Alternatives
Best Nessus alternatives in 2026
Data compiled by Toolradar Updated How we rate
Cite this list: Toolradar, best Nessus alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/nessus
13 direct alternatives to Nessus, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.
Quick answer
- Veeam is the top alternative to Nessus on our list, followed by Otterize and Netwrix.
- 2 of the 13 alternatives have a free plan, starting with Veeam.
- Highest rated: Burp Suite, 4.9 out of 5 from 158 ratings, Sep 2026.
- 13 alternatives
- 2 with a free plan
Top 3 alternatives to Nessus
Veeam
#1 Top pickUnified data protection, security, and resilience for hybrid environments and AI workloads.
Pricing
Free plan
4.7 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 828 ratings, Sep 2026
Our take
Best overall
Otterize
#2AI-native data security platform for cloud, SaaS, on-prem, and AI environments.
Pricing
Not published
4.1 /5 across G2 and Trustpilot · 972 ratings, Sep 2026
Netwrix
#3Unified data security that starts with identity, protecting your organization from evolving threats.
Pricing
Contact sales
4.4 /5 across Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra · 504 ratings, Sep 2026
Nessus vs 13 alternatives
| Tool | Starting price (Nov 2026) | Free plan | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Price: $399.17/mo | Free plan: No | 4.6 out of 5, from 402 ratings across G2 and Capterra (402) |
| Price: Free + paid | Free plan: Yes | 4.7 out of 5, from 828 ratings across G2 and Capterra (828) | |
| Price: Not published | Free plan: No | 4.1 out of 5, from 972 ratings across G2 and Trustpilot (972) |
| Price: Contact sales | Free plan: No | 4.4 out of 5, from 504 ratings across Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra (504) |
 | Price: $37.42/mo | Free plan: No | 4.9 out of 5, from 158 ratings across G2 and Capterra (158) |
 | Price: Contact sales | Free plan: No | 4.6 out of 5, from 148 ratings on G2 (148) |
 | Price: Free + paid | Free plan: Yes | 4.3 out of 5, from 103 ratings across G2 and Capterra (103) |
 | Price: Not published | Free plan: No | 4.6 out of 5, from 88 ratings on G2 (88) |
 | Price: $1/mo | Free plan: No | 4.7 out of 5, from 56 ratings on G2 (56) |
| Price: Not published | Free plan: No | 4.3 out of 5, from 67 ratings on SourceForge (67) | |
 | Price: Contact sales | Free plan: No | 4.1 out of 5, from 56 ratings across G2 and Capterra (56) |
 | Price: Contact sales | Free plan: No | n/a |
 | Price: Not published | Free plan: No | n/a |
 | Price: Contact sales | Free plan: No | n/a |
Why people consider alternatives to Nessus
Nessus scans for vulnerabilities across networks and systems. The scanner security professionals have used for decades-vulnerability assessment that's proven. The scanning is comprehensive. The database is current.
Teams most often switch away when one of these starts to bite:
- A feature or quota ceiling that a paid specialist covers and this free tool does not.
- Missing integrations with the rest of your stack.
- Performance or scale limits as your needs grow.
- A specific feature gap you have hit in security.
The 13 alternatives below cover the same core job (security) with different trade-offs.
Nessus by the numbers
Toolradar data: Its head-to-head comparison pages had 69 visits in the last 30 days, ranking #2 of 10 tools with 20+ compare-page visits in Vulnerability Scanning. As of Nov 2026.
| Metric | Nessus | Peer median | Position (1 is best) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | 13 of 23 have one | n/a |
| Listed as an alternative to | 10 tools | 3 | #4 of 23 (joint) |
| User rating | 4.6/5 (across the web, 402 ratings) | 4.6/5 | #4 of 10 (joint) tools with 20+ reviews |
| Compare-page visits, last 30 days | 69 visits | 26 | #2 of 10 tools with 20+ compare-page visits |
Visitors most often compare Nessus with Qualys, Burp Suite and Wazuh (last 30 days, Nov 2026).
Listed as an alternative to: #5 on 2026-10-16 to #4 on 2026-11-03 (rank among 23 tools, 1 is best).
Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. All Vulnerability Scanning data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source.
Cite this: Toolradar, “Nessus by the numbers”, Nov 2026.
Security leaderboards from Toolradar data
Toolradar ranks Security tools on one measure at a time, only where at least 8 tools have data. As of Nov 2026.
Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit
Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.
Counted among 160 tools with no stated price unit, verified price.
| # | Tool | Entry plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HashiCorp Vault | $0.50/mo, billed monthly |
| 2 | Runbox | $0.66/mo, billed yearly |
| 3 | uTerminal | $0.83/mo, billed yearly |
| 4 | Alive | $0.99/mo, billed monthly |
| 5 | Addy.io | $1/mo, billed yearly |
Lowest entry price, per-user plans
Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.
