Drupal vs WordPress: Which is the more secure CMS?

One of the things we hear most often in our pre-sales Drupal to WordPress migration service conversations is that “Drupal is more secure than WordPress.” It’s almost like the default perception among IT teams and stakeholders who have worked with Drupal for years.

But security isn’t about the CMS alone—it’s about implementation, governance, and ongoing maintenance. While Drupal promotes itself as the more secure option, enterprise-grade WordPress implementations—especially on platforms like WordPress VIP—are also built to meet and even exceed modern security standards.

In fact, if we had to summarize the Drupal vs WordPress comparison in the security context, we’d say WordPress—when implemented correctly—is every bit as secure as Drupal, if not more so. And for enterprises looking to move beyond Drupal’s maintenance-heavy approach to security, WordPress delivers sustainable and scalable security without any of the complexity Drupal brings. Here’s why.

Enterprise security is about the entire stack—not just the CMS

When it comes to Drupal vs WordPress security discussions, a common misconception is that Drupal is “more secure” by design, but in reality, security is about the entire stack, not just the CMS. Enterprises are not just looking at a secure CMS; they are evaluating how the entire web stack ensures security, compliance, and performance.

There are many parts to this that enterprises need to address irrespective of whether they’re using Drupal or WordPress:

1. Application security (CMS core, plugins/modules, custom code security)

• Drupal and WordPress core: Both platforms follow strict security protocols, regularly release patches, and have dedicated security teams.
• Third-party plugins and modules: Drupal’s module ecosystem is often perceived as more secure due to its review process, but WordPress plugins, when sourced from trusted providers, can be just as secure. The key challenge for both is vetting and maintaining third-party code.
• Custom code vulnerabilities: Security risks come more from custom implementations than from the CMS itself. Poorly written code, unpatched vulnerabilities, and weak authentication mechanisms are risks in both setups.

2. Infrastructure security (hosting, WAFs, DDoS protection, network security)

• A self-hosted Drupal site often requires Acquia Shield or a highly customized setup to ensure enterprise-grade security.
• A self-hosted WordPress site can be secured with Nginx/Apache hardening, Cloudflare Enterprise, AWS WAF, or other enterprise-grade security layers.
• The difference? Drupal often assumes an enterprise will build its security layer, whereas WordPress has more established out-of-the-box integrations with Cloudflare, AWS, and enterprise security providers.

3. Data security (encryption, access control, compliance)

• Both CMSs support role-based access control (RBAC), but Drupal has a more granular permissions system natively.
• WordPress, however, allows for more flexible permission management with custom roles, LDAP/SSO integrations, and enterprise authentication standards. Through customizations, you can get a comparable granular user role system in WordPress—one that matches or even surpasses Drupal’s native permissions model, all while being easier to manage and scale
• Compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) is not inherently tied to the CMS itself but rather to the broader infrastructure and operational policies. While the CMS plays a role in data handling (such as user consent management and access control), true compliance depends on:
  • Infrastructure-level security policies (e.g., encryption at rest and in transit, data masking, and secure backups)
  • Access controls and audit logs to ensure accountability and traceability
  • Regulatory-specific implementations (e.g., HIPAA-compliant hosting with Business Associate Agreements (BAAs), GDPR data residency requirements)
  • In general, both WordPress and Drupal require additional configurations—whether through managed hosting solutions or custom enterprise-grade setups—to meet compliance requirements effectively.

4. Monitoring and incident response (real-time logging, security audits)

• Drupal’s security approach is more reactive—enterprises must monitor and apply security patches manually unless using Acquia’s automated services.
• WordPress can be automated with CI/CD workflows, logging integrations (like New Relic, Splunk), and security monitoring solutions like Wordfence or WPScan.

So, which one is more secure in a self-hosted setup?

Neither Drupal nor WordPress is inherently “more secure” in a self-hosted environment—it all depends on the implementation.

