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Cybersecurity · head to head

Tenable Nessus vs Yarn

Tenable Nessus logo

Tenable Nessus

Cybersecurity

Network vulnerability scanner

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Yarn logo

Yarn

Developer Tools

Fast, reliable, and secure dependency management

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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; Yarn yarn 2+ (Berry) has limited ESM support which can be a constraint for some projects
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Tenable Nessus and Yarn differ
AttributeTenable NessusYarn
Pricing modelsubscriptionfree
PlatformsWindows, Linux, Macos, CloudWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded20022016

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

Nothing recorded that Tenable Nessus does not also cover.

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

Yarn

  • Monorepo teams managing dependencies across 50+ interdependent packagesnot Tenable Nessus
  • Enterprise JavaScript projects ensuring reproducible builds across CI/CDnot Tenable Nessus
  • Open-source projects with plugin ecosystems coordinating versionsnot Tenable Nessus
  • Teams requiring consistent package installs regardless of network conditionsnot 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

Yarn

  • Yarn 2+ (Berry) has limited ESM support which can be a constraint for some projects
  • Smaller ecosystem and community compared to npm, though still substantial

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

Yarn

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Yarn review.

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 Yarn if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows.
Yarn review

Questions people ask

Is Tenable Nessus or Yarn better?
Neither clearly leads. Tenable Nessus starts at Free and Yarn at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Tenable Nessus or Yarn?
Tenable Nessus starts at Free and Yarn at Free.
Does Tenable Nessus or Yarn run on more platforms?
Tenable Nessus runs on Windows, Linux, Macos, Cloud. Yarn runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Yarn is typically brought in for.
What can Tenable Nessus do that Yarn cannot?
Tenable Nessus covers Network scanning, Vulnerability detection, Configuration assessment, Malware detection.

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
Yarn: What is Yarn's main advantage over npm?

Yarn downloads packages in parallel, significantly reducing installation time. It uses a yarn.lock file for deterministic installs, ensuring identical package versions across machines and preventing version conflicts common with npm.

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
Yarn: Can I use Yarn in offline environments?

Yes, Yarn supports secure offline environments. The yarn.lock file enables reproducible installs without requiring new downloads.

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
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