Tenable Nessus Reviews & Product Details

I like that Tenable Nessus is very easy to use, as the interface is really intuitive, which is great for new users. Additionally, it's helpful because it shows you where the problem is if a scan doesn't complete, or at least gives you a hint on where to check. I also appreciate that it provides information about configurations, sometimes even examples or explanations on how to set up certain sections within the console. The initial setup process was quite simple, I rate its level of complication as a maximum of 5 out of 10. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The only thing I haven't liked about Tenable Nessus are the reports that can be exported. I wish they were provided in another way or included charts that are easy to present to management. Also, user management on the platform could be improved, it would be useful to have more granularity in roles and permissions. Another improvement would be to include a tagging function in the scans, like in other cloud consoles, to help classify and distinguish scans by different criteria such as client, location, environment, criticality, group, area, or asset type. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like most about Nessus is its comprehensive vulnerability scanning engine and the depth of information provided in scan results. We regularly use authenticated scans, compliance audits, and scheduled vulnerability assessments to identify security weaknesses across servers, network devices, and Linux systems. The remediation guidance included with each finding is particularly valuable because it helps our team quickly understand the risk and determine the appropriate corrective action. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One area where Nessus could improve is reporting and dashboard customization. While the platform provides detailed technical reports that are useful for security teams, creating tailored reports for different audiences can be cumbersome. For example, infrastructure teams often need detailed remediation information, while management prefers high-level risk summaries and trends, which may require additional manual customization. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Nessus if pretty much turn-key for vulnerability scanning. Once it is set up and configured, automatic updates help to easily identify new vulnerabilities for both credentialed and uncredentialed assets.

The UI is fairly simple and intuitive, and easy to learn for new staff who are not familiar with the product yet.

It is also priced appropriately for a vulnerability scanning solution of its caliber. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The integrations for Tenable are lacking due to certain features (like Manager) being nerfed in favor of moving to SC/IO, which is priced higher than Nessus.

The product is also billed as being for MSPs who may need to stand up/down instances, however, the product's documentation frowns on repeat activations (and automating it isn't really a clean option).

Reporting flexibility and branding could also be better. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It’s fast, reliable, and has one of the broadest plugin libraries available, with new checks released quickly after major vulnerabilities are disclosed. It’s easy to deploy and is very flexible for ad hoc assessments, authenticated scans, and compliance audits against CIS benchmarks. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Reporting in the standalone version is basic, and there’s no centralized management or trending, so tracking remediation over time requires moving to Tenable Vulnerability Management or building reports externally. Troubleshooting failed credentialed scans can also be time-consuming, since the error details aren’t always clear. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Plugin coverage continues to keep pace with actively exploited CVEs, which matters when we're triaging Patch Tuesday against KEV. Scan templates and credentialed checks have been stable, and the output integrates cleanly into our monthly patch briefings without heavy reformatting. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Scan result storage remains a persistent problem at our scan volume. On-prem disk consumption grows quickly, and pushing everything to the cloud isn't a fit for every environment — better native retention controls and result pruning would help. Remediation tracking also needs attention: a finding only closes when a later scan actively re-checks the same plugin and it doesn't fire. If OS fingerprinting is inconclusive on an unauthenticated scan, findings can sit open indefinitely, forcing manual Accept Risk workflows with change record documentation to keep the dashboard accurate. Smarter stale-finding handling would reduce that overhead. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like most about using Tenable Nessus is how simple and reliable it is. It makes vulnerability scanning straightforward and gives clear, actionable results instead of overwhelming me with unnecessary complexity. I find it especially helpful for quickly identifying risks, prioritizing them, and getting practical remediation guidance. Overall, it saves time and makes security assessments much more efficient. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike about using Tenable Nessus is that sometimes the scan results can be noisy, with false positives that need manual verification. In larger environments, scans can also take time and consume resources, which can slow things down. I also feel the reporting could be more flexible and customized out of the box. While it’s a strong tool overall, it still needs some tuning and validation to get the best value from it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I really like that with Tenable Nessus I can generate reports on anything, which allows me to provide a broader and more professional detail to my bosses. I enjoy being able to scan not only IPs but also DNS. It's useful to generate detailed reports and list systems, installed software, and updates, all from a single console. It's also valuable because it allows me to technically understand vulnerabilities and generate less technical reports for other areas. Additionally, I find the initial setup very practical. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It might be a bit complicated for some people, as you have to apply some filters to get more specific or structured information. Perhaps a specialized filter manual is needed to better understand how to use them. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like that Nessus makes it easy to scan systems and review vulnerabilities in one place. The finding gives me a good starting point for understanding what needs attention and prioritizing the fixes. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some scan results need a closer look before I can decide what to address, so reviewing and prioritizing findings can take time, especially when a scan returns a large number of issues. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The agents and their smooth integration with the SIEM stand out the most for me. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

When the Nessus product is integrated with Security Center, we don’t get detailed visibility from the agent perspective—for example, whether agents are linked or unlinked, connected or disconnected, and whether they are running the latest version. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like Tenable Nessus's ability to handle a large amount of data scanning and manage numerous assets in our inventory efficiently. It can detect inventory details, operating systems, and applications, which is really useful. It integrates well with Tenable Security Center to process data, rate vulnerabilities, and confirm remediation effectively. The setup was straightforward thanks to the available resources and knowledge base, so we rarely need support unless there's a deeper problem. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One drawback I've noticed with Tenable Nessus we encountered typo or error in audit files, or discrepancies that don't match with standards. This occasionally results in false positives or typographical issues, forcing us to make adjustments or use workarounds like recasting the files. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.