BadgerScan vs Sucuri SiteCheck: Two Honest Tools for Different Jobs
Sucuri SiteCheck answers one question fast: does my public page look infected or blacklisted right now. BadgerScan answers a wider one: how exposed am I, inside and out, and what do I fix first. Here is where each fits, with no spin.
By Nathan Cross, Co-Founder, Network & Security Engineering·
The short version
Both of these are useful, and they are not really competing for the same job. Sucuri SiteCheck is a free remote scanner: you type in your address and it reads what your site shows the public, looking for signs of compromise. BadgerScan also scans you from the outside for free, then adds a read-only look from the inside and fuses the two into one grade and one fix-list.
If you just want a fast read on whether your site is currently infected or blacklisted, SiteCheck is an excellent first move. If you want the full inside-and-outside picture of how exposed you are, and a local team that can help you fix it, that is what BadgerScan is built for. The rest of this article explains exactly what each one can and cannot see, so you can pick honestly.
What Sucuri SiteCheck does well
SiteCheck is a free, remote (external) scanner. It visits your site the same way an anonymous visitor or an attacker first would, with no login required. It checks for known malware and injected spam, whether your domain has been blacklisted by the major security authorities, visible defacements, and out-of-date software it can detect from the public page (Sucuri SiteCheck). It is instant and needs zero access to your server.
That makes it a great answer to one specific, urgent question: does my site look compromised or blacklisted right now. If a customer says your homepage is throwing a warning, or you suspect spammy content has been injected, a remote scan gives you a fast read before you start digging. For that fast malware and blacklist check, it is one of the best-known free tools there is, and we genuinely recommend it for that purpose.
What a remote-only scan cannot see
The limit is built into the word remote. Because SiteCheck has no login to your server, it cannot see server-side malware that never renders on the public page, the exact version of every plugin and theme you actually have installed, or your admin and configuration settings. It infers what it can from the outside, and Sucuri is honest that a remote scan is a best-effort view, not a guarantee a site is clean.
This matters because of where WordPress risk actually lives. Plugins account for roughly 96% of WordPress vulnerabilities (Patchstack), and the most dangerous case is the plugin you installed years ago that is now quietly abandoned and exploitable. A remote scan often cannot tell that a specific plugin is two versions behind, removed from the directory, or no longer maintained, because that fact lives inside your site, not on the page. So a clean remote result is reassuring, but it is not the same as knowing the inside is sound. We walk through this gap in detail in inside versus outside website security scans.
Where BadgerScan adds the other half
BadgerScan starts from the same place: a free external scan, no login, of your public attack surface. It reads your DNS, email security (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC), your TLS certificate, HTTP security headers, exposed files, and known CVEs for versions it can detect from outside. On its own, that is already a broader outside view than a malware-and-blacklist check.
The difference is the read-only Pro plugin, which scans from the inside for the exact plugin, theme, and core versions, abandoned or removed plugins, admin and configuration risks, and file integrity. The external and internal halves then fuse into one plain-English letter grade and one deduplicated fix-list, so you are not left reconciling two reports that do not talk to each other. The combined view is the point: an abandoned plugin (an inside fact) is far more dangerous on a domain that also has no email authentication and leaks files (outside facts).
One honest distinction: assessing is not blocking
It is worth being precise about what BadgerScan is not. The Pro plugin is read-only. It assesses, grades, and tells you what to fix. It is not a firewall and does not block traffic in real time. SiteCheck does not block traffic either, so on that point they are alike, but if active blocking is what you are after, that is a different category of tool (a web application firewall or a security plugin like Wordfence) and we will say so plainly rather than imply protection we do not provide.
Where BadgerScan goes further than a remote scan is the combined inside-and-outside picture, and what happens after the scan. Because CyberBadger is a local Hamilton and Burlington team, a human can do the actual fixing, not just hand you a list. If you would rather start with a self-guided walkthrough, the WordPress security guide covers the same ground at your own pace.
How to choose between them
Reach for Sucuri SiteCheck when you need a fast, free answer to am I infected or blacklisted right now. It is purpose-built for that, requires nothing from you, and gives you a quick external read in seconds. It is a sensible first check any time you suspect a live compromise.
Reach for BadgerScan when you want the complete picture: not just whether the public page looks clean today, but how exposed you are inside and out, which plugins are abandoned, where your DNS and email and headers are weak, and what to fix first, as one grade and one ordered list. If you want a second opinion on free tools generally, our free WordPress security scanner comparison lays out remote scanners, plugins, and the combined approach side by side. The honest summary: use SiteCheck for the fast infection check, use BadgerScan for the full assessment and the help fixing it. You can run a free external scan right now to see where you stand.
See the full picture, not just the public page
Run a free BadgerScan external scan to check your public attack surface in seconds, no login. Add the read-only Pro plugin to scan the inside too, and get one combined letter grade with a clear, deduplicated fix-list. Based in Hamilton and Burlington, our team can help you act on it.
Run a free security scanFrequently asked questions
Is BadgerScan a replacement for Sucuri SiteCheck?
Not exactly, because they answer different questions. SiteCheck is a fast remote check for known malware and blacklisting on your public page. BadgerScan scans you from the outside too, but adds a read-only internal scan and combines both into one grade and fix-list. Use SiteCheck for a quick am-I-infected read, and BadgerScan when you want the full inside-and-outside assessment.
Can Sucuri SiteCheck see inside my WordPress site?
No. SiteCheck is a remote scanner with no login to your server, so it reads only what the public can see. It cannot confirm the exact versions of every plugin and theme installed, whether a plugin is abandoned, or your admin configuration. To see those, you need an authenticated check from the inside, such as BadgerScan's read-only Pro plugin.
Does BadgerScan block attacks like a firewall?
No. The BadgerScan Pro plugin is read-only. It assesses and grades your site and lists what to fix, but it does not block traffic or run a firewall. SiteCheck does not block traffic either. If you specifically want active, real-time blocking, that is a separate category of tool such as a web application firewall or a security plugin like Wordfence.
Which should I run first if I think my site is hacked?
For a fast read on a suspected live infection, a remote scanner like Sucuri SiteCheck is a good first move because it checks for visible malware and blacklisting in seconds. Then, because server-side issues may not show on the public page, follow up with an inside-and-outside assessment. If you confirm a compromise, our hacked-site recovery checklist walks through the cleanup steps in order.