Nessus Essentials
$0
free
Free edition for educators, students and early cybersecurity learning. Limited to 16 IP addresses per scanner.
Check current pricing →T
Tenable Nessus
Tenable Nessus is a vulnerability assessment platform for identifying security flaws, missing patches, misconfigurations and compliance issues across IT environments.
Editorial overview
Aggregated Overview
Nessus provides broad vulnerability, configuration and compliance scanning, extensive templates, risk scoring, reporting and live results. Public G2 and Capterra reviews report strong overall satisfaction, while pricing is relatively high for smaller teams.
This profile combines documented product information and independent evidence where available. It is not a hands-on test unless TechZella explicitly identifies one.
Overview
Tenable Nessus is a vulnerability assessment product for finding software flaws, missing patches, insecure configurations and compliance gaps across operating systems, network devices and applications. Tenable offers Nessus Professional, Nessus Expert and the free Nessus Essentials edition.
Professional supports unlimited IT vulnerability assessments, configuration and compliance audits, risk scoring and configurable reports. Nessus Expert adds web application scanning, external attack surface scanning and infrastructure-as-code scanning. ([tenable.com](https://www.tenable.com/products/nessus))
Tenable Nessus Decision Snapshot
A quick way to understand who this product may suit, where its limits matter, and which facts are most relevant before you compare alternatives.
Platforms
API, Linux, macOS, Raspberry Pi, Windows, Windows Server
TechZella assessment
8.3/10
Tenable Nessus Pros & Cons
Pros
- Broad vulnerability, configuration and compliance assessment coverage.
- Large library of scan templates and policies.
- Detailed reporting and multiple vulnerability-prioritization scores.
- Supports deployment on Windows, macOS, Linux and Raspberry Pi OS.
- Strong ecosystem of documented security, cloud, ticketing and monitoring integrations.
Cons
- Published Professional pricing is substantial for small organizations.
- Direct scan automation through the API has license and product restrictions.
- Centralized enterprise workflows may require Tenable Manager, Security Center or Tenable One.
- Advanced scanning and reporting require configuration expertise.
- Public reviews mention occasional false positives, slow scans and reporting limitations.
Security & Privacy
For security-sensitive software, TechZella focuses on documented architecture, authentication, data handling, deployment and privacy details that can affect a buying decision. This is product research, not an independent security audit.
Security posture at a glance
| Deployment | Self-hosted scanner with browser-based interface |
|---|
Security claims are presented only when supported by documented sources. The presence of this section does not constitute a penetration test, certification or independent security audit.
Tenable Nessus Pricing & Plans
Nessus Professional
$4,790
year
Annual license with unlimited IT vulnerability assessments, compliance and configuration audits, risk scoring, templates and configurable reports.
Check current pricing →Nessus Professional
$9,330.95
2 years
Multi-year Professional license listed by Tenable.
Check current pricing →Nessus Professional
$13,637.54
3 years
Multi-year Professional license listed by Tenable.
Check current pricing →Nessus Expert
$6,790
year
Professional features plus web application scanning and external attack surface scanning.
Check current pricing →Professional trial
Free trial
trial
Tenable offers a Professional trial. The public pricing page does not specify its duration.
Check current pricing →Pricing may change. Verify current plans on the vendor's website.
Tenable Nessus Features
Vulnerability Assessment
- Unlimited IT vulnerability assessments in Professional and Expert editions
- Detection of vulnerabilities, missing patches and misconfigurations
- Credentialed and non-credentialed scanning
- Plugin-based vulnerability coverage
Risk and Compliance
- CVSS v4, EPSS and VPR scoring
- Configuration, compliance and security audits
- Pre-built policies and scan templates
- Remediation guidance and grouped vulnerability views
Reporting and Operations
- Configurable reports
- Exportable scan results
- Nessus Live Results
- Flexible deployment across supported operating systems
Advanced Scanning
- Web application scanning in Nessus Expert
- External attack surface scanning in Nessus Expert
- Infrastructure-as-code scanning in Nessus Expert
- Five Expert web application FQDNs per rolling 90-day period
Integrations and API
- REST API keys for supported licenses and configurations
- Jira Cloud and on-premises Jira integration documentation
- ServiceNow, Splunk, AWS, Azure and Microsoft Sentinel integrations
- VMware, Nutanix, CyberArk and secrets-management integrations
Tenable Nessus Specifications
| Deployment | Self-hosted scanner with browser-based interface |
|---|---|
| Supported scanner operating systems | Windows, Windows Server, macOS, Linux and Raspberry Pi OS |
| API | REST API with API keys, subject to license and configuration |
| Free edition | Nessus Essentials |
| Free edition limit | 16 IP addresses per scanner |
| Free trial | Professional trial available; duration not publicly stated |
| Web application scanning | Nessus Expert, five FQDNs per rolling 90-day period |
| External attack surface scanning | Nessus Expert |
| Risk scoring | CVSS v4, EPSS and VPR |
| Primary vendor location | Columbia, Maryland, United States |
Alternatives
Comparable products include Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM, Greenbone Enterprise Appliance, OpenVAS, Invicti and Intruder. Qualys and Rapid7 typically target broader cloud-based vulnerability-management workflows, while Greenbone and OpenVAS provide open-source-oriented options. Invicti focuses more heavily on application security testing.
Our evidence-based assessment
TechZella Score
A proprietary editorial score based on product capabilities, usability, value, performance, support and user sentiment evidence.
8.3/10Moderate confidence
Nessus provides broad vulnerability, configuration and compliance scanning, extensive templates, risk scoring, reporting and live results. Public G2 and Capterra reviews report strong overall satisfaction, while pricing is relatively high for smaller teams.
Methodology v1.0. The assessment weighs feature coverage (25%), ease of use (15%), value for money (20%), performance (15%), support (10%) and user sentiment (15%), using researched product evidence and verified review evidence where available. It is a TechZella editorial assessment, not a direct user-review average.
FAQ
What is Tenable Nessus used for?
Organizations use Nessus to identify vulnerabilities, missing patches, misconfigurations and compliance issues across IT assets.
Is Nessus free?
Nessus Essentials is free for scanning up to 16 IP addresses per scanner. Professional and Expert require paid annual licenses.
Does Nessus have an API?
Nessus supports REST API keys in supported editions and configurations. Tenable states that direct scanning API access is restricted and may require Tenable Security Center or Tenable One enterprise solutions.
Which operating systems support Nessus?
Current documentation lists supported versions of Windows, Windows Server, macOS and many Linux distributions. Raspberry Pi OS is also supported for applicable architectures.
Does Nessus scan web applications?
Nessus Expert includes web application scanning for five FQDNs per rolling 90-day period, with additional capacity available for purchase.
Does Nessus integrate with Jira and ServiceNow?
Tenable provides integration documentation for Jira Cloud, an on-premises Jira plugin and ServiceNow. Availability can depend on the Tenable product and deployment used.
([docs.tenable.com](https://docs.tenable.com/quick-reference/licensing-guide/Content/tenable-nessus-licensing.htm?utm_source=openai))
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