No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Tenable Nessus vs VAPT comparison

Why PeerSpot?
Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 11, 2026

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

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (11th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (8th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (2nd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (7th)
Tenable Nessus
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VAPT
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
52nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
2.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Penetration Testing Services (6th), API Security (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Nessus is 3.6%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VAPT is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tenable Nessus3.6%
Qualys TotalCloud1.2%
VAPT0.3%
Other94.9%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2859021 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Risk-based triage has transformed container security and now prioritizes high-impact threats
The best features Qualys TotalCloud offers currently include managing cloud infrastructure and container security while facing major challenges such as alert fatigue. Traditional vulnerability scanners flag hundreds of CVEs on short-lived Kubernetes containers, some of which have no internet exposure or are gone before we can even triage them. I leverage Qualys TotalCloud to move beyond static CVSS. I use it to implement runtime exposure, correlation risk reprioritization, and shift-left integration. This notifies developers to fix a base image upstream rather than patching live ephemeral instances. In my work with cloud and container security, the biggest operational hurdle was alert fatigue. I use Qualys to shift left from static CVSS severity to context-aware risk prioritization. I correlated raw vulnerability data with real-time risk factors such as public network exposure, active runtime execution, or overly permissive IAM roles. This allows us to immediately drop the priority of isolated containers and escalate lower-severity CVEs that sit on an exposed, high-risk path. We can map these findings directly back to our CI/CD pipelines so developers can patch the root base images upstream. We have drastically cut down the signal-to-noise ratio, saved a lot of manual hours doing triage work, and ensured engineering effort goes directly towards high-impact risk reduction.
MohammedJaffir - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder at Cipheroot Cybersecurity Solutions
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.
Suneel Singh Tomar - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager, Information Security at Birlasoft IndiaLtd.
Governed layered vulnerability management has improved continuous scanning and remediation
We are using a couple of tools in terms of scanning and remediation. We leverage some of our in-house tools and some cloud tools, so we have a layered security architecture. Some tools work on the transport layer, some on the network layer, and some on the application layer. The team scans across those tool layers. Based on identifying gaps, they fulfill them. Everything feels accurate to me. In today's landscape, we have so many threats and threat actors working around that may damage any available entities. The team scans and finds anything that appears immediately necessary to remediate. They follow the steps accordingly. The team is working around the clock and doing their due diligence on their jobs.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Qualys TotalCloud provides a single, prioritized view of risk, reducing the workload associated with consolidating multiple sources for risk prioritization."
"I would definitely recommend it because it is easy to handle any cloud resources."
"CSPM is currently the most used feature, and we are enjoying the new feature, FlexScan, which is valuable for Internet-facing VMs."
"I would recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users because it is cost-efficient and has a good return on investment."
"One of Qualys' best features is its categorization, which allows us to see the types of assets, their security postures, and the AI-powered version of the tool."
"I would definitely recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users."
"The scalability is good as well. I would rate it ten out of ten."
"Qualys TotalCloud has significantly reduced our workload in terms of managing risks, helping us to be more efficient and save substantial resources."
"The most valuable feature of Tenable Nessus is the self-updating engine."
"Its initial setup was simple and straightforward."
"The most valuable features of Tenable Nessus include its ease of access and quick usability."
"The most valuable feature of Tenable Nessus is website scanning."
"If you are implementing it as part of an ongoing VA or retention operation, you should probably use Tenable."
"Nessus is a very stable product, and it has been a pioneer and has been around for a long time."
"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."
"The initial setup of Tenable Nessus is very easy."
"Everything feels accurate to me."
 

Cons

"The downside is only in container security, but it has not been a long time since they introduced these models."
"Qualys TotalCloud has the potential to improve by integrating a hybrid platform for comprehensive management of both on-premises and cloud infrastructures."
"I sometimes have difficulty detecting or uninstalling certain versions of applications, which I have to do manually."
"Their customer support needs improvement."
"With the growing integration of AI, I would like Qualys to enhance its service offerings to better accommodate AI-related risks."
"I think Qualys TotalCloud needs to improve its handling of zero-day vulnerabilities and supply chain management because modern ransomware attacks not only target prime critical infrastructures but also the supply chain system."
"In my opinion, what can be improved in Qualys TotalCloud includes pricing and container scanning."
"I would appreciate additional integration options to connect Qualys TotalCloud with our other vulnerability management tools."
"The accuracy of the vulnerability assessment is not up to par yet, as false alarms and false positives occur often."
"The price could be more reasonable. I used the free Nessus version in my lab with which you can only scan 16 IP addresses."
"Model OS costs (and its segregation schema for individual modules)."
"We'd like to see the solution embrace more user-friendliness."
"We feel the solution's technical support to be very bad."
"One area that has room for improvement is the reporting. I'm preparing reports for Windows and Linux machines, etc. Currently, I'm collecting three or four reports and turning them into one report. I don't know if it is possible to combine all of them in one report, but that would be helpful."
"There is very little to improve but cloud security tests would be something helpful to have."
"I would like to have a management option after the network scanning."
"There are so many challenges while running this vulnerability program."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."
"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."
"Its price seems higher compared to other tools, but it is worth it. If they could adjust the pricing and make it comparable with other tools, that would be great."
"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."
"Qualys TotalCloud is cost-efficient and was selected for its value compared to other products."
"The pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."
"I am not sure about the pricing. From what I understand, it is a bit on the higher side, but I do not have the exact numbers."
"It has a fair cost and very good cost-benefit ratio."
"The price is okay. I would give it a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"This solution is affordable."
"The product pricing is dynamic and varies based on the specific needs of each project and customer."
"I rate the product's price seven or eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"There is an annual license required to use this solution."
"Nessus Manager is not an expensive product. It has its limitations, but the pricing reflects that. We have a yearly subscription."
"The solution has free options."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Vulnerability Management solutions are best for your needs.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
16%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise35
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
In terms of improvement, remediation still belongs to the cloud team, which is one of the issues we faced with Qualys...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is regarding the cloud visibility that we were not having previously. Previous...
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. Yo...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable Nessus?
Based on my experience, the pricing for Tenable Nessus is somewhat higher, but customers still want to pay for it, so...
What needs improvement with VAPT?
There are so many challenges while running this vulnerability program. It is a very complex program where everyone ha...
What is your primary use case for VAPT?
I am in a position where we govern VAPT and vulnerability management programs. My associates initiate quick scans of ...
What advice do you have for others considering VAPT?
I did not use Redscan at all. I have used formal VAPT services in my SOC role. In terms of focusing on prioritization...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Bitbrains, Tesla, Just Eat, Crosskey Banking Solutions, Covenant Health, Youngstown State University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys, Wiz, Tenable and others in Vulnerability Management. Updated: August 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.