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HackerOne vs Tenable Nessus comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Zafran Security
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
18th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (3rd)
HackerOne
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
27th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (19th), Bug Bounty Platforms (2nd), Penetration Testing Services (2nd), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (11th), AI Observability (10th)
Tenable Nessus
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
87
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 1.0%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HackerOne is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Nessus is 5.1%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tenable Nessus5.1%
Zafran Security1.0%
HackerOne0.7%
Other93.2%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

Reviewer6233 - PeerSpot reviewer
Works at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal
While Zafran Security is already a powerful tool, there are areas where it could be further improved to provide even greater value. One key area for enhancement is the searching capabilities within its vulnerabilities module. By incorporating the ability to create Boolean searches, users would gain the ability to apply more complex filters and customize their search criteria. This would greatly enhance the precision and efficiency with which security teams can identify and prioritize vulnerabilities. Having such tailored search capabilities would save time and resources by narrowing down vast lists of vulnerabilities to those that meet specific parameters relevant to our unique risk environment. Additionally, integrating more robust reporting and visualization tools would be advantageous. Enhanced dashboards that offer customizable visual representations of risk configurations and threat landscapes would facilitate better communication with stakeholders, making it easier to explain vulnerabilities and the rationale behind certain security measures. This would also aid in demonstrating the improvements and value derived from existing security investments to leadership and non-technical team members.
Ruphus Muita - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior ICT Security Consultant at Applied Principles Limited
Has improved my motivation to submit bugs consistently through fast response and clear filtering
I think HackerOne can be improved by allowing new users to gain access to certain programs that are only open to known, renowned users. Sometimes new users don't receive invites just because they are new, despite potentially being very skilled hackers, so I feel new users should get more chances and opportunities. I am currently satisfied with the rewards, response time, and other aspects of the platform, so I don't have anything else to add about the necessary improvements. I give HackerOne a nine out of ten because if new hackers are given more opportunities, it could be a perfect 10 for me. However, the reason I gave a nine is that I don't have much to complain about; I specifically love the program and don't have many concerns.
MohammedJaffir - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder at Cipheroot
Has enabled me to reduce false positives and perform deep credential auditing with seamless integrations
I mostly use the configuration audit feature for the audit configuration as a scan policy, and I will use it for credential audit, which helps me scan credentials access such as local administrator or root access, performing a deeper and more accurate check of local configuration settings and file systems, making it a highly recommended feature. Regarding integration capabilities, we can integrate Tenable Nessus with SIM tools such as Splunk, IBM QRadar, and Azure Sentinel, as well as with ticketing systems such as ServiceNow, Jira, and Slack. There is no complexity as it is very easy to integrate everything. In terms of the reporting feature, while vulnerability scanning can throw some false positives, Tenable Nessus has very few, achieving a reduction of 75% to 80% false positives with manual analysis needed. We can generate standard Nessus reports that typically include host summaries and vulnerabilities by host and plugin, alongside solutions and remediation recommendations. The main benefits I get from Tenable Nessus are complete asset inventory and comprehensive attack surface management, allowing us to prioritize vulnerabilities based on risk, focusing on true risk and threat path analysis.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."
"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."
"Overall, we have seen about eighty-seven percent reduction of the number of vulnerabilities that require urgency to remediate, specifically the number of criticals."
"Zafran is an excellent tool."
"With Zafran Security, it integrates with your security controls, allowing you to take that risk score and reduce it based on the controls in place or increase the risk based on different factors, such as if the issue is internet reachable or if there's an exploit in the wild."
"We saw benefits from Zafran Security almost immediately after deploying it."
"HackerOne has been the right fit for our current situation from both a functionality and cost-effectiveness perspective."
"HackerOne is larger than WebCloud and has a better reputation than BugCloud, which results in a smoother process."
"HackerOne is larger than WebCloud and has a better reputation than BugCloud, which results in a smoother process."
"The most valuable feature of HackerOne is its variety of programs. These programs provide depth into various areas, such as mobile, API, and websites."
"The fast verification process impacts my motivation significantly because a quick response keeps me motivated, and if I'm going to try and hunt bugs today, I would appreciate a response within the day or at least within a few days."
"Apart from getting all the bug bounty opportunities, we also get the chance to practice in a safe environment, like a demo setup. These features are great for beginners who want to explore bug bounties in the future."
"It helps me to get new sales, profits, and other benefits."
"The product's most valuable features are vulnerability and asset management. It can define the rules and validate the configuration."
"It provides multiple recommendations towards the remedy of vulnerabilities."
"Quick assessments, compliance scores, and results are provided without having to do agents."
"Nessus' most valuable feature is vulnerability management because it helps to discover vulnerabilities proactively and integrates with patch management solutions so you can push patches."
"The scanning capabilities are most valuable when compared to Nessus."
"Vulnerability assessment is the most valuable feature in Tenable Nessus, as it provides brief details regarding the vulnerability issues we have in our network."
"The most valuable feature is how it scanned and detected through its database to let us know exactly what fixes we needed to put in place for the vulnerabilities. It detects and it also gives you the way to fix it."
"Nessus is good at finding out what nodes you have in place. It will then provide you a report, by node, of what the vulnerabilities are. It does it quickly and stealthfully."
 

