HubSpot (proprietary) vs WordPress (open-source): Which is more secure?

First things first: the HubSpot vs WordPress security discussion is really a conversation about proprietary vs open-source security models. In fact, it’s one of the most common concerns we hear from teams migrating off platforms like AEM or Sitecore to WordPress.

The bottom line is that WordPress is secure, both at the core and at scale. But to understand this better, let’s break this down systematically.

HubSpot: Security within a closed ecosystem

If you review HubSpot’s Trust Center, you’ll see a well-documented commitment to security, privacy, availability, and compliance. HubSpot provides:

• Tools to comply with laws and regulations like the GDPR
• Best data security practices
• Built-in monitoring, patching, and DDoS protection
• Role-based access and audit logs
• A secure-by-default experience for most users

This is exactly what you’d expect from a proprietary, SaaS-first system: HubSpot controls the infrastructure, codebase, and update cycles.

But here’s where it gets more nuanced for enterprise environments.

HubSpot’s “secure by default” only holds if you stay 100% within its native ecosystem

Most enterprise marketing stacks don’t stay neatly inside HubSpot’s native features forever. The moment you start pushing HubSpot CMS beyond its walled ecosystem, you open the same kinds of security vectors you’d manage in an open-source stack like WordPress. Here’s how.

Connect to third-party solutions that HubSpot doesn’t officially integrate with

Here, you must build custom API connectors or middleware layers that pass data in and out of HubSpot. Those APIs must be secured, authenticated, and monitored, just like any other integration in an open-source stack. You lose the benefit of the closed system because you now manage API security, error handling, and potential injection points yourself. In that sense, HubSpot becomes like WordPress, security is only as strong as your custom implementation.

Customizing functionality with third-party JavaScript

If you want advanced personalization, A/B testing, or analytics scripts that go beyond HubSpot’s built-in tools, you need to embed custom JavaScript.

A single poorly secured script can open you up to XSS, session hijacking, or data leakage, exactly the same front-end risks you’d face managing WordPress or any other CMS. 

While HubSpot does include a built-in WAF and edge security protections, you can’t configure or extend these yourself. So once you add third-party JavaScript, embed custom widgets, or rely on custom connectors, your protection depends heavily on your own secure coding and governance, just like in any open CMS. The “closed” HubSpot backend won’t automatically protect you from vulnerabilities introduced by what you add on top.

Connect to internal systems via middleware

If you want HubSpot to pull data from internal databases or push leads to your on-prem CRM, you need to likely introduce a middleware layer (maybe through a Node.js service, a serverless function, or a third-party integration hub). Again, this middleware needs its own secure hosting, authentication, and monitoring. And once again, you step outside HubSpot’s “done for you” security and enter the same security reality as WordPress: you own the data flow, so you own the risk.

Extend beyond HubSpot’s native security model

If your compliance team needs custom security hardening, say you want advanced WAF rules, special firewall configurations, or edge delivery controls, you’re limited to whatever the platform’s environment provides.

If your business requires zero-trust models, advanced containerization, or custom logging pipelines, you can’t adjust the underlying stack. You may have to bring in external tools, proxies, or third-party gateways to achieve the security layers you need, effectively layering DIY security on top of HubSpot’s closed environment. (In contrast, with WordPress, especially self-hosted or on VIP, you can shape the server and network layer to match strict policies directly.)

Need custom data residency and compliance limitations

If you’ve strict data residency requirements (for example, certain customer data must stay within the EU, or your industry requires special controls over storage locations), HubSpot may not work for you. With HubSpot, your data sits in their cloud, on their infrastructure, in the regions they operate. You can’t pick your own cloud region, deploy on your private cloud, or separate environments at the server level. 

If your compliance team needs guarantees about data sovereignty, your only workaround is to route or mask data before it enters HubSpot. That means more custom integration work and another security surface to manage. 

In contrast, with WordPress you choose your cloud provider, region, and data storage model, so you have full alignment with local laws or industry frameworks (like GDPR, HIPAA, or FedRAMP).

WordPress: Secure, open, and in your control

Let’s start at the foundation: WordPress.org.

The WordPress core software is maintained by a dedicated security team of 50+ experts, including researchers and engineers from top companies (like Automattic.) It’s routinely audited and patched with responsible disclosure policies, CVE tracking, and a predictable update cadence.

But open-source means responsibility and freedom. If you self-host WordPress on shared hosting, yes, your implementation is only as secure as the server and team behind it.

But for enterprise use, that’s not how it’s done.

When you run WordPress on WordPress VIP (or similar managed enterprise platforms), you get:

• Hardened infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure-based)
• Code review pipelines for every deploy
• WAFs, CDNs, DDoS protection, and threat monitoring built in
• 24/7 incident response and uptime SLAs
• SOC 2 Type II, FedRAMP-ready options, GDPR compliance
• Access control, SSO/SAML, audit logging

And more.

In fact, in a Forrester Total Economic Impact™ report, customers highlighted measurable cost savings on the security front. 

It’s also worth noting that organizations with some of the strictest security mandates in the world trust WordPress to power their digital properties The White House and NASA are two examples. They don’t see open source as a security weakness. On the contrary, they see it as a strength, with the transparency, flexibility, and vendor neutrality needed to meet complex compliance, auditing, and security needs.

HubSpot vs WordPress: The real security scenario

When it comes to security, HubSpot and WordPress are often misunderstood at opposite ends of the spectrum: closed and secure versus open and risky. But in reality, the line is much thinner when you look at how modern enterprise stacks actually work.

Out-of-the-box, HubSpot’s closed, proprietary infrastructure does deliver strong baseline security for the core platform, and for many small to mid-size businesses, that’s enough. But the moment your use case outgrows native HubSpot features, whether you need to plug in custom workflows, connect to internal systems, or extend functionality with third-party scripts, you move beyond that “walled garden.” Suddenly, you own the responsibility for securing APIs, middleware, data flows, and any custom code you deploy.

WordPress, on the other hand, is open by design and supports security by design and process. With the right implementation, it matches or exceeds the security posture of proprietary platforms. Why? Because you fully control the server environment, the codebase, and every integration layer. You choose your WAF, your CDN, your secrets management, and your audit tools, and you’re not limited by vendor black boxes or restricted APIs.

So, the real takeaway for security-conscious enterprises is this: It’s not about open vs. closed. It’s about how much security responsibility you own and whether your architecture gives you the transparency and control to manage that responsibility well.