Fortra's Alert Logic MDR vs Tenable Nessus comparison

Fortra and Tenable are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. Fortra is ranked #31 with an average rating of 10.0, while Tenable is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.6. Fortra holds a 0.6% mindshare in VM, compared to Tenable’s 5.9% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Fortra users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Tenable users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Fortra's Alert Logic MDR and Tenable Nessus compete in the cybersecurity space, each with unique strengths. Alert Logic MDR is favored for comprehensive threat detection, while Tenable Nessus is recognized for robust vulnerability assessment tools.

Features: Alert Logic MDR offers continuous threat monitoring, rapid response times, and proactive threat management. Tenable Nessus provides detailed vulnerability scanning, extensive plugin support, and a focus on vulnerability assessment.

Room for Improvement: Alert Logic MDR could enhance its initial setup process, pricing transparency, and reporting interfaces. Tenable Nessus might improve ease of deployment, support documentation, and integration capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Alert Logic MDR integrates seamlessly with cloud platforms and provides proactive customer support, simplifying deployment. Tenable Nessus, while more complex in setup, offers strong support initiatives.

Pricing and ROI: Alert Logic MDR requires a higher initial investment but delivers a strong ROI through comprehensive threat response, suitable for those prioritizing active threat mitigation. Tenable Nessus offers competitive pricing and a cost-effective solution for vulnerability management.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortra's Alert Logic MDR vs. Tenable Nessus Report (Updated: November 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Alert Logic MDR vs. Tenable Nessus

November 2025

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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

Zafran Security

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 1.1%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortra's Alert Logic MDR is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Nessus is 5.9%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Tenable Nessus	5.9%
Zafran Security	1.1%
Fortra's Alert Logic MDR	0.6%
Other	92.4%

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

Reviewer6233

Works at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal

While Zafran Security is already a powerful tool, there are areas where it could be further improved to provide even greater value. One key area for enhancement is the searching capabilities within its vulnerabilities module. By incorporating the ability to create Boolean searches, users would gain the ability to apply more complex filters and customize their search criteria. This would greatly enhance the precision and efficiency with which security teams can identify and prioritize vulnerabilities. Having such tailored search capabilities would save time and resources by narrowing down vast lists of vulnerabilities to those that meet specific parameters relevant to our unique risk environment. Additionally, integrating more robust reporting and visualization tools would be advantageous. Enhanced dashboards that offer customizable visual representations of risk configurations and threat landscapes would facilitate better communication with stakeholders, making it easier to explain vulnerabilities and the rationale behind certain security measures. This would also aid in demonstrating the improvements and value derived from existing security investments to leadership and non-technical team members.

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reviewer2191746

President at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

It's a highly mature, competitively priced solution that provides total visibility into your ecosystem. FORTRA's Alert Logic has the only Cybersecurity Platform that integrates XDR+WAF+VM+DLP in one.

Alert Logic offers total visibility into the client's IT ecosystem. The solution's intrusion detection system inspects 100 percent of the network packets and installs universal agents on all physical and virtual servers for log collection. Alert Logic also aggregates logs of the client's various 3rd Party security tools into a single pane of glass. All of the analytics from those data feeds got to a 24/7 SOC with sophisticated resources. Alert Logic has massive threat intelligence resources to provide additional context to the incident response declarations. They do all the heavy lifting for clients who lack the technology and resources to operate their own SOC. The client is solely responsible for the incident response component. The macro analytics resides on Alert Logic's cloud. You have the ECM response and business application team on the client side. Everything works in tandem, which is the only way you can deal with the advanced threats we face today, especially the ransomware families. If you don't respond in minutes, you're in trouble.

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MohammedJaffir

Founder at Cipheroot

Has enabled me to reduce false positives and perform deep credential auditing with seamless integrations

I mostly use the configuration audit feature for the audit configuration as a scan policy, and I will use it for credential audit, which helps me scan credentials access such as local administrator or root access, performing a deeper and more accurate check of local configuration settings and file systems, making it a highly recommended feature. Regarding integration capabilities, we can integrate Tenable Nessus with SIM tools such as Splunk, IBM QRadar, and Azure Sentinel, as well as with ticketing systems such as ServiceNow, Jira, and Slack. There is no complexity as it is very easy to integrate everything. In terms of the reporting feature, while vulnerability scanning can throw some false positives, Tenable Nessus has very few, achieving a reduction of 75% to 80% false positives with manual analysis needed. We can generate standard Nessus reports that typically include host summaries and vulnerabilities by host and plugin, alongside solutions and remediation recommendations. The main benefits I get from Tenable Nessus are complete asset inventory and comprehensive attack surface management, allowing us to prioritize vulnerabilities based on risk, focusing on true risk and threat path analysis.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With Zafran Security, it integrates with your security controls, allowing you to take that risk score and reduce it based on the controls in place or increase the risk based on different factors, such as if the issue is internet reachable or if there's an exploit in the wild."

