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Cybersecurity · head to head

Resolver vs Tenable Nessus

Resolver logo

Resolver

Cybersecurity

Risk, incident and investigations platform for corporate security and operational risk teams, owned by Kroll

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tenable Nessus logo

Tenable Nessus

Cybersecurity

Network vulnerability scanner

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tenable Nessus has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Resolver kroll ownership since 2022 means the product is sold alongside risk consulting services, so buyers who want software with no services attach should expect that conversation and should price the licence separately in negotiation.; 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: Resolver covers Incident management, Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Resolver and Tenable Nessus actually diverge.

Attributes where Resolver and Tenable Nessus differ
AttributeResolverTenable Nessus
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, Linux, Macos, Cloud
FoundedUnknown2002

Identical on both: 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 Resolver

  • Incident management
  • Investigations
  • Enterprise risk management
  • Internal audit
  • Compliance and obligations
  • Business continuity
  • Risk Event Management
  • Configurable dashboards

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.

Resolver

  • A national retailer consolidating store incident reporting, loss prevention cases and investigations into one system with defensible evidence handlingnot Tenable Nessus
  • A bank that needs operational risk events captured against a risk and control register rather than in spreadsheets and emailnot Tenable Nessus
  • A university security operations centre running dispatch, case management and clery-style reporting from a single recordnot Tenable Nessus
  • An organisation that already retains Kroll for investigations and wants case intake and vendor handoff in the same platformnot Tenable Nessus

Tenable Nessus

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

Where each one falls short

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

Resolver

  • Kroll ownership since 2022 means the product is sold alongside risk consulting services, so buyers who want software with no services attach should expect that conversation and should price the licence separately in negotiation.
  • Configuration flexibility comes at the cost of implementation time, with deployments commonly running several months and typically requiring vendor or partner services, so the first-year cost is well above the annual licence.
  • Module-based pricing means the platform gets expensive quickly once you add audit, compliance and continuity to a security-led purchase, and modules bought later rarely carry the discount of the original deal.
  • The IT and cyber compliance side is thinner than dedicated tools, so organisations chasing SOC 2 or ISO 27001 evidence automation will find it does not replace a Drata or Vanta.
  • Reporting is capable but the drag and drop builder has a real learning curve, and organisations that do not train an internal administrator end up raising support tickets for changes that should be self-service.

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

Resolver

On request
  • Resolver Core$undefined/year
    • Priced by modules selected and number of users
    • Annual or multi-year enterprise agreement
    • Implementation and configuration quoted separately

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 Resolver if

  • You need incident management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want investigations.
Resolver 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 Resolver or Tenable Nessus better?
Neither clearly leads. Resolver starts at On request and Tenable Nessus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Resolver or Tenable Nessus?
Tenable Nessus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Resolver and Free for Tenable Nessus.
Does Resolver or Tenable Nessus run on more platforms?
Resolver runs on Web, iOS, Android. Tenable Nessus runs on Windows, Linux, Macos, Cloud.
Can I use Tenable Nessus for free?
Yes. Tenable Nessus has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Resolver starts at On request.
What is Resolver best used for?
Resolver is most often used for a national retailer consolidating store incident reporting, loss prevention cases and investigations into one system with defensible evidence handling, a bank that needs operational risk events captured against a risk and control register rather than in spreadsheets and email, a university security operations centre running dispatch, case management and clery-style reporting from a single record, an organisation that already retains kroll for investigations and wants case intake and vendor handoff in the same platform. Of those, a national retailer consolidating store incident reporting, loss prevention cases and investigations into one system with defensible evidence handling and a bank that needs operational risk events captured against a risk and control register rather than in spreadsheets and email are not what Tenable Nessus is typically brought in for.
What can Resolver do that Tenable Nessus cannot?
Resolver covers Incident management, Investigations, Enterprise risk management, Internal audit. Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Vulnerability detection, Configuration assessment, Malware detection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Resolver: Who owns Resolver?

Kroll, which acquired it in 2022. It is marketed as a Kroll business and sold alongside Kroll risk and investigations services.

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
Resolver: What does Resolver cost?

Pricing is not published. It is quoted by module and user count on an annual or multi-year enterprise agreement, with implementation charged separately.

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
Resolver: Is Resolver a SOC 2 compliance tool?

No. It is a risk, incident and investigations platform. Automated evidence collection for security certifications is not its strength.

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
Resolver: How long does implementation take?

Months rather than weeks for a multi-module deployment, and most customers use vendor or partner services to configure it.

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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