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Government · head to head

Axon Records vs Tenable Nessus

Axon Records logo

Axon Records

Government

Digital Evidence and Records Management

From
$1500/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Tenable Nessus logo

Tenable Nessus

Cybersecurity

Network vulnerability scanner

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tenable Nessus has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Axon Records pricing is not published and is arranged per agency; Tenable Nessus nessus Professional is $4,790 for one year, sold as an annual licence rather than a per scan or usage based fee
  • They diverge on capability: Axon Records covers Records Management, Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Axon Records and Tenable Nessus actually diverge.

Attributes where Axon Records and Tenable Nessus differ
AttributeAxon RecordsTenable Nessus
Starting price$1500/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows, Linux, Macos, Cloud
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded19932002

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Axon Records

  • Records Management
  • Digital Evidence
  • Body Camera Integration
  • Automated Redaction
  • Case Management
  • Evidence.com
  • CAD Systems
  • Court Systems

Only in Tenable Nessus

  • Network scanning
  • Vulnerability detection
  • Configuration assessment
  • Malware detection
  • Compliance checking
  • Cloud security assessment
  • Mobile scanning
  • API access

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Axon Records

  • Police records management and incident reportingnot Tenable Nessus
  • AI-assisted report drafting from body camera footagenot Tenable Nessus
  • Linking evidence to case recordsnot Tenable Nessus
  • Working alongside an existing CAD systemnot Tenable Nessus

Tenable Nessus

  • Vulnerability scanning of servers, network devices and web applicationsnot Axon Records
  • Configuration and compliance auditing against hardening benchmarksnot Axon Records
  • Point in time assessments by consultants and penetration testersnot Axon Records

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Axon Records

  • Pricing is not published and is arranged per agency
  • Most valuable alongside Axon Evidence, so it draws an agency further into one vendor's ecosystem
  • Sold only to law enforcement, so it is not a general records system

Tenable Nessus

  • Nessus Professional is $4,790 for one year, sold as an annual licence rather than a per scan or usage based fee
  • Support beyond the base entitlement costs an extra $400 per year for Advanced Support with 24x365 phone and chat access
  • The on demand training course is a separate $275 purchase for a single person for one year
  • Multi year discounts require paying for two or three years up front

Pricing, plan by plan

Axon Records

$1500/month
  • Records & Evidence$1500/month
    • RMS
    • Evidence.com
    • Workflows

Tenable Nessus

Free
  • Nessus EssentialsFree
    • Up to 16 ips
    • Network scanning
    • Vulnerability assessment
  • Nessus Professional$2600/year
    • Unlimited targets
    • Enterprise features
    • Advanced analytics
  • Nessus Expert$5200/year
    • All Professional features
    • Cloud integration
    • Advanced reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Axon Records if

  • You need records management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want digital evidence.
Axon Records review

Choose Tenable Nessus if

  • You need network scanning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Macos, Cloud.
  • You also want vulnerability detection.
Tenable Nessus review

Questions people ask

Is Axon Records or Tenable Nessus better?
Neither clearly leads. Axon Records starts at $1500/month and Tenable Nessus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Axon Records or Tenable Nessus?
Tenable Nessus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1500/month for Axon Records and Free for Tenable Nessus.
Does Axon Records or Tenable Nessus run on more platforms?
Axon Records runs on Web, Ios, Android. Tenable Nessus runs on Windows, Linux, Macos, Cloud.
Can I use Tenable Nessus for free?
Yes. Tenable Nessus has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Axon Records starts at $1500/month.
What is Axon Records best used for?
Axon Records is most often used for police records management and incident reporting, ai-assisted report drafting from body camera footage, linking evidence to case records, working alongside an existing cad system. Of those, police records management and incident reporting and ai-assisted report drafting from body camera footage are not what Tenable Nessus is typically brought in for.
What can Axon Records do that Tenable Nessus cannot?
Axon Records covers Records Management, Digital Evidence, Body Camera Integration, Automated Redaction. Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Vulnerability detection, Configuration assessment, Malware detection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Axon Records: What is the cost of Axon Records?

Axon Records pricing is not published on the vendor website. Interested agencies must contact Axon directly to discuss pricing programs and plans tailored to their specific operational needs.

Source
Tenable Nessus: What are the three Nessus offerings?

Nessus Essentials is a free introductory offering for educators, students, and career starters, limited to 16 IPs for scanning. Nessus Professional is designed for consultants and SMBs, providing unlimited IT scans across any location. Nessus Expert is the premium offering extending Professional with web application scanning, infrastructure-as-code scanning, and external attack surface assessment up to 5 domains.

Source
Tenable Nessus: What OS platforms does Nessus support?

Nessus runs on Debian/Kali Linux, Fedora, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Red Hat/CentOS, SUSE Linux, Ubuntu, and various Windows versions including Server 2008, 2012, and Windows 7-10.

Source
Tenable Nessus: Can I use Nessus to scan third-party networks as a consultant?

Yes, Tenable permits you to use Nessus to scan third-party networks. Nessus Professional is ideal for consultants.

Source
Tenable Nessus: Can Nessus perform PCI external scanning?

Yes, you can use Nessus Professional to perform external network scans as required by the PCI DSS 11.2.2 requirement.

Source
Tenable Nessus: What additional features does Nessus Expert provide?

Web application scanning, which is dynamic application security testing (DAST) providing comprehensive visibility and insight into web application security issues; scanning code repositories for vulnerabilities; and assessing external attack surface with subdomain discovery.

Source
Tenable Nessus: What support options exist for Nessus Professional?

Standard Support includes software upgrades, patches, plugin access, and 24x7 support via chat and community portal. Advanced Support adds 24x7 phone access and committed SLAs: P1 less than 2 hours, P2 less than 4 hours, P3 less than 12 hours, P4 less than 24 hours.

Source
Tenable Nessus: How frequently are Nessus plugins updated?

Nessus plugins are updated daily, based on when vendors and security research sites publish new vulnerabilities.

Source
Tenable Nessus: How does licensing work in virtual machine environments?

Whether you are using Nessus in a physical or a virtual environment, the IP addresses or hosts that you are scanning from must be licensed.

Source
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