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Nucleus Security vs Tenable Nessus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 23, 2026

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

Nucleus Security
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
41st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (26th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (14th), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (13th)
Tenable Nessus
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Nucleus Security is 0.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Nessus is 4.2%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tenable Nessus4.2%
Nucleus Security0.8%
Other95.0%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

BJ
Technical Director at Entrust Software Development India
Centralized security testing has improved vulnerability remediation and compliance reporting
I recommend more enhancements focusing on penetration testing for both SSL over HTTP and non-SSL over HTTP, specifically targeting the RCP Rich Client Platform and Equinox frameworks that allow on-premises desktop applications to be tested simultaneously. I believe those would significantly improve the tool in the future. I choose eight as my rating primarily because of the installer app; it becomes challenging to identify the actual vulnerabilities. Once we build this installer—rather than just working on the codebase—sometimes, we face gaps considering the build parameters and conversions to the installer. Identifying those gaps is an area that could use improvement after the installer or desktop application testing, which would be beneficial. That is the only reason; otherwise, I could easily rate it a ten out of ten given its smooth operational process.
MohammedJaffir - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have seen clear compliance and risk control outcomes more than other operational metrics, including fewer process gaps during documentation and safety checks, strong consistency in following protocols for handling, traceability, and staff awareness, better audit readiness, a lower chance of procedure errors, and faster escalation when something appears out of standard, which is very important for us in the healthcare sector."
"I think the best features that Nucleus Security offers are purely the faster remediation to dev tools, which is crucial for managing, prioritizing, and fixing vulnerabilities while helping operational pipelines run these vulnerability management tools."
"It provides multiple recommendations towards the remedy of vulnerabilities."
"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."
"Using Nessus, we are able to scan and locate any potential vulnerabilities that our clients may have and point them out to them."
"So far, I am quite pleased with this product and don't have any complaints."
"I have found the vulnerability assessment and the reports to be useful."
"The features of Tenable Nessus that I have found most valuable are its reliability and its ability to collate a dependable output, where we are able to get the same vulnerability when we test manually."
"The solution is very good at vulnerability management."
"The initial setup of Tenable Nessus is very easy."
 

Cons

"I choose eight as my rating primarily because of the installer app; it becomes challenging to identify the actual vulnerabilities."
"Protocols can be too complex in practice sometimes, and some processes can feel heavy and disconnected from our daily workflow."
"We'd like to see more integration potential within the solution."
"They have added a new Tenable Nessus Expert. That is their new product, which caters to the cloud and everything else. I am assuming that the new features and product enhancements are based on that tool set, but we haven't reviewed it yet."
"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."
"Nessus' reporting could be more user-friendly."
"Scans aren't done properly and some devices aren't pinged."
"Sometimes, the categorization for clients was tricky at first, however, they eventually got used to it."
"In terms of what could be improved, I would say that the reporting feature needs to be improved."
"One area with room for improvement is instead of there just being a PDF format for output, I'd like the option of an Excel spreadsheet, whereby I could better track remediation efforts and provide reporting off of that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Our organization is huge so our license costs $30,000."
"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."
"We pay approximately $2,500 on a yearly basis."
"I would like to see better discounts."
"In general, it is extremely expensive."
"The cost is around $4,300 per year. Use is unlimited. You don't pay more if you want to use it for another IP."
"The newer tools are quite pricey. There is a case of some fine tuning that can be done in terms of licensing. The IP based licensing that is offered makes the tool very expensive. If they want the IT industry to adopt it, the price should be looked at."
"The is a free version of Tenable Nessus available."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise35
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nucleus Security?
I have a good experience with that, so we don't have much problem dealing with pricing, setup, and licensing.
What needs improvement with Nucleus Security?
I think it can be improved by making it more practical, integrated, and easier for teams to apply in real-world workflow from a healthcare perspective. The main improvements I can see right now are...
What is your primary use case for Nucleus Security?
I have been using Nucleus Security for the past few years in my company, particularly in the healthcare field.I use Nucleus Security especially for understanding radiation safety, nuclear medicine,...
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. You can easily prioritize vulnerabilities using attacker analytics. Overall, Rapid...
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 the program is such that if a company should desire to handle the installation t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable Nessus?
Based on my experience, the pricing for Tenable Nessus is somewhat higher, but customers still want to pay for it, so it remains acceptable. The annual price increase of six to seven percent could ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Bitbrains, Tesla, Just Eat, Crosskey Banking Solutions, Covenant Health, Youngstown State University
Find out what your peers are saying about Wiz, Tenable, Qualys and others in Vulnerability Management. Updated: April 2026.
886,426 professionals have used our research since 2012.