Sucuri protects websites through a cloud WAF proxy — you point your DNS to their servers. Defensia protects the actual server: SSH brute force, web exploits, malware, CVEs, and more. No DNS change, no reverse proxy, no per-site pricing. One agent, all sites, all services. If you are not sure what a WAF is, start there.
$ Create Sucuri account + purchase plan
$ Change DNS nameservers to Sucuri
# Wait for DNS propagation (up to 48h)...
# Configure WAF rules per site...
# Whitelist your server IP...
# Repeat for each additional site...
# Server itself remains unprotected
$199.99-499.99/year per site
$ curl -fsSL https://defensia.cloud/install.sh | sudo bash
✓ SSH protection active (15 patterns)
✓ Web firewall active (nginx + Apache)
✓ Malware scanner ready
✓ Dashboard connected
✓ CVE scanner running
✓ All sites protected instantly
30 seconds. Zero config files. No DNS change.
Sucuri works well as a managed website firewall. But when you need server-level protection, the gaps become apparent. Also see how Defensia compares to Cloudflare WAF and Wordfence:
Sucuri is a cloud reverse proxy that only inspects HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Your SSH, email, database, and FTP services are completely invisible to it. Defensia monitors the server directly — every service, every port, every authentication attempt.
Sucuri charges $199.99-499.99/year per site. A server hosting 10 sites costs $2,000-5,000/year with Sucuri. Defensia Pro covers the entire server — all sites, all services — for €108/year (€9/month) or €84/year billed annually.
To use Sucuri's WAF, you must change each domain's DNS records to route through their proxy. This means DNS propagation delays, added latency for every request, and a dependency on Sucuri's infrastructure. Defensia installs once on the server with no DNS changes.
Sucuri has no visibility into SSH, FTP, or other non-HTTP services. It cannot detect brute force attacks against your server's login. Defensia monitors auth logs and detects 15 SSH attack patterns in real time, banning attackers automatically.
Sucuri does not scan your server's installed packages for known vulnerabilities. Defensia scans OS-level packages against the NVD database, scores them with EPSS exploit probability, and flags CISA KEV entries — covering OpenSSH, nginx, kernel, and every installed package.
Sucuri's free offering is SiteCheck — an external website scanner that checks for known malware, blacklisting, and security headers. It cannot see server-side issues, hidden backdoors, or new threats. Defensia's free plan includes real-time SSH protection, a full dashboard, and bot detection.
Different architectures, different strengths. Here is the complete picture.
| Feature | Defensia | Sucuri |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Host-based agent | Cloud reverse proxy |
| Install time | ~30 seconds | DNS change (up to 48h) |
| DNS change required | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works on any Linux server | ✓ | Web traffic only |
| SSH brute force protection | 15 patterns | ✗ |
| Web Application Firewall | 15+ OWASP types | Cloud WAF (L7 proxy) |
| Malware scanning | 64K+ hashes + 684 patterns | Remote SiteCheck + server-side |
| Malware cleanup service | Auto-quarantine | Human team (paid plans) |
| WordPress database scanning | ✓ | ✗ |
| Security posture score | 0-100, A-F grade | ✗ |
| CVE & vulnerability scanning | OS-level (NVD + EPSS + KEV) | ✗ |
| Geoblocking (200+ countries) | ✓ | Via WAF rules |
| Bot management | 70+ fingerprints | Basic bot blocking |
| CDN included | ✗ | Anycast CDN |
| DDoS mitigation | Application-layer only | Network + application layer |
| Real-time dashboard | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-server management | ✓ | Per-site view |
| Docker native support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Kubernetes / Helm | ✓ | ✗ |
| Open source agent | MIT licensed | ✗ |
| Alerts (Slack/email/Discord) | ✓ | Email only |
| Pricing model | Per server | Per site |
| Free tier | 1 server, full dashboard | SiteCheck scanner only |
| Price | Free + €9/mo Pro | $199.99-499.99/yr per site |
Sucuri focuses on website-level protection through a cloud proxy. Defensia protects the server itself.
Defensia monitors auth logs and detects 15 SSH brute force patterns, invalid users, authentication failures, and suspicious key usage. Sucuri has zero visibility into SSH or any non-HTTP service — attackers can brute-force your server login without Sucuri ever knowing.
