No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.
Information Technology Security Specialist at NAKIT s.p.
Real User
Oct 11, 2021
A remote security scanning tool that's pretty good to optimize
Pros and Cons
  • "I have experience with it on my attack stations, and it's pretty good to optimize. Personally, I think Nessus is quite a good product."
  • "Personally, I think Nessus is quite a good product."
  • "Some things in the user interface could be better. The user interface could allow more adjustments to plugins. The price could also be better."
  • "Technical support could be more knowledgeable. Their support right now goes from awkward to funny."

What is our primary use case?

I'm using Tenable Nessus for my personal projects and vulnerability assessment, but I can't discuss what I do at work with you.

What is most valuable?

I have experience with it on my attack stations, and it's pretty good to optimize. Personally, I think Nessus is quite a good product.

What needs improvement?

Some things in the user interface could be better. The user interface could allow more adjustments to plugins. The price could also be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tenable Nessus as a worker in America for about 15 years now.

Buyer's Guide
Tenable Nessus
September 2026
Learn what your peers think about Tenable Nessus. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
916,240 professionals have used our research since 2012.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support could be more knowledgeable. Their support right now goes from awkward to funny. Sorry to say that, but Tenable Nessus support isn't working as it should. They act fast, but their solutions don't always work. I've been in several situations at work where I had to find my own solutions.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup and installation are pretty straightforward. Let's say 15 minutes to compile the plugin. It would take about half an hour to an hour to set up and deploy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

One problem with Tenable is its pricing policy. Optimal results can be achieved with Greenbone Solutions which has much more friendly pricing policies.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Tenable Nessus an eight.

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.
PeerSpot user
Senior Cyber Security Expert at a security firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Sep 13, 2021
Easy to install, reliable, helpful support, and has a good assessment tool
Pros and Cons
  • "Tenable Nessus is one of the best vulnerability assessment tools, that I know."
  • "They need more flexible pricing."
  • "In general, it is extremely expensive. If they have a higher price, that's fine, but if there were one or two solutions where you can buy something for a cheaper price then that would make sense for many users."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for information gathering and as an assessment tool.

What is most valuable?

Tenable Nessus is one of the best vulnerability assessment tools, that I know.

What needs improvement?

The price could be improved. They need more flexible pricing.

If they had a very creative idea, maybe they could add a special feature. Even extending functions, or exploring new areas. If they were able to integrate it with the existing solution, that would be fine.

I would like to see more integrations, more ideas or services, and functions offered.

It's about wider functionality and not a question of integration. It's more a question of, creativity. If they have other ideas such as what could be added to the vulnerability management. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tenable Nessus for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Tenable Nessus is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable solution.

Nessus we either use Nessus for projects for ourselves in many situations, and they also deliver Nessus as a solution for at least five clients. We also have approximately 10 users in our organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

My experience with technical support is very positive.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was easy.

It took approximately six hours to install and deploy.

We need two for the deployment and maintenance, we have two or three people.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

In general, it is extremely expensive. If they have a higher price, that's fine, but if there were one or two solutions where you can buy something for a cheaper price then that would make sense for many users.

I understand why it's expensive, but it would be good to have a limited solution with cheaper prices.

There are different solutions for purchasing Nessus, which is not possible with Datadog.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I would rate Tenable Nessus a nine out of ten because it has many dimensions.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Tenable Nessus
September 2026
Learn what your peers think about Tenable Nessus. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
916,240 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1642203 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Aug 4, 2021
Very user friendly with good dashboards
Pros and Cons
  • "User friendly and good dashboards."
  • "It's a user friendly solution and I like the dashboards."
  • "Consumes more system resources when it's running."
  • "Unfortunately, the solution consumes more system resources when it's being run and I'd like that to be reduced."

What is our primary use case?

I'm using Tenable for a project I'm working on. The primary use case is for web application scanning and we're also able to conduct infrastructure scanning and network scanning. I'm not using all the features. 

What is most valuable?

It's a user friendly solution and I like the dashboards. 

What needs improvement?