"We saw benefits from Zafran Security almost immediately after deploying it."

"Overall, we have seen about eighty-seven percent reduction of the number of vulnerabilities that require urgency to remediate, specifically the number of criticals."

"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."

"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."

"Zafran is an excellent tool."

"Everything is in one dashboard; I'm notified when there's an incident and advised on what steps to take."

"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."

"We receive infrastructure security warnings from it. So, we know what is going on and what needs to be addressed."

"The quicker implementation of changes to our infrastructure from Alert Logic tell us if there are any problems."

"While I still have on-premises appliances, I can remotely monitor everything from the cloud, and Alert Logic's ease-of-access features have helped me streamline my workflow and reduce implementation time."

"It is a very stable product."

"The most valuable aspect of Alert Logic is its technology platform. They have SOCs in the US and Europe, giving them global visibility of the threat landscape. They detect and respond to threats in minutes. Their biggest value is human expertise. You're being attacked by a human, and you cannot respond to it unless you have a human on the other side. They have the human and technological resources to respond."

"The solution was consistently available, and I cannot recall any instances where it was down."

More Fortra's Alert Logic MDR pros

"Tenable Nessus is an absolutely stable and fantastic product."

"Security is the key number because it can start to scan with a few clicks instead of credits, which is a bit complicated. So simplicity is the first advantage. Then the generated reports are well done and easy to present to management. The quality of the scan is quite good in detecting the severity. The solution has simplicity. Also, it has frequent updates so that is also a valuable feature."

"The main benefits I get from Tenable Nessus are complete asset inventory and comprehensive attack surface management, allowing us to prioritize vulnerabilities based on risk, focusing on true risk and threat path analysis."

"The scanning and reporting features are the most valuable aspects of Tenable Nessus."

"I have found the vulnerability assessment and the reports to be useful."

"The results are not that bad, but the key selling point is that it is an affordable tool set."

"Quick assessments, compliance scores, and results are provided without having to do agents."

"Nessus' most valuable feature is vulnerability management because it helps to discover vulnerabilities proactively and integrates with patch management solutions so you can push patches."

More Tenable Nessus pros

Cons

"I think the ability to have some enhanced reporting capabilities is something they can improve on, as they have good reports but we have asked for some specific reporting enhancements."

"The dashboarding and reporting functionality of Zafran Security is an area that definitely could use some improvements."

"Initially, we were somewhat concerned about the scalability of Zafran due to our large asset count and the substantial amount of information we needed to process."

"I would like more data on the alert payload. It would be good to have the ability to customize the alert payload to add whatever data that we want on there. Right now, it is a bit limited."

"This product needs to mature more. While it is a good product, there are some areas where it needs work."

"They have ideas and email you whatever they find, but they don't have a dedicated security team who will work on an attack or a specific security instance."

"Alert Logic needs to expand its SOCs to serve more markets, such as the Middle East and Asia. There should be infrastructure that covers more time zones. The company should also develop an EDR that is natively integrated into their solution. Currently, a client must buy another EDR solution like CrowdStrike or Sophos. I think Alert Logic is developing this. Built-in email security could also be developed and integrated."

"Its menu is not very intuitive. I would like to see the user menu expanded a bit. The user menu is very layered, and because of the layers, you have to go down a path that is not very intuitive."

"As a user involved with the user interface, I believe there is a need to continue improving it based on feedback from our customers."

"The documentation, especially with the initial setup, needs improvement."

"The product needs to mature. We don't want to be bombarded with unnecessary issues and have the real ones slip through."

More Fortra's Alert Logic MDR cons

"The reports should be improved in Tenable Nessus. For example, when you are auditing compliance with CIS standards. It provides very poor reports."

"The interface is a little bit clunky, and the reporting is not marvelous. There should be better integration of reporting between instances. Currently, the instance stands alone, and it produces a report. Being able to amalgamate those reports with another instance will be useful."

"We feel the solution's technical support to be very bad."

"There is room, overall, for improvement in the way it groups the workstations and the way it detects, when the vulnerability is scanned. Even when we would run a new scan, if it was an already existing vulnerability, it wouldn't put a new date on it."

"Scans aren't done properly and some devices aren't pinged."

"It would be better if they had application-level support for mobile devices. They don't have anything to scan mobile devices. Tenable Nessus doesn't have a mobile application vulnerability assessment. I also have issues with the false positive rates. The product has limited features."

"Tenable Nessus could improve by having more steady updates which will reduce the vulnerabilities."

"The solution could improve security updates."

More Tenable Nessus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Alert Logic has better competitive pricing than some of its competitors."

