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Cybersecurity · head to head

Endor Labs vs Tenable Nessus

Endor Labs logo

Endor Labs

Cybersecurity

Security and AI agent governance for code and supply chain

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tenable Nessus logo

Tenable Nessus

Cybersecurity

Network vulnerability scanner

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Endor Labs pricing requires contacting sales, no transparent rates; 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: Endor Labs covers AI coding agent governance, Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Endor Labs and Tenable Nessus actually diverge.

Attributes where Endor Labs and Tenable Nessus differ
AttributeEndor LabsTenable Nessus
Pricing modelSeat-based per contributing developer with volume discountssubscription
PlatformsWeb, CLI, IDEWindows, Linux, Macos, Cloud
Founded20212002

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Endor Labs

  • AI coding agent governance
  • SAST scanning
  • Secrets detection
  • Reachability analysis
  • Open source dependency scanning
  • Package firewall
  • MCP server integration

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.

Endor Labs

  • Securing AI coding agent outputs before deploymentnot Tenable Nessus
  • Reducing SAST false positives with reachability analysisnot Tenable Nessus
  • Managing open source supply chain risknot Tenable Nessus
  • Enforcing security policies in CI/CD pipelinesnot Tenable Nessus

Tenable Nessus

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

Where each one falls short

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

Endor Labs

  • Pricing requires contacting sales, no transparent rates
  • Developer tier lacks UI and historical scan data
  • Free tier limited to local scanning only
  • Seat-based model may become expensive for large teams

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

Endor Labs

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Local scanning
    • Read-only vulnerability data
    • No UI, policies, or scan history

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 Endor Labs if

  • You need ai coding agent governance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, IDE.
  • You also want sast scanning.
Endor Labs 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 Endor Labs or Tenable Nessus better?
Neither clearly leads. Endor Labs starts at Free and Tenable Nessus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Endor Labs or Tenable Nessus?
Endor Labs starts at Free and Tenable Nessus at Free.
Does Endor Labs or Tenable Nessus run on more platforms?
Endor Labs runs on Web, CLI, IDE. Tenable Nessus runs on Windows, Linux, Macos, Cloud.
Can I use Endor Labs for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Endor Labs best used for?
Endor Labs is most often used for securing ai coding agent outputs before deployment, reducing sast false positives with reachability analysis, managing open source supply chain risk, enforcing security policies in ci/cd pipelines. Of those, securing ai coding agent outputs before deployment and reducing sast false positives with reachability analysis are not what Tenable Nessus is typically brought in for.
What can Endor Labs do that Tenable Nessus cannot?
Endor Labs covers AI coding agent governance, SAST scanning, Secrets detection, Reachability analysis. Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Vulnerability detection, Configuration assessment, Malware detection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Endor Labs: What is the difference between Endor Labs Developer and paid tiers?

Developer tier is free and provides local scanning via MCP server with read-only vulnerability access and no UI. Paid tiers (Core and Pro) add team features like policy enforcement, enterprise integrations, reporting, and scan history.

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
Endor Labs: How does Endor Labs define seats for pricing?

Seats are calculated per contributing developer (those with commits in monitored repositories within the last 90 days). Volume discounts apply as team size grows.

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
Endor Labs: Does Endor Labs support on-premises deployment?

The platform is cloud-based SaaS by default. Enterprise customers should contact sales to discuss custom deployment options.

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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