Fortify Application Defender vs Tenable.io Web Application Scanning comparison

OpenText and Tenable are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. OpenText is ranked #24 with an average rating of 8.0, while Tenable is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.5. OpenText holds a 1.1% mindshare in AS, compared to Tenable’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of OpenText users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Tenable users who would recommend it.

Fortify Application Defender

Read 11 Fortify Application Defender reviews

1,378 Views
1,116 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Tenable.io Web Application ...

Read 18 Tenable.io Web Application Scanning reviews

1,996 Views
1,597 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Fortify Application Defender

Tenable.io Web Application ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Fortify Application Defender and Tenable.io Web Application Scanning are key players in the application security market. Tenable.io has the upper hand due to its comprehensive feature set despite higher pricing.

Features: Fortify Application Defender includes real-time threat detection, automated threat blocking, and intuitive security analytics dashboard. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning offers comprehensive vulnerability detection, detailed reporting features, and real-time security insights.

Room for Improvement: Fortify Application Defender could improve integration with development tools, enhance its user interface, and expand its reporting capabilities. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning could work on faster scan performance, add more customization options, and increase its integration capability with other tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortify Application Defender is known for its easy deployment process and responsive customer service, which ensures smooth adoption. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, despite being more complex to set up, provides strong customer support to aid users throughout the deployment and maintenance phases.

Pricing and ROI: Fortify Application Defender presents reasonable initial setup costs and a satisfactory return on investment, balancing performance and cost effectively. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, though more expensive, is deemed cost-effective due to its advanced features, justifying the expense for long-term security advantages.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortify Application Defender vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortify Application Defender vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning

December 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

Fortify Application Defender

Ranking in Application Security Tools

24th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Tenable.io Web Application ...

Ranking in Application Security Tools

15th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Fortify Application Defender is 1.1%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is 1.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Tenable.io Web Application Scanning	1.4%
Fortify Application Defender	1.1%
Other	97.5%

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

VinothSivam

CTO at Abcl

Useful for fast code review in devOps pipelines

I rate the tool's scalability a seven out of ten. However, I'm concerned about how it handles an increasing number of lines of code. As the complexity grows, so does the time it takes for the tool to review everything. I want more clarity on how Fortify Application Defender handles multiple threats. We have numerous endpoints, but the tool runs in our pipeline, meaning it operates in the cloud. All our code is configured there, and the tool runs integration testing, unit testing, user testing, and final production code tests. It's a day-to-day experience. It's utilized almost every day as part of our pipeline runs. Each team responsible for integration testing, human testing, user access testing, and preproduction testing runs it whenever they take a build.

Read full review

Jonathan-Pereira

Cyber Security Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Centralized license management transforms asset manipulation based on functions and improves security posture

Now that the license is centralized, it's a significant feature to manipulate assets based on their functions. It provides a centralized view from end-to-end to its assets' identities and vulnerabilities. One of the greatest features is Kubernetes. The automated scanning capability is pretty standard in the market, and Tenable's prioritization engine helps improve the security posture.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find the configuration of rules in Fortify Application Defender useful. Its integration is also easy."

"The product saves us cost and time."

"The most valuable feature is that it analyzes data in real-time."

"The information from Fortify Application Defender on how to fix and solve issues is very good compared to other solutions."

"The tool's most valuable feature is software composition analysis. This feature works well with my .NET applications, providing a better understanding of library vulnerabilities."

"Fortify Application Defender's most valuable features are machine learning algorithms, real-time remediation, and automatic vulnerability notifications."

"Its ability to find security defects is valuable."

"We are able to provide out customers with a secure application after development. They are no longer left wondering if they are vulnerable to different threats within the market following deployment."

More Fortify Application Defender pros

"It collects the vulnerabilities on the hostnames and sends them to the Tenable.io cloud. Tenable has its own cloud where Tenable.io is running, but there are many connectors to other cloud solutions. Tenable can do vulnerability scanning for other cloud managers such as Azure, Amazon, and so on."

