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Government · head to head

Periscope Holdings vs Tenable

Periscope Holdings logo

Periscope Holdings

Government

Statewide e-procurement systems and supplier networks for large public agencies

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Tenable logo

Tenable

Cybersecurity

AI-powered exposure management platform for unified security visibility

From
$3500/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Periscope Holdings it is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.; Tenable pricing starts at $3500/year for Tenable One VM, expensive for small organizations
  • They diverge on capability: Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Tenable covers Unified attack surface mapping.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Periscope Holdings and Tenable actually diverge.

Attributes where Periscope Holdings and Tenable differ
AttributePeriscope HoldingsTenable
Starting priceOn request$3500/year
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWebCloud, Web
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 Periscope Holdings

  • Sealed bid solicitation
  • Supplier registration network
  • Contract catalogues
  • Cooperative purchasing
  • Spend and compliance reporting
  • Supplier diversity tracking

Only in Tenable

  • Unified attack surface mapping
  • Exposure intelligence enrichment
  • Tenable Hexa AI orchestration
  • Cloud Exposure (CNAPP)
  • OT Exposure
  • Identity Exposure
  • Vulnerability Management
  • Attack Surface Management

What people use each for

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

Periscope Holdings

  • A state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entitiesnot Tenable
  • A large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening recordnot Tenable
  • A purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entitiesnot Tenable
  • A state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contractsnot Tenable

Tenable

  • Comprehensive vulnerability scanning for enterprise networksnot Periscope Holdings
  • Cloud security monitoring and compliance for AWS, Azure, GCPnot Periscope Holdings
  • Identity and access management risk assessmentnot Periscope Holdings
  • Operational technology security for industrial systemsnot Periscope Holdings
  • Attack surface management for third-party risknot Periscope Holdings

Where each one falls short

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

Periscope Holdings

  • It is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • The interface reflects the age and regulatory weight of the platform, and suppliers routinely describe registration and bidding as harder than on newer portals, which can suppress bid response.
  • Ownership has changed twice since 2021, from independent to mdf commerce to KKR, so roadmap and support continuity should be written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • Sibling products inside mdf commerce cover adjacent procurement ground, which means an apparently competitive shortlist may contain two products with the same owner.
  • Statewide implementations are multi year projects with heavy configuration and change management, and the professional services cost commonly exceeds the software over the contract term.

Tenable

  • Pricing starts at $3500/year for Tenable One VM, expensive for small organizations
  • Many enterprise features require custom quote and sales engagement
  • Cloud Exposure, OT Exposure, and other modules have no published pricing
  • Multi-year contracts common, limiting flexibility
  • Setup and configuration complexity for enterprise deployments

Pricing, plan by plan

Periscope Holdings

On request
  • BuySpeed$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme, scaled to entities served and transaction volume
    • Multi year statewide contracts with implementation priced separately
    • Supplier side registration fees form part of the commercial model on some programmes

Tenable

$3500/year
  • Tenable One Vulnerability Management$3500/year
    • Per 100 assets
    • Multi-year discounts available
  • Tenable One Web App Scanning$3578/year
    • Per 5 FQDNs
    • Annual subscription
  • Nessus Professional$4790/year
    • Vulnerability scanning
    • Multi-year discounts available
    • Optional advanced support: $400/year
  • Nessus Expert$6790/year
    • Advanced vulnerability scanning
    • Multi-year discounts available
    • Optional advanced support: $400/year

Which should you pick?

Choose Periscope Holdings if

  • You need sealed bid solicitation.
  • You also want supplier registration network.
Periscope Holdings review

Choose Tenable if

  • You need unified attack surface mapping.
  • You work on Cloud, Web.
  • You also want exposure intelligence enrichment.
Tenable review

Questions people ask

Is Periscope Holdings or Tenable better?
Neither clearly leads. Periscope Holdings starts at On request and Tenable at $3500/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Periscope Holdings or Tenable?
Periscope Holdings starts at On request and Tenable at $3500/year.
Does Periscope Holdings or Tenable run on more platforms?
Periscope Holdings runs on Web. Tenable runs on Cloud, Web.
What is Periscope Holdings best used for?
Periscope Holdings is most often used for a state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entities, a large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening record, a purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entities, a state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contracts. Of those, a state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entities and a large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening record are not what Tenable is typically brought in for.
What can Periscope Holdings do that Tenable cannot?
Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Supplier registration network, Contract catalogues, Cooperative purchasing. Tenable covers Unified attack surface mapping, Exposure intelligence enrichment, Tenable Hexa AI orchestration, Cloud Exposure (CNAPP).

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Periscope Holdings: Who owns Periscope Holdings?

mdf commerce acquired it in 2021, and mdf commerce was itself acquired by KKR in 2024.

Tenable: How is Tenable One pricing structured?

Tenable One Vulnerability Management costs $3500/year per 100 assets. Web App Scanning is $3578/year per 5 FQDNs. Multi-year discounts are available.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Is it suitable for a single city?

Usually not. It is built and priced for statewide or very large agency programmes.

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

Nessus Professional costs $4790/year and provides core vulnerability scanning. Nessus Expert costs $6790/year and offers advanced scanning capabilities.

Source
Periscope Holdings: What is BuySpeed?

The e-procurement platform behind its statewide deployments, covering solicitation through catalogue ordering and reporting.

Tenable: Are custom support and training available for Tenable?

Yes. Optional advanced support is available for $400/year. Training courses range from $275-$385/year.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Can we see what a state paid?

Yes. State procurement awards are public records and typically disclose the full multi year contract value.

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