On the measured data here, Really Simple Security leads on more dimensions (3 vs 0). Pick WP Downgrade if one of the points where it leads is what you need.

Where Really Simple Security leads

Higher average rating: 4.9★ vs 4.8★.
More published reviews: 8,863 vs 169.
Ranks higher in Popular: #17 vs #389 of 510.

How this is generated

Built only from the WordPress Plugin Directory listing data shown on this page. AppRanks does not accept payment to influence comparisons. Read the methodology

Read each app's audit: Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) audit • WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version audit

1. Listing metadata

Field-level data

Field	Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL)	WP Downgrade \| Specific Core Version
Platforms	WordPress	WordPress
Developer	Really Simple Plugins	Reisetiger

2. Categories & rankings

Shared categories on the same row · in-category position inline

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL)

WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version

Security#2 of 666

—

3. Search rankings

Top 5 keywords · shared rankings prioritized

Keyword	Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL)	WP Downgrade \| Specific Core Version
feedback form	#115	Not ranked
form	#144	Not ranked
custom form	#627	Not ranked

5. App details

Long-form description

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL)

Easily improve site security with WordPress Hardening, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Login Protection, Vulnerability Detection and SSL certificate. Really simple, Effective and Performant WordPress Security Really Simple Security is the most lightweight and easy-to-use security plugin for WordPress. It secures your WordPress website with SSL certificate generation, including proper 301 https redirection and SSL enforcement, scanning for possible vulnerabilities, Login Protection and implementing essential WordPress hardening features. We believe that security should have the absolute minimum effect on website performance, user experience and maintainability. Therefore, Really Simple Security is: Lightweight: Every security feature is developed with a modular approach and with performance in mind. Disabled features won’t load any redundant code. Easy-to-use: 1-minute configuration with short onboarding setup. Security Features Easy SSL Migration Migrates your website to HTTPS and enforces SSL in just one click. 301 redirect via PHP or .htaccess Secure cookies Let’s Encrypt: Install an SSL Certificate if your hosting provider supports manual installation. Server Health Check: Your server configuration is every bit as important for your website security. WordPress Hardening Tweak your configuration and keep WordPress fortified and safe by tackling potential weaknesses. Prevent code execution in the uploads folder Prevent login feedback and disable user enumeration Disable XML-RPC Disable directory browsing Username restrictions (block ‘admin’ and public names) and much more.. Vulnerability Detection Get notified when plugins, themes or WP core contain vulnerabilities and need appropriate action. Login Protection Allow or enforce Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for specific user roles. Users receive a two-factor code via Email. Improve Security with Really Simple Security Pro Protect your site with all essential security features by upgrading to Really Simple Security Pro. Advanced SSL enforcement Mixed Content Scan & Fixer. Detect files that are requested over HTTP and fix them to HTTPS, both Front- and Back-end. Enable HTTP Strict Transport Security and configure your site for the HSTS Preload list. Firewall Really Simple Security Pro includes a performant and efficient WordPress firewall, to stop bots, crawlers and bad actors with IP and username blocks. 404 blocking – Blocks crawlers as they trigger unusual numbers of 404 errors. Region blocking – Only allow/block access to your site from specific regions. Automated and customisable Firewall rules. IP blocklist and allowlist. Security Headers Security headers protect your site visitors against the risk of clickjacking, cross-site-forgery attacks, stealing login credentials and malware. Independent of your Server Configuration, works on Apache, LiteSpeed, NGINX, etc. Protect your website visitors with X-XSS Protection, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, a Referrer Policy and CORS headers. Automatically generate your WordPress-tailored Content Security Policy. Vulnerability Measures When a vulnerability is detected in a plugin, theme or WordPress core you will get notified accordingly. With Vulnerability Measures, you can configure simple but effective measures to make sure that a critical vulnerability won’t remain unattended. Force update: An update process will be tried multiple times until it can be assumed development of a theme or plugin is abandoned. You will be notified during these steps. Quarantine: When a plugin or theme can’t be updated to solve a vulnerability, Really Simple Security can quarantine the plugin. Advanced Site Hardening Choose a custom login URL Automated File Permissions check and fixer Rename and randomize your database prefix Change the debug.log file location to a non-public folder Disable application passwords Control admin creation Disable HTTP methods, reducing HTTP requests Login Protection Secure your website’s login process and user accounts with powerful security measures. Two-Step verification (Email login) 2FA (two factor authentication) with TOTP Passwordless login with passkey login Enforce strong passwords and frequent password change Limit Login Attempts With Limit Login Attempts you can configure a threshold to temporarily or permanently block IP addresses or (non-existing) usernames. You can also throw a CAPTCHA after a failed login (hCaptcha or Google reCaptcha) Access Control Restrict access to your site for specific regions. Add specific IP addresses or IP ranges to the Blocklist or Allowlist. Useful Links Documentation Security Definitions Translate Really Simple Security Issues & pull requests Feature requests Love Really Simple Security? If you want to support the continuing development of this plugin, please consider buying Really Simple Security Pro, which includes some excellent security features and premium support. About Really Simple Plugins Our mission is to make complex WordPress requirements really easy. Really Simple Security is developed by Really Simple Plugins. For generating SSL certificates, Really Simple Security uses the le acme2 PHP Let’s Encrypt client library, thanks to ‘fbett’ for providing it. Vulnerability Detection uses WP Vulnerability, an open-source initiative by Javier Casares. Want to join as a collaborator? We’re on GitHub as well!

WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version

WordPress Core Downgrade/Update EN: The plugin “WP Downgrade” forces the WordPress update routine to perform the installation of a specified WordPress release. The Core Release you specify is then downloaded from wordpress.org and installed as would any regular update. You can permanently stay on a previous version of your choice or update selected. The user Gahapati describes it so much better than I can. (Thank you!) WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version has the potential for becoming one of the best-loved plugins among those, who simply cannot update to the latest WP release. In the past the latest WP release was the only offering for WP’s Automatic Update routine. This left all those behind, who have to wait with Core updates, until their plugins become compatible with newer WP releases. When this finally happens, more often than not there has already been yet another Core update. In the end a dreaded, cumbersome, time-consuming and error-prone Manual Update used to be the only way to go. With WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version this is now a thing of the past. Anyone who lags behind the latest WP release is now able to use Automatic Updates even to lower WP versions. What WP Downgrade does simply is to make WP believe that the version you want to update to actually is the latest version. Because of this, there is no difference to updating to the latest version. For security reasons I think this is a must-have plugin for anyone running a “seasoned” WP installation, and it actually should be a Core feature to be able to update not to the latest WP release exclusively but instead to have a choice among secure releases. New advanced option: You are now able to manually edit the download link, if necessary. This allows, for example, a change of language for wp-core. Or you can get the release from another source. DE: Das Plugin “WP Downgrade” zwingt die WordPress-interne Update-Funktion, ein bestimmtes WordPress-Release zu installieren. Das definierte Core-Release wird wie ein reguläres Update von wordpress.org bezogen und direkt installiert. Das klappt wie gewohnt per Update-Button im Admin-Bereich oder per Auto-Update. Die Versionsnummer kann sowohl höher als auch niedriger sein als die aktuell installierte Version. Somit ist also auch ein Rollback auf frühere Releases möglich. Dein WordPress wird solange auf dieser Version bleiben, bis du eine neue Versionsnummer in WP-Downgrade hinterlegst (oder bis du die Versionsnummer leerst oder das Plugin deaktivierst). Achtung: Nutzung auf eigene Gefahr! WP-Downgrade funktioniert normalerweise prima. Trotzdem ist ein Versionswechsel immer ein riskanter Eingriff! Du solltest auf jeden Fall vorher ein Backup deiner Dateien und der Datenbank anlegen! Ich übernehme keinerlei Gewähr für deine Installation und werde auch keinen Support leisten. Plugin hilfreich? Sag Danke! Ich stelle das Plugin kostenlos zur Verfügung, freue mich aber sehr über Spenden oder einen Link auf meinen Reiseblog https://www.reisetiger.net! 🙂 Bitte bewerte WP Downgrade, wenn es für dich nützlich ist!

Frequently asked

Common questions about this comparison

Which has better reviews, Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) or WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version?

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) has the higher average rating (4.9★ from 8,863 reviews) compared to WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version (4.8★ from 169 reviews). Both are tracked daily by AppRanks, so the figures here update each refresh cycle.

Should I choose Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) or WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version?

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) holds the higher average rating (4.9★ vs 4.8★). That is the one dimension AppRanks can separate them on here — read both apps' detail pages for the feature breakdown and recent listing changes.

Which is faster to set up, Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) or WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version?

Both apps are one-click installs from the WordPress Plugin Directory. AppRanks doesn't measure setup time directly; Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) has more published reviews to read for user-reported install experience (8,863 vs 169).

Which works better for small vs large WordPress Plugin Directory site owners?

AppRanks cannot say which fits a larger or smaller operation — there is no store-size measurement in the WordPress Plugin Directory data. What it can show: Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) has 8,863 published reviews; WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version has 169 published reviews. Compare plan limits and pricing tiers against your own volume.

Can I migrate data between Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) and WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version?

Migration support varies by app and category. Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) and WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version both publish their export options on their marketplace listing pages (or in their support docs); some apps offer one-click import from competitors, others require CSV. The fastest check: search "import from WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version" in each app's help center. AppRanks does not track migration tooling directly — this is a category-specific capability worth verifying before commitment.

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) vs WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version