We use the solution for vulnerability management trafficking across an entire group.
Head of IT security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Helps with vulnerability management trafficking across an entire group
Pros and Cons
- "I am impressed with the tool's vulnerability scanning."
- "The tool needs to upgrade asset tracking."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I am impressed with the tool's vulnerability scanning.
What needs improvement?
The tool needs to upgrade asset tracking.
For how long have I used the solution?
I am using the tool for two years.
Buyer's Guide
Tenable Nessus
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about Tenable Nessus. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,310 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is extremely stable. I would rate the tool's stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I didn't encounter any issues with scalability and I would rate it a nine out of ten. We have around 3000 user endpoints that are being monitored. My company has around 20 users for the tool.
How are customer service and support?
Our local partner helps with the support.
How was the initial setup?
I would rate the tool's setup a seven out of ten. It is not an easy setup but with proper support, the process is doable.
What was our ROI?
The solution gives us ROI since it offers visibility and helps to tighten controls in our network.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would like to see better discounts.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. It is one of the best tools to use if compliance is your priority.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Team Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Easy to deploy, stable, and scalable solution for vulnerability scans and assessments but can be very slow
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the installation of Tenable which is incredibly easy."
- "The accuracy of the vulnerability assessment is not up to par yet, as false alarms and false positives occur often."
What is our primary use case?
We use Tenable to scan all the workstations in our government environment for vulnerabilities and outdated software. The Tenable agents installed on the PCs enable us to detect any potential security risks or applications that are not up-to-date, malicious, or suspicious. This helps us ensure that all the PCs are secure and are in good posture.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the installation of Tenable which is incredibly easy. Even those without extensive technical knowledge can do it. All we need is the license and a few clicks through the installation process which is simple. Once the program is installed on all PCs and servers, we're good to go!
What needs improvement?
The solution can be annoyingly slow.
The pricing is a bit high.
We would like to see the inclusion of penetration testing capabilities if possible.
Tenable has been mostly used in the on-premise environment, so it would be great if they could improve the transition to the cloud.
The accuracy of the vulnerability assessment needs improvement as false alarms and false positives occur often. Applications are often flagged as critical when they are actually benign. To improve user experience, there needs to be an upgrade in the accuracy of the results and a more user-friendly interface.
Sometimes it can be difficult to adjust the policies. When the solution has been previously installed. Making changes to policies requires navigating multiple steps. This process can be time-consuming and potentially confusing. Expert knowledge may be necessary in certain cases.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There has been an improvement over the years and the solution is now extremely stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We can easily scale up our license to support more devices. By increasing our license, we can add more workstations.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is outstanding. We encountered some difficulties during our initial deployment, yet they persisted in helping us all day long. Their support team is very competent.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
The deployment took us two days to install the SoC on all 100 of our workstations.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is expensive. We lost bids to competing companies due to the pricing; there are cheaper alternatives to Tenable such as Rapid7 InsightVM.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution an eight out of ten.
We have 100 workstations that all use the solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Tenable Nessus
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about Tenable Nessus. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,310 professionals have used our research since 2012.
IT Director at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
User-friendly environment, simple to manage, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Tenable Nessus is the GUI and user-friendliness. Additionally, the environment is easy to work with."
- "The scalability of Tenable Nessus is good. However, it could be more flexible."
What is our primary use case?
We use Tenable Nessus to schedule test scans and work with the finding.
We have integrated Tenable Nessus with Splunk.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Tenable Nessus is the GUI and user-friendliness. Additionally, the environment is easy to work with.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Tenable Nessus for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Tenable Nessus is a stable solution.
I rate the stability of Tenable Nessus a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Tenable Nessus is good. However, it could be more flexible.
We have over 400 people using the solution. We plan to increase our usage, but it depends on the progress of the business.
I rate the scalability of Tenable Nessus an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The support we have for Tenable Nessus is internal. The IT teams for Tenable Nessus are in the Czech Republic for us.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used Tenable IO.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Tenable Nessus is too expensive for each service center.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Tenable Nessus because it's a good solution, works properly, is not complicated to administrate, is simple to manage, and is stable.
