Cobalt
Cobalt is a Pentest as a Service platform that combines SaaS efficiency with a global community of security experts to identify and remediate vulnerabilities in your applications.
Tenable Nessus
Nessus is a vulnerability assessment solution providing deep-point-in-time scans to identify security flaws, misconfigurations, and malware across your modern IT infrastructure, including cloud, containers, and traditional assets.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Cobalt | Tenable Nessus |
|---|---|---|
| Website | cobalt.io | tenable.com |
| Pricing Model | Custom | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Custom Pricing | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 7 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2013 | 2002 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, USA | Columbia, USA |
Overview
Cobalt
Cobalt transforms traditional penetration testing into a dynamic, tech-enabled experience through its Pentest as a Service (PtaaS) platform. You can move away from slow, static PDF reports and instead launch comprehensive security assessments in days rather than weeks. The platform connects you directly with a vetted community of on-demand security researchers who test your web applications, APIs, and cloud infrastructure in real-time.
You can manage the entire testing lifecycle from a single dashboard, allowing your developers to communicate directly with testers for faster vulnerability remediation. It integrates with your existing development workflows to ensure security keeps pace with your release cycles. Whether you need to meet compliance requirements like SOC2 or harden your external attack surface, you get actionable data and on-demand retesting to stay secure.
Tenable Nessus
Nessus helps you identify and fix security vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. You can scan your entire environment—including cloud instances, web applications, and traditional network hardware—to find missing patches, software flaws, and configuration errors. It provides a clear view of your attack surface so you can prioritize the most critical risks to your business.
You can choose between different versions depending on your needs, ranging from a free version for educators and students to professional and expert versions for security consultants. It simplifies the complex task of vulnerability assessment with pre-built templates and automated reporting. Whether you are securing a small office or a complex hybrid-cloud environment, you can rely on its extensive plugin library to stay protected against the latest threats.
Overview
Cobalt Features
- On-Demand Pentesting Launch a manual pentest in as little as 24 hours to meet tight production deadlines or compliance windows.
- Real-Time Reporting View vulnerabilities as testers find them so your team can start fixing critical bugs before the test even finishes.
- Direct Researcher Access Chat directly with your assigned security experts to clarify findings and get specific guidance on complex remediation steps.
- SDLC Integrations Push findings automatically to Jira, GitHub, or Slack so your developers can manage security fixes in their existing tools.
- Complimentary Retesting Request a free retest once you've applied a fix to ensure the vulnerability is fully resolved and verified.
- Compliance Reporting Generate audit-ready reports for SOC2, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS with a single click to satisfy your stakeholders and auditors.
Tenable Nessus Features
- Pre-Built Scan Templates. Start scanning immediately using over 450 pre-configured templates for common audits like PCI-DSS and HIPAA compliance.
- Live Results. Perform offline vulnerability analysis against your scan history to find new threats without running a new scan.
- Cloud Infrastructure Scanning. Assess your cloud-native assets and identify misconfigurations in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud environments easily.
- Customizable Reporting. Create tailored reports in multiple formats like HTML or PDF to share critical security findings with your stakeholders.
- Web Application Scanning. Identify vulnerabilities in your web applications and APIs to prevent common attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
- External Surface Discovery. Find and map your internet-facing assets to understand what an attacker sees when looking at your organization.
Pricing Comparison
Cobalt Pricing
Tenable Nessus Pricing
- Scan up to 16 IP addresses
- High-speed accurate scanning
- Community support access
- Standard vulnerability assessment
- Free for educators and students
- Everything in Essentials, plus:
- Unlimited IP address scanning
- Advanced support access
- Configuration audits
- Live Results analysis
- Customizable reporting
Pros & Cons
Cobalt
Pros
- Significantly faster setup time than traditional consulting firms
- Direct communication with testers speeds up remediation
- Clean dashboard replaces messy PDF report management
- High-quality, vetted researchers provide deep manual insights
Cons
- Credit-based pricing can be complex to forecast
- Platform focus is primarily on manual testing over automation
- Premium pricing reflects the high-touch expert service
Tenable Nessus
Pros
- Extremely high accuracy with very low false-positive rates
- Massive library of plugins updated daily for new threats
- Easy to set up and run your first scan quickly
- Detailed remediation instructions help you fix issues faster
Cons
- Annual subscription cost is high for small businesses
- Interface can feel dated compared to newer cloud platforms
- Reporting customization requires a learning curve to master