Top 7 WordPress Two-Factor Authentication Plugins

Have you ever noticed an unusual spike in failed login attempts on your site? It feels like you’re watching, from the inside of your home, as a thief jimmmies the lock on your front door. Can they hack their way through? What do you do to stop them from coming in?

This is where login security becomes crucial — and a two-factor authentication (2FA) plugin plays a key role.

These are clear signs indicating your website might be under a brute force attack. It’s a method that hackers use to infiltrate your site by guessing your login credentials. In the thief scenario that we mentioned above, a 2FA plugin would be like having an added layer of security. It’s like having another door that has a biometric lock. One more layer of security that only you have the key to.

Best 2FA plugin: MalCare
Best free 2FA plugin: WP-2FA
Best security plugin with 2FA feature: MalCare

Best WordPress 2FA plugins

We scoured the WordPress landscape for 2FA plugins and excluded ones that were abandoned by their developers or had very few active installations. We tested the remaining ones for ease of use and features.

Here’s a quick look at the comparison:

In this section, we will talk about the features, the pros and cons of each plugin. Our goal is to equip you with a thorough understanding of each plugin’s performance, enabling you to make an informed decision.

1. MalCare

Overall: 4.2/5

Setup: 4/5
Authenticator compatibility: 5/5
Customizability: 3/5
Fallback methods: 4/5
Support: 5/5
Price: Plans starting at $149 a year.

MalCare is the best security plugin that we’ve tested. It offers a wide range of features like malware scanning, malware cleaning, firewall, etc. They have a two factor authentication feature that is compatible with popular authenticator plugins like Google Authenticator and Authy. It uses TOTP or Time-based One Time Passwords to authenticate a login.

It was an easy setup. Just sign up and let the site sync. You can then login to the MalCare dashboard. find Users and click Manage. Then, select a user and click the key icon at the top. You can then choose whether to enable or disable 2FA.

The user will be sent an email with a link that they can use to sync their login with an authenticator plugin.

Features

• Choose which customer you want to enable 2FA for.
• Setup with Google Authenticator and Auth

Why MalCare?
We always recommend that you minimise the number of plugins you install by using plugins that serve more than one functionality. MalCare fits that brief. It takes care of all your WordPress maintenance needs – backups, security, updates, etc.

Pros	Cons
Easy to setup	No free plans
Loaded with other security features
Great support
Reliable 2FA connection

2. miniOrange Google Authenticator

Overall: 4.4/5

Setup: 3/5
Authenticator compatibility: 5/5
Customizability: 5/5
Fallback methods: 5/5
Support: 4/5
Active Installations: 20,000
Price: The basic features are free and there are business licenses ranging from $99 to $249 a year

miniOrange is a company that focuses on improving how we login to our sites. They’ve got a lot of plugins that help with features like 2FA, MFA, SSO, etc. Their Google Authenticator is a great 2fa plugin for WordPress and was designed to do login security very well.

The plugin gives us granular control with its wide variety of settings.

miniOrange’s plugin is also compatible with popular authenticator apps, including Google Authenticator, Authy, Authenticator, and Microsoft Authenticator, and methods like mobile and email. But, we struggled a little with using this plugin and Google Authenticator.  It was not intuitive to connect.

Features

• Customisable redirects post login
• Role-specific 2FA customization
• Design options for login popup UI
• Remember Device setting for users
• Multisite compatibility
• Enforce 2FA option for all users
• Email reminders for 2FA setup

Pros	Cons
Has a great Setup Wizard	Doesn’t not always reliably connect to google authenticator
Offers other login protection features like passwordless login and multi-factor authentication
Offers more backup methods like OTP by email or security questions.
Had flexible subscription plans

3. WP-2FA 

Overall: 4.2/5

Setup: 5/5
Authenticator compatibility: 5/5
Customizability: 5/5
Fallback methods: 2/5
Support: 4/5
Active Installations: 40,000+
Price: Free

WP-2FA is a user-friendly plugin that we loved for its simplicity in both installation and setup.

We tested the free version and found that it has sufficient features. But, if you’re interested, the premium version offers additional features like more authentication options, seamless WooCommerce integration, and white labeling options.

This plugin didn’t have as many settings to configure as miniOrange. We didn’t have as much customisability but it wasn’t as overwhelming to setup.

It has also received some really good reviews and is aided by a support team that responds quickly. 

