MainWP Child vs Wordfence Security
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | MainWP Child v6.3 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 5.0/5 Visit Details | Wordfence Security v9.0.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 700,000+ | 5M+ |
| Last updated | October 13, 2026 | September 30, 2026 |
| Editions | MainWP Child | Wordfence Security · Wordfence Premium ($) |
| Pros | Manage many sites from one self-hosted dashboard; Updates, plugins, themes and backups managed remotely; Vulnerability checks through Patchstack; Changes log module for auditing edits | Firewall, malware scanner, 2FA and passkey login in the free version; Scanner checks core, theme and plugin files against WordPress.org; Dashboard for scan results, blocking and login settings |
| Cons | Needs a self-hosted MainWP Dashboard to be useful; Opens a remote management channel on every connected site; Cloudflare cache purge needs API credentials | Free version receives firewall and malware signature updates 30 days late; Audit log and real-time threat updates need Premium; Scans and firewall add work on the server |
| Mentioned in our posts | — | 3 |
| Features (Security plugins checklist) | ||
| Firewall | — | Yes |
| Malware scan | — | Yes |
| Login protection | — | Yes |
| Two-factor login | — | Yes |
| Activity log | — | Paid |
| Free version | — | Yes |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Secure connection to the MainWP Dashboard, Bulk settings push from the dashboard, Remote cache purge, including Cloudflare, Plugin vulnerability monitoring through Patchstack, Changes log module, Theme check requests | Real-time malware signature and scan frequency options ($), Passkey sign-in, Security audit log ($), WooCommerce customer registration filter |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | Yoast SEO | — |
| Other | Patchstack, Cloudflare, Sucuri SiteCheck | — |
| Requires WordPress | 6.2 | 4.7 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Tested up to | 7.1.3 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | api.patchstack.com, sitecheck.sucuri.net, api.cloudflare.com | noc1.wordfence.com, noc3.wordfence.com, www.wordfence.com, noc4.wordfence.com |