CountryLock
Block/allow countries with one toggle. Lightweight, no upsells. Includes admin bypass, IP allowlist, and block stats.
Use with caution
CountryLock works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 50+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 11 months ago, and scores 47/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (50+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.8 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where CountryLock stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| block | >100 |
| block country | >100 |
| country | >100 |
| geo | >100 |
| GeoIP | #34 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
About CountryLock
From the official readme · v1.0.8Description
CountryLock provides a simple, lightweight way to allow or block countries from accessing your WordPress site.
It’s designed to be “set it and forget it” with no upsells, ads, or complex configurations.
✨ Key Features
- Master Toggle: Enable or disable the firewall with a single click.
- Allowed Countries List: Specify which two-letter country codes (e.g.,
US,CA) are allowed. Everyone else is blocked. - Admin Bypass: Logged-in administrators can always bypass the block (toggleable).
- IP Allowlist: A simple list of IPs or CIDR ranges (like
123.45.67.89or10.0.0.0/8) that are always allowed. - Block Logging: See which countries and IPs are being blocked (toggleable).
- Zero-Lookup Detection: Automatically uses Cloudflare (
HTTP_CF_IPCOUNTRY) and other common server-level GEO headers for instant decisions with zero performance impact. - Remote Lookup: As a fallback, it can query an external service (
ipapi.co) if no headers are found.
External Services
This plugin uses one external service as a fallback to determine a visitor’s country if no local GEO headers (like those from Cloudflare or a server-level GeoIP module) are present.
- Service:
ipapi.co - What it’s used for: To look up the country of origin for a visitor’s IP address.
- Data Sent: The visitor’s IP address is sent to the service. This happens only if the “Use remote lookup if no geo headers” setting is enabled AND no local GeoIP headers are detected.
- Service Policies:
Installation
- Upload the
countrylockfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Go to the new ‘CountryLock’ menu in your admin sidebar.
- Configure your allowed countries and toggle the plugin to “Enabled”.
Changelog
1.0.8
- Fix: Corrected admin page structure to prevent other plugins’ notices from appearing inside the UI.
1.0.7
- Fatal Error fix
1.0.6
- Refactor: Move inline CSS and JS to external files (tscl-admin.css, tscl-admin.js) and enqueue them properly.
- Refactor: Rename all internal prefixes from
cl_totscl_to meet WordPress.org prefixing standards. - Refactor: Remove custom 403 page in favor of the standard
wp_die()screen for better compatibility. - Fix: Use
filemtime()for asset versioning to automatically bust cache. - Docs: Add
readme.txtwith external service disclosure.
1.0.5
- Initial public release.
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best CountryLock alternatives
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FAQ
CountryLock: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 3, 2026
Is CountryLock free?
Yes. CountryLock is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is CountryLock safe to use in 2026?
CountryLock works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 50+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 11 months ago, and scores 47/100 on our health check.
How many websites use CountryLock?
CountryLock is active on 50+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 713 times since it launched in November 2025. It was downloaded 74 times in the last 30 days.
Does CountryLock work with WordPress 7.1?
CountryLock is officially tested up to WordPress 6.8.10, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was CountryLock last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.8, was released on November 17, 2025 (11 months ago).
Who makes CountryLock?
CountryLock is developed and maintained by topsyde.
What are the best alternatives to CountryLock?
The most popular alternatives to CountryLock are Spectra Legacy (1M+ installs), Breadcrumb NavXT (800K+ installs) and PDF Embedder (300K+ installs).
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