Unfortunately, the solution consumes more system resources when it's being run and I'd like that to be reduced. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very easy, it didn't take more than 10 minutes. It does depend on internet speed so sometimes deployment might take longer. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

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.
PeerSpot user
it_user1605831 - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager of Information Security at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jun 20, 2021
Great scanning capabilities for servers, but limited when it comes to networks
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is great for scanning servers."
  • "I can say that I am satisfied with Tenable Nessus' support and customer relations, which is why I'm still with the solution."
  • "While the solution is great for scanning servers, its features are limited when it comes to scanning network devices for vulnerabilities."

What is our primary use case?

As new upgrades to the software come out periodically, I am currently using the latest version. 

What is most valuable?

I feel comfortable with the solution's vulnerability scanning capabilities.

What needs improvement?

While the solution is great for scanning servers, its features are limited when it comes to scanning network devices for vulnerabilities. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tenable Nessus since 2015. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I can say that I am satisfied with Tenable Nessus' support and customer relations, which is why I'm still with the solution.

Technical support is very user-friendly. Upon entering their forum I can easily find the answers I seek, which I feel to be understandable and helpful. I have not any issues with the software that would have given me reason to engage technical support. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I did not use an alternate solution prior to Tenable Nessus and have been using it since the inception of my career in information security. 

How was the initial setup?

The installation of the solution was extremely easy. 

What about the implementation team?

There was no need for me to involve my system administrator in the installation process, as I was able to handle it on my own. It is easy to install the solution on any server. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is reasonable. 

What other advice do I have?

I am actually using the solution in three or four different organizations, including Engro and Martin Dow. 

There are two or three people using the solution in my organization on an ongoing basis in key dedicated positions. 

As Tenable Nessus lacks adequate network vulnerability scanning features, I rate it as a seven 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.
PeerSpot user
it_user1596903 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Jun 10, 2021
Good vulnerability management and easy to set up but needs more integration capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is very straightforward."
  • "The solution is very good at vulnerability management."
  • "We'd like to see more integration potential within the solution."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for vulnerability management.

When it comes to servers and scanners, or servers and endpoints, you can discover the vulnerabilities that might be on the other end. You can see, for example, if
you have a gap in vulnerabilities in specific servers or specific endpoints, and you if have to close the. You can really see the risks that might be encountered within your environment.

What is most valuable?

The solution is very good at vulnerability management. It gives you great visibility of visibilities.

The solution is stable. 

The initial setup is very straightforward.

What needs improvement?

We'd like to see more integration potential within the solution.

They tend to do a new release every quarter, and will ultimately continue to add more features.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for two months. We've been looking into it over that time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is pretty stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. Its performance is very reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I can't speak to the scalability. We have never tried to scale the solution.

I'm the only person in my organization that uses the solution. I don't have plans to increase usage at this time.

How are customer service and technical support?

I can't speak of technical support's knowledgeability or helpfulness. I haven't used them before and therefore couldn't really evaluate them very well.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is very straightforward and pretty simple. There isn't too much complexity or difficulty involved. A company shouldn't have any issues with the initial setup.

What about the implementation team?

I handled the installation myself. I didn't need the assistance of a consultant or integrator.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We pay a yearly licensing fee.

I can't speak to the exact pricing. It's not an aspect of the solution I directly deal with.

What other advice do I have?

We're using the latest version of the solution. I can't speak to the exact version number.

I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. It's pretty great at vulnerability management, however, there are always ways to improve it.

I'd recommend the solution to other users.

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
PeerSpot user
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 10
May 30, 2021
Geared for use in small environments
Pros and Cons
  • "Tenable Nessus is an absolutely stable and fantastic product."
  • "Tenable Nessus is not feasible for a large company."

What needs improvement?

While Nessus produces good software, I would like it to allow me to better utilize my homepage. The report structures should be more gradual and effective. Also, other components, such as certain vulnerabilities and Malware detection, should better reflect on the console or dashboard. Nessus does not make this available as there is no centralized dashboard. So too, I require a cloud-based Tenable product, not the one available, which is on-premises.

We have already entered an agreement with Nessus for Tenable.io., following contact I established with South Boston.

