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Tenable.io Web Application Scanning vs w3af comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Tenable.io Web Application ...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
w3af
Ranking in Application Security Tools
42nd
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is 1.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of w3af is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tenable.io Web Application Scanning1.4%
w3af0.7%
Other97.9%
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

HL
Security Analyst at TOPNET
Web audits have identified vulnerabilities and now provide clear visibility into compliance gaps
We have experience with Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, and we use it as well; we have approximately ten licenses for web application scanning. We use it to find vulnerabilities, but Tenable.io Web Application Scanning does not include remediation; we remediate with other products. We use the…
OS
Information Security Advisor, CISO & CIO, Docutek Services at Docutek Services
It's buggy and seems to try to do too many things, but having this on a USB drive has been valuable.
I tried to install this on numerous systems and eventually, with help, I got it running. It needs far too many dependencies installed and there's too much messing about to be of much use. Once running, it's buggy and begs the question can it be relied upon? Even within Kali it reports website time-outs, yet Zap or Burp are able to do a successful scan. I wanted this to work so much and be able to use it as an additional check of my results but have now binned it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Now that the license is centralized, it's a significant feature to manipulate assets based on their functions."
"The solution is stable."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is very easy to use, provides very reliable results, and is easily managed by someone who lacks prior knowledge, information, or experience."
"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."
"Our customers adopt this solution because of the replication testing and the vulnerability assessment it can do. It is a multi-faceted product."
"The most valuable feature is the reporting, which provides a good level of detail with respect to vulnerabilities."
"Our primary use case for the solution is automated scanning; it doesn't require scripting knowledge or any of those suites or other tools, so it is fully automated, and we provide the credentials and URL and the tool does all scanning and will show the result per the requirement."
"The best free software for pen testing web applications."
 

Cons

"The solution's dashboards could be improved and made more user-friendly."
"The cloud and the on-premises versions have their own controllers, and there is no way to centrally manage controllers."
"The technical support needs improvement. Currently, it takes time, which might be due to the free version, but providing some level of support could encourage future purchase decisions."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning could improve by offering faster fuzzing."
"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."
"The dashboard could be more user-friendly."
"We have encountered some problems with the technical support from Tenable; I would rate it a five out of ten. It is not efficacious, especially the first-level support."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is not very user-friendly and you need a lot of information to get proper reports. The tool's support is not very responsive."
"Unfortunately, once you get around the seemingly strict set of pre-requisites to install it, it is incredibly buggy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product's pricing a four out of ten."
"For Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, it comes to around 6,50,000 Indian rupees, plus taxes."
"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."
"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."
"It follows the same licensing scheme as Tenable.io and Tenable. sc."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is expensive for small businesses."
"The pricing is okay."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
I think the price is expensive. We do not have an idea of how much we have to pay approximately, but comparing to other products, Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is expensive.
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

IMDEX
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about SonarSource Sàrl, Checkmarx, Veracode and others in Application Security Tools. Updated: June 2026.
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