Defiant
Defiant Inc. is a bootstrapped, founder-owned cybersecurity company that builds Wordfence, the leading firewall and malware scanner for WordPress protecting 5M+ sites, alongside Wordfence for Business enterprise services, incident response, and the Fast or Slow performance profiling tool.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Defiant does
Defiant Inc., founded in 2012 by Mark Maunder and Kerry Boyte in Seattle, is a bootstrapped cybersecurity and website performance technology company operating under the corporate name Defiant Inc. with its flagship product Wordfence, the leading firewall and malware scanner for WordPress. The company's technology stack includes the Wordfence Firewall, the proprietary Defiant Threat Intelligence (DTI) platform that aggregates indicators of compromise into actionable threat feeds (IP blacklists, malware signatures, known bad domains), and Omega, an internal tool enabling rapid forensic identification of compromised sites. With over 5 million active WordPress installations protected and more than 50 million plugin downloads since launch, Defiant serves a globally distributed base of WordPress site owners ranging from individual bloggers to large enterprises with mission-critical WordPress installations.
Defiant generates revenue through a multi-stream model: a freemium WordPress plugin with free and premium tiers distributed via the WordPress.org plugin repository, an annual subscription enterprise tier (Wordfence for Business) sold through dedicated technical client partners, and professional services including incident response and site cleaning. The company maintains 100% remote operations since 2015 with approximately 40 team members across the USA, Australia, UK, and parts of Europe. It has expanded beyond security into website performance with Fast or Slow, a free browser simulation tool profiling sites from 18 global locations. The company is ISO 27001 certified, GDPR and CCPA compliant, and has remained independent by rejecting multiple acquisition offers from major public companies, maintaining founder ownership and control without external venture capital funding.
Defiant markets primarily through content and community-led channels, including the Wordfence Live weekly show, a security research blog, and active engagement within the WordPress ecosystem, supplemented by direct enterprise field sales for its business and incident response offerings. Distribution leverages the WordPress plugin marketplace for self-serve SMB adoption and direct sales for enterprise engagements. The company has shown disciplined capital allocation, discontinuing the Gravityscan product in 2018 after it failed to achieve product-market fit, and maintaining profitability through organic growth rather than external funding.
Defiant firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Defiant
- Legal name
- Defiant, Inc.
- Website
- https://defiant.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Defiant Inc. is a bootstrapped, founder-owned cybersecurity company that builds Wordfence, the leading firewall and malware scanner for WordPress protecting 5M+ sites, alongside Wordfence for Business enterprise services, incident response, and the Fast or Slow performance profiling tool.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Defiant industry classification
Industry- Product category
- WordPress Security Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Application Security & DevSecOps Services (BPAKAHAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Threat Intelligence, Hunting & Adversary Emulation (BPAKAHAE)
Keywords
Where Defiant is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Defiant business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Wordfence Freemium Plugin: Wordfence offers both free and premium versions of their WordPress security plugin. The freemium model allows basic protection for all WordPress sites while premium tiers provide advanced features.
- Wordfence for Business: Enterprise-tier customized security solution including dedicated client partner, code reviews, continuous monitoring, quarterly security audits, and priority support. Sold as annual subscription.
- Incident Response Services: Forensic investigation and incident response services for businesses that have experienced WordPress-related breaches. Includes threat containment, malware eradication, forensic investigation, and blacklist removal.
- Site Cleaning Service: Site cleaning service that analyzes and cleans compromised websites. Includes database access, site control panel access, and server credentials for remediation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | WordPress plugin with free and premium tiers |
| Subscription | Annual | Custom enterprise security solution |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Defiant product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Defiant develops and sells Wordfence, the leading firewall and malware scanner for WordPress protecting over 5 million websites globally, available as a freemium plugin through the WordPress repository. Beyond the plugin, Defiant sells Wordfence for Business (enterprise security with dedicated client partners, continuous monitoring, and quarterly audits), Defiant Incident Response (forensic breach recovery), Site Cleaning Service, and Fast or Slow (a free website performance profiling tool).
Product overview
Defiant is a security and performance technology company offering a portfolio of products centered on WordPress security and website performance. The core products are Wordfence (firewall and malware scanner for WordPress) and Fast or Slow (website performance profiling tool). Defiant also offers premium business-tier services including Wordfence for Business (tailored security with dedicated support, code reviews, continuous monitoring, and unlimited incident response) and standalone Incident Response services for breach recovery. The company operates an internal Defiant Threat Intelligence (DTI) platform that aggregates threat data to power its products, and uses internal tooling called Omega for rapid incident response.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Wordfence: The leading firewall and malware scanner for WordPress, protecting over 5 million websites. Flagship product of Defiant.
- Fast or Slow
- Gravityscan
Products and services
- Wordfence Leading firewall and malware scanner for WordPress, providing website security protection with over 5 million active installations. Includes a web application firewall, malware scanner, threat intelligence feeds, and login security features. Available as both free and premium tiers through the WordPress.org plugin repository.
- Wordfence for Business Customized security solution for mission-critical WordPress installations sold as an annual subscription. Includes a dedicated technical client partner, code reviews, monthly security check-ins, continuous monitoring, proactive threat mitigation, quarterly security audits, unlimited incident response, and priority phone support.
- Defiant Incident Response Forensic incident response service for organizations that have experienced WordPress-related breaches. Includes threat containment, malware eradication, forensic investigation, detailed reporting, blacklist removal, and system securing using premium Wordfence products.
- Site Cleaning Service Wordfence Site Cleaning Service that helps customers rapidly recover from a hack. Downloads portions of customer sites to secure servers to analyze and clean. Requires database access, control panel access, and server credentials for remediation.
- Fast or Slow Free website performance profiling tool that performs actual browser simulations simultaneously from 18 major global locations, giving website owners an accurate real-world view of site performance across geographies.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 5 million WordPress websites protected globally
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Defiant
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Defiant technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Feature4 records
Defiant partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Defiant competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Defiant compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Defiant financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Defiant leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Defiant funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Defiant M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Defiant
What does Defiant do?
Defiant develops and sells Wordfence, the leading firewall and malware scanner for WordPress protecting over 5 million websites globally, available as a freemium plugin through the WordPress repository. Beyond the plugin, Defiant sells Wordfence for Business (enterprise security with dedicated client partners, continuous monitoring, and quarterly audits), Defiant Incident Response (forensic breach recovery), Site Cleaning Service, and Fast or Slow (a free website performance profiling tool).
Is Defiant a public or private company?
Defiant is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Defiant founded?
Defiant was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Defiant based?
Defiant is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Defiant make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Wordfence Freemium Plugin is the primary driver. The others are wordfence for Business, incident Response Services and site Cleaning Service.
Does Defiant have an API?
No public API is recorded for Defiant.
What industry is Defiant in?
Defiant's product category is WordPress Security Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAKAHAJ, Application Security & DevSecOps Services, with a secondary code of BPAKAHAE, Threat Intelligence, Hunting & Adversary Emulation. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.