I rate Tenable Nessus a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Security Compliance Officer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Easy to use, and provides good visibility, but the user interface could be improved
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable aspect of this solution is that you receive the entire report, which details the breakdown, especially in terms of critical, high, low, and mediums."
- "To be honest, I haven't used it much to tell you that these are the things that should be improved. But I believe the UI should be enhanced somewhat. For example, there are two ways to find a report, and people are frequently confused as to which is the correct method for locating a full report. Sometimes they go in the opposite direction, so this is an area that may be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Every month, I had this Windows Gold image scan. I would obtain some IP addresses, create some rules, and then run them.
Then there were the automatic automated jobs that I and my colleagues would arrange to execute.
They would run at night so they wouldn't interrupt the systems.
Enter some IP addresses for workstations and servers. Some were in a highly secure zone, while others were in a separate subnet, we enter those IP addresses in and run them, scheduling them to run biweekly or weekly.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable aspect of this solution is that you receive the entire report, which details the breakdown, especially in terms of critical, high, low, and mediums. It also informs you exactly what was wrong with it. Then I believe it copies the CVS's score as well.
What needs improvement?
To be honest, I haven't used it much to tell you that these are the things that should be improved. But I believe the UI should be enhanced somewhat.
For example, there are two ways to find a report, and people are frequently confused as to which is the correct method for locating a full report. Sometimes they go in the opposite direction, so this is an area that may be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Tenable Nessus for quite some time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Tenable Nessus is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Tenable Nessus is a scalable product.
How are customer service and support?
I did not deal with technical support at all.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Nessus from JSON for a Gold image and vulnerability scans in my previous role.
I'm also seeking the same type of tenant for internal vulnerability scans like Qualys.
We now use Qualys, but we haven't fully utilized its features, but I'm searching for something specialized for our internal vulnerability scan program.
How was the initial setup?
I did not set it up myself, to begin with.
What other advice do I have?
It is a good tool. It's not difficult to understand. It shouldn't be an issue as long as you know what you're doing.
I would rate Tenable Nessus a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
A mature product that's easy to set up and offers reasonable pricing
Pros and Cons
- "The solution can scale well."
- "We'd like to see the solution embrace more user-friendliness."
What is our primary use case?
Tenable is for scanning the vulnerabilities on the endpoint. That's the prime use case. It can also be extended for scanning web publications, et cetera.
What is most valuable?
Nessus is a very stable product. And it has been a pioneer and has been around for a long time. Their vulnerability dashboards are very good to use.
It is easy to set up.
The solution can scale well.
The pricing is reasonable.
What needs improvement?
While the pricing is quite good, any client would, of course, like it to be a bit less.
We'd like to see the solution embrace more user-friendliness. That said, currently, we are happy with the product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for a while. it's been a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable, reliable product. The performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the product to be scalable.
How are customer service and support?
We generally don't have a lot of requirements for tech support with Tenable. We have been using it for so long, we have received quite a good amount of training from them at this point. Therefore, we don't look for a lot of tech support.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is quite straightforward and simple. I wouldn't describe the process as overly complex.
The deployment time depends on how the endpoints are distributed. If it is a single one within one country and one region, it is very fast. We can do it in less than three months.
What about the implementation team?
We are consultants. We can assist users with the setup process.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's not an overly expensive solution. It's pretty affordable.
Users pay an annual licensing fee.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a consultant.
We can deploy the solution either on-premises or on the cloud.
I'd advise potential new users to look at what the landscape is. And based on the landscape, they should be able to fit the product. You need to first consider your strategy and build towards that. We would recommend this solution to others if it seems to fit their needs.
I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Manager II at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
User friendly and vast scanning capabilities with built-in, pre-coded configurations
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to understand for users because instructions are included on the platform."
- "Vulnerability recommendations are outdated and not in line with industry standards."
What is our primary use case?
