10 Best Password Protected Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Password Protected sits at #1 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 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 Password Protected
- 1
Password Protect Pages
Closest matchPPWP – Password Protect Pages
4.7 (270) 30,000+ active installsPassword protect WordPress pages and posts by user roles or with multiple passwords; protect your entire website with a single password.
#2 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 30,000+ installs against 300,000+, rated 4.7 against 4.4, last updated 4 days ago.
- 2
Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site
3.7 (3) 100+ active installsPassword Protect entire site & create Temporary Login Without Password links. Simple & secure access for developers or maintenance.
#10 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 100+ installs against 300,000+, last updated 24 days ago.
- 3
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content
4.2 (60) 10,000+ active installsPassword Protect Pages, Posts & Content in WordPress
#5 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 10,000+ installs against 300,000+, rated 4.2 against 4.4, last updated 4 days ago.
- 4
Kadence Security
Paid version availableKadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection
4.6 (3,990) 700,000+ active installsHarden your site security with Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Vulnerability Scanner, Firewall, and more. Formerly iThemes Security.
#4 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. About 2.3 times the installs, rated 4.6 against 4.4, last updated July 27, 2026.
- 5
4.8 (12) 30,000+ active installsProtect your uploads directory. Prevent browsing, add watermarks, disable right-click, and password-protect files. For more information, visit protect …
#3 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 30,000+ installs against 300,000+, last updated 10 days ago.
- 6
4.9 (15) 1,000+ active installsEasily password protect the child pages/posts of a post/page that is password protected.
#6 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 1,000+ installs against 300,000+, last updated February 17, 2026.
- 7
5.0 (11) 2,000+ active installsSet multiple passwords for your protected pages so you can give them to different users.
#9 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 2,000+ installs against 300,000+, last updated January 17, 2026.
- 8
5.0 (1) 200+ active installsProtect PDF files by passwords on your WordPress Website.
#7 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 200+ installs against 300,000+, last updated 25 days ago.
- 9
5.0 (1) 400+ active installsProtect your entire WordPress site with a simple password. GDPR-compliant with modal links for legal pages.
#8 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking. 400+ installs against 300,000+, last updated October 30, 2025.
- 10
Under Construction, Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode
Paid version available4.6 (46) 10,000+ active installsUnder Construction is a simple plugin for setting up Under Construction, Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode using WordPress Customizer.
Shares the maintenance mode tag on WordPress.org. 10,000+ installs against 300,000+, last updated July 16, 2026.
Password Protected against each of them
Head to head on installs, ratings, reviews and updates. Each measure names its own leader; there is no overall winner.
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Password Protected vs Password Protect Pages300,000+ vs 30,000+ installs · 4.4 vs 4.7
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Password Protected vs Password Protect300,000+ vs 100+ installs · 4.4 vs 3.7
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Password Protected vs Passster300,000+ vs 10,000+ installs · 4.4 vs 4.2
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Password Protected vs Kadence Security300,000+ vs 700,000+ installs · 4.4 vs 4.6
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Password Protected vs Protect Uploads300,000+ vs 30,000+ installs · 4.4 vs 4.8
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Password Protected vs Protect the Children!300,000+ vs 1,000+ installs · 4.4 vs 4.9
Switching from Password Protected: common questions
What is the best alternative to Password Protected?
Password Protect Pages is the closest match: it shares the Password Protection Plugins top 10 with Password Protected and has 30,000+ active installs with a 4.7 out of 5 rating.
Which Password Protected alternative has the most users?
Kadence Security, with 700,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Password Protected alternative is rated highest?
Password Protect Pages, rated 4.7 out of 5 by 270 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Password Protected 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 Password Protected 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 Password Protected 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
Password Protect Pages is the closest match to Password Protected by the data we track, and Kadence Security has the widest reach with 700,000+ active installs. Passster shipped the most recent release, on September 3, 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.