"Almost any product that is on the AWS Marketplace is super easy to subscribe to."

"Price of the solution was very reasonable considering the size of our organization at the time, and so it worked out perfectly."

"Its pricing is very reasonable considering what you get for what you pay. There is quite a good value there. Its licensing is also very logical. They've got the licensing price points at a reasonable level. It is on a monthly license but a yearly contract. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing fees."

"Our ROI would probably be zero. We don't even use it. It sits in there. We get emails and just delete them. Around the world, we don't even use it."

"The price of Tenable Nessus could improve, it is expensive."

"We have a subscription, the licensing fees are paid yearly, and I am using the latest version."

"Nessus Manager is not an expensive product. It has its limitations, but the pricing reflects that. We have a yearly subscription."

"The solution is worth the cost. It's a good investment."

"While Tenable Nessus is a good enterprise solution, the high price would likely make it prohibitive to smaller organizations."

"We incurred a single cost for a perpetual license, although I cannot comment on the price as this is above my management level."

"Nowadays, your vulnerability applications are going to be kind of pricey because lots of them, including Rapid7, are based upon a base price, but then they add in the nodes. That's where they get you. If you're a big network, obviously, you need to scan everything. Therefore, it's going to be costly. The risk and insurance money associated with having ransomware on my networks is going to cost me more money, time, and marketing than the price of the tool. That's why I'm speaking only as an information security officer to security operations. This is the tool that is there in my toolbox to say whether we vulnerable or not. At this point, I don't care about how much it costs my company to have it because if I wasn't able to report it and we got ransomware, then who cares? I'm probably going to be out of business because it happened. That's why I don't care about the price. I have it, and I could use it effectively and do my report. At the end of the day, even if we get ransomware, as long as I reported it, followed my protocol, and put in the change, irrespective of whether it was ignored or denied, I did my job."

"The solution is expensive."

More Tenable Nessus pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Educational Organization

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	39
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	35

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?

Since we stood Zafran Security up in our private cloud, we handle the maintenance on our side. As we opted not to use...

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What needs improvement with Zafran Security?

In terms of areas for improvement, Zafran Security is doing a really great job as a new and emerging company. Oftenti...

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What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?

My use cases for Zafran Security revolve around two primary areas. One is around vulnerability management and priorit...

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How would you choose between Rapid7 InsightVM and Tenable Nessus?

You have full visibility across cloud, network, virtual, and containerized infrastructures with Rapid7 Insight VM. Yo...

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What's the difference between Tenable Nessus and Tenable.io Vulnerability Management?

Tenable Nessus is a vulnerability assessment solution that is both easy to deploy and easy to manage. The design of ...

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What do you like most about Tenable Nessus?

We have around 500 virtual machines. Therefore, we conduct monthly scans and open tickets for our developers to addre...

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Comparisons

Wiz Code vs Zafran Security

Compared 28% of the time

Vulcan Cyber vs Zafran Security

Compared 12% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Zafran Security

Compared 9% of the time

Nucleus vs Zafran Security

Compared 7% of the time

XM Cyber vs Zafran Security

Compared 3% of the time

More Zafran Security Competitors

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Fortra's Alert Logic MDR

Compared 25% of the time

Rapid7 InsightIDR vs Fortra's Alert Logic MDR

Compared 13% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon Complete MDR vs Fortra's Alert Logic MDR

Compared 12% of the time

Claroty Platform vs Fortra's Alert Logic MDR

Compared 12% of the time

Qualys VMDR vs Fortra's Alert Logic MDR

Compared 11% of the time

More Fortra's Alert Logic MDR Competitors

Qualys VMDR vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 11% of the time

Rapid7 InsightVM vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 8% of the time

Amazon Inspector vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 6% of the time

Tenable Security Center vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 6% of the time

More Tenable Nessus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Zafran Security

November 2025

Download Zafran Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Alert Logic MDR

November 2025

Download Fortra's Alert Logic MDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Tenable Nessus

November 2025

Download Tenable Nessus product report

Also Known As

No data available

Alert Logic MDR, Alert Logic Managed Detection and ResponseAlert Logic Threat Manager, Alert Logic Cloud Defender, Critical Watch FusionVM

No data available

Overview

Zafran Security integrates with existing security tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively, proving that most critical vulnerabilities are not exploitable, optimizing threat management.

Zafran Security introduces an innovative operating model for managing security threats and vulnerabilities. By leveraging the threat exposure management platform, it pinpoints and prioritizes exploitable vulnerabilities, reducing risk through immediate remediation. This platform enhances your hybrid cloud security by normalizing vulnerability signals and integrating specific IT context data, such as CVE runtime presence and internet asset reachability, into its analysis. No longer reliant on patch windows, Zafran Security allows you to manage risks actively.

