# Wordfence vs Sucuri vs hiring a security expert: which fits your website

> Wordfence vs Sucuri vs a local agency vs a security expert: what each one checks, whether it cleans a hacked site, PrestaShop support and price, with sources.

URL: https://webintacta.com/en/compare
Language: English (Spanish version: see the hreflang alternate of the HTML page)
Last updated: 2026-10-24

**In short:** Wordfence and the other security plugins watch WordPress from the inside, but they do not update anything for you, do not clean up a hack in their free versions and do not exist for PrestaShop. An international service like Sucuri includes unlimited cleanups for an annual fee, and a local agency fits if you also need design or development. WebIntacta (Jose Soriano) fits if you run PrestaShop, WordPress or WooCommerce and want published prices, one person handling your case and a report the owner can understand; it does not if you need a guaranteed response time or a pentest.


## What each option offers

| Criterion | Security plugin (Wordfence (free, Care or Response), Kadence Security, Sucuri's free plugin) | International cleanup service (Sucuri Website Security Platform) | Local agency or freelancer (The one that built your website, or another one near you) | One expert: WebIntacta (Jose Soriano, in Ibi (Alicante, Spain)) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Language | English, with the interface translated into other languages (Wordfence and Kadence Security, per WordPress.org). | English. | Your local language. | English (by email and chat) and Spanish, always with the same person. |
| Platform | WordPress only: they are WordPress plugins and do not work on PrestaShop. | Any CMS: Sucuri says it serves every CMS and hosting provider. | Depends on the agency. For PrestaShop there are fewer offers with a published price than for WordPress. | WordPress, WooCommerce and PrestaShop (1.6 to 9), with every service. Joomla, Drupal and Magento: report at a published price and cleanup with a fixed quote. Shopify and custom websites: review with a quote. |
| What it checks | From inside WordPress. Wordfence free: firewall, malware scanner and two-factor authentication, with rules and signatures 30 days later than Premium. Kadence Security free: known vulnerabilities four times a day, brute force and 2FA. | Remote malware scanning from every 12 hours (Basic plan) to every 30 minutes (Business), and a cloud firewall as a product of its own. | Whatever the contract says: from updates only to a full review. | From the outside (free scan) and from the inside with a [read-only connector](https://webintacta.com/en/read-only-connector): core file by file, malware, modules or plugins with published vulnerabilities, users, database and, in stores, the checkout. |
| Cleanup included | Not in the free versions. Wordfence Care and Wordfence Response, paid services, include help with hacked sites. | Yes: unlimited manual cleanups on every Platform plan. | Usually as separate work; some expensive maintenance plans include it. | Fixed-price cleanup (€219 WordPress, €349 store) with a 90-day guarantee. On the maintenance plans, included from the third month after signing up. |
| Report for the owner | Alerts and a dashboard inside WordPress, aimed at whoever runs the website. | The service's dashboard and 24-hour ticket support, according to its plans page. | Varies. | A plain-language PDF with a score, a prioritized action plan and evidence for the technician, which we then go through together by email or chat. After a cleanup, a report of what was there and what was changed. |
| Typical price | Free in the basic version (Wordfence, Kadence Security). Paid plans and the Care and Response services vary: check the price on their website. | Platform Basic US$229, Pro US$339 and Business US$549 per year per site. | Varies: many quote case by case. | Free scan; security report €129 for a website or €169 for a store; maintenance €35/month or €69/month. Prices excluding VAT. |
| Best fit for | Small WordPress sites where someone updates every week and reads the alerts. | Websites on any CMS that want an annual subscription with unlimited cleanups and published cleanup times. | If the agency that built your website is responsive, or if besides security you need design, development or marketing. | Small businesses and stores on PrestaShop, WordPress or WooCommerce, anywhere, that want published prices, one person handling their case and a report the owner can understand. |

Third-party data checked on their official pages on 2026-10-08; it may change.

## When WebIntacta is not the right choice

- **You need a response time guaranteed by contract, or 24-hour on-call cover.** I work alone and do not promise it: priority, an add-on to the cleanup, means your case jumps the queue. Sucuri publishes cleanup times per plan, and Wordfence Response a one-hour response.
- **You need a pentest**, a manual penetration test with a scope agreed in writing. It is a different kind of job and I do not do it.
- **You need design, a new website or marketing campaigns.** I do not do that: my job is to keep the website you already have updated, clean and monitored.
- **You have a simple WordPress site and time to look after it.** A well-configured free plugin, two-factor authentication and weekly updates may be enough; I explain it in [which security plugin to choose](https://webintacta.com/en/guides/best-wordpress-security-plugin).
- **You prefer a team of several people**, or one provider that covers everything (hosting, cloud firewall and cleanup) in a single subscription.

## Frequently asked questions

### Wordfence or Sucuri: which one should I choose?

They do different jobs. Wordfence is a WordPress plugin that watches from inside the site, and its free version does not clean up a hack (Wordfence Care and Response, paid services, do). Sucuri is an annual subscription for any CMS with a cloud firewall, remote scanning and unlimited manual cleanups.

### Can a security plugin replace a service like WebIntacta?

On a small, well-kept WordPress site, sometimes yes. A plugin does not update anything for you, does not stop someone who logs in with a stolen password and does not tell you how they got in; and it does not exist for PrestaShop. I go into detail in [which security plugin to choose](https://webintacta.com/en/guides/best-wordpress-security-plugin).

### Why not just sign up for Sucuri?

If an annual subscription with unlimited cleanups and published cleanup times is enough for you, it is a solid option. WebIntacta fits better if you want one person handling your case from start to finish, a PrestaShop store checked by someone who works with it every day and a report the owner can understand.

### What is the best way to clean a hacked website?

Remove the malware from both files and database, delete the access the attacker left behind and close the hole they came in through; otherwise it comes back. A free plugin will not do it for you; Sucuri, Wordfence Care or Response, an agency or an expert like me can. The steps, in [recover a hacked website](https://webintacta.com/en/guides/recover-hacked-website); my service, in [hacked website repair](https://webintacta.com/en/hacked-website-repair).

### Are the third-party prices up to date?

I checked them on their official pages on October 8, 2026 and they may change; the links are in the sources. Mine come from the [pricing](https://webintacta.com/en/pricing) page, excluding VAT.

## Sources

- [Sucuri: Website Security Platform and Firewall plans](https://sucuri.net/website-security-platform/signup/)
- [Wordfence on WordPress.org (features of the free version, Care and Response)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/)
- [Kadence Security (formerly Solid Security and iThemes Security) on WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-wp-security/)