Features

• Free 2FA for all site users
• Multiple 2FA method support
• Universal app compatibility 
• Enforced 2FA for password resets
• Grace period for setup
• Editable email templates 

Pros	Cons
Easy install and setup	Very limited fallback method options
	Limited free features
	Limited customizability

4. Two Factor Authentication

Overall:3.2/5

Setup: 5/5
Authenticator compatibility: 5/5
Customizability: 1/5
Fallback methods: 2/5
Support: 3/5
Active Installations: 20,000+
Price: Free, premium version at $23/year

The Two Factor Authentication plugin was the next one we tested. It is developed by the same team behind UpdraftPlus, a backup plugin. This is a great indicator that the plugin will be regularly updated and maintained.

We set up the free version on our test site and found that it was quite basic. You didn’t have too many settings to customize but one of them was to decide what kind of OTP you wanted to enable. You could choose between TOTP and HOTP. These are types of one-time passwords (OTP) While TOTP is time-sensitive and expires quickly, HOTP generates a code that only changes when you log in.

Other settings were to enable 2FA for XML-RPC and decide which type of users need 2FA.

We didn’t test the premium version, but it comes with additional version, but features, like the option to enable trusted devices for a set number of days, easing the friction that usually accompanies adding an extra login token. Regular updates keep the plugin up-to-date and secure, making it a dependable choice for WordPress login protection. In our experience, it was an easy plugin to install and set up. The only drawback we had was that emergency codes were a pro feature.

Features

• Authenticator app support
• Role-based 2FA availability
• User-controlled 2FA activation
• Time-based 2FA enforcement
• Trusted device feature
• Third-party login form support
• Conditional 2FA prompts
• Multisite compatibility

Pros	Cons
Very quick setup	Very limited customizability
Compatible with popular form plugins	Emergency codes are a premium feature
	Delayed support

5. Two-Factor 

Overall: 3/5

Setup: 5/5
Authenticator compatibility: 4/5
Customizability: 1/5
Fallback methods: 2/5
Support: 3/5
Active Installations: 60,000+
Price: Free

The Two-Factor plugin is a great example of simplicity and efficiency. With an incredibly basic yet effective design, it had one of the quickest setup process among all the WordPress 2fa plugins we tested. The plugin is reliable and functional, doing its job really well.

Much like the TwoFactor Authentication plugin, this one offers all the basics like email authentication and backup codes. For a beginner who is just looking for a simple way to authenticate logins, this plugin is the way to go. 

There are no site-wide customizations that we could set. But, we were able to enable it when we edited a user. So, each user had control of their 2FA settings. This was reminiscent of MalCare’s 2FA feature.

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Features 

• 2FA options: Email, TOTP, U2F
• Backup codes available
• Dummy method for testing

Pros	Cons
Easy setup	Very limited options for 2FA
Quick configuration	Inactive support team

6. Shield Security 

Overall: 3/5

Setup: 4/5
Authenticator compatibility: 4/5
Customizability: 0/5
Fallback methods: 2/5
Support: 5/5
Active Installations: 50,000+
Price: Free, premium version at $99 – $199/year

Shield Security, a WordPress security plugin that boasts of a good firewall and bot protection, does 2FA pretty well. It was an easy plugin to setup and had great reviews for support.

It did not have a lot of room for customization that is specific to 2FA.

It also only allowed for a list of codes, as a fallback method and even that was a premium feature. Fallback methods should be a necessity because they’e what you can rely on if you can’t login as normal. So, this was disappointing.

Additionally, if you’re looking for a security plugin, this one may not be worth it. It doesn’t offer other essentials like a thorough malware scanner or malware cleaner feature. I would not recommend this plugin, across the board.

Features 

• Automatic bot & IP blocking
• User-friendly security dashboard
• PHP malware detection 
• Security for forms
• WooCommerce support
• Easy Digital Downloads support
• Powerful firewall rules
• Multi-factor authentication support
• Automatic IP address blocking
• Malware security scanner 
• Vulnerability detection
• Private secure login URL
• Comment spam protection

Pros	Cons
User-specific 2FA implementation	Backup codes are a premium feature
Easy to use Setup Wizard
MFA options available

7. Wordfence Security  

Overall: 2.8/5

Setup: 3/5
Customizability: 0/5
Fallback methods: 2/5
Authenticator compatibility: 5/5
Support: 4/5 
Active Installations: 4 Million+
Price: Free version and a premium version at $119-$950/year 

Wordfence is an excellent choice for newly established websites or those operating on a tight budget. It emerged as one of the top performers when we compared different free WordPress security plugins.

You have to install a license (even a free one) to finish the plugin installation. This required signing up with your email and verifying it. However, once we installed it, we noticed that it also fell short in terms of 2FA customization, and its recovery methods were restricted solely to downloading backup codes. Backup codes are a list of codes that the plugin lets you log in with if you don’t have access to your authentication device. 

