OutwitTrade

Jetpack Reviews By Real Jetpack Users

The Jetpack plugin for WordPress was created by WordPress.com, is “recommended by the biggest names in WordPress” and calls itself “Essential Security & Performance for WordPress.” With that in mind, you’d expect it to be worth using — but is it actually? To help you make that decision, we asked real Jetpack users to write about their experience with it, and got some very good input. The comments below are what we got back.

Here’s how I’d summarize what people have told us about Jetpack: Jetpack does a lot, and is more like a “jack of all trades” than specifically just a security plugin (if you want a plugin purely for security, there are better options, like Wordfence). It’s very easy to use and you may get a lot of value out of it. However, it has some significant problems. Many people have complained about it being bloated, resource-heavy and slowing down their websites, which can have a big impact on how well your site ranks on Google these days. It can also potentially interfere with other plugins on your site and has a frustrating authentication process (it has to be connected to a WordPress account).

For these reasons, it would seem that Jetpack is only good for beginners who want a decent all-rounder plugin. For people with larger websites or who have some WordPress knowledge, there are probably much better options for you.

If you would like to know how Jetpack compares to Wordfence, by the way, a number of comments below also compare the two — so have a read through them.

I have used Jetpack on a range of sites and it's definitely worth the money. Jetpack is made by the Automattic family the same people who make WordPress.

It's got a lot of features along with security - it would be very difficult to have a site that didn't have at least one module of Jetpack turned on!

With security, it's the daily backup and spam protection which really helps my site. They're essential for any blogger and for £33 a year not too expensive either.

On more expensive plans you get extra malware and one-click security fixes. This is available with WordFenc however you're paying more for fewer features. WordFence just focuses on security and is good for IP blocking and protecting against attacks.

Jetpack and Wordfence are complimentary on my site and I have both enabled. Jetpack is worth it for the other features, such as customization and performance upgrades. It's a good all-round addition for the site.

--Jake Symons, jakesymons.com

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#jake

I run a handful of blog sites and have been using Jetpack on those sites hosted on WordPress. I consider it the ultimate toolkit because it provides the user with everything necessary to design, secure, and grow a website in just one bundle.

We use Jetpack to fully customize our sites with free themes, image tools, and of course rich content. We were also able to increase traffic to our sites significantly with the help of this very plugin. Jetpack has features like automatic social sharing and related content that made sharing our articles a breeze. And the faster load times meant that our bounce rate was really low too!

--Allan Borch, Dotcom Dollar

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#allan

Jetpack is actually a good investment. It is easy to use and hassle free.. It lets you add essential features conveniently. Jetpack offers you plugins like contact form, stats, security, design, and marketing. It also updates frequently so you are sure that it is well maintained. Plus they add plugins frequently which makes it easier because everything you need is in one place. As with every pros, Jetpack has it's fair share of cons. Jetpack greatly relies on WordPress for its account and servers. It also uses a single sign-in feature which is a security risk. This means that your account is only as safe as your computer. A hacker can easily gain access and control your full website.

All in all, if you're someone who doesn't have time to maintain their self-hosted site, you will find Jetpack very convenient. Jetpack is for people who are new to WordPress or people who are on the go. This is not for people who wants to have complete control on every single part of their website.

--Carolyn Carns, Creation Business Consultants

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#carolyn

I have previously used JetPack Premium & WordFence on one of my sites.

I found that JetPack premium is a great all round plugin which does loads of things besides just security, that said the only reason I got it was for web security only and I realised I wasn't getting full use out of it and all the extra features packed into it were causing my site to slow down somewhat.

I then took the decision to switch to WordFence. I'm glad I did because my site sped up and because WordFence is a security specialist I feel that my website is more secure with it.

--Daniel Richardson, Homes For Students Ltd

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#daniel

I have used Jetpack in the past as a beginning blogger as a way to measure my website's traffic. What I didn't realize is that Jetpack fails to block out the majority of spam and bot views- therefore inflating daily views. I consider it as a plugin to be one of the most slowing that you could install and ONLY recommend Google Analytics for tracking traffic. Wordfence is a far superior plugin for security.

--Renee, That Little Blog

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#renee

Jetpack is definitely worth the money, but we use both Jetpack and Wordfence.

While Jetpack has security features, we use it more for the other features like daily backups, social sharing tools, and anti comment spam.

Wordfence is a much more robust security tool that handles deeper security concerns like site configuration and has powerful scanning tools, even in the free version.

