Security & Cybersecurity · head to head
Idira vs Nessus
Idira
Security & Cybersecurity
Built on CyberArk's legacy and powered by Palo Alto Networks
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Nessus
Security & Cybersecurity
The most trusted vulnerability assessment solution
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Nessus has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Idira no pricing is published anywhere on the product page; every call to action is Request a Demo or a sales contact form; Nessus nessus Professional is $4,790 for one year, with no free or low cost commercial tier
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Idira and Nessus actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Security & 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 Idira
Nothing recorded that Nessus does not also cover.
Only in Nessus
- Vulnerability scanning
- Configuration auditing
- Malware detection
- Web application scanning
- Cloud scanning
- Compliance checks
- Patch auditing
- Pre-built policies
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Idira
No use cases recorded yet. See the Idira review.
Nessus
- Scanning hosts and applications for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurationsnot Idira
- Running compliance and configuration audits against a defined scopenot Idira
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Idira
- No pricing is published anywhere on the product page; every call to action is Request a Demo or a sales contact form
- Endpoint privilege management and agentic AI identity governance are sold as separate solution categories rather than one bundled price, so evaluating total cost requires multiple sales conversations
Nessus
- Nessus Professional is $4,790 for one year, with no free or low cost commercial tier
- Multi year terms are the only discount route, at $9,330.95 for two years and $13,637.54 for three
- It is a single user scanner, so team workflows mean migrating to another Tenable product
- Tenable One vulnerability management is priced separately, starting at $3,500 a year for 100 assets
Pricing, plan by plan
Idira
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Idira review.
Nessus
Free- Nessus Essentials (Free)Free
- 16 IP addresses
- Vulnerability scanning
- Configuration auditing
- Nessus Professional$2990/year
- Unlimited IPs
- Compliance checks
- Live results
- Nessus Expert$5290/year
- All Pro features
- External attack surface
- Cloud infrastructure scanning
Which should you pick?
Choose Idira if
Nothing in the data separates Idira from Nessus on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Nessus if
- You need vulnerability scanning.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Desktop, Api.
- You also want configuration auditing.
Questions people ask
- Is Idira or Nessus better?
- Neither clearly leads. Idira starts at On request and Nessus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Idira or Nessus?
- Nessus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Idira and Free for Nessus.
- Does Idira or Nessus run on more platforms?
- Idira runs on Web. Nessus runs on Desktop, Api.
- Can I use Nessus for free?
- Yes. Nessus has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Idira starts at On request.
- What can Idira do that Nessus cannot?
- Nessus covers Vulnerability scanning, Configuration auditing, Malware detection, Web application scanning.