Portnox Cloud vs Tenable Nessus Comparison: Reviews, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2026

Detailed side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right solution for your team

Updated Apr 2026 8 min read

Portnox Cloud

0.0 (0 reviews)

Portnox Cloud is a cloud-native network access control solution providing automated device discovery, authentication, and policy enforcement to secure your corporate network and distributed workforce.

Starting at $??/mo
Free Trial 30 days
VS

Tenable Nessus

0.0 (0 reviews)

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.

Starting at Free
Free Trial 7 days

Quick Comparison

Feature Portnox Cloud Tenable Nessus
Website portnox.com tenable.com
Pricing Model Subscription Freemium
Starting Price $??/month Free
FREE Trial ✓ 30 days free trial ✓ 7 days free trial
Free Plan ✘ No free plan ✓ Has free plan
Product Demo ✓ Request demo here ✓ Request demo here
Deployment saas saas on-premise desktop
Integrations Microsoft Entra ID Google Workspace Okta JumpCloud Microsoft Intune Jamf Palo Alto Networks Fortinet Cisco Splunk ServiceNow Splunk AWS Microsoft Azure Google Cloud Platform Jira Slack IBM QRadar
Target Users mid-market enterprise small-business mid-market enterprise
Target Industries
Customer Count 0 0
Founded Year 2007 2002
Headquarters Austin, USA Columbia, USA

Overview

P

Portnox Cloud

Portnox Cloud helps you secure your entire network infrastructure without the headache of managing on-site hardware or complex appliances. You can gain full visibility into every device connecting to your network, whether they are managed corporate laptops, personal mobile devices, or unmanaged IoT hardware. By moving network access control to the cloud, you eliminate the need for local servers and simplify the way you manage authentication across multiple locations.

You can enforce strict security policies and automate responses to non-compliant devices in real-time. The platform integrates directly with your existing cloud identity providers like Microsoft Entra ID or Google Workspace to streamline user onboarding. Whether your team is working from a central office or a home coffee shop, you can ensure only authorized users and healthy devices access your sensitive digital assets.

strtoupper($product2['name'][0])

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

P

Portnox Cloud Features

  • Cloud-Native RADIUS Authenticate users and devices instantly using a globally distributed RADIUS service that requires zero on-premises hardware setup.
  • Endpoint Risk Assessment Check the health and compliance of every device before granting access to ensure they meet your security standards.
  • IoT Device Fingerprinting Identify and profile headless IoT devices automatically so you can apply specific access policies based on device type.
  • Dynamic VLAN Assignment Place users into the correct network segment automatically based on their identity, location, and current device risk level.
  • Guest Access Management Create secure, time-limited access for visitors and contractors without compromising your internal corporate network security.
  • Automated Remediation Isolate or block non-compliant devices automatically and provide users with clear instructions on how to fix security issues.
strtoupper($product2['name'][0])

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

P

Portnox Cloud Pricing

Basic
$??
  • Cloud-native RADIUS (802.1X)
  • MAC-based authentication
  • Basic device visibility
  • Integration with cloud directories
  • Standard reporting and alerts
T

Tenable Nessus Pricing

Nessus Essentials
$0
  • Scan up to 16 IP addresses
  • High-speed accurate scanning
  • Community support access
  • Standard vulnerability assessment
  • Free for educators and students

Pros & Cons

M

Portnox Cloud

Pros

  • Fast deployment without needing on-site hardware
  • Seamless integration with Microsoft Entra ID
  • Excellent visibility into unmanaged IoT devices
  • Intuitive management interface saves admin time

Cons

  • Public pricing is not readily available
  • Initial configuration requires solid networking knowledge
  • Reporting customization could be more flexible
A

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
×

Please claim profile in order to edit product details and view analytics. Provide your work email @productdomain to receive a verification link.