Our company uses the solution for vulnerability scanning.
What is most valuable?
The solution is easy to understand for users because instructions are included on the platform.
Scanning capabilities are vast with built-in configurations that are pre-coded for various types of servers.
There are very few false positives reported.
It is easy to access and share reports. For example, consultants can extract reports, remove columns if needed, and share final copies with clients.
What needs improvement?
Vulnerability recommendations are outdated and not in line with industry standards.
The reporting tool should allow fancier customizations such as pivot or formula-based options.
Cloud reviews should be a focus because AWS is taking over the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very, very stable and is considered the leader in stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable and we have it on every server in our organization with no issues. We only provide user-level access to our security teams.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is very good and responsive.
A few months back, we utilized their assistance for configurations on a custom EMI. They were very helpful and indicated the next upgrade would include a checklist and benchmarking documents for manual completion.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is very straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was handled by Tenable. There was a one-time installation cost of $500-$1,000 which was nominal for our large organization.
Tenable either connects virtually or comes onsite to deploy the solution across your entire network.
Routine maintenance is performed on a local machine with no server needs. This occurs about three times a year by our in-house team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our organization is huge so our license costs $30,000. We are one of the biggest financial sector groups in India, so are charged appropriately.
Pricing is rated a seven out of ten because it is reasonable but always could be cheaper.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We use both the solution and Qualys which are leading tools in the industry.
Qualys is a complicated tool for users because it does not include easy-to-access instructions. It also reports more false positives.
The solution is easier to use and includes instructions for running scans.
Overall, the solution is a better tool than Qualys.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is a great tool for automation and reducing your team's efforts. If you have the budget and knowledgeable staff, then I recommend you use it.
I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Principal Security Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Is easy to use and configure, and has a lot of plugins
Pros and Cons
- "The ease of use is the primary valuable feature. This specific version is very straightforward. I like the ability to modify it and configure it based on the different policies."
- "Multiple user access would be an area for improvement from a user-access perspective. A role-based access control feature would be great because at present, there is a limitation with only one account. If that account gets compromised or gets locked, then we will encounter problems."
What is our primary use case?
We use it predominantly for vulnerability scanning and compliance scanning as part of the vulnerability and compliance protocols in one of our programs.
What is most valuable?
The ease of use is the primary valuable feature. This specific version is very straightforward. I like the ability to modify it and configure it based on the different policies.
I also like the number of plugins. It has quite a lot of plugins that keep it up to date with the different vulnerabilities coming out.
What needs improvement?
Multiple user access would be an area for improvement from a user-access perspective. A role-based access control feature would be great because at present, there is a limitation with only one account. If that account gets compromised or gets locked, then we will encounter problems.
It would be good to have a way to store filters from searches so that you don't have to recreate them from scratch every time. To be able to have them saved as a list of filters would be really useful.
It would be really useful to have a way to assess the risk of a specific vulnerability based on a number of factors which could be tailored. It could be a tailored set of factors you introduce to see a potential risk score or a different view of the CVSS score.
A lot of organizations do this manually, and some of them have some other ways of identifying or assessing the risk of vulnerabilities. It would be really useful to have a framework which allows you to create a way to assess the risk of vulnerabilities on the platform and potentially prioritize them or provide information as a report to management or to other teams for resolution.
It would be really nice to have a way to visualize the different results from the scans. For example, if you scan a Windows 2016 Server and you have a number of vulnerabilities, it would be nice to somehow show the vulnerabilities in a graphical format and potentially combine some of the outcomes into a graphical representation showing trending. Trending is quite important, especially when I speak to my senior management stakeholders and try to show the security posture and status. It would help to provide a long and wide view of where the vulnerabilities are and what kind of aging is present.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for three and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Nessus Manager is very stable; I haven't had any problems. I'd give the stability of the product a five out of five.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product itself is not scalable by design. It is a single-user product, so it doesn't allow you to have multiple users at the same time. You have only one account. The type of product that we're using is not really meant for huge enterprises, and it's a bit more limited in terms of usage.
