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Cybersecurity · head to head

Nessus vs Palantir Foundry

Nessus logo

Nessus

Cybersecurity

The most trusted vulnerability assessment solution

From
$4790/year
Rated
-
Palantir Foundry logo

Palantir Foundry

Machine Learning

Operating system for modern enterprise

From
On request
Rated
-

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; Palantir Foundry custom pricing model with no public information makes budgeting difficult
  • They diverge on capability: Nessus covers Vulnerability scanning, Palantir Foundry covers Data integration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nessus and Palantir Foundry actually diverge.

Attributes where Nessus and Palantir Foundry differ
AttributeNessusPalantir Foundry
Starting price$4790/yearOn request
PlatformsDesktop, ApiWeb
CategoryCybersecurityMachine Learning
Founded20022003

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Nessus

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

Only in Palantir Foundry

  • Data integration
  • Ontology modeling
  • Pipeline builder
  • Operational analytics
  • Governance
  • Enterprise systems
  • Cloud platforms
  • IoT

What people use each for

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

Nessus

  • Vulnerability scanning for individual practitionersnot Palantir Foundry
  • Enterprise vulnerability managementnot Palantir Foundry
  • Web application security assessmentsnot Palantir Foundry

Palantir Foundry

  • Machine learningnot Nessus
  • Data analysisnot Nessus
  • Model trainingnot Nessus
  • Predictive analyticsnot Nessus

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

Palantir Foundry

  • Custom pricing model with no public information makes budgeting difficult
  • Steep implementation and configuration requirements
  • Requires significant technical expertise to operate effectively
  • Long sales cycle typical for enterprise software

Pricing, plan by plan

Nessus

$4790/year
  • Nessus Professional$4790/year
    • 1 year license
    • Best for individual security professionals
  • Nessus Professional 2-Year$9330.95/2 years
    • 2 year license with discounted rate vs. annual
  • Nessus Professional 3-Year$13637.54/3 years
    • 3 year license with discounted rate vs. annual
  • Nessus Expert$6790/year
    • 1 year license
    • Enhanced capabilities vs. Professional

Palantir Foundry

On request
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full platform
    • Custom deployment
    • Enterprise support

Which should you pick?

Choose Nessus if

  • You need vulnerability scanning.
  • You work on Desktop, Api.
  • You also want configuration auditing.

Choose Palantir Foundry if

  • You need data integration.
  • You also want ontology modeling.

Questions people ask

Is Nessus or Palantir Foundry better?
Neither clearly leads. Nessus starts at $4790/year and Palantir Foundry at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nessus or Palantir Foundry?
Nessus starts at $4790/year and Palantir Foundry at On request.
Does Nessus or Palantir Foundry run on more platforms?
Nessus runs on Desktop, Api. Palantir Foundry runs on Web.
What is Nessus best used for?
Nessus is most often used for vulnerability scanning for individual practitioners, enterprise vulnerability management, web application security assessments. Of those, vulnerability scanning for individual practitioners and enterprise vulnerability management are not what Palantir Foundry is typically brought in for.
What can Nessus do that Palantir Foundry cannot?
Nessus covers Vulnerability scanning, Configuration auditing, Malware detection, Web application scanning. Palantir Foundry covers Data integration, Ontology modeling, Pipeline builder, Operational analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nessus: What is the cheapest Nessus option?

Nessus Professional starts at $4,790 per year for a 1-year license. Multi-year commitments offer discounts, with 2-year licenses at $9,330.95 and 3-year licenses at $13,637.54.

Source
Palantir Foundry: What is Palantir Foundry designed for?

Palantir Foundry is an enterprise data integration and analytics platform supporting end-to-end data pipelines, covering ingestion, processing, pipeline building, monitoring, and creating analytics dashboards with both code and no-code tools.

Source
Nessus: What is the difference between Nessus Professional and Expert?

Nessus Expert costs $6,790 per year for a 1-year license (compared to $4,790 for Professional) and includes enhanced capabilities. Multi-year rates are available at discounted prices.

Source
Palantir Foundry: How much does Palantir Foundry cost?

Palantir Foundry uses custom pricing. No public list pricing is available. Enterprise customers and government agencies must contact Palantir directly for formal quotes and licensing terms.

Source
Nessus: Does Nessus offer optional support or training?

Yes, Nessus offers add-on services: Advanced Support at $400/year provides 24x365 access to phone, email, community, and chat support. On-Demand Training costs $275/year for Fundamentals course access or $385/year for both Fundamentals and Advanced courses.

Source
Palantir Foundry: Who uses Palantir Foundry?

Palantir Foundry serves enterprise and government organizations needing complex data integration, analytics, and operational intelligence across large-scale data environments.

Source
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