ModSecurity vs Sucuri
A detailed comparison to help you choose between ModSecurity and Sucuri.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
ModSecurity
250 reviews
5.0/5
Sucuri
261 reviews
Sucuri is rated higher (5.0 vs 4.0). ModSecurity is a free WAF engine that detects and blocks malicious HTTP requests. Operates as a module for major web servers to protect against OWASP Top 10 attacks and custom threats. Sucuri provides website firewall (cloud proxy WAF), DDoS protection, CDN, and website malware cleanup services. Popular for WordPress sites and small businesses needing website security.
ModSecurity Open-source web application firewall for Apache, Nginx, and IIS | Sucuri Website firewall and malware cleanup service | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (250 reviews) | 5.0 (261 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | free | paid |
| Starting price | Free✓ | From €20/mo |
| Best for | DevOps teams and system administrators running self-managed web servers who need application-layer protection without managed WAF costs. | WordPress site owners who want a WAF plus professional malware cleanup if they get hacked |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen sourceself hostable | ddos protectioneu datacenterus datacenter |
| Visit ModSecurity → | Visit Sucuri → | |
ModSecurity
Pros
- + Deploy on-premises with full control and visibility
- + Use industry-standard OWASP Core Rule Set or create custom rules
- + Inspect request/response payloads, headers, and cookies in real-time
- + Free and open-source with active community support
Cons
- - Requires server-level integration and maintenance expertise
- - Rule tuning needed to avoid false positives in production
- - No built-in DDoS rate-limiting or volumetric attack mitigation
Sucuri
Pros
- + Includes malware cleanup service
- + WordPress-focused with good plugin integration
- + DDoS protection included
Cons
- - Slower CDN than Cloudflare
- - Not free — from $20/month
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