Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Tenable Nessus vs Workday Government

Tenable Nessus logo

Tenable Nessus

Cybersecurity

Network vulnerability scanner

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Workday Government logo

Workday Government

Government

Enterprise HCM and Finance for Government

From
$5000/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tenable Nessus has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Workday Government workday Government Cloud, Workday's public sector offering, publishes no self-serve pricing; every path on its own government page leads to Contact Us or Contact Sales
  • They diverge on capability: Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Workday Government covers Human Capital Management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Tenable Nessus and Workday Government actually diverge.

Attributes where Tenable Nessus and Workday Government differ
AttributeTenable NessusWorkday Government
Starting priceFree$5000/month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, Linux, Macos, CloudWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment
Founded20022005

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 Tenable Nessus

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

Only in Workday Government

  • Human Capital Management
  • Payroll
  • Benefits Administration
  • Financial Management
  • Analytics
  • SAP
  • Oracle
  • Third-party HR

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 Workday Government
  • Configuration and compliance auditing against hardening benchmarksnot Workday Government
  • Point in time assessments by consultants and penetration testersnot Workday Government

Workday Government

  • Citizen Servicesnot Tenable Nessus
  • Records Managementnot Tenable Nessus
  • Public Safetynot Tenable Nessus
  • Civic Engagementnot 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

Workday Government

  • Workday Government Cloud, Workday's public sector offering, publishes no self-serve pricing; every path on its own government page leads to Contact Us or Contact Sales

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

Workday Government

$5000/month
  • Government Cloud$5000/month
    • HCM
    • Payroll
    • Financial Management

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 Workday Government if

  • You need human capital management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want payroll.
Workday Government review

Questions people ask

Is Tenable Nessus or Workday Government better?
Neither clearly leads. Tenable Nessus starts at Free and Workday Government at $5000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Tenable Nessus or Workday Government?
Tenable Nessus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Tenable Nessus and $5000/month for Workday Government.
Does Tenable Nessus or Workday Government run on more platforms?
Tenable Nessus runs on Windows, Linux, Macos, Cloud. Workday Government runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Tenable Nessus for free?
Yes. Tenable Nessus has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Workday Government starts at $5000/month.
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 Workday Government is typically brought in for.
What can Tenable Nessus do that Workday Government cannot?
Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Vulnerability detection, Configuration assessment, Malware detection. Workday Government covers Human Capital Management, Payroll, Benefits Administration, Financial Management.

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
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
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
Share

Related pages

More on Tenable Nessus

More on Workday Government

Keep looking

Other head to heads