While it may not guarantee absolute immunity against malicious attacks, it outperforms most of its counterparts in its security capabilities.

Features 

• Login Page CAPTCHA
• Bot prevention measures
• XML-RPC management 
• Malware scanner
• Web application firewall
• User-friendly dashboard

Pros	Cons
Quick integration	Difficult setup, even with a free plan
Great support reviews	Basic recovery process for fallback options
	No customizability

8. Solid Security 

Overall: 2.5/5

Setup:1/5
Authenticator compatibility: 4/5
Customizability: 2/5
Fallback methods: 2/5
Support: 3/5 
Active Installations: 900,000+
Price: Free version but there are plans that start from $99 to $299

Solid Security (formerly called iThemes) is another one of many WordPress security plugins we have tested and reviewed. As a security plugin, they’re pretty useless. They didn’t catch all the malware on our hacked site and were unable to clear it properly either.

We found that the plugin has a time-consuming and overwhelming setup process. All the security settings had to be configured at the beginning. Additionally, 2FA was a premium feature that works with only Google Authenticator or Authy. We were also disappointed at the fact that backup codes were the only way to combat the lockout of genuine users.

But, once configured, the plugin’s 2FA feature worked seamlessly. Although, considering the fact that it fails in terms of WordPress security, there are better 2FA plugins that do an equally good job.

Features

• Authentication with mobile apps/email
• Downloadable backup codes
• Enforceable user-specific password requirements 
• reCAPTCHA 
• Passwordless login feature
• Trusted devices 
• Real-time dashboard

Pros	Cons
Multiple options for authentication like mobile apps and email	Frustrating setup with too many settings
Great support reviews	Very unintuitive setup

Best factors to consider in choosing a WordPress 2FA plugin

WordPress 2FA plugins have many features, and it’s difficult to recognize which ones are essential. We’ll discuss the key features that enhance website security in this section.

1. Usability: Look for a plugin that’s user-friendly and easy to set up. A complicated setup process can be frustrating and feel like a waste of time. We’ve tested the plugins and have determined that some plugins like miniOrange and WP-2FA have a setup Wizard which can make the process a breeze.
2. Authentication methods: Assess the authentication methods the plugin supports. The more options, the better. Common methods include mobile apps (e.g., Google Authenticator), SMS, email, hardware tokens, and more. Choose a plugin that offers methods that align with your users’ preferences and needs. We like miniOrange for this because it is universally compatible.
3. Fallback methods: Consider what fallback methods the plugin provides. If a user loses access to their primary authentication method, backup options like backup codes or alternative authentication methods can be crucial. Look for plugins that offer more than just one method so you have multiple ways to login, in an emergency.
4. Customization: Check if the plugin allows you to customize 2FA settings to fit your security needs. Some plugins offer more flexibility in configuring the 2FA process than others. For example, WP-2FA lets you enforce 2FA on some users and not others.
5. Support team: Research the reputation and responsiveness of the plugin’s support team. Timely assistance can be invaluable if you encounter issues or have questions during setup or usage. Look for reviews about the support team.
6. Compatibility: Ensure the plugin is compatible with your WordPress version and any other plugins or themes you’re using. Compatibility issues can lead to conflicts and security vulnerabilities. Look for the plugins page on the WordPress directory to find out.
7. Updates: Check if the plugin receives regular updates. Regular updates are essential for maintaining security and compatibility with the latest WordPress versions. Abandoned plugins are more prone to vulnerabilities. Look for the date the plugin was last updated on the WP plugins directory.

Should you use a WordPress 2FA plugin?

Is a WordPress 2FA plugin enough for your WordPress site? In our experience, 2FA needs to be combined with other things to comprehensively secure your WordPress site. This is because aside from login security, there are other parts of a WordPress site that can be vulnerable. Hackers are able to hack your website by exploiting vulnerable plugins or themes. They’re also able to exploit other forms like your comment form. This is why we recommend using a security plugin like MalCare.

In our list, we’ve mentioned security plugins that do both – WordPress security and 2FA. In fact, we’ve got detailed reviews of Wordfence and iThemes that you can compare. But, in our experience, you’re looking for a security plugin that has an amazing web application firewall, malware scanner, and malware removal. In these regards (and more), MalCare has proven to be unbeatable. With MalCare and some other WordPress security measures, your site is armed and ready to fight any kind of attack.

Final thoughts

With a WordPress 2FA login, you can earn your users’ trust right off the bat. However, it isn’t enough to secure your site, unless you pair it with MalCare. MalCare brings to the table a robust firewall capable of blocking bots as well as a malware scanner and removal features, offering a diverse set of security solutions. When combined, 2FA and MalCare form an alliance that covers all your bases.

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