Pressfort vs Wordfence
A Wordfence alternative with hack repair included.
Wordfence is one of the best-known security plugins for WordPress, and the free version does a lot. The real question is what happens when it finds a problem, and who deals with it.
The short answer
Wordfence is an excellent tool if you're happy to run it yourself. Clean-ups by a person only come with its Care and Response plans, at $590 and $1,250 a year. Pressfort includes clean-ups, staging-tested updates and 90-day backups in one price, and sets it all up for you.
Side by side
Feature by feature
What you get with Pressfort and with Wordfence. "Costs extra" means it's on a higher plan or sold separately.
| Feature | Pressfort | Wordfence |
|---|---|---|
| Hack and malware clean-up included | YesTwo clean-ups a year by a WordPress developer | Costs extraCare ($590 a year) and Response ($1,250 a year) only |
| Set up and looked after for you | YesSwitched on, configured and watched for you | Costs extraInstalled and configured for you on Care and Response |
| Updates tested on a staging site first | YesBackup first, tested on staging, then pushed live | NoFlags out-of-date plugins, but doesn't run updates |
| Firewall | YesBuilt for WordPress, with geo-blocking | YesRuns on your server. Free gets new rules 30 days later |
| Virtual patching | YesCovers known flaws until the real fix is installed | YesFirewall rules for new flaws, in real time on paid plans |
| Malware scanning | YesAI-powered, runs automatically | YesReal-time signatures on paid plans, 30 days behind on Free |
| Vulnerability alerts | YesPlugins and themes checked against known flaws | YesScans check for known vulnerabilities |
| Uptime monitoring | YesRound-the-clock checks | NoNot offered |
| Activity log | Yes7 days of history | Costs extraFrom Premium: 30 days, up to a year on Response |
| Daily backups | YesOff-site, kept for 90 days | NoNot offered. You'd need a separate backup tool |
| Scheduled reports | YesPlain-English reports by email | YesEmail summaries of scans and blocked attacks |
Wordfence details checked on 1 October 2026. See sources.
Where Wordfence is strong
Wordfence is one of the most widely used security plugins for WordPress, and it has earned that. Its firewall runs on your own server and understands WordPress, so it can block attacks aimed at specific plugin flaws, not just generic bad traffic. Its scanner checks core files, themes and plugins against a large library of known malware, and flags anything with a known vulnerability.
The Wordfence team also publishes a lot of research into WordPress vulnerabilities, which the whole community benefits from. If you’re technical and like being hands-on, the plugin gives you a great deal of control over how your site is protected.
At the top end, Wordfence Response offers something few others do: an incident response team on call around the clock, with a one-hour response time. For a large online shop where every hour offline costs real money, that can be worth $1,250 a year.
Where Pressfort is different
The fix is included. With Wordfence Free and Premium, the plugin tells you about a problem and the rest is down to you. Clean-ups by a person start with Wordfence Care at $590 a year. Pressfort includes two clean-ups a year by a WordPress developer in its standard price.
It’s set up and watched for you. Wordfence has a lot of settings, which is great if you know what each one does. With Pressfort there’s nothing to configure. Protection is switched on for you, and we’re alerted when something needs attention.
It covers more than security. Most successful attacks use a known weakness, usually an out-of-date plugin. And plenty of outages start with an update that breaks something. Pressfort takes a backup, tests updates on a staging copy, then pushes them live. It also keeps 90 days of off-site backups and checks your uptime around the clock. Wordfence doesn’t do any of these, so you’d need other tools alongside it.
Where Wordfence goes further. Its audit log keeps 30 days of history on Premium and up to a year on Response, against 7 days on Pressfort. And if you need a guaranteed one-hour response at 3am, Wordfence Response offers exactly that.
Switching from Wordfence
Buy Pressfort, download the Pressfort plugin from your account and activate it on your site. Once your site shows as protected, deactivate Wordfence so the two firewalls don’t overlap. You won’t need your Wordfence settings: Pressfort’s protection is configured for you.
What it costs
The price, with a clean-up included
| Plan | Price | Sites | Hack clean-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| PressfortEvery feature, set up for you | $659 a year | 1 site | Included, two a year |
| Wordfence FreeFirewall rules and malware signatures arrive 30 days after paid plans | $0 | Any number of sites | Not included |
| Wordfence PremiumReal-time rules and signatures, country blocking, 30-day audit log | $149 a year | 1 site | Not included |
| Wordfence CareHands-on help from a Wordfence analyst and a yearly security audit | $590 a year | 1 site | Included |
| Wordfence Response24/7 incident response with a 1-hour response time | $1,250 a year | 1 site | Included |
Wordfence Free and Premium cost less than Pressfort, but neither includes a clean-up, backups or updates, so you'd be paying for those separately if you needed them. The closest like-for-like plan is Wordfence Care at $590 a year. It includes clean-ups and a yearly audit, but not updates, backups or uptime monitoring.
Wordfence prices and features as published on Wordfence's own website, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars before tax and may change.
Wordfence is a trademark of its owner. Pressfort isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Wordfence.
Which to choose
Pressfort or Wordfence?
Choose Wordfence if
- You're comfortable configuring a security plugin and acting on its alerts
- You can clean up a hacked site yourself, or already have a developer who will
- You want a free option and can live with rules that arrive 30 days later
- You need a 1-hour response around the clock and Wordfence Response fits your budget
Choose Pressfort if
- You'd rather not set up or watch a security plugin yourself
- You want hack clean-up included without paying for Care or Response
- You want staging-tested updates, 90-day backups and uptime checks in the same price
- You'd like plain-English reports you can forward to a client or manager
Is Wordfence free good enough?
For a lot of sites it's a solid start. The firewall and scanner are capable, but free users get new firewall rules and malware signatures 30 days after paying customers, and there's no help if your site is hacked. If your site matters to your business, those are the two gaps to weigh up.
Does Wordfence Premium include malware removal?
No. Premium gives you real-time rules and signatures, country blocking and ticket support. Malware removal and incident response come with Wordfence Care ($590 a year) and Wordfence Response ($1,250 a year).
How is Pressfort's hack repair different from Wordfence Care?
Both include clean-ups by a person. Wordfence Care adds a yearly security audit and help configuring Wordfence. Pressfort includes two clean-ups a year, and also runs your updates on a staging copy first, keeps 90 days of off-site backups and monitors your uptime. Wordfence doesn't offer those.
Can I run Wordfence and Pressfort together?
We don't recommend running two firewalls or two malware scanners on one site. They can get in each other's way and slow things down. Pressfort covers the firewall and malware scanning, so you can deactivate Wordfence once your site shows as protected.
What if my site is already hacked?
Tell us before you buy, using the free security check form. An infection that was there before Pressfort was installed isn't covered by the included clean-ups. We'll try an automatic clean-up for free, and if that doesn't clear it we'll quote to finish the job by hand, or refund you in full.
Not sure yet?
Find out how exposed your site is.
Send us your site address and get a free, plain-English report of what we find. We check from the outside, so there are no logins to hand over and nothing to install.
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