Defensia scans your installed OS packages against the NVD database, scores them with EPSS exploit probability, and flags CISA KEV entries. Sucuri does not scan for server-level vulnerabilities — it only checks web-facing content for known malware signatures.
Defensia charges per server, not per site. A server with 50 WordPress sites costs the same as a server with one: €9/month. With Sucuri, 50 sites would cost $9,999.50-24,999.50/year. This makes Defensia dramatically cheaper for multi-site servers.
Sucuri operates as a cloud reverse proxy. All HTTP traffic flows through their servers before reaching yours. This architecture has clear benefits — CDN, DDoS mitigation, managed cleanup — but also fundamental limitations.
Sucuri only sees HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Your server runs SSH on port 22, email on 25/587/993, databases on 3306/5432, and dozens of other services. Sucuri cannot see or protect any of them. If someone brute-forces your SSH, exploits a database vulnerability, or probes FTP — Sucuri has no visibility. Defensia monitors authentication logs, web server access logs, and system files directly on the host.
DNS-based routing adds complexity. You must change your domain's DNS records to point to Sucuri's proxy instead of your server. This means DNS propagation delays, potential downtime during migration, and a dependency on Sucuri's infrastructure for every request. Defensia installs on the server in 30 seconds with no DNS, proxy, or infrastructure changes.
Per-site pricing versus per-server pricing. A server hosting 20 WordPress sites would cost $199.99/year per site with Sucuri Basic ($3,999.80/year total). With Defensia Pro, one server is covered at $9/month regardless of how many sites it hosts. The cost difference grows dramatically as you add sites.
We believe in being honest. Here are cases where Sucuri might suit you better:
It depends on what you use Sucuri for. If you rely on Sucuri for cloud WAF and CDN, Defensia is a different architecture — it protects the server from the inside, not from a proxy. If you need server-level protection (SSH, malware scanning, CVE detection, geoblocking), Defensia covers all of that and more. Many users combine Cloudflare for CDN/DDoS with Defensia for host-level security, replacing Sucuri entirely at lower cost.
Yes, and it is a strong combination. Sucuri as a cloud proxy handles DDoS mitigation and CDN. Defensia on the server handles SSH protection, malware scanning, CVE detection, rootkit checks, and all non-HTTP services. They operate at different layers and do not conflict.
Defensia reads your nginx or Apache access logs in real time and applies 15+ OWASP detection patterns (SQL injection, XSS, path traversal, command injection, etc.). When it detects an attack, it bans the IP at the firewall level using iptables/ipset. The attack never reaches your application again. No reverse proxy, no DNS change, no added latency.
No. SiteCheck is an external scanner that checks your website from the outside — it looks at public-facing HTML for known malware signatures, blacklist status, and security headers. It cannot detect server-side backdoors, obfuscated PHP shells, or files that are not publicly accessible. Defensia scans the filesystem directly with 64,000+ hash signatures and 684 pattern-based rules, including cryptominer detection, rootkit checks, and WordPress database scanning.
Sucuri charges per site: $199.99/year (Basic) to $499.99/year (Business) per domain. 10 sites = $2,000-5,000/year. 50 sites = $10,000-25,000/year. Defensia charges per server: €9/month covers every site on that server. 10 sites on one server = €108/year. The difference is dramatic for anyone hosting multiple sites on a single server.
Ubuntu 20+, Debian 11+, CentOS 7+, RHEL 8+, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, Fedora 36+, and Amazon Linux 2023. The agent requires systemd, iptables, and root access. Sucuri works with any hosting as long as you can change DNS records.
Sources
Sucuri pricing and plans (sucuri.net/website-firewall), Sucuri SiteCheck free scanner (sitecheck.sucuri.net), Sucuri WAF documentation (docs.sucuri.net/website-firewall), GoDaddy acquisition of Sucuri (2017). Defensia agent telemetry data. All pricing and features verified April 2026.
Install Defensia in 30 seconds. Free plan includes 1 server, SSH protection, and the real-time dashboard. Open-source agent. No DNS change required.
Get Started FreeNo credit card required. Free plan includes 1 server.