Your WordPress site is hacked. Now what? The first question most site owners ask is: "How much will this cost to fix?"
Here's an honest breakdown — no scare tactics, no upselling.
The 4 Levels of WordPress Malware Cleanup
Level 1: DIY with a Security Plugin (Free – $99/year)
Best for: Technical site owners, developers, single-site infections
What you do:
- Install a security plugin with malware scanning (WO Security Shield, Wordfence, etc.)
- Run a scan to identify infected files
- Review findings, delete/quarantine malicious files
- Replace modified core and plugin files with clean versions
- Change all passwords and enable 2FA
- Harden the site to prevent reinfection
Cost: Free (with free plugin features) to $99/year (with premium scanning)
Pros: No waiting, you learn your own site's security, ongoing protection included
Cons: Requires comfort with WordPress file structure, risk of missing deeply hidden backdoors
Time required: 2–8 hours depending on infection severity
Level 2: Automated Cleanup Service ($50–$150 one-time)
Best for: Non-technical site owners with standard infections
Services like Sucuri SiteCheck, MalCare, and WO Security Shield's scan + fix:
- Run an automated deep scan
- Identify and remove known malware patterns
- Replace modified files automatically
- Basic hardening applied
Cost: $50–$150 per cleanup, often bundled with a year of monitoring
Pros: Fast (often same-day), no technical knowledge needed
Cons: May miss custom or targeted malware, limited manual review
Level 3: Professional Manual Cleanup ($150–$500)
Best for: Business sites, e-commerce stores, complex infections
A security specialist manually reviews your site:
- Full file-by-file analysis
- Database inspection for injected content
- Server log review to identify the entry point
- Custom backdoor detection (not just signature matching)
- .htaccess and wp-config.php audit
- Written report of findings and remediation steps
Cost: $150–$500 depending on site complexity and infection severity
Typical pricing factors:
| Factor | Impact on price |
|---|---|
| Number of WordPress installations | +$50–100 per additional site |
| WooCommerce / payment processing | +$50–100 (requires PCI-aware cleanup) |
| Multisite network | +$100–200 |
| Server-level compromise | +$100–300 |
| Rush / same-day turnaround | +$50–100 |
Pros: Thorough, catches custom backdoors, identifies root cause
Cons: Takes 1–3 days, requires sharing access credentials
Level 4: Agency Retainer ($200–$1,000/month)
Best for: Sites that can't afford any downtime, multi-site portfolios
Includes:
- 24/7 monitoring
- Immediate incident response
- Regular security audits
- Proactive patching and updates
- Dedicated security contact
Cost: $200–$1,000/month depending on SLA and number of sites
What You're Actually Paying For
The cleanup itself is usually the cheapest part. Here's where the real value lies:
1. Finding the Entry Point
Removing malware without finding how the attacker got in is pointless. They'll be back within days. A good cleanup includes root cause analysis.
2. Ensuring Complete Removal
Attackers plant multiple backdoors specifically so that if you find and remove one, the others remain. Professional cleanup includes checking for:
- Secondary backdoor files
- Database-level persistence (injected cron jobs, rogue users)
- Modified legitimate files (not just added files)
- Persistence in WordPress transients and options
3. Post-Cleanup Hardening
After cleanup, your site should be harder to attack than before:
- Updated WordPress, plugins, and themes
- Strong passwords + 2FA enabled
- Firewall configured
- File permissions corrected
- Unnecessary plugins removed
- Security headers added
4. Monitoring
Most reputable cleanup services include 30–90 days of monitoring after cleanup. This catches reinfection attempts and confirms the cleanup was complete.
Red Flags in Cleanup Services
Watch out for:
- "Lifetime protection for $49" — if it sounds too cheap, the cleanup is automated and shallow
- Hourly billing with no estimate — you should get a fixed price before work starts
- Required annual subscription — cleanup should be available as a one-time service
- No root cause analysis — if they don't tell you how you got hacked, you'll get hacked again
- Pressure to buy hosting migration — sometimes necessary, but shouldn't be the default recommendation
Our Approach at WO Security Shield
We offer a free security scan — if your site is clean, you pay nothing.
If we find issues:
- Fixed-price quote before any work begins
- Same-day response for most requests
- 30-day guarantee — if the same malware returns, we re-clean at no cost
- Written report documenting every finding and every action taken
No subscription required for cleanup. Optional ongoing monitoring through the WO Security Shield plugin.
Pricing data current as of April 2026. Based on market research across 30+ WordPress security service providers.