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Security & Cybersecurity · head to head

Nessus vs Cisco Duo

Nessus logo

Nessus

Security & Cybersecurity

The most trusted vulnerability assessment solution

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cisco Duo logo

Cisco Duo

Security & Cybersecurity

Trusted access for all users, all devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Nessus nessus Professional is $4,790 for one year, with no free or low cost commercial tier; Cisco Duo free tier caps at 10 users; every paid tier requires a minimum of 10 users

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nessus and Cisco Duo actually diverge.

Attributes where Nessus and Cisco Duo differ
AttributeNessusCisco Duo
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
PlatformsDesktop, ApiWeb
Founded2002Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Nessus

  • Vulnerability scanning
  • Configuration auditing
  • Malware detection
  • Web application scanning
  • Cloud scanning
  • Compliance checks
  • Patch auditing
  • Pre-built policies

Only in Cisco Duo

Nothing recorded that Nessus does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Nessus

  • Scanning hosts and applications for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurationsnot Cisco Duo
  • Running compliance and configuration audits against a defined scopenot Cisco Duo

Cisco Duo

No use cases recorded yet. See the Cisco Duo review.

Where each one falls short

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

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

Cisco Duo

  • Free tier caps at 10 users; every paid tier requires a minimum of 10 users
  • Licenses cannot be bought individually above the free tier: under 100 users they are sold in increments of 10, and over 100 users in increments of 25
  • Duo Premier, the top tier with the most adaptive access controls, costs $9 per user per month on top of the per-increment purchase requirement

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Cisco Duo

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cisco Duo review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Nessus if

  • You need vulnerability scanning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Desktop, Api.
  • You also want configuration auditing.
Nessus review

Choose Cisco Duo if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cisco Duo review

Questions people ask

Is Nessus or Cisco Duo better?
Neither clearly leads. Nessus starts at Free and Cisco Duo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nessus or Cisco Duo?
Nessus starts at Free and Cisco Duo at Free.
Does Nessus or Cisco Duo run on more platforms?
Nessus runs on Desktop, Api. Cisco Duo runs on Web.
Can I use Nessus for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Nessus best used for?
Nessus is most often used for scanning hosts and applications for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, running compliance and configuration audits against a defined scope. Of those, scanning hosts and applications for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations and running compliance and configuration audits against a defined scope are not what Cisco Duo is typically brought in for.
What can Nessus do that Cisco Duo cannot?
Nessus covers Vulnerability scanning, Configuration auditing, Malware detection, Web application scanning.
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