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Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs Tenable Nessus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.9
Determining ROI for Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is challenging due to service bundling and mixed-use of other products.
Sentiment score
2.5
Tenable Nessus excels in vulnerability management, boosting security, offering cost-efficiency, and enhancing threat detection and patch deployment.
Organizations typically do not rely solely on Microsoft products to avoid putting all eggs in one basket, which presents a challenge for maximizing ROI.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
As a Microsoft partner, we receive significant discounts, making the solution affordable for us.
COO at Floating-Dot Technology LTD
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Defender's support is praised for expertise but criticized for communication delays and varying service quality.
Sentiment score
3.8
Tenable Nessus support is knowledgeable and efficient but sometimes delayed, with high overall satisfaction despite occasional response speed issues.
They are sometimes responsive, however, often issues cannot be reproduced on their end, making it challenging.
Security Specialist at Prudential Systems Japan
The support we receive from Microsoft is declining, and for example, after taking advanced support, we have not received satisfactory answers.
Microsoft Solutions Manager at Self-Employed
They are familiar with Microsoft products but are not direct Microsoft staff, which is an area needing improvement.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
We received support within one to three hours.
CIO at a insurance company with 201-500 employees
Whenever any issue arises, we contact the support, and they are always there for us.
Information security engineer at Cyberisk
The technical support is good yet could improve in terms of response time.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Defender excels in scalability and integration but faces documentation and on-premise infrastructure challenges across industries.
Sentiment score
5.6
Tenable Nessus is scalable, adaptable, and well-regarded, though larger environments may face server and cloud storage challenges.
The integration is straightforward for those who understand it, though documentation needs improvement.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
It is scalable; I evaluated the product and decided to use Defender on over 700 of our company servers.
Security Specialist at Prudential Systems Japan
Whether managing 50 servers today or 500 tomorrow, performance or capacity are not hindered.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Tenable Nessus is definitely scalable, especially for license formats designed for scalability.
Security Center Coordinator at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is highly stable and reliable, with minimal downtime, despite minor resource-related and compatibility issues.
Sentiment score
5.7
Tenable Nessus is stable with reliable performance, minor update issues, occasional false positives, and rare network interference.
There are compatibility issues occasionally arising with false positives when other security tools are not whitelisted in Microsoft Defender.
information Security and IT Manager at Discover Dollar Technologies Pvt Ltd.
It is very resource-intensive, consuming a lot of memory and CPU.
Security Specialist at Prudential Systems Japan
If Microsoft experiences downtime, this solution goes down as it is a SaaS-based solution where we have no control.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
We have not encountered any issues with missing network items or errors in API and webhook interactions.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
The stability of Tenable Nessus is extraordinary.
Founder at Cipheroot
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender needs better false positive reduction, integration, cost management, risk scoring, and documentation for small enterprises.
Tenable Nessus needs improved reporting, integration, and user interface, along with expanded capabilities, flexible pricing, and better documentation.
This scoring should be for specific industries as well. If I belong to the healthcare industry using Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, it should provide me with a risk score and show how I fare against the risk score of my industry.
DGM. Technical Security at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
A vulnerability I patch within 15 minutes takes 24 additional hours for an update.
information Security and IT Manager at Discover Dollar Technologies Pvt Ltd.
The product is not stable; it often uses excessive memory and CPU, which makes it slow.
Security Specialist at Prudential Systems Japan
This is Tenable's property. They want to sell Tenable Security Center, and they closed all the API capability for Tenable Nessus Professional.
Co-Founder at RSU Consultancy
The documentation is not well-organized, which can be confusing when searching for solutions or specific information related to Tenable Nessus Professional.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
The product's pricing has roughly tripled within the last couple of years, making us reconsider renewing the license for the scanner.
Security Center Coordinator at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management provides economical tiered pricing with P1 and P2 options, often included in existing bundles.
Enterprise evaluations praise Tenable Nessus for competitive pricing, though licensing flexibility issues may increase costs for larger networks.
Overall, every organization wishes for cheaper options, but we look at the security side as well, so we are good for now.
Senior Cloud Security Consultant at MetLife
For non-partners, however, the cost could be seen as higher, between seven to ten.
COO at Floating-Dot Technology LTD
The pricing is reasonable, and it's included in the whole Microsoft E5 bundle, so it's all-inclusive.
Corporate Planner at MISC Berhad
The pricing for Tenable Nessus has increased significantly, tripling over the last few years.
Security Center Coordinator at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
Tenable Nessus's pricing is adequate if it is fully utilized.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Tenable Nessus is that the installation is somewhat easier, but preparing the product, such as the SKU and license options, is quite tricky.
Senior Security Consultant at ITSEC Asia
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender excels in compliance, real-time assessments, risk prioritization, integration, asset discovery, and continuous monitoring for enhanced security management.
Tenable Nessus offers comprehensive vulnerability coverage, flexible scanning, ease of use, affordable pricing, and effective integration, enhancing security management.
The main advantage of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is that it can locate and prevent most threats even when the endpoints are not connected to the corporate network, as long as the internet is available.
DGM. Technical Security at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The feature for customizing to region-specific and domain-specific requirements in healthcare is particularly beneficial.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The most valuable aspect is the kind of assessment results I get, and the recommendations provided in Microsoft products really help in taking care of the resources.
Senior Cloud Security Consultant at MetLife
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.
Founder at Cipheroot
The scanning and reporting features are the most valuable aspects of Tenable Nessus.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable features of Tenable Nessus include its ease of access and quick usability.
Security Center Coordinator at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender Vulnerab...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (18th), Microsoft Security Suite (19th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (6th)
Tenable Nessus
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
87
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is 2.3%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Nessus is 5.1%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tenable Nessus5.1%
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management2.3%
Other92.6%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

OB
Microsoft Solutions Manager at Self-Employed
Ensures strong threat and vulnerability management with continuous risk assessment
The major priority is identity, which is crucial; we have lots of companies in manufacturing, energy, or various sectors, and it varies from one to another. I assess Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management as very effective in continuously assessing vulnerabilities without requiring scans. We use automatic investigation and remediation features, safe attachments, safe links, and real-time reports, which are also very effective. For Active Directory, Defender has threat intelligence, and we are using that. The risk-based prioritization within Vulnerability Management affects my ability to manage vulnerabilities, particularly in relation to the Zero Trust Model utilized by our customers. The end-users often do as they please in their systems.
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.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise35
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?
The documentation from Microsoft needs significant improvement. The documents are disorganized, with one document linking to another, making the steps unclear and difficult to follow. Regarding upd...
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 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 address identified vulnerabilities. These scans cover the servers, other network equi...
 

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 Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs. Tenable Nessus and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.