Tenable Nessus
API security tools
Dynamic application security testing (DAST) software
Vulnerability scanner software
Attack surface management software
Cloud security software
DevSecOps software
Vulnerability management software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
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$199 per year
Free TrialFree version
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What is Tenable Nessus
Tenable Nessus is an agentless vulnerability scanner used to identify known security weaknesses, misconfigurations, and missing patches across endpoints, servers, network devices, and some cloud assets. Security and IT teams use it for periodic assessments, audit preparation, and validation of remediation work. Nessus runs as a scanner that executes plugin-based checks and produces findings with severity ratings and remediation guidance. It is commonly deployed as a standalone scanner and can also be used alongside broader Tenable vulnerability management and exposure management offerings.
Broad vulnerability coverage
Nessus uses a large library of detection plugins to check for known CVEs, configuration issues, and common security hygiene gaps across many operating systems and network services. It supports both credentialed and non-credentialed scanning, which helps teams move from surface-level detection to deeper host-based validation. The plugin model allows frequent updates without changing the core scanner. This breadth makes it suitable for general-purpose infrastructure vulnerability assessment.
Flexible deployment options
Nessus can be deployed on-premises in a variety of environments and used to scan internal networks, external-facing systems, and segmented subnets. It supports scheduled scans, scan templates, and reusable policies to standardize assessments across teams. The product also supports distributed scanning patterns (multiple scanners) when organizations need coverage across locations. This flexibility helps security teams adapt scanning to network topology and access constraints.
Actionable reporting and exports
Nessus provides built-in reporting, severity scoring, and remediation-oriented output that can be used for operational patching workflows and compliance evidence. Results can be exported in common formats for sharing with IT operations or importing into other systems. Findings include plugin details and references that help analysts validate issues and prioritize remediation. This supports repeatable assessment and tracking over time, even in smaller teams.
Not a full VM platform
Nessus focuses on scanning and reporting rather than end-to-end vulnerability management capabilities such as enterprise-wide asset inventory normalization, remediation ticketing workflows, and long-term risk analytics. Organizations often need additional tooling to correlate findings across scanners, cloud accounts, and business context. This can increase operational overhead for larger environments. Teams seeking centralized governance may prefer a broader platform approach.
Limited application/API testing depth
While Nessus can detect some web and service-level issues, it is not primarily designed for deep dynamic application security testing or API-specific testing workflows. It does not replace tools that specialize in authenticated application crawling, business-logic testing, or API schema-driven testing. As a result, application security teams may need separate DAST and API security tools for comprehensive coverage. This is most noticeable in modern microservices and API-heavy environments.
Scanning requires careful tuning
Credentialed scans require secure handling of privileged credentials and coordination with system owners, which can be a barrier in tightly controlled environments. Network scanning can also generate load or trigger security controls if scan policies are not tuned to the environment. False positives and noisy findings can occur and typically require validation and policy adjustments. Effective use often depends on experienced configuration and ongoing maintenance.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nessus Essentials | Free (30-day free license) | Scan up to 5 IPs; basic vulnerability scoring and remediation guidance; intended for short-term evaluations, PoC, or very small home/lab networks. Official page notes users can re-download the free version after license expiry but scan data is not retained. |
| Nessus Essentials Plus | $199 per year | Scan up to 20 IPs; real-time plugin updates; basic PDF/HTML reporting; year-long data retention; free for verified students and instructors. |
| Nessus Professional (Nessus Pro) | $4,390 per year (1-year); 2 years $8,560.50; 3 years $12,511.50 | Unlimited vulnerability scanning; pre-built policies for configuration & compliance audits; vulnerability scoring for prioritization; configurable reports; Advanced Support add-on $400; On-demand training $275. |
| Nessus Expert | $6,390 per year (1-year); 2 years $12,460.50; 3 years $18,211.50 | Includes all Nessus Professional features plus web app scanning (5 FQDNs) and external attack surface discovery scanning (5 domains); Advanced Support add-on $400; Nessus Expert offers a 7-day free upgrade for existing Nessus Professional users. |
Seller details
Tenable, Inc.
Columbia, Maryland, USA
2002
Public
https://www.tenable.com/
https://x.com/TenableSecurity
https://www.linkedin.com/company/tenableinc/