Once a person takes part in the demo offered by Tenable.io, we are talking about, more or less, VAS software. The VAS feature is absolutely nice. We have already addressed the coming roadmap with Nessus and it will not include these features. Consequently, perhaps Tenable.io will be the next step. Users such as ourselves will definitely be looking at a different application.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for the past four years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Tenable Nessus is an absolutely stable and fantastic product. As a customer I would give it a 90 percent out of 100 rating.  This is because we have been really satisfied with its use over the past four years. The company and market standards are growing and the margin standard is going up.

Tenable Nessus is competitively slower than Tenable.io.

What other advice do I have?

We are currently trying to procure Tenable.io from Nessus.

I would definitely recommend Tenable Nessus to those who are operating in small environments, with like-sized infrastructure.

When it comes to a big company we should look towards OpenView. Tenable Nessus is not feasible for a large company. For a team comprising 1,000 people, it would be too unstable. Instead, Tenable.io. would be the appropriate choice since it contains a completely different infra.

I rate Tenable Nessus as an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user1580550 - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Cyber Security engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
May 23, 2021
Easy to understand but is lacking technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "A valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to understand."
  • "We feel the solution's technical support to be very bad."

What is our primary use case?

We usually use the solution for infrastructure level and web application scanning, although mostly for the former. This is what we are doing at present. We were using the web application portion of Tenable Nessus for several months before switching to Veracode. 

What is most valuable?

A valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to understand. When it comes to running a scan, the scanning mechanism is also easy, and it is quite fast compared to Veracode and Qualys.

What needs improvement?

The solution should have a more in-depth level of scanning, with features to meet the developers. Other points that should be addressed involve the understanding of issues by the users and the need for improvising the reporting structure. The reports should also be more attractive and user-friendly.

This is how Tenable Nessus occasionally works when drawing up something on the field.

Additional features I wish to see addressed in the next release include customer support and ease of  understanding of vulnerabilities and how they can be fixed.

In contrast to Tenable Nessus, we have found Veracode to be more user-friendly, with a greater in-depth understanding of the details and how things can be fixed. Other points in its favor include study cases, customer support, training and e-learning. 

The solution is sort of down the mid range, so we are more happy with Veracode.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have made use of Tenable Nessus over the past 12 months, and started doing so a couple of months before we got Veracode.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is reliable and has good stability. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have been in the web, so we have not tried to expand the solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

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

While we do receive a response upon creating a ticket, it is not like that of Qualys or Veracode. That extensive support is not there.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

We deployed under the release plan of 8.11.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

What other advice do I have?

There are at least ten people in our organization making use of the solution. 

Tenable Nessus is an appropriate solution for a small scale company, one with budgeting constraints and no complexities within the organization. It not that user-friendly.

I would rate Tenable Nessus as a seven 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.
PeerSpot user
Kai Boon Giam - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Data Connect Technologies Pte Ltd
Real User
Apr 24, 2021
Good reports that are easy to understand, straightforward to set up, and scales well
Pros and Cons
  • "The reports are pretty nice and easy to understand."
  • "So far, I am quite pleased with this product and don't have any complaints."
  • "The price could be reduced."

What is our primary use case?

We use Tenable Nessus when we are preparing our audit where we need to do an initial scan of our customers' platform to see if they have any critical issues.

What is most valuable?

The reports are pretty nice and easy to understand.

What needs improvement?

The price could be reduced.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tenable Nessus for approximately 20 years, since the time that it was first released. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable. We do not have any issues with the stability of this solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable product. We have approximately 300 companies.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have yet to contact technical support. The users within my team are technical people, and if they have an issue, they can resolve it themselves using the knowledge base.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It is very easy.

It takes less than 10 minutes to install.

What about the implementation team?

I am the consultant.

We have a team of two to three to deploy and maintain this solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

The pricing is fine, but it could be cheaper.

What other advice do I have?

