idea.

Malware usually isn’t just sitting in one spot, waiting to be detected. Instead, it’s often spread across various locations, sometimes appearing harmless but harmful as a whole. A good scanner identifies the malicious intent of code and highlights that.

Plus, the scanner has a whole host of configurations, such as it skips large files by default, and does not scan the database unless specified. This can lead to a lot of confusion and scans may skip important parts of the site and miss malware.

Clean at your own risk

Bulletproof also offers a repair option, which essentially allows you to delete infected files. This is a dangerous solution, given that false positives can lead to deletion of important files. This can risk breaking the website, causing extensions to fail, or worsening the situation.

Decent firewall

Their firewall offers basic functions that might block most malicious traffic and attacks.

Additionally, while the firewall is effective, it only protects plugin files, which isn’t sufficient for comprehensive security. On the plus side, BulletProof Security is cost-effective, offering a lifetime license with updates for around $70.

7. Cerber Security

Cerber Security is a relatively unheard of security plugin, but it has several active installations which speak to its efficiency. Cerber is one of the few plugins that offer auto cleanups. For that, it gets brownie points. They offer a malware scanner, firewall protection, auto cleanups, login security, and a few more bells and whistles. 

Features

• Malware scanning
• Auto-cleanups
• Firewall protection
• Login security
• IP blocking
• Two-factor authentication

Pros

Cons

Price: Starting at $99 a year

Summary

The zinger, however, is that Cerber’s auto cleanups delete files automatically if it finds any infections. By this time, we have already mentioned several times that not only is this a bad practice, it can actively break your site. Cerber is also known to overload your website server, causing your website performance to take a hit. 

Our verdict for Cerber is that it can prove to be an alternative option to Sucuri, but the tradeoff would be lateral. 

8. CleanTalk Security

CleanTalk Security is one of the most affordable security plugins that we have come across. Surprisingly enough, even at prices so low, it offers a range of features such as malware scanning, login security, audit logs, firewall protection, cleanups, and more. 

Features

• Malware scanning
• Web application firewall
• Audit logs
• Brute force protection
• IP blocking
• Geoblocking
• Login security
• Two-factor authentication

Pros

Cons

Price: Starting at $9 a year

Summary

But don’t let the price tag and feature list fool you. The malware detection mechanism CleanTalk employs is far from effective. They claim that their scanner would “probably find more than you expect.” The probably and the more than you expect sound more ominous to us than they probably expect. 

CleanTalk users also often complain of lack of proper support, which can prove to be a big problem in case you run into issues. We would say that while CleanTalk can be employed for combating spam, it is not a real alternative to Sucuri. 

9. Solid Security Pro

Solid Security used to be iThemes security. It has recently been rebranded—and hopefully refactored—into a better security plugin.

In our previous experiece with iThemes, we found it wasn’t an alternative to any functional security plugin, let alone Sucuri. We covered iThemes because over a million sites use it, and rely on it for website security. So we had to set the record straight. 

Are things better now? Let’s find out.

Features

• Blocklist scanner
• Login protection
• Brute force protection
• File change detection
• IP blocking
• Database backups

Pros

Cons

Price: Free

Summary

As far as Solid Security being an alternative, it doesn’t even qualify to be in the same league as Sucuri. 

iThemes got a great facelift

Solid Security Pro is the same plugin as iThemes, just with much better looks. We tried the basic version, which was free. There is a premium version as well, which we didn’t try out.

Scanner is just as bad as before

iThemes claimed to have a site scanner, which is basically just a blocklist scanner that looks up if your site is on the Google blacklist. During site setup, Solid Security scanned the site for vulnerabilities, and found 2 out of the 6 on our site.

Didn’t find any of the malware.

Factors to consider when choosing and alternative to Sucuri

When looking for the best WordPress security plugins, focus on more than just their claims. Some plugins make big promises but deliver little. Avoid falling for misleading marketing. As you explore Sucuri alternatives, prioritize these key features in your security plugins:

Essential security features

These features are critical—and therefore non-negotiable.

Without an effective scanner, detecting all malware on your site is nearly impossible, rendering it ineffective. Malware cleaning acts like a med kit—it’s essential for emergencies. A firewall helps prevent most attacks, reducing the chance of malware issues. If a security plugin handles these well, everything else is a bonus.

Nice-to-have security features

These features enhance your website’s overall security if the plugin already covers the basics. They allow you to spot vulnerabilities early, stop brute force attacks, thoroughly diagnose your site, and add login protection. Together, they are valuable additions.

Potential problems

Some WordPress security plugins, like Sucuri, may use up your website’s server resources during scans. This can affect your site’s performance if servers become overloaded. Security shouldn’t compromise performance. Choose a WordPress security plugin that won’t drain your server resources unnecessarily.

Do you need a Sucuri replacement?

Yes, you do.

WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS. This popularity draws extra attention—both good and bad. Hackers often target WordPress sites because the potential rewards are high. This means WordPress sites are not immune to attacks and require strong security.

There are many ways to secure your WordPress site, but the simplest, smartest, and most affordable method is to use a WordPress security plugin. Look for one with a strong firewall, effective malware detection, and the ability to clean up your site efficiently.

That’s obviously not Sucuri, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. Try MalCare instead.

Final thoughts

We hope that this list of best Sucuri alternatives helped you come to a decision regarding which WordPress security plugin to pick. While Sucuri is a very popular plugin, they aren’t the best available option, to begin with. As we said before, the only good alternative to Sucuri is MalCare, because any other option would be trading Sucuri laterally at best. 

If you have any questions or queries, we would be happy to help you out!

FAQs

Is the Sucuri website firewall safe?

Yes, the Sucuri website firewall is safe. However, the configurations are not easy to handle, and may cause a headache. Sucuri’s firewall works like Cloudflare’s as a DNS firewall.

Is Sucuri security good?

Sucuri offers good protection for your website. But it has gaps, like the scanning is not adequate, it overloads the server, does not detect all vulnerabilities, and only offers manual cleanups. For a more comprehensive security solution, we recommend MalCare.

Does Sucuri slow down my website?

Yes. Sucuri uses your server resources to run the scans and they cause a spike in processing power usage. This spike can be considerable for e-commerce websites or large sites, and can significantly affect your website performance.

Which is better: Sucuri or Wordfence?

While both security plugins have flaws, Wordfence offers a more rounded solution in terms of WordPress security. The Wordfence scanner and firewall are stronger than Sucuri’s and Wordfence also offers a repair option to its users, which Sucuri does not.