Rapid7 Metasploit vs Tenable Security Center comparison

Rapid7 and Tenable are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. Rapid7 is ranked #24 with an average rating of 8.4, while Tenable is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.7. Rapid7 holds a 1.3% mindshare in VM, compared to Tenable’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Rapid7 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Tenable users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Tenable Security Center and Rapid7 Metasploit both compete in the cybersecurity domain focusing on vulnerability management and penetration testing respectively. Tenable Security Center appears to have an upper hand with its comprehensive vulnerability management capabilities, whereas Rapid7 Metasploit is recognized for its effective penetration testing features.

Features: Tenable Security Center provides comprehensive vulnerability scanning, an intuitive dashboard, and flexible policy creation. It handles large asset volumes efficiently and offers an Assurance Report Card. Rapid7 Metasploit offers automatic vulnerability discovery, script-based exploitation, and extensive penetration testing capabilities that are especially useful for educational purposes.

Room for Improvement: Tenable Security Center could improve its integration with exploit tools and offer more flexible reporting configurations. Additionally, enhancing integration with other tools would be beneficial. Rapid7 Metasploit would benefit from improved GUI functionality, broader exploit coverage, and enhanced automation capabilities to better integrate into CI/CD pipelines.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tenable Security Center can be deployed in on-premises and hybrid environments; however, it has variable feedback regarding customer service responsiveness. Rapid7 Metasploit supports multiple deployment options and generally receives positive reviews for its support services.

Pricing and ROI: Tenable Security Center is generally more expensive with comprehensive asset-based pricing models, providing ROI through reduced manual workload and increased security efficiency. In contrast, Rapid7 Metasploit offers more affordable pricing with options for open-source use, appealing to users with budget constraints seeking effective penetration testing solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Rapid7 Metasploit vs. Tenable Security Center Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 Metasploit vs. Tenable Security Center

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

Zafran Security

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 1.1%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 Metasploit is 1.3%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Security Center is 2.9%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Tenable Security Center	2.9%
Zafran Security	1.1%
Rapid7 Metasploit	1.3%
Other	94.7%

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

Reviewer6233

Works at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal

While Zafran Security is already a powerful tool, there are areas where it could be further improved to provide even greater value. One key area for enhancement is the searching capabilities within its vulnerabilities module. By incorporating the ability to create Boolean searches, users would gain the ability to apply more complex filters and customize their search criteria. This would greatly enhance the precision and efficiency with which security teams can identify and prioritize vulnerabilities. Having such tailored search capabilities would save time and resources by narrowing down vast lists of vulnerabilities to those that meet specific parameters relevant to our unique risk environment. Additionally, integrating more robust reporting and visualization tools would be advantageous. Enhanced dashboards that offer customizable visual representations of risk configurations and threat landscapes would facilitate better communication with stakeholders, making it easier to explain vulnerabilities and the rationale behind certain security measures. This would also aid in demonstrating the improvements and value derived from existing security investments to leadership and non-technical team members.

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reviewer1247523

Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

Extensive exploit database and seamless integration enhance penetration testing capabilities

The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even the same attack you provide today will go in different ways another day. I prefer when the auditor or pen-tester provides the attack in a non-automated mode. For some, it might be a valuable option, but I'm not sure it's valuable for us, as after the attack has been provided, we should release a report detailing how it transpired and what the customer should improve to block this way of attack. If the attack was provided in an automated mode, you cannot receive sufficient information that helps with this final report for the customer. While you can check the vulnerability, and the system will tell you there is no vulnerability, usually, a human can change one, two, or three parameters and using the same technique and the same scripts can break the system. Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved in areas concerning the experience with finding particular scripts pre-installed in the solution. Customers, administrators, and pen-testers spend considerable time trying to locate the specific component they need by the name of the technique or the name of the attack, so any improvements in making it easier to find those predefined components by name or timeframe would be beneficial. Search filters could be a correct improvement.

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OndrejKOVAC

Solution engineer at EXPERTience

Empower clients with risk-based vulnerability management through continuous workflow and valuable insights

Tenable Security Center could improve by implementing more dynamic data displays and translating reports into European languages. This is especially relevant in Central Eastern Europe, where clients often require reports in local languages. Additionally, the licensing model could be more flexible for managed security providers, similar to a pay-as-you-go model.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Zafran is an excellent tool."

"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."

"We saw benefits from Zafran Security almost immediately after deploying it."

