Burp Suite
Burp Suite is a comprehensive web security testing platform that provides automated and manual tools to help you identify, analyze, and exploit vulnerabilities in web applications and APIs.
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 | Burp Suite | Tenable Nessus |
|---|---|---|
| Website | portswigger.net | tenable.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 7 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has 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 | 2004 | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Knutsford, United Kingdom | Columbia, USA |
Overview
Burp Suite
Burp Suite is the industry-standard toolkit for web application security testing. You can use it to map out an application's attack surface, analyze its communication with servers, and find critical vulnerabilities like SQL injection or cross-site scripting. Whether you are performing manual penetration tests or automated compliance scans, the platform provides the precision you need to secure your digital assets.
You can choose between the Community Edition for basic manual testing or the Professional and Enterprise editions for advanced automation and team-wide vulnerability management. It helps you move from simple bug hunting to integrated DevSecOps by catching security flaws early in your development lifecycle. The software is widely used by security researchers, bug bounty hunters, and enterprise security teams globally.
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
Burp Suite Features
- Intercepting Proxy Inspect and modify the raw traffic between your browser and the target application in real-time to uncover hidden flaws.
- Vulnerability Scanner Automatically crawl and scan your web applications to identify over 100 different types of security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
- Burp Intruder Automate customized attacks against your web applications to perform credential stuffing, fuzzing, and data harvesting at high speeds.
- Burp Repeater Strip down and resend individual HTTP requests manually to fine-tune your exploits and verify specific vulnerability findings quickly.
- BApp Store Extend your toolkit's capabilities by installing hundreds of community-developed extensions to handle specialized security testing requirements.
- OAST Testing Detect invisible vulnerabilities that other scanners miss by using out-of-band application security testing through the Burp Collaborator.
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
Burp Suite Pricing
- Essential manual tools
- Intercepting Proxy
- Burp Repeater
- Basic tool configuration
- Access to BApp Store
- Everything in Community, plus:
- Automated vulnerability scanner
- Burp Intruder (unthrottled)
- Burp Collaborator (OAST)
- Advanced manual tools
- Save and restore projects
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
Burp Suite
Pros
- Industry-standard tool recognized by all security firms
- Extensive library of community-made extensions and plugins
- Highly accurate automated scanning for common vulnerabilities
- Powerful manual interception and request manipulation capabilities
Cons
- Significant learning curve for non-security professionals
- Interface can feel cluttered and dated to some
- Professional version requires a yearly upfront payment
- High memory consumption during large-scale application scans
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