Security & Cybersecurity · alternatives
Alternatives to Nessus
20 security & cybersecurity tools sit alongside Nessus in this directory. Below is what separates each from Nessus on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 6
- Cheaper to start
- 12
- Nessus starts at
- Free, then $2990/year
Why people look past Nessus
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Nessus entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Nessus starts at $2990/year. Across the 10 security & cybersecurity tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $34.99/month.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Simple to setup, secure cloud backup, multi device support
- Sold on a free model rather than subscription.
The leading toolkit for web security testing
- Starts $2541 a year cheaper, at $449/year.
No-code drag-and-drop authentication platform.
- Starts $2741 a month cheaper, at $249/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 4 tiers to Nessus's 3.
Trusted access for all users, all devices
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
Manage secrets and protect sensitive data
- Starts $2990 a month cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
- 2 tiers to Nessus's 3.
All-in-one protection for your digital life
- Starts $2987.01 a month cheaper, at $2.99/month.
- 4 tiers to Nessus's 3.
Every Nessus alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nessus (this page) | Free, then $2990/year | Subscription | 3 | |
| Authy | Free | Free | - | vs Nessus |
| Burp Suite | Free, then $449/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| Descope | Free, then $249/month | Freemium | 4 | vs Nessus |
| Cisco Duo | Free | Freemium | - | vs Nessus |
| HashiCorp Vault | Free | Open-source | 2 | vs Nessus |
| Avast One | Free, then $2.99/month | - | 4 | vs Nessus |
| Keygen | On request | Subscription | - | vs Nessus |
| Bitdefender VPN | On request | Subscription | - | vs Nessus |
| IBM QRadar | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| CyberGhost VPN | $2.19/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| Fortinet FortiGate | $500/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| CrowdStrike Falcon | $7.99/month | Subscription | - | vs Nessus |
| Idira | On request | Quote | - | vs Nessus |
| Darktrace | $20000/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| ExpressVPN | $6.67/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| Bitdefender Total Security | $19.99/year | - | - | vs Nessus |
| Drata | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| Cybereason Defense Platform | $50/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| Acunetix | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs Nessus |
| Check Point Software | On request | Quote | - | vs Nessus |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Nessus badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (6)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Authy , Free
- Burp Suite , Free, then $449/year
- Descope , Free, then $249/month
- Cisco Duo , Free
- HashiCorp Vault , Free
- Avast One , Free, then $2.99/month
Cheaper than Nessus (12)
Entry price under Nessus's $2990/year. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Burp Suite , Free, then $449/year
- Descope , Free, then $249/month
- HashiCorp Vault , Free
- Avast One , Free, then $2.99/month
- IBM QRadar , Free
- CyberGhost VPN , $2.19/month
- Fortinet FortiGate , $500/year
- CrowdStrike Falcon , $7.99/month
What you would be giving up
Nessus is most often brought in for scanning hosts and applications for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, running compliance and configuration audits against a defined scope. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Nessus is broadly right and the question is cost, the Nessus pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Security & Cybersecurity category lists everything the directory holds, and best security & cybersecurity tools ranks them.
Nessus runs on desktop, api. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Nessus alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Nessus?
- 20 other security & cybersecurity tools are listed in this directory, led by Authy, Burp Suite, Descope, Cisco Duo. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Nessus?
- 6 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Authy, Burp Suite, Descope, Cisco Duo, HashiCorp Vault.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Nessus?
- Yes. 12 of the alternatives below start under Nessus's $2990/year: Burp Suite at Free, then $449/year, Descope at Free, then $249/month, HashiCorp Vault at Free, Avast One at Free, then $2.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Nessus?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: it costs more than the category median. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Nessus?
- Nessus is most often brought in for scanning hosts and applications for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, running compliance and configuration audits against a defined scope. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Nessus?
- HashiCorp Vault is recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these Nessus alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Security & Cybersecurity, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored slot runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Nessus against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Nessus covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every security & cybersecurity tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Security & Cybersecurity category, 20 tools beside Nessus. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.