So far, I am quite pleased with this product and don't have any complaints. I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate this solution a 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
PeerSpot user
reviewer1496742 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Hacking Officer at a security firm with 1-10 employees
Real User
Feb 21, 2021
Easy to set up and use, reasonably-priced, and works well out of the box
Pros and Cons
  • "Out of the box, the product works well for us, so it's not a tool that we need to customize very much."
  • "My advice for anybody who is considering Tenable Nessus is that it is easy to install, easy and straightforward to use, and not expensive."
  • "The reports are okay, but the interface is a bit difficult to navigate in some cases."
  • "Nessus is not very good at identifying web application vulnerabilities, which means that we need to buy another product like Acunetix or EMC Networker to handle that part."

What is our primary use case?

Our use cases are pretty straightforward. We primarily use it for conducting vulnerability scans.

What is most valuable?

Out of the box, the product works well for us, so it's not a tool that we need to customize very much.

What needs improvement?

The reporting interface is in need of improvement. The reports are okay, but the interface is a bit difficult to navigate in some cases.

Nessus is not very good at identifying web application vulnerabilities, which means that we need to buy another product like Acunetix or EMC Networker to handle that part. This is an area that could be enhanced because we would prefer to have these capabilities in one application.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tenable Nessus for more than 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Tenable is a reliable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not had any use cases that required scaling.

Our installation is a single tenant.

How are customer service and technical support?

We haven't had the need to contact technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Many years ago, we tried Nexpose by Rapid7.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy and very straightforward.

It took about half an hour to deploy, including all of the updates. It is the updates that take time to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We pay approximately $2,500 on a yearly basis. We do not pay any fees in addition to the standard licensing costs.

What other advice do I have?

Ultimately, we plan to use this product less because it is something that we advise our customers to buy for themselves. They should not be using our solution.

My advice for anybody who is considering Tenable Nessus is that it is easy to install, easy and straightforward to use, and not expensive. These are the reasons that we advice our customers to use it.

I would rate this solution an eight 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
PeerSpot user
reviewer1502784 - PeerSpot reviewer
VP - Risks, Audits & InfoSec at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Feb 11, 2021
I like its ability to collate a dependable output, where we are able to get the same vulnerability when we test manually
Pros and Cons
  • "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 output is quite reliable."
  • "In terms of what could be improved, I would say its reporting portion."
  • "We operate in small and medium enterprises and for them, Nessus is becoming expensive."

What is most valuable?

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 output is quite reliable.

What needs improvement?

In terms of what could be improved, I would say its reporting portion.

Additionally, we have the on-prem version, but sometimes we want to have an on-cloud deployment as well for certain projects, although not so many. The people who used it on cloud didn't find it as good as the version they were using on-prem. Overall, the cloud version could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tenable Nessus for about three years now. We are currently using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In terms of stability, recently we are seeing many updates coming in and we are finding that the updating model with its latest releases may be a little buggy. So sometimes deployment may take a couple of times and Nessus takes its own time for updating, thereby delaying the deployment time. Of late is, we are seeing updates coming in very frequently. So when we deploy it, it just updates again and again and that almost doubles the time.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Tenable Nessus is scalable. That's not an issue.

How are customer service and technical support?

We did reach out to technical support. I think it was just once, but it took them a long time to respond. Maybe it was case specific, but they took a few days to get back to us and we didn't expect that. Now they've completely changed the model to email support, so we send the email and we'll have to wait until the guys answer us back.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup on-prem and on-cloud did not have any issues. It just took a couple of hours.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale of one to ten, I would give Tenable Nessus an eight.

What happens is Nessus keeps on updating and this becomes a showstopper. We are unable to proceed with the vulnerability scans or testing if we do not update to the latest available patch. We can understand the risk if it's maybe one version earlier, meaning, we understand something was updated with XYZ patch but there should be something which gives us an option so that not all of our deployments need to have the latest patch. This would save the deployment time because of frequent updates.

I would recommend Tenable Nessus. Especially the commercial model. We operate in small and medium enterprises and for them, Nessus is becoming expensive. Because of this I may not buy Nessus this year and I might switch to Qualys, for example. Overall, Tenable Nessus is not so price pocket friendly for small and medium users.

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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tenable Nessus Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: September 2026
Product Categories
Vulnerability Management
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tenable Nessus Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.