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React vs WordPress

Security & risk comparison · Updated October 2026

How does React compare to WordPress on security, AI-readiness, and total cost of ownership? We scored both across 7 dimensions using NVD/NIST CVE data, GitHub metrics, and our census of the Tranco top 100,000.

Key finding

React scores 71/100 overall versus WordPress's 44/100. React has 20 total CVEs compared to WordPress's 11334, giving it a smaller vulnerability surface. (Source: WebPulse framework scoring, NIST NVD and CISA KEV, updated October 2026)

Who actually runs React and WordPress

Share of sites with an identified platform, from WebPulse's scan of the Tranco top 100,000 and our Common Crawl census.

WhereReactWordPress
Top 1,000 5.1% (11) 23.3% (50)
Top 10,000 3.2% (81) 29.0% (743)
Top 100,000 2.1% (573) 37.4% (10,368)
Wider web0.8%74.3%

Highest-ranked sites on React

  1. github.com#29
  2. ok.ru#314
  3. alibaba.com#316
  4. nike.com#637
  5. 2gis.com#640

Highest-ranked sites on WordPress

  1. wordpress.org#48
  2. wordpress.com#100
  3. bit.ly#117
  4. criteo.com#132
  5. gravatar.com#154

Detected from each homepage's HTML, headers and cookies in September 2026. Methodology

71
React
Modern · JAVASCRIPT
vs
44
WordPress
Legacy · PHP
Dimension-by-dimension breakdown
security React
80
22
React
WordPress
performance Tie
65
65
React
WordPress
ecosystem React
82
55
React
WordPress
ai readiness React
55
35
React
WordPress
developer experience React
70
50
React
WordPress
market trajectory React
90
75
React
WordPress
cost of ownership React
55
35
React
WordPress
Security details
Metric React WordPress
Total CVEs 20 11334
Critical CVEs 2 387
Exploited (KEV) 0 23
CVEs last year 3 4200
Avg CVSS 4.5 6.1
Security score 80/100 22/100
Acceptable
React

React scores 72/100. Verdict: Acceptable.

Caution
WordPress

WordPress scores 45/100. Consider migrating to: astro, nextjs, hugo.

Alternatives: astro, nextjs, hugo

Quick facts
React
Category: Frontend
Language: JAVASCRIPT
First release: 2013
Generation: Modern
Trend: Rising
Market share: 8.0%
WordPress
Category: Cms
Language: PHP
First release: 2003
Generation: Legacy
Trend: Declining
Market share: 43.0%
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Data sourced from NVD/NIST CVE database, GitHub API, and WebPulse framework scanner. Scores calculated using a 7-dimension model covering security, performance, ecosystem health, AI-readiness, developer experience, market trajectory, and cost of ownership. Updated October 2026.