"With Zafran Security, it integrates with your security controls, allowing you to take that risk score and reduce it based on the controls in place or increase the risk based on different factors, such as if the issue is internet reachable or if there's an exploit in the wild."

"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."

"Overall, we have seen about eighty-seven percent reduction of the number of vulnerabilities that require urgency to remediate, specifically the number of criticals."

"I use Rapid7 Metasploit for payload generation and Post-Exploitation."

"When I compare Metasploit with Nessus, I find that Metasploit is faster and it does not burden the system as much."

"The most valuable features of the solution are the scripts, the modules, and the tools that the Rapid7 Metasploit framework has."

"It is scalable. It's in line with our needs."

"The Search Engineering feature is good."

"I don't have any other tools like it, and I always use it when I'm doing a pen test. Metasploit is a great solution for penetration testing,"

"The most valuable feature for us is the support for testing Linux-based web server components."

"The most valuable features and capabilities of Rapid7 Metasploit are its tight connection with InsightVM, which searches for potential threats and vulnerabilities and then validates whether we can break the system using those vulnerabilities, serving as a validator component of the InsightVM solution."

More Rapid7 Metasploit pros

"It's a very useful tool."

"Compared to other products, the most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and ability to provide visibility over scan results while providing many templates to users, making it a helpful tool."

"One of the most valuable features is their distributed scan model for allotting engines to work together as a pool and handle multiple scans at once, across multiple environments. Automatic scanning distribution is a distinguishing feature of their toolset."

"Tenable Security Center's centralized platform helped with risk assessment and management across our IT environments, covering the patching process and providing detailed reports that significantly supported our reporting and audits and helped us close audit issues safely and successfully."

"Tenable is the leading product for vulnerability scanning."

"Their overall cost of service is pretty good."

"It basically reviews our threat landscape vulnerability."

"The initial setup process is simple."

More Tenable Security Center pros

Cons

"The dashboarding and reporting functionality of Zafran Security is an area that definitely could use some improvements."

"Initially, we were somewhat concerned about the scalability of Zafran due to our large asset count and the substantial amount of information we needed to process."

"I think the ability to have some enhanced reporting capabilities is something they can improve on, as they have good reports but we have asked for some specific reporting enhancements."

"The solution is not very scalable, it does not provide any automation to be able to scale it."

"While Metasploit excels in vulnerability assessment, it could improve in vulnerability management."

"It is necessary to add some training materials and a tutorial for beginners."

"The solution should improve the responsiveness of its live technical support."

"There are numerous outdated exploits in their database that should be updated."

"Rapid7 Metasploit could be made easier for new users to learn."

"At the time I was using it, the graphical user interface needed some improvements."

"We'd like them to offer better coverage of malware."

More Rapid7 Metasploit cons

"We experienced some difficulties with the solution’s support."

"At times we have had the typical bugs."

"The reports and plugins for reports and scans could benefit from enhancements."

"The web application scanning area can be improved."

"Tenable has some problems with agents going offline during scanning and lag between agents and the security center."

"Security can always be improved."

"It's good at creating information, it's good creating dashboards, it's good at creating reports, but if you want to take that reporting metadata and put it into another tool, that is a little bit lacking."

"Tenable.sc's user interface could be improved."

More Tenable Security Center cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It is expensive. Our license expired, and our company is not thinking to renew because of our budget."

"We pay monthly. The pricing is reasonable."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product's pricing a six. So it's fairly priced."

"It is a reasonably priced solution. I would rate it from five out of ten."

"The pricing structure involves a one-time purchase cost of approximately twenty thousand dollars or euros for all customers."

"The cost is approximately $15 per device."

"I use the open-source version of this product. Pricing is not relevant."

"Rapid7 Metasploit is cheaper than Tenable.io Vulnerability Management."

More Rapid7 Metasploit pricing and cost advice

"Tenable SC is priced per asset, with the basic solution starting around US$12,000 for 500 assets."

"The licensing costs for this solution are approximately $100,000 US, and I think that covers everything."

"I use a local license to perform penetration testing and I'm pretty happy with everything when it comes to pricing and licensing."

"The pricing is more than Nexpose."

"The tool costs around 15,000 Saudi riyals monthly."

"This solution's price is quite high."

"We pay around 60,000 on a yearly basis."

"Tenable is open-source."

More Tenable Security Center pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?

Since we stood Zafran Security up in our private cloud, we handle the maintenance on our side. As we opted not to use...

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What needs improvement with Zafran Security?