--Josiah Mann, Investor Deal Room

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#josiah

I was a jetpack user in the beginning because it is an option right out of the box. Unfortunately I have moved on to plugins that work much better for me. I was pleased at first. But that was because I didn't know what I was doing. Sorry to be brash.

Jetpack tries to offer a lottle of everything, security, site stats, social posting, CDN, backups, monetization etc. However there are a few problems...

There is a saying that says if you try to chase 2 rabbits, you won't even get 1.

Jetpack does everything somewhat mediocre. There are many plugins that do these jobs better and are much smaller in size. Jetpack from a coding perspective was very chunky and slow.

I tried Jetpack and then a number of other combos containing fastestcache, hummingbird, smush, stackpath cdn, w3total, css/js manager and others. I now use wp-optimize, total upkeep, AMP, SSO, EWWW w/ Easy IO, and Clouflare CDN.

--Kaleb O'Shea, scratchclawandfight.com

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#kaleb

JetPack for Wordpress is terrible in terms of server resource usage Being running more than 10 WordPress blogs, I recently deactivated the cron on all of them, because JetPack plugin ultimately always ended up at some point taking up all servers resources, leading to several server crashes and accounts deactivation over the years.

The main usage for me was to use the post scheduling and sharing capabilities that are included in the plugin, as the other functionalities - such as SEO, security, or site optimization are better handled by other plugins. However, due to high resource usage, I simply stopped using it - and my servers are much happier without it.

--Yoann, International Consulting

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#yoann

I don't think jetpacks premium for wordpress, was any good. I think it is overpriced.

When it came to speeding my website up, making it more efficient or reducing my website's workload it didn't do much. I found it made no difference on the frontend and made it slower on the backend.

In terms of security, it claimed to have blocked certain harmful ip addresses and intrusions that could have caused me problems - I was doing just fine without these notices. but one thing I did notice is its ability to filter spam comments, and that's something I appreciated.

If you are going for another type of wordpress plugin similar to jetpack, j would advice so, because jetpack didn't really help me at all. I haven't tried word fence, so I can't tell which one is better.

--Omar Black, Wevier

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#omar

When I was building my website, I integrated Jetpack with Wordpress mainly for security reasons. I wanted to prevent potential attacks and also ensure that people use secure passwords on the website. Another great addition was the anti-spam feature which blocked a variety of ads and kept my website running smoothly at all times.

I personally really like Jetpack because it offers a variety of features that improve your website performance. More importantly, you are not obliged to use all of the features, but activate those that you find necessary. It is quite intuitive and easy to integrate with Wordpress and a number of other plugins.

--Aleksandra Arsic, CapitalCounselor.com

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#aleksandra

Jetpack is one of those essential plug-ins for Wordpress that everyone should have installed. When you are new to blogging and are learning to set it up, Jetpack takes care of many routine tasks to make your life easier, such as automated social sharing and handling your security protocols.

It was created as an all-in-one suite to get your Wordpress up to speed with all the latest tweaks and performance enhancements. Even as an all-inclusive plugin, it still allows you to upgrade its features such as integrating Yoast SEO, which is an excellent plugin in its own right. Overall Jetpack is awesome and does it all, from improving your blog's performance to handling security, and theme customization.

What I really like about Jetpack is that it's free to use, and the unpaid version gives you a full-functioning version that is perfect for anyone getting started with Wordpress. Everything you might need for your starter blog is included in Jetpack, including detailed site statistics. widgets and social sharing automation. For paid users, Jetpack offers even more customization options and more tools for fine-tuning your blog to perfection.

--Mikkel Andreassen, Dixa

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#mikkel

Although JetPack comes from the house of Automattic, the ones behind the robust Wordpress, the services on offer don't quite hit the mark - it makes the site relatively slower and 'bloated' as compared to the competition. I’m not a fan of the paid package of JetPack as there are better alternatives. When it comes to security plugins, I am currently using the free version of JetPack (along with Wordpress Stats); Wordfence promises more features but for now, I am satisfied with Jetpack on that front.

--Abhishek Joshi, Dog with Blog

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#abhishek

I have used Jetpack on and off for around 5 years now. In my experience it's really a beginners plugin. If you have any real experience there are a number of different plugins which do the same thing with much less hassle. Jetpack touches every part of a site and so often causes errors with different plugins. These days, I only use Jetpack for the free image CDN and disable everything else. That way it speeds sites on shared hosting up and doesn't interfere with anything else I put on site.

