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Cybersecurity · head to head

Tenable Nessus vs Termly

Tenable Nessus logo

Tenable Nessus

Cybersecurity

Network vulnerability scanner

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Termly logo

Termly

Cybersecurity

Legal policy generator and cookie consent banner for small websites

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Tenable Nessus nessus Professional is $4,790 for one year, sold as an annual licence rather than a per scan or usage based fee; Termly a standard plan licenses one website, so an agency or a business with several brand domains multiplies the headline price by the number of sites and the cheap option stops being cheap at four or five domains.
  • They diverge on capability: Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Termly covers Policy generator.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Tenable Nessus and Termly differ
AttributeTenable NessusTermly
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer website per month
PlatformsWindows, Linux, Macos, CloudWeb
Founded2002Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Tenable Nessus

  • Network scanning
  • Vulnerability detection
  • Configuration assessment
  • Malware detection
  • Compliance checking
  • Cloud security assessment
  • Mobile scanning
  • API access

Only in Termly

  • Policy generator
  • Automatic policy updates
  • Consent banner
  • Script auto blocker
  • Cookie scanner
  • Consent log
  • WordPress plugin
  • Do not sell handling

What people use each for

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

Tenable Nessus

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

Termly

  • A small e-commerce shop that needs a privacy policy, terms and a compliant cookie banner before launch without engaging a solicitornot Tenable Nessus
  • A freelance web developer standardising the legal and consent layer across client sites, buying a licence per site or an agency arrangementnot Tenable Nessus
  • A WordPress site owner who needs scripts blocked before consent and does not have a tag manager set upnot Tenable Nessus
  • A US small business newly in scope for a state privacy law that needs a do not sell opt-out on the site quicklynot Tenable Nessus

Where each one falls short

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

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

Termly

  • A standard plan licenses one website, so an agency or a business with several brand domains multiplies the headline price by the number of sites and the cheap option stops being cheap at four or five domains.
  • Generated policies are templates conditioned on questionnaire answers, so they describe the data practices you claimed rather than the ones your code performs, and a regulator comparing the policy to actual tracking finds the gap not the vendor.
  • Banner view limits apply on the lower tiers, and a site that spikes in traffic can exhaust its allowance mid month, which is the worst possible moment for consent handling to degrade.
  • It covers websites well but has little for mobile apps, so a company with an iOS and Android app alongside its site needs a second consent mechanism and a second consent record.
  • There is no data mapping, subject rights automation or vendor inventory, so any company that grows into real privacy programme obligations outgrows Termly entirely rather than upgrading within it.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Termly

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 basic legal policy
    • 10,000 monthly banner views
    • Cookie consent banner
  • Starter$10/month
    • 2 legal policies
    • 10 policy edits
    • 50,000 monthly banner views
  • Pro Plus$15/month
    • Unlimited banner views
    • Additional legal policies
    • Multilingual banners

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Termly if

  • You need policy generator.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want automatic policy updates.
Termly review

Questions people ask

Is Tenable Nessus or Termly better?
Neither clearly leads. Tenable Nessus starts at Free and Termly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Tenable Nessus or Termly?
Tenable Nessus starts at Free and Termly at Free.
Does Tenable Nessus or Termly run on more platforms?
Tenable Nessus runs on Windows, Linux, Macos, Cloud. Termly runs on Web.
Can I use Tenable Nessus for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Tenable Nessus best used for?
Tenable Nessus is most often used for vulnerability scanning of servers, network devices and web applications, configuration and compliance auditing against hardening benchmarks, point in time assessments by consultants and penetration testers. Of those, vulnerability scanning of servers, network devices and web applications and configuration and compliance auditing against hardening benchmarks are not what Termly is typically brought in for.
What can Tenable Nessus do that Termly cannot?
Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Vulnerability detection, Configuration assessment, Malware detection. Termly covers Policy generator, Automatic policy updates, Consent banner, Script auto blocker.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Termly: Does one Termly plan cover all my websites?

No. A standard plan licenses one website. Multiple domains need multiple licences or an agency arrangement, and this is the single most common surprise on the bill.

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
Termly: Are the generated policies legally sufficient?

They are templates conditioned on your answers and are not legal advice. They are proportionate for a simple site and inadequate where actual data flows are complex or regulated.

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
Termly: Is there a genuinely free plan?

Yes, one basic policy, one site, 10,000 monthly banner views and quarterly cookie scans, with no card required.

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
Termly: Does it handle US state privacy opt-outs?

Yes, including a do not sell or share mechanism and regional rule sets, alongside GDPR consent for EU visitors.

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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