"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning provides a detailed report, identifying functions that are complex and need to be more maintainable and readable."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"It is fully automated."

"It has good unified web application scanning and exposure management."

"The solution's instant reports feature is the most effective for detecting threats."

"The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment."

"Our customers adopt this solution because of the replication testing and the vulnerability assessment it can do. It is a multi-faceted product."

More Tenable.io Web Application Scanning pros

Cons

"I encountered many false positives for Python applications."

"The biggest complaint that I have heard concerns additional platform support because right now, it only supports applications that are written in .NET and Java."

"The workbench is a little bit complex when you first start using it."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"The solution could improve the time it takes to scan. When comparing it to SonarQube it does it in minutes while in Fortify Application Defender it can take hours."

"The false positive rate should be lower."

"Fortify Application Defender gives a lot of false positives."

"Support for older compilers/IDEs is lacking."

More Fortify Application Defender cons

"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning could improve by offering faster fuzzing."

"The solution's dashboards could be improved and made more user-friendly."

"I would like for them to add proxy filtering, where you can transfer and alter the package. It is fully automated. Other web application testers programs are actually proxy software, and the proxy software gives you the flexibility of modifying the outgoing package, which will actually help you in exploiting any vulnerability in detail."

"They have a general dashboard for web application scanning, but the dashboards and reporting can be improved. They probably have some features in their roadmap."

"The reporting has a very limited customization capability."

"The technical support should be improved. Currently, some attacks are detected while others are not."

"The dashboard could be more user-friendly."

"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning conducts a general scan, which wastes time. The scan needs to be specific."

More Tenable.io Web Application Scanning cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is very complex, it's project based and can range from $10,000 to $200,000+ depending on the project type and size."

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten. It comes as an annual cloud subscription. The tool's pricing is around 50 lakhs."

"The price of this solution could be less expensive."

"The product’s price is much higher than other tools."

"The base licensing costs for the SaaS platform is about $900 USD per application, per year."

"Fortify Application Defender is very expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to the competitors. The license cost is based on the number of users and the annual usage."

"It follows the same licensing scheme as Tenable.io and Tenable. sc."

"The application is extremely affordable. There are no additional costs involved with licensing. We switched to Tenable.io Web Application Scanning from other solutions due to pricing."

"For Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, it comes to around 6,50,000 Indian rupees, plus taxes."

"The pricing is okay."

"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is expensive for small businesses."

"I rate the product's pricing a four out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortify Application Defender?

I find the configuration of rules in Fortify Application Defender useful. Its integration is also easy.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortify Application Defender?

The product should integrate industry-standard code review tools internally with its system. This would streamline the coding process, as developers wouldn't need multiple tools for code review and...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Fortify Application Defender?

We use the solution for fast code review. It is integrated into our DevOps pipeline.

See all answers

What do you like most about Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?

The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?

If there were a solution, I would like to see automation and an integrated remediation solution for vulnerability or patch management.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?

I do not understand what API approach means; I do not understand this term. I think Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is the best option on the market at the moment. My review rating for this pro...

See all answers

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Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

Snyk vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Tenable.io Web Application Scanning

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

January 2026

Download Fortify Application Defender product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

January 2026

Tenable.io Web Application Scanning report

Download Tenable.io Web Application Scanning product report

Also Known As

HPE Fortify Application Defender, Micro Focus Fortify Application Defender

No data available

Overview

Micro Focus Security Fortify Application Defender is a runtime application self-protection (RASP) solution that helps you manage and mitigate risk from homegrown or third-party applications. It provides centralized visibility into application use and abuse while protecting from software vulnerability exploits and other violations in real time.

OpenText

Tenable.io Web Application Scanning safely, accurately and automatically scans your web applications, providing deep visibility into vulnerabilities and valuable context to prioritize remediation.

Tenable

Sample Customers

ServiceMaster, Saltworks, SAP

IMDEX

Buyer's Guide

Fortify Application Defender vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning

December 2025

Free Report: Fortify Application Defender vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortify Application Defender vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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