What are the key features of Zafran Security?

Threat Exposure Management: Utilizes existing tools to prioritize vulnerabilities and manage threats.
Integrative Analysis: Combines security data with IT context for precise vulnerability management.
Real-time Risk Reduction: Enables immediate risk management without waiting for patches.
Hybrid Cloud Compatibility: Functions across diverse cloud environments for comprehensive security.

What benefits can users expect from Zafran Security?

Improved Security: Enhances protection by efficiently identifying and mitigating risks.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces unnecessary patching expenses by confirming non-exploitable vulnerabilities.
Time Savings: Frees developers to focus on root causes by handling immediate threats.
Comprehensive Insight: Offers a holistic view of security threats and vulnerabilities.

In industries where security is paramount, such as finance and healthcare, Zafran Security provides invaluable protection by ensuring that only exploitable vulnerabilities are addressed. It allows entities to maintain robust security measures while allocating resources efficiently, fitting seamlessly into existing security strategies.

Zafran Security

Fortra's Alert Logic MDR specializes in threat detection and response with features like log access and user-friendly notifications. It is used primarily in extensive e-commerce deployments for network protection.

Fortra's Alert Logic MDR provides a unified interface with comprehensive search capabilities, immediate log access, and efficient reporting tools. Users benefit from accurate scanning, automated security warnings, and rapid response times, supported by SOCs for global visibility. The technology employs human expertise for enhanced threat detection and prevention, with a hardware setup designed to avoid virtual environment issues. However, there's a need for improved error tracing, intuitive navigation, and stronger analytical automation within the platform. Enhancements in setup documentation and user interfaces are desired, alongside demands for a built-in EDR and better alert management systems.

What are the key features of Fortra's Alert Logic MDR?

Comprehensive Searching: Enables detailed investigations.
Immediate Log Access: Provides quick insight into system activities.
User-Friendly Notifications: Enhances alert effectiveness.
Automated Security Warnings: Offers proactive security measures.
Optimized Platform: Delivers efficient functionality across services.
Heuristic Monitoring: Guards against complex threats.

What benefits and ROI should users seek in reviews?

Quick Response Times: Minimizes downtime and improves efficiency.
Global Visibility: Extends threat management reach through SOCs.
Human Expertise: Enhances detection and intervention accuracy.
Streamlined Deployment: Facilitates smoother hardware integration.

Fortra's Alert Logic MDR is widely implemented across public and private sectors for robust network protection. It supports large-scale e-commerce operations, offering advanced detection capabilities with AI and machine learning. Security scanning, intrusion detection, and vulnerability analysis in Kubernetes are key applications.

Fortra

Tenable Nessus provides an efficient vulnerability management system with swift deployment and comprehensive scanning capabilities, making it an ideal choice for organizations seeking to enhance their security posture through effective threat detection and mitigation strategies.

Renowned for its top-tier vulnerability detection, Tenable Nessus offers a robust platform that integrates effortlessly across systems, enhancing threat management through automation, real-time monitoring, and customizable scanning options. Its broad asset coverage, including network devices and applications, coupled with ease of deployment, positions it as a go-to option for risk assessment and compliance. Organizations value its extensive reporting features and database, although they suggest enhancements in reporting formats and false positive detection. A more intuitive interface, improved cloud support, and competitive pricing models are sought after to cater to evolving enterprise needs.

What are the key features of Tenable Nessus?

Comprehensive Vulnerability Detection: Identifies security gaps across systems and platforms.
Remedy Recommendations: Provides actionable insights for vulnerability fixes.
Predictive Prioritization: Helps in focusing on critical vulnerabilities first.
Seamless Integration: Compatible with diverse platforms for cohesive threat management.
Automation Capabilities: Streamlines routine scans and reports.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Fast Setup: Quick deployment that saves time and resources.
Cost-Effective: Affordable pricing supports budget-conscious cyber strategies.
Real-Time Monitoring: Offers continuous oversight of system health.
Extensive Reports: Detailed insights enhance decision-making processes.

In industries such as finance, healthcare, and tech, Tenable Nessus is implemented for scanning internal and external networks, identifying risks, and ensuring data protection compliance. Organizations conduct regular scans to detect security vulnerabilities in servers and databases, leveraging its capabilities to strengthen their security frameworks while managing cloud infrastructures and enterprise networks efficiently.

Tenable

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Bitbrains, Tesla, Just Eat, Crosskey Banking Solutions, Covenant Health, Youngstown State University

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Alert Logic MDR vs. Tenable Nessus

November 2025

Free Report: Fortra's Alert Logic MDR vs. Tenable Nessus

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Alert Logic MDR vs. Tenable Nessus and other solutions. Updated: November 2025.

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