Shield Security vs Wordfence Security
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Shield Security v22.2.6 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.8/5 Visit Details | Wordfence Security v9.0.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 30,000+ | 5M+ |
| Last updated | October 5, 2026 | September 30, 2026 |
| Editions | Shield Security · ShieldPRO ($) | Wordfence Security · Wordfence Premium ($) |
| Pros | Blocks bots and brute-force logins without much setup; Email and hardware two-factor login in the free edition; Activity log and WordPress file scanning in the free edition | 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 | Off-site backups, passkeys and AI malware scanning need ShieldPRO; Many options, so the settings screens take time to learn | 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 | 2 | 3 |
| Features (Security plugins checklist) | ||
| Firewall | Yes | Yes |
| Malware scan | Yes | Yes |
| Login protection | Yes | Yes |
| Two-factor login | Yes | Yes |
| Activity log | Yes | Paid |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Scores visitors and blocks repeat offenders, Brute-force login limits with cooldown, silentCAPTCHA on the comment form, Email two-factor login, WordPress file scanner, ShieldBACKUPS off-site backups (ShieldPRO) ($), Passkey login (ShieldPRO) ($), AI-based malware scanner (ShieldPRO) ($), White label controls (ShieldPRO) ($) | Real-time malware signature and scan frequency options ($), Passkey sign-in, Security audit log ($), WooCommerce customer registration filter |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | — | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | MainWP ($) | — |
| Other | CrowdSec, Yubico YubiKey verification, Shield Net API | — |
| Requires WordPress | 5.7 | 4.7 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | No |
| External services | net.getshieldsecurity.com, api.yubico.com, api.crowdsec.net, api.aptoweb.com | noc1.wordfence.com, noc3.wordfence.com, www.wordfence.com, noc4.wordfence.com |
| Shortcodes | 1 | — |