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AWS Directory Service vs Tenable Cloud Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AWS Directory Service
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
16th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Tenable Cloud Security
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (24th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (12th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (19th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (14th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of AWS Directory Service is 1.6%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Cloud Security is 0.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Basa Saiteja - PeerSpot reviewer
A valuable access management system with a user-friendly and straightforward setup
The solution is scalable, and we can scale according to our needs. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. In our organization, our access to our AWS comes from IAM. We use AWS consoles using our credentials and don't have route access, so each person will log in through our IAM programmatic access, and everyone on our team can work on cloud. Over 10,000 people in our organization utilize the solution.
Antonio Scola - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers reliable security support and encourages a safe migration to cloud environments while there is room for better reseller collaboration
I really don't know to tell the truth because we sell many solutions and don't sell exclusively Tenable, so I'm not in a condition to give a precise definition of what could be improved. My perception is this: when customer A needs Tenable Cloud Security, we introduce and demonstrate it. They POC, they appreciate it. The solution serves in such use cases ABC. I am very pragmatic and straightforward - as long as they use or want the solution, I am interested. If they don't, my question is what are the main objections? They may discuss pricing, or they may say they thought the solution had certain technical capabilities that they could not find.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"AWS handles everything on the backend requiring minimal legwork from our team. We only require a dedicated database administrator while depending on Amazon for RDS."
"The support is very good. I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten."
"Provides good performance and availability."
"The most valuable feature is ease of use."
"AWS has eliminated the downtime we waste when our on-premises resources go down."
"AWS Directory Service is secure."
"The AD Connector is very good and easy to implement."
"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."
"The key benefit lies in having the largest and most up-to-date database. When it comes to using any Tenable product, it excels in finding vulnerabilities and providing analytics."
"If you have multi-cloud tenancy using AWS and Azure, you can have a single dashboard where you can onboard all the cloud infrastructure and have visibility into it."
"Scanning and reporting are the most valuable features of Tenable Cloud Security"
"Ermetic can provide super visibility for our cloud environment (we are using AWS)."
"The tool alerts us on depreciating performance or deficiencies of our web application. It helps us react on time."
"The solution’s vulnerability management feature has helped us identify and mitigate risks well."
"The product's visibility and remediation work fine for me."
"The analytical and reporting capabilities are pretty straightforward and show every transaction and major attempt to attack the application in the cloud."
 

Cons

"The AWS Directory Service should be easier to integrate."
"I've encountered challenges, particularly with Amazon WorkDocs, which is being deprecated. This has made it necessary to find an alternative document management solution that can handle editing, sharing, and workflow management for documents like Word files and PDFs."
"Our only complaint is that you cannot integrate your Exchange server. Or, if you are planning to install an Exchange server on your Amazon EC2 instance, then you need to configure Active Directory on EC2 instance. We would like for this limitation to be lifted."
"The group policy can be improved."
"Currently, there is no option to integrate our on-premises Cisco AWS Directory Service, requiring some manual configuration."
"AWS Directory Service needs to improve processing."
"Some of the security protocols are difficult to understand."
"Accessing the data needs improvement."
"I have faced several bug incidents with the solution"
"Tenable needs to offer a patch-based solution since it is an area where the tool lacks a bit."
"Due to its robust nature, the platform's adoption can be overwhelming initially. However, once organizations start using it, they tend to get used to it. I haven't had much direct interaction with the support team, but some partners have reported a desire for better support for the product."
"Ermetic needs to improve its security scanning. I would like to see more dynamic graphical forms."
"If Tenable Cloud Security offers a complete Cnapp solution with CWP, CIEM, and Waap security, it will be able to compete with other competitors."
"In my experience, Tenable Cloud Security is not very stable."
"There is a need for the support team to improve their response time since it is one of the areas where the product's technical team has certain shortcomings."
"I didn't find anything that wasn't useful or needed to be added."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is reasonable."
"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."
"The pricing depends because with AWS there are two types of directory objects: 30,000 and 500,000. It varies. AWS provides the pricing calculators so we can get an estimate from there as per the company requirement of how many users and objects that we need to create. So we can go to that portal, put in the data, and get the quotation. There are no extra licensing fees. It's all included."
"We pay an annual subscription fee."
"The tool's price is good compared to other brands. The tool's subscription is for a year."
"The tool's pricing is fair."
"There is a need to opt for a subscription-based pricing model to use Tenable Cloud Security. I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Performing Arts
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Directory Service?
The most valuable feature of AWS Directory Service is cost-cutting features.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Directory Service?
The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost. You do not need to hire any system administrator to manage your Active Directory.
What needs improvement with AWS Directory Service?
Accessing the data needs improvement. Additionally, integration and compatibility with other AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) services, network open LDAP, support for on-premise and cloud envir...
What do you like most about Tenable Cloud Security?
The solution’s vulnerability management feature has helped us identify and mitigate risks well.
What needs improvement with Tenable Cloud Security?
I think Tenable Cloud Security could be improved with more clear licensing. What I would like to see improved with licensing is how they're used in the product. The calculations of what is consider...
What is your primary use case for Tenable Cloud Security?
My main use case for Tenable Cloud Security is managing our security compliance and security posture. I use Tenable Cloud Security for managing compliance and security posture, and we rely on the c...
 

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD
Ermetic, Ermetic Identity Governance for AWS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Tyler Technologies, Bilfinger, BarkBox, MongoDB, airSlate, Adama, Latch, Cloudinary, Riskified, AppsFlyer, IntelyCare, Aidoc, 42Dot, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Directory Service vs. Tenable Cloud Security and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.