In terms of areas for improvement, Zafran Security is doing a really great job as a new and emerging company. Oftenti...

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What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?

My use cases for Zafran Security revolve around two primary areas. One is around vulnerability management and priorit...

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What do you like most about Rapid7 Metasploit?

I use Rapid7 Metasploit for payload generation and Post-Exploitation.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 Metasploit?

The pricing of Rapid7 Metasploit is quite affordable. It has a free version that many customers start with, and after...

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What needs improvement with Rapid7 Metasploit?

The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even ...

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What do you like most about Tenable SC?

The tool's dashboard and reporting capabilities match our company's needs since we are able to modify the basic view ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable SC?

The price of Tenable Security Center is not so high; it's relatively a cheaper solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Tenable SC?

We did conduct a long implementation which relates to what I think can be improved about Tenable Security Center. In ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Wiz Code vs Zafran Security

Compared 24% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Zafran Security

Compared 10% of the time

Vulcan Cyber vs Zafran Security

Compared 10% of the time

Nucleus vs Zafran Security

Compared 8% of the time

Qualys VMDR vs Zafran Security

Compared 6% of the time

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Tenable Nessus vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 11% of the time

Qualys VMDR vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 10% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 6% of the time

Acunetix vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 6% of the time

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Rapid7 InsightVM vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 12% of the time

Qualys VMDR vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 10% of the time

Tenable Nessus vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 9% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 6% of the time

The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 5% of the time

More Tenable Security Center Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Zafran Security

January 2026

Download Zafran Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 Metasploit

January 2026

Download Rapid7 Metasploit product report

Buyer's Guide

Tenable Security Center

January 2026

Download Tenable Security Center product report

Also Known As

No data available

Metasploit

Tenable.sc, Tenable Unified Security, Tenable SecurityCenter

Overview

Zafran Security integrates with existing security tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively, proving that most critical vulnerabilities are not exploitable, optimizing threat management.

Zafran Security introduces an innovative operating model for managing security threats and vulnerabilities. By leveraging the threat exposure management platform, it pinpoints and prioritizes exploitable vulnerabilities, reducing risk through immediate remediation. This platform enhances your hybrid cloud security by normalizing vulnerability signals and integrating specific IT context data, such as CVE runtime presence and internet asset reachability, into its analysis. No longer reliant on patch windows, Zafran Security allows you to manage risks actively.

What are the key features of Zafran Security?

Threat Exposure Management: Utilizes existing tools to prioritize vulnerabilities and manage threats.
Integrative Analysis: Combines security data with IT context for precise vulnerability management.
Real-time Risk Reduction: Enables immediate risk management without waiting for patches.
Hybrid Cloud Compatibility: Functions across diverse cloud environments for comprehensive security.

What benefits can users expect from Zafran Security?

Improved Security: Enhances protection by efficiently identifying and mitigating risks.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces unnecessary patching expenses by confirming non-exploitable vulnerabilities.
Time Savings: Frees developers to focus on root causes by handling immediate threats.
Comprehensive Insight: Offers a holistic view of security threats and vulnerabilities.

In industries where security is paramount, such as finance and healthcare, Zafran Security provides invaluable protection by ensuring that only exploitable vulnerabilities are addressed. It allows entities to maintain robust security measures while allocating resources efficiently, fitting seamlessly into existing security strategies.

Zafran Security

Attackers are always developing new exploits and attack methods—Metasploit penetration testing software helps you use their own weapons against them. Utilizing an ever-growing database of exploits, you can safely simulate real-world attacks on your network to train your security team to spot and stop the real thing.

Rapid7

Get a risk-based view of your IT, security and compliance posture so you can quickly identify, investigate and prioritize your most critical assets and vulnerabilities.

Managed on-premises and powered by Nessus technology, the Tenable Security Center (formerly Tenable.sc) suite of products provides the industry’s most comprehensive vulnerability coverage with real-time continuous assessment of your network. It’s your complete end-to-end vulnerability management solution.

Tenable

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

City of Corpus Christi, Diebold, Lumenate, Nebraska Public Power District, Prairie North Regional Health, Apptio, Automation Direct, Bob's Stores, Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions, Carnegie Mellon University

IBM, Sempra Energy, Microsoft, Apple, Adidas, Union Pacific

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 Metasploit vs. Tenable Security Center

December 2025

Free Report: Rapid7 Metasploit vs. Tenable Security Center

Find out what your peers are saying about Rapid7 Metasploit vs. Tenable Security Center and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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