10 Best AntiVirus Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
AntiVirus has 30,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 10 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 10 closest alternatives to AntiVirus
- 1
NinjaScanner
Closest matchNinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan
4.1 (35) 30,000+ active installsA lightweight, fast and powerful virus scanner for WordPress.
Shares the malware, scanner tags on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated 22 days ago.
- 2
Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall
4.7 (100) 7,000+ active installsWordPress security plugin: free 8G firewall/WAF, 50+ tests, vulnerability/core scanning, events logging, AI reports.
Shares the malware, vulnerability tags on WordPress.org. About a quarter of the installs, last updated 6 days ago.
- 3
Wordfence Security
Paid version availableWordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security
4.7 (4,992) 5 million+ active installsFirewall, Malware Scanner, Two Factor Auth, and Comprehensive Security Features, powered by our 24-hour team. Make security a priority with Wordfence.
Shares the malware, scanner tags on WordPress.org. About 167 times the installs, last updated 28 days ago.
- 4
Malcure Malware Shield — Removal, Repair, Monitor
4.4 (73) 10,000+ active installsYour WordPress site hacked? Malcure scans files AND database to find and help you remove malware casual scanners miss. Free. No bloat.
Shares the antivirus tag on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, last updated August 3, 2026.
- 5
4.9 (783) 100,000+ active installsThis Anti-Malware scanner searches for Malware, Viruses, and other security threats and vulnerabilities on your server and it helps you fix them.
Shares the scanner tag on WordPress.org. About 3.3 times the installs, last updated June 29, 2026.
- 6
4.2 (95) 8,000+ active installsIt blocks spam posts, login attempts and malicious access to the back-end requested from the specific countries, and also prevents zero-day exploit.
Shares the vulnerability tag on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, no update since January 22, 2019.
- 7
Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security
4.9 (61) 60,000+ active installsPatchstack automatically identifies and mitigates security vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins, themes, and core.
Shares the vulnerability tag on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, last updated July 28, 2026.
- 8
5.0 (20) 10,000+ active installsGet WordPress vulnerability alerts from the WPVulnerability Database API.
Shares the vulnerability tag on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, last updated 15 days ago.
- 9
NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall
4.9 (220) 100,000+ active installsA true Web Application Firewall to protect and secure WordPress.
Shares the malware tag on WordPress.org. About 3.3 times the installs, last updated 22 days ago.
- 10
4.6 (123) 100,000+ active installsFree daily vulnerability scans & WordPress security, powered by WPScan (an Automattic brand) and its 60,000+ vulnerability database. No setup needed!
Shares the malware tag on WordPress.org. About 3.3 times the installs, last updated 26 days ago.
Switching from AntiVirus: common questions
What is the best alternative to AntiVirus?
NinjaScanner is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 30,000+ active installs with a 4.1 out of 5 rating.
Which AntiVirus alternative has the most users?
Wordfence Security, with 5 million+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which AntiVirus alternative is rated highest?
Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 783 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these AntiVirus alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with AntiVirus score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against AntiVirus on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
NinjaScanner is the closest match to AntiVirus by the data we track, and Wordfence Security has the widest reach with 5 million+ active installs. Security Ninja shipped the most recent release, on September 1, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
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What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.