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Cybersecurity · head to head

Teleport vs Tenable

Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tenable logo

Tenable

Cybersecurity

AI-powered exposure management platform for unified security visibility

From
$3500/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.; Tenable pricing starts at $3500/year for Tenable One VM, expensive for small organizations
  • They diverge on capability: Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, 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 Teleport and Tenable actually diverge.

Attributes where Teleport and Tenable differ
AttributeTeleportTenable
Starting priceOn request$3500/year
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, CloudCloud, Web

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

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.

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot Tenable
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot Tenable
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot Tenable
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot Tenable

Tenable

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

Where each one falls short

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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

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 Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport 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 Teleport or Tenable better?
Neither clearly leads. Teleport 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, Teleport or Tenable?
Teleport starts at On request and Tenable at $3500/year.
Does Teleport or Tenable run on more platforms?
Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud. Tenable runs on Cloud, Web.
What is Teleport best used for?
Teleport is most often used for removing long-lived ssh keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity provider, producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for soc 2 or fedramp, giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rights, replacing a flat vpn with per-resource authorisation across servers, kubernetes and internal web apps. Of those, removing long-lived ssh keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity provider and producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for soc 2 or fedramp are not what Tenable is typically brought in for.
What can Teleport do that Tenable cannot?
Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests. Tenable covers Unified attack surface mapping, Exposure intelligence enrichment, Tenable Hexa AI orchestration, Cloud Exposure (CNAPP).

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

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
Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

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
Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

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
Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

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