However, in practice:

• Drupal’s security model is structured for teams that want a deeply controlled, custom-built security environment.
• WordPress, with the right configurations, can match and even exceed Drupal’s security posture while offering more ease of use, automation, and integration with modern security tools.

For enterprises looking to manage security without excessive overhead, WordPress offers a faster path to a secure, scalable, and well-maintained environment.

Compliance and risk management: WordPress meets the same standards

Security in enterprises is also about meeting compliance standards such as SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and ISO 27001. Drupal is often perceived as a better option for compliance-heavy industries like finance, healthcare, and government because of its flexibility in custom security configurations.

However, WordPress has caught up in this area, and modern enterprise WordPress platforms offer compliance-ready solutions:

• SOC 2 and ISO 27001: Managed hosting platforms like WordPress VIP comply with top security frameworks.
• HIPAA & healthcare: HIPAA-compliant WordPress hosting is available with enterprise providers offering encrypted databases, audit logs, and secure access control.
• FedRAMPⓇ Authority to Operate (ATO): WordPress VIP is even “authorized for use in the federal government, and proven to meet the security needs of governments of every level.” This also explains why WordPress VIP users consistently mention security when they discuss their experience with the platform.

For example, a WordPress VIP user shared: “We’re really pleased with WordPress VIP’s commitment to cybersecurity and the way that they store their data and all the various checks and balances to keep somebody from being able to get access to our site.” This feedback highlights how enterprise customers can offload a significant portion of their security management to the platform, gaining peace of mind while focusing on core business operations.

Enterprises no longer need custom security builds in Drupal to achieve compliance—WordPress now offers out-of-the-box compliance solutions that reduce cost and implementation time.

Security at scale: Auto-patching, zero-downtime updates, and SLA-backed security

A major hidden cost in enterprise Drupal vs WordPress security scenario is the ongoing maintenance burden. Enterprises running large-scale Drupal implementations must:

• Manually test and apply security patches for core and contributed modules.
• Monitor and mitigate vulnerabilities in custom codebases.
• Ensure compatibility between security patches and custom features.

If an enterprise relies on custom security modules, which it will if it uses Drupal, patching requires dedicated security teams, increasing operational overhead.

In contrast, modern WordPress enterprise hosting solutions offer zero-downtime security patching and automatic updates without breaking dependencies:

• Managed WordPress solutions handle security updates at the infrastructure level without breaking customizations.
• Auto-patching for security vulnerabilities ensures sites are updated in real-time, reducing human error.
• SLA-backed security guarantees (WordPress VIP offers a 99.9% uptime SLA) remove the burden of manual security management.

You might wonder if using a managed enterprise hosting for Drupal will take care of all these for you, like a managed service such as WordPress VIP does. It generally will, but with Acquia (Drupal’s leading managed hosting provider), the approach is different. Here’s a quick comparison: 

Security Aspect	Acquia (Drupal)	WordPress VIP
Application security	Requires custom hardening, module vetting, and frequent security updates.	Pre-hardened WordPress core, automated security updates, and threat monitoring.
Infrastructure security	Custom AWS-based infrastructure with WAF, Varnish, and Acquia Shield.	Containerized environments, auto-scaling, and real-time DDoS mitigation.
Data security and compliance	Data security and compliance often require third-party tools or additional configurations to achieve standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and FedRAMP—typically needs external solutions to fully comply with these regulations.	Provides SOC 2, FedRAMP, and GDPR compliance out of the box, with built-in features that simplify adherence to these regulatory standards without needing third-party tools.
Monitoring and threat detection	Enterprise-grade logs, analytics, and security reports, but setup is manual.	Automated security monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and 24/7 response teams.

While both platforms meet enterprise security standards, WordPress VIP’s pre-hardened security stack reduces operational complexity, making it easier for enterprises to maintain compliance.

