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Fortify Application Defender vs Tenable.io Web Application Scanning comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 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

Fortify Application Defender
Ranking in Application Security Tools
32nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Tenable.io Web Application ...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
20th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Fortify Application Defender is 0.7%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is 1.3%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

HisaoOgata - PeerSpot reviewer
Saves time and warns about the vulnerabilities in the software, but the false positive rate should be lower
We use the solution to prevent cyberattacks Based on the alerts created by the solution during development, we modify the software we are developing. The product finds mistakes automatically. It warns us about the vulnerabilities in the software. The product saves us cost and time. The product…
Harshal Deshmukh - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple tool to use, good dashboard capabilities and offers asset criticality ratings
It has good dashboard capabilities and gives good results with priority ratings, asset criticality ratings, and exposure scores for vulnerabilities. It also provides automated web application scanning, which customers appreciate because it doesn't disturb the web application or hamper the business. While testing the web application, sometimes it happens that the website or application goes down. But with Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, it doesn't affect the business. It has good unified web application scanning and exposure management.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution helped us to improve the code quality of our organization."
"I find the configuration of rules in Fortify Application Defender useful. Its integration is also easy."
"The information from Fortify Application Defender on how to fix and solve issues is very good compared to other solutions."
"The tool's most valuable feature is software composition analysis. This feature works well with my .NET applications, providing a better understanding of library vulnerabilities."
"We are able to provide out customers with a secure application after development. They are no longer left wondering if they are vulnerable to different threats within the market following deployment."
"The most valuable features of Fortify Application Defender are the code packages that are default."
"The product saves us cost and time."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to automatically feed it rules what it's coupled with the WebInspect dynamic application scanning technology."
"The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment."
"It collects the vulnerabilities on the hostnames and sends them to the Tenable.io cloud. Tenable has its own cloud where Tenable.io is running, but there are many connectors to other cloud solutions. Tenable can do vulnerability scanning for other cloud managers such as Azure, Amazon, and so on."
"The solution's instant reports feature is the most effective for detecting threats."
"It is fully automated."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"We can get detailed information about vulnerabilities."
"The most valuable features of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning are the integration into specific use cases and scanning. All of the features of the solution are useful."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is very easy to use."
 

Cons

"The workbench is a little bit complex when you first start using it."
"Support for older compilers/IDEs is lacking."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"The biggest complaint that I have heard concerns additional platform support because right now, it only supports applications that are written in .NET and Java."
"Fortify Application Defender could improve by supporting more code languages, such as GRAAS and Groovy."
"The false positive rate should be lower."
"The licensing can be a little complex."
"Fortify Application Defender gives a lot of false positives."
"The market is standard for vulnerability scanning, however, the posture can be improved through Tenable's prioritization engine."
"The report customization needs to be better."
"The cloud and the on-premises versions have their own controllers, and there is no way to centrally manage controllers."
"It would be great if there were a dashboard that is more user-friendly."
"The technical support should be improved. Currently, some attacks are detected while others are not."
"The dashboard could be more user-friendly."
"The platform's technical support services could be better."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning could improve by offering faster fuzzing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The base licensing costs for the SaaS platform is about $900 USD per application, per year."
"Fortify Application Defender is very expensive."
"The licensing is very complex, it's project based and can range from $10,000 to $200,000+ depending on the project type and size."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten. It comes as an annual cloud subscription. The tool's pricing is around 50 lakhs."
"The product’s price is much higher than other tools."
"The price of this solution could be less expensive."
"The application is extremely affordable. There are no additional costs involved with licensing. We switched to Tenable.io Web Application Scanning from other solutions due to pricing."
"I rate the product's pricing a four out of ten."
"It follows the same licensing scheme as Tenable.io and Tenable. sc."
"For Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, it comes to around 6,50,000 Indian rupees, plus taxes."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to the competitors. The license cost is based on the number of users and the annual usage."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is expensive for small businesses."
"The pricing is okay."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortify Application Defender?
I find the configuration of rules in Fortify Application Defender useful. Its integration is also easy.
What needs improvement with Fortify Application Defender?
The product should integrate industry-standard code review tools internally with its system. This would streamline the coding process, as developers wouldn't need multiple tools for code review and...
What is your primary use case for Fortify Application Defender?
We use the solution for fast code review. It is integrated into our DevOps pipeline.
What do you like most about Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment.
What needs improvement with Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
Improvements could include providing coverage reports in the free version and features related to security reports. Also, enhancing technical support would be beneficial as there is room for improv...
What advice do you have for others considering Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
I would recommend Tenable.io Web Application Scanning as it provides us with good reports, which help improve our code base, despite the lack of financial benefits. Overall, I would rate it seven o...
 

Also Known As

HPE Fortify Application Defender, Micro Focus Fortify Application Defender
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ServiceMaster, Saltworks, SAP
IMDEX
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortify Application Defender vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.