Wordfence Security vs WP Activity Log
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Wordfence Security v9.0.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details | WP Activity Log v5.6.8 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 5M+ | 300,000+ |
| Last updated | September 30, 2026 | October 20, 2026 |
| Editions | Wordfence Security · Wordfence Premium ($) | WP Activity Log · WP Activity Log Premium ($) |
| Pros | 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 | Full event log of user and site changes in the free edition; Retention settings and a dashboard widget for recent critical activity; Covers WooCommerce, Yoast, LearnDash, bbPress and WPForms events |
| Cons | 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 | Logs attacks but does not block them; Alerts, SMS, Slack, log mirroring and exports need the Premium edition |
| Mentioned in our posts | 3 | — |
| Features (Security plugins checklist) | ||
| Firewall | Yes | No |
| Malware scan | Yes | No |
| Login protection | Yes | No |
| Two-factor login | Yes | No |
| Activity log | Paid | Yes |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Real-time malware signature and scan frequency options ($), Passkey sign-in, Security audit log ($), WooCommerce customer registration filter | Sensors record user, content, plugin and theme events, Configurable log retention, Dashboard widget for recent critical activity, Limit who can view the log by user or role, Enable or disable individual event IDs, IP address lookup through WhatIsMyIpAddress.com, Email, SMS and Slack alerts (Premium) ($), Mirror the log to Syslog or Papertrail (Premium) ($), User session management (Premium) ($), Export the log to CSV or HTML (Premium) ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | — | Yoast SEO, LearnDash, bbPress, WPForms |
| Other | — | Freemius, EDD licence store ($), Twilio ($), Slack ($) |
| Requires WordPress | 4.7 | 5.5 |
| Requires PHP | 7.0 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1.3 |
| Phones home | No | Only if you agree |
| External services | noc1.wordfence.com, noc3.wordfence.com, www.wordfence.com, noc4.wordfence.com | proxytron.wpwhitesecurity.com, plugins.svn.wordpress.org, api.twilio.com |