Integration with enterprise security solutions: WordPress supports the same enterprise stack

Most large enterprises don’t rely on just CMS security—they use a stack of security and compliance tools for SSO, identity management, DDoS protection, and threat detection. The Drupal vs WordPress scenarios are comparable in this case:

• Single Sign-On (SSO): Both WordPress and Drupal support solutions like Okta, Azure AD, LDAP, and SAML authentication for enterprise-wide security.
• WAF and DDoS protection: Cloudflare, Fastly, and AWS Shield integrate with both platforms for network security.
• SIEM and logging: WordPress VIP integrates with Splunk, Datadog, and New Relic for security monitoring, just like Drupal.

But while both are comparable, enterprises often have to custom-build integrations or complex custom configurations for these with Drupal, whereas WordPress offers plug-and-play solutions with leading security providers.

Security through containerization and auto-scaling: Self-hosted vs. managed solutions

Both Drupal and WordPress rely on containerized environments (such as Kubernetes and Docker) to ensure resource isolation, prevent cross-site contamination, and maintain security in enterprise-grade deployments. However, how these security features are implemented depends on whether the solution is self-hosted or managed.

Self-hosted WordPress vs. managed WordPress solutions

For self-hosted WordPress, similar to Drupal, enterprises must manually configure auto-scaling using AWS Auto Scaling Groups, Google Kubernetes Engine, or Azure Kubernetes Service. Security isolation requires separate containers for different workloads, and failover mechanisms must be set up with external CDN or load balancer configurations.

In contrast, managed WordPress solutions like WordPress VIP handle auto-scaling automatically. These platforms provide built-in containerized environments with isolated instances, ensuring that a single compromised container does not affect the entire infrastructure. They also offer automatic failover, DDoS protection, and real-time monitoring, significantly reducing security risks without requiring manual intervention.

Self-hosted Drupal vs. Acquia (managed Drupal)

For self-hosted Drupal, enterprises need to manually set up containerized environments using Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, or OpenShift. This includes configuring network policies, container security isolation, and scaling rules to prevent vulnerabilities from spreading across instances. Load balancers and custom failover strategies must also be implemented to ensure high availability.

On the other hand, Acquia Cloud (Managed Drupal) provides built-in auto-scaling and security isolation. Acquia Cloud automatically scales resources like databases, caching layers, and APIs, ensuring security and performance under high traffic. Acquia Edge also offers DDoS protection, reducing the need for external Web Application Firewalls (WAFs).

In general, in this area, both are comparable across both self-hosted and managed solutions. 

Drupal vs WordPress in the security context: Both are secure, but in different ways

With Drupal, instead of a centralized security framework, enterprises build custom security stacks using a combination of Drupal core, contributed modules, and third-party integrations. The perception that “Drupal is more secure than WordPress” often stems from this customization-heavy approach, where enterprises control every security layer. 

However, this does not mean WordPress is inherently less secure—it simply handles security differently by offering managed solutions and standardized best practices that reduce overhead.

For WordPress, on the other hand, security relies on a core security model, enhanced by enterprise-grade plugins and managed security services offered by hosts like WordPress VIP. Enterprises can leverage pre-configured security solutions for authentication, access control, and compliance without needing complex custom development. Built-in auto-updates for security patches reduce maintenance overhead while ensuring that enterprise sites remain protected.

All that said,ftor enterprises, the right choice depends on their needs:

• Drupal is ideal for organizations that need highly customized security policies, have dedicated in-house security teams, and can afford the cost of maintaining a tailored security stack.
• WordPress is the better choice for enterprises that want pre-configured security solutions, predictable maintenance costs, and faster implementation without sacrificing compliance.

Regardless of the platform, security at enterprise scale is not just about the CMS—it’s about infrastructure, monitoring, and proactive risk management. Both Drupal and WordPress can meet high security standards, but enterprises must carefully evaluate long-term security costs, maintenance complexity, and the availability of managed security solutions before making a decision.