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Cybersecurity · head to head

Tenable vs Vault

Tenable logo

Tenable

Cybersecurity

AI-powered exposure management platform for unified security visibility

From
$3500/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vault logo

Vault

Cloud

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Vault has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Tenable pricing starts at $3500/year for Tenable One VM, expensive for small organizations; Vault vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • They diverge on capability: Tenable covers Unified attack surface mapping, Vault covers Secrets management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Tenable and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where Tenable and Vault differ
AttributeTenableVault
Starting price$3500/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, WebLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
CategoryCybersecurityCloud
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: 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

  • Unified attack surface mapping
  • Exposure intelligence enrichment
  • Tenable Hexa AI orchestration
  • Cloud Exposure (CNAPP)
  • OT Exposure
  • Identity Exposure
  • Vulnerability Management
  • Attack Surface Management

Only in Vault

  • Secrets management
  • Encryption
  • Authentication
  • Authorization
  • Audit logging
  • API access
  • High availability
  • Replication

What people use each for

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

Tenable

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

Vault

  • Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot Tenable
  • Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Tenable
  • Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot Tenable

Where each one falls short

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

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

Vault

  • Vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vault to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vault
  • Each version only converts to MPL 2.0 four years after that version is published, and the Change Date is tracked per version
  • Replication, HSM support, namespaces, performance standby nodes, FIPS builds, control group authorisation, multi-factor authentication, secrets sync and lease count quotas all require a Vault Enterprise licence
  • A Vault Enterprise licence must be applied to the cluster before any Enterprise feature can be used

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Vault

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Secrets management
    • Encryption as a service
    • Identity management
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced features
    • Premium support
    • Dedicated updates

Which should you pick?

Choose Tenable if

  • You need unified attack surface mapping.
  • You work on Cloud, Web.
  • You also want exposure intelligence enrichment.
Tenable review

Choose Vault if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want encryption.
Vault review

Questions people ask

Is Tenable or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Tenable starts at $3500/year and Vault at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Tenable or Vault?
Vault has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3500/year for Tenable and Free for Vault.
Does Tenable or Vault run on more platforms?
Tenable runs on Cloud, Web. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Vault for free?
Yes. Vault has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tenable starts at $3500/year.
What is Tenable best used for?
Tenable is most often used for comprehensive vulnerability scanning for enterprise networks, cloud security monitoring and compliance for aws, azure, gcp, identity and access management risk assessment, operational technology security for industrial systems. Of those, comprehensive vulnerability scanning for enterprise networks and cloud security monitoring and compliance for aws, azure, gcp are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Tenable do that Vault cannot?
Tenable covers Unified attack surface mapping, Exposure intelligence enrichment, Tenable Hexa AI orchestration, Cloud Exposure (CNAPP). Vault covers Secrets management, Encryption, Authentication, Authorization.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Vault: Is HashiCorp Vault free to use?

Yes, Vault is available as a free, open-source project. The community version includes secrets management, certificate generation and rotation, encryption services, and credential management. Vault Enterprise is a commercial offering with additional features.

Source
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
Vault: What are the differences between open-source Vault and Vault Enterprise?

Open-source Vault is free and self-hosted. Vault Enterprise includes additional features and commercial support. HashiCorp also offers Vault Dedicated on the HashiCorp Cloud Platform as a fully managed cloud option.

Source
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
Vault: Can I try HashiCorp Cloud Platform Vault without payment?

Yes, HashiCorp offers a free trial option for HCP Vault Dedicated. New users also receive a $500 credit to use across HashiCorp Cloud Platform services.

Source
Vault: What does Vault manage and protect?

Vault provides identity-based secrets management for users, machines, services, and AI agents. It automates authentication and authorization for access to secrets, passwords, certificates, encryption keys, and other sensitive data across your infrastructure.

Source
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