At present, I use the personal version for the account I'm looking after, but we probably have less than five people using this platform.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it ourselves. The deployment was done by one engineer, and it did not take too long.
What was our ROI?
The project in which I have been using it, it has been great because we satisfy a very crucial requirement. We have brought around vulnerability management, so it's really good ROI for what we have.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Nessus Manager is not an expensive product. It has its limitations, but the pricing reflects that.
We have a yearly subscription.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Nessus Manager and rate it at eight on a scale from one to ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Cyber Security Expert at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Provides network and device scanning and allows us to pull reports that identify vulnerabilities
Pros and Cons
- "The vulnerability scanner is the most valuable feature."
- "I would like to see more on the automation side."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for network and device scanning. Massive scanners have been integrated with the security center. We scan devices and pull the report from the security center. We publish the report to respective stakeholders, and we maintain the reports for our records. The reports show vulnerabilities, plugin text, and plugin outputs. We analyze the report and try to close the vulnerabilities identified in the scan.
The solution is deployed on-premises.
There are about 10 people using this solution in my organization. They were part of the security team and were doing the scanning and remediation. I led the team and dealt with any challenges.
My organization is a service provider. We provide security services to clients.
What is most valuable?
The vulnerability scanner is the most valuable feature. It's an important feature for us. We use the plugin output for that. It shows us the exact version of Nessus and what is needed for remediation. Based on that, we decide what should be remediated first to get the best result for security.
The agent scanner is a valuable feature. We also do credential scans, which gives the equivalent report. In the log project situation, we receive very good support from Nessus. They have built one policy for the log project itself. With the help of that policy and the plugins specified for the log project, the scans were faster for that project.
If we run a scan, it will usually check all of the plugins, which is a time-consuming process. We received help, and we had one plugin for the log project. That was for checking the log project only because we were already done with the complete scan.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see more on the automation side. There should be proper tools and support for automation in Tenable itself.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for more than four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution, but we noticed that the agent wasn't being updated. This means we have to update it manually and run a few commands to get the service running. If the solution isn't updated with the latest version, it will go offline.
How are customer service and support?
We receive very good technical support from the team in India. We're very happy with them. I'm also in touch with some people from Tenable India. They helped me understand the requirements and the solution's latest features.
I would rate technical support as four out of five because they could always improve.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was easy. That's why I proposed the solution to my current organization.
The deployment process completely depends on approvals and how we're getting the procurement of hardware and the licenses. It depends on the organization.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is worth the cost. It's a good investment.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have also evaluated Qualys. There were some missing features, so we weren't able to detect vulnerabilities related to specific software, like Adobe and Java.
I have also used Tenable.sc.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.
For those who want to use this solution, my advice is to go to Tenable's website and read about the solution so you can properly understand its features. There are demo videos too. That will help you make a decision about whether you want to use the tool or not.
I would definitely recommend this solution to others who want to use it.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tenable Nessus Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2025
Product Categories
Vulnerability ManagementPopular Comparisons
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security
Qualys VMDR
Tanium
Zafran Security
JFrog Xray
Tenable Security Center
Orca Security
Tenable Vulnerability Management
Claroty Platform
Acunetix
Trend Vision One - Cloud Security
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tenable Nessus Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- Qualys VM vs Tenable Nessus: Comparison
- How would you choose between Rapid7 InsightVM and Tenable Nessus?
- What's the difference between Tenable Nessus and Tenable.io Vulnerability Management?
- How does Tenable Nessus compare with Qualys VM?
- What are the main differences between Qualys VMDR and Tenable Nessus?
- How inadvisable is it to use a single vulnerability analysis tool?
- What are the benefits of continuous scanning for vulnerability management?
- When evaluating Vulnerability Management, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
- What is a more effective approach to cyber defense: risk-based vulnerability management or vulnerability assessment?
- What are the main KPIs that need to be implemented to have better posture in vulnerability projects?



