Cons

"I think the ability to have some enhanced reporting capabilities is something they can improve on, as they have good reports but we have asked for some specific reporting enhancements."
"Initially, we were somewhat concerned about the scalability of Zafran due to our large asset count and the substantial amount of information we needed to process."
"The dashboarding and reporting functionality of Zafran Security is an area that definitely could use some improvements."
"One limitation is that if a finding has been reported on HackerOne and was also reported earlier by another user or outsider, the platform is not able to collate that information together."
"Sometimes new users don't receive invites just because they are new, despite potentially being very skilled hackers, so I feel new users should get more chances and opportunities."
"Everything has become slower on HackerOne."
"The ability to view the conversation between the triagers and the programs will be really good."
"Everything has become slower on HackerOne. I have noticed that older researchers receive all the private invites while newer ones receive fewer."
"One issue I've experienced is traffic. Many people try to participate when an opportunity with a bounty of around 1,000-15,000 dollars comes up. In this case, the first person to report the vulnerability gets the bounty. If a second person reports the same vulnerability, they are marked as duplicated instead of receiving some recognition. The second person also invested time finding the issue, so I think this can be improved."
"Response time can be improved. The HackerOne Trust team can be slow to respond sometimes. They're not using AI, which could help reduce the number of duplicate reports."
"We'd like to see the solution embrace more user-friendliness."
"The reports are okay, but the interface is a bit difficult to navigate in some cases."
"There is room for improvement in finishing the transition to the cloud. We'd like to see them keep on improving the Tenable.io product, so that we can migrate to it entirely, instead of having to keep the Tenable.sc on-prem product."
"They should try to create an all-in-one solution."
"To be honest, I haven't used it much to tell you that these are the things that should be improved. But I believe the UI should be enhanced somewhat. For example, there are two ways to find a report, and people are frequently confused as to which is the correct method for locating a full report. Sometimes they go in the opposite direction, so this is an area that may be improved."
"The problems I faced with Tenable Nessus were related to its dashboard's customization capabilities and its ability to provide data to third-party sources."
"Lacks some penetration testing-related services."
"Nessus' reporting could be more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution is free."
"The tool is open-source and free for bug bounty hunters."
"Tenable Nessus is affordable."
"We paid about six thousand dollars per license."
"We incurred a single cost for a perpetual license, although I cannot comment on the price as this is above my management level."
"The price of Tenable Nessus could improve, it is expensive."
"The newer tools are quite pricey. There is a case of some fine tuning that can be done in terms of licensing. The IP based licensing that is offered makes the tool very expensive. If they want the IT industry to adopt it, the price should be looked at."
"When comparing the price of Tenable Nessus to other similar solutions, such as Acunetix, Tenable Nessus is not as expensive. It is averagely priced in the market. We pay for the solution annually."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"One problem with Tenable is its pricing policy. Optimal results can be achieved with Greenbone Solutions which has much more friendly pricing policies."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise35
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?
Since we stood Zafran Security up in our private cloud, we handle the maintenance on our side. As we opted not to use...
What needs improvement with Zafran Security?
In terms of areas for improvement, Zafran Security is doing a really great job as a new and emerging company. Oftenti...
What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?
My use cases for Zafran Security revolve around two primary areas. One is around vulnerability management and priorit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HackerOne?
I have not experienced any costs since I use HackerOne independently, just logging into the site, hunting bugs, and s...
What needs improvement with HackerOne?
I think HackerOne can be improved by allowing new users to gain access to certain programs that are only open to know...
What is your primary use case for HackerOne?
My main use case for HackerOne is mostly for submitting bugs. I get into the programs listed there, find one that is ...
How would you choose between Rapid7 InsightVM and Tenable Nessus?
You have full visibility across cloud, network, virtual, and containerized infrastructures with Rapid7 Insight VM. Yo...
What's the difference between Tenable Nessus and Tenable.io Vulnerability Management?
Tenable Nessus is a vulnerability assessment solution that is both easy to deploy and easy to manage. The design of ...
What do you like most about Tenable Nessus?
We have around 500 virtual machines. Therefore, we conduct monthly scans and open tickets for our developers to addre...
 

Also Known As

No data available
HackerOne Assets, HackerOne Pentesting Services, HackerOne Security Assessments, HackerOne Vulnerability Management
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Anthropic, Crypto.com, General Motors, GitHub, Goldman Sachs, Uber, and the U.S. Department of Defense
Bitbrains, Tesla, Just Eat, Crosskey Banking Solutions, Covenant Health, Youngstown State University
Find out what your peers are saying about HackerOne vs. Tenable Nessus and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,346 professionals have used our research since 2012.