Counted among 42 tools priced per user, verified price.
| # | Tool | Entry plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoho Mail | $1/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 2 | AccessOwl | $1.50/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 3 | Corma | $3/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 3 | Duo Security | $3/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 3 | Fastmail | $3/user/mo, billed monthly |
Lowest entry price, flat team plans
Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.
Counted among 23 tools priced as a flat team plan, verified price.
| # | Tool | Entry plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annature | $1.75/mo flat, billed yearly |
| 2 | Enpass | $1.99/mo flat, billed monthly |
| 3 | Hide.me | $2.50/mo flat, billed monthly |
| 4 | 1Password | $3.99/mo flat, billed monthly |
| 5 | Malwarebytes | $5/mo flat, billed yearly |
Most visited, last 30 days
Distinct visitor sessions on the tool's Toolradar page over the last 30 days, with bots excluded by our analytics. A session counts once however many times it reloads the page.
Counted among 11 tools with 50+ visits.
| # | Tool | Visits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proton VPN | 1,427 visits |
| 2 | Hide.me | 834 visits |
| 3 | Windscribe VPN | 639 visits |
| 4 | Opera | 619 visits |
| 5 | ZoogVPN | 365 visits |
Most media coverage, last 30 days
Number of distinct articles published in the last 30 days by independent press, blogs and newsletters that mention the tool. A story carried by several outlets counts once; the vendor's own blog, review sites, forums and republishing sites do not count.
Counted among 33 tools mentioned in the last 30 days.
| # | Tool | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ServiceNow | 21 articles |
| 2 | ConnectWise | 12 articles |
| 3 | GitLab | 11 articles |
| 4 | BitGo | 9 articles |
| 5 | Harmonic Security | 5 articles |
A position exists only when at least 8 tools have data for that metric. 233 of 737 Security tools have a verified price; the others publish none we could read (often "contact sales"). Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source. How we compute this. Cite this: Toolradar, “Security leaderboards”, Nov 2026. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. All Security statistics.
13 alternatives to Nessus
Ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review, plus how directly they replace Nessus.
- 1
Veeam
Free planUnified data protection, security, and resilience for hybrid environments and AI workloads.
4.7 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 828 ratings, Sep 2026
Free plan available; paid prices not published
- 2
Otterize
PaidAI-native data security platform for cloud, SaaS, on-prem, and AI environments.
4.1 /5 across G2 and Trustpilot · 972 ratings, Sep 2026
Price not published
- 3
Netwrix
PaidUnified data security that starts with identity, protecting your organization from evolving threats.
4.4 /5 across Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra · 504 ratings, Sep 2026
Price not published
- 4
Burp Suite
Paid Higher rated by usersWeb security testing toolkit for penetration testers
4.9 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 158 ratings, Sep 2026
From $449/user/year
- 5
Teramind
PaidTurn workforce signals into predictive intelligence for insider threat detection and productivity optimization.
4.6 /5 on G2 · 148 ratings, Mar 2026
Price not published
- 6
SecurityScorecard
Free planDetect, prioritize, and remediate vendor risk across your entire supply chain at scale.
4.3 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 103 ratings, Sep 2026
Free plan available; paid prices not published
- 7
Varonis
PaidAutomated data security, posture management, and threat prevention powered by AI.
4.6 /5 on G2 · 88 ratings, Sep 2026
Price not published
- 8
Mosyle
Free planThe only Apple Unified Platform for comprehensive device management and security.
4.7 /5 on G2 · 56 ratings, Sep 2026
From $1/mo, billed monthly; free plan available
- 9
CSPi Network
PaidSolving complex technology and security challenges with high-performance products and comprehensive IT services.
4.3 /5 on SourceForge · 67 ratings, Mar 2026
Price not published
- 10
Checkmarx
PaidApplication security testing platform
4.1 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 56 ratings, Sep 2026
Price not published
- 11
CloudSploit
PaidGain a complete and prioritized view of your cloud security risk in real-time.
Price not published
- 12
Terra Security
PaidAgentic AI platform for continuous penetration testing, combining AI scale with human supervision.
Price not published
- 13
IP Fabric
PaidBuild a network digital twin for total visibility and control over your entire IT estate.
Price not published
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Nessus?
Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to Nessus are Veeam, Otterize, Netwrix. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.
Is there a free alternative to Nessus?
Nessus is already 100% free. There is no other fully free alternative in this list. Veeam is freemium (free tier plus paid plans), not 100% free.
Why do people look for Nessus alternatives?
Common reasons teams switch away from Nessus even though it is free: missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in security. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with a different feature set.
Side-by-side comparisons
In-depth comparison pages for Nessus versus each alternative.
Review Nessus, get a free AI guide
Share your experience and we will send you Improve Your Thinking Patterns Using ChatGPT, free.
Still considering Nessus?
See the full review, pricing breakdown, and community feedback before you decide.