--Lee Stevens, Academic Sciences

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#lee

Jetpack seems very appealing especially to new users at first. It has a ton of features that most webmasters would want to keep track of and they put it right on your dashboard.

In my experience, Jetpack is not the best solution and I'd stay away from it. It is very clunky and slows down websites. When it comes to plugins having a conflict with other plugins and causing issues for my sites, Jetpack was the culprit the most of any other plugin.

For security Wordfence in the only plugin I'd recommend. They simply do what they say they will do and have been highly effective in stopping attacks on my sites.

I recommend only using a shortlist of plugins and Jet Pack is not one of them. Taking a little extra time to set up free tools like Wordfence and Google Analytics is a far better solution.

--Steven J Wilson, Steven J Wilson & Associates

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#steven

I regret going with jetpack. My site speed slowed down 0.7 seconds when activating a few of the modules.

As far as security goes, I haven’t sound it’s necessary to slow down your site with security plugins.

The first two layers of security are your host and then WordPress. If you have Cloudflare (Free), it adds an additional layer of protection.

Additionally, as a user you could change the URL of the admin login, change the username so it’s not admin, and change the default database table so it’s not “wp_”. These changes alone have stopped needing to use any security plugins.

--Edwin Contreras, Do Six Figures

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#edwin

Jetpack is a solid plugin, but annoying. The plugin sends constant notifications that aren't necessary. We use word WordFence for most of our websites and it is fantastic for our purposes. Jetpack has a frustrating authentication process that has to be connected to a WordPress account. Being an agency, we have multiple sites that are operated through one WordPress account, and Jetpack isn't the most effective plugin in that scenario. The plugin is great for a small business that doesn't know exactly what they need and they only have one WordPress account they operating under. The Jetpack plugin is also run by the same people who run WordPress so that helps with security purposes as well.

--Brandon Howard, All My Web Needs

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#brandon

Despite bringing in so many powerful features and contributing greatly to the improvement of WordPress-powered blogs and sites. Jetpack isn't without glitches and shortcomings.

Like adding more load time to your WordPress site.

Due to the multiple features, when activated, It adds more codes. And additional code creates additional processing time on your site which slows down your website.

From my experience, when almost all the features are enabled, it brings about critically slow site. Therefore, you have to make sure that you only activate the features you need inorder to keep your site light.

I don't use it anymore since I've mastered WordPress a lot over the years.

However, I'd recommend Jetpack for anyone new and still getting started with WordPress. As it adds lots of great features to your website.

--Khris Steven, khrisdigital.com

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#khris

I used Jetpack on my website for a few years. I moved from the free version to paid version which I used for about a year. I found it very useful with loads of different options and very good tracking of activity on the site. The form builder was also useful as well and for a novice Wordpress user, it really is an awesome option and is easy to use. As I started getting more technical, one thing that put me off the plugin was how slow it made my site. I eventually had to remove it and opted for a few smaller plugins to assist in speeding my site up. If they could sort that out somehow, I would reactivate it again.

--Shaun Taylor, Moriti Safaris

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#shaun

On the one hand, Jetpack is a great WordPress Plugin because it gives a lot of functionalities to WordPress in a simple and easy to configure way:

-Forms

-Free CDN hosting for static and images files

-Lazyloading

-Security (Automatic content backup, Spam filtering, brute force login protection, monitor uptime, malware scanning)

More, the WordPress team is behind it, so you get a 5 stars service and you talk to people who know how WordPress works.

I had a hacked website and the backup to an older version of the site was amazingly simple to do.

On the other hand, Wordfence is only focused on security, which enables them to go way deeper than Jetpack.

You can see in real-time who visits your website, block IP addresses, set rule for automatic IP Address blocking...

Thanks to its popularity, WordFence is even able to block cyberattacks it detected on other websites, and patch some vulnerabilities.

WordFence is always the best resource for new vulnerabilities in the WP ecosystem. If you have WordPress websites, I can't recommend enough to subscribe to their newsletter.

if you really want to only choose one, then I would recommend Jetpack for beginners and WordFence for more advanced users.

However, for me you shouldn't have to choose between the 2 of them, they are complementary. The optimizations and ease of use are provided by Jetpack and security protection and audit by Wordfence.

--Ruben Bonan, Marketing Marvel

PERMALINK: https://outwittrade.com/jetpack-reviews#ruben

EDITORS NOTE: For information on another WordPress security plugin, check out our Sucuri reviews (Sucuri is a competitor to Jetpack).

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