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Cybersecurity · head to head

Silent Eight vs Tenable Nessus

Silent Eight logo

Silent Eight

Cybersecurity

AI adjudication of sanctions screening and AML alerts

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: Silent Eight automated disposition has to clear model risk governance and a regulator, and the shadow running period before auto-close is permitted can consume most of the first year of the contract.; 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: Silent Eight covers Alert adjudication, Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Silent Eight and Tenable Nessus actually diverge.

Attributes where Silent Eight and Tenable Nessus differ
AttributeSilent EightTenable Nessus
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, LinuxWindows, 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 Silent Eight

  • Alert adjudication
  • Narrative generation
  • Name screening automation
  • Quality assurance
  • Shadow mode
  • Model transparency reporting

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.

Silent Eight

  • A bank whose level one screening team spends most of its time closing obvious false name matchesnot Tenable Nessus
  • A payments institution with alert volumes growing faster than it can recruit and train analystsnot Tenable Nessus
  • A compliance function asked by a regulator to demonstrate consistency of alert decisions across offshore teamsnot Tenable Nessus
  • An institution that has just tightened screening thresholds after an enforcement action and cannot staff the resulting alert increasenot Tenable Nessus

Tenable Nessus

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

Where each one falls short

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

Silent Eight

  • Automated disposition has to clear model risk governance and a regulator, and the shadow running period before auto-close is permitted can consume most of the first year of the contract.
  • It does not improve detection, so an institution with a poorly tuned monitoring system automates the handling of bad alerts rather than fixing why they exist.
  • Pricing is tied to alert volume, which means efficiency gains elsewhere that reduce alerts also reduce the vendor bill in a way sales teams structure minimums against.
  • The headcount saving is only realised if the institution actually reduces the analyst pool, and many banks redeploy rather than cut, leaving the business case unrealised on paper.
  • As a mid-sized private vendor serving tier one banks, concentration risk cuts both ways; the loss of one large client materially affects the company, and buyers should ask about financial stability during diligence.

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

Silent Eight

On request
  • Iris$undefined/year
    • Priced by alert volume adjudicated
    • Deploys against existing screening and monitoring systems
    • Shadow mode evaluation period

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 Silent Eight if

  • You need alert adjudication.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want narrative generation.
Silent Eight 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 Silent Eight or Tenable Nessus better?
Neither clearly leads. Silent Eight 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, Silent Eight or Tenable Nessus?
Tenable Nessus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Silent Eight and Free for Tenable Nessus.
Does Silent Eight or Tenable Nessus run on more platforms?
Silent Eight runs on Web, Linux. 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. Silent Eight starts at On request.
What is Silent Eight best used for?
Silent Eight is most often used for a bank whose level one screening team spends most of its time closing obvious false name matches, a payments institution with alert volumes growing faster than it can recruit and train analysts, a compliance function asked by a regulator to demonstrate consistency of alert decisions across offshore teams, an institution that has just tightened screening thresholds after an enforcement action and cannot staff the resulting alert increase. Of those, a bank whose level one screening team spends most of its time closing obvious false name matches and a payments institution with alert volumes growing faster than it can recruit and train analysts are not what Tenable Nessus is typically brought in for.
What can Silent Eight do that Tenable Nessus cannot?
Silent Eight covers Alert adjudication, Narrative generation, Name screening automation, Quality assurance. Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Vulnerability detection, Configuration assessment, Malware detection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Silent Eight: Does Silent Eight replace our screening system?

No. It consumes alerts from your existing screening and monitoring systems and decides them. The detection layer stays where it is.

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
Silent Eight: Will a regulator accept AI closing alerts?

It depends on your jurisdiction and your model governance evidence. Banks typically run extended shadow mode first and phase auto-closure by alert type.

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
Silent Eight: Where is the company based?

Singapore, with offices in New York, London and Warsaw.

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
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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