Brinqa vs Tenable Nessus comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Brinqa and Tenable are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. Brinqa is ranked #61, while Tenable is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.7. Brinqa holds a 0.7% mindshare in VM, compared to Tenable’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Brinqa users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Tenable users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Brinqa and Tenable Nessus based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Wiz, Qualys, Tenable and others in Vulnerability Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Vulnerability Management Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Vulnerability Management

September 2026

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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

Qualys TotalCloud

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Brinqa is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Nessus is 3.6%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Tenable Nessus	3.6%
Qualys TotalCloud	1.2%
Brinqa	0.7%
Other	94.5%

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

reviewer2859021

Sr Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

Risk-based triage has transformed container security and now prioritizes high-impact threats

The best features Qualys TotalCloud offers currently include managing cloud infrastructure and container security while facing major challenges such as alert fatigue. Traditional vulnerability scanners flag hundreds of CVEs on short-lived Kubernetes containers, some of which have no internet exposure or are gone before we can even triage them. I leverage Qualys TotalCloud to move beyond static CVSS. I use it to implement runtime exposure, correlation risk reprioritization, and shift-left integration. This notifies developers to fix a base image upstream rather than patching live ephemeral instances. In my work with cloud and container security, the biggest operational hurdle was alert fatigue. I use Qualys to shift left from static CVSS severity to context-aware risk prioritization. I correlated raw vulnerability data with real-time risk factors such as public network exposure, active runtime execution, or overly permissive IAM roles. This allows us to immediately drop the priority of isolated containers and escalate lower-severity CVEs that sit on an exposed, high-risk path. We can map these findings directly back to our CI/CD pipelines so developers can patch the root base images upstream. We have drastically cut down the signal-to-noise ratio, saved a lot of manual hours doing triage work, and ensured engineering effort goes directly towards high-impact risk reduction.

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Remo Belisari

Cybersecurity Director at RB Consultancy

Allows us to configure the risk algorithm to suit our specific needs

I would give the easiness of the initial setup a seven out of ten. It can be a bit complex. Some connections are straightforward, but some take a long time. Deploying Brinqa took time, as it was done in phases. Initially, it took about six months before we started getting valuable data from it. Then, it expanded from there. The deployment began with a product demo and contract negotiation. We connected some data sources to Brinqa's cloud service, which was straightforward. We used the default risk ranking algorithm but faced issues with the dashboards, so we customized them to fit our organization's needs over a few years. We depended a lot on Brinqa for the deployment. We had some internal resources, but they lacked the needed skills, so it took time to train our two-man team. Initially, it required one person for maintenance, and they spent most of their time on it.

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MohammedJaffir

Founder at Cipheroot Cybersecurity Solutions

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment for IaaS and SaaS and a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce my workload by not having to combine multiple sources."

"CSPM is currently the most used feature, and we are enjoying the new feature, FlexScan, which is valuable for Internet-facing VMs."

"In my opinion, this is the best tool."

"I highly recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users."

"Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted my organization by providing visibility into the environment."

"The best features in Qualys TotalCloud include the total asset management of the cloud environment. It is very easy to export the report and see the vulnerabilities related to the cloud specifically."

"The most valuable feature is the consolidated information that it provides from various platforms."

"The best feature would be the ability to create policies. It is easy to control and update policies as required."

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

"The most valuable features of Brinqa are its data integration capabilities."

"The valuable feature for me is being able to ping the computers to do the automated scan and to come back and be able to see everything."

"The features I personally like include host discovery."

"Nessus is a very stable product, and it has been a pioneer and has been around for a long time."

"It provides actionable recommendations to the implementation team towards security remedies."

"It is a mature tool."

"It's a user friendly solution and I like the dashboards."

"The trial version is very good for testing whether it will suit your needs."

"The scanning capabilities are very good."

More Tenable Nessus pros

Cons

"One thing that could be improved is the user experience and navigation."

"Qualys's ticketing system can be confusing when assigning tasks to individuals, and support could be improved by offering instant call solutions with engineers in addition to ticket replies."

"I didn't give it a ten because I would like to see simpler configuration, more customizable dashboards, and better automation and integration options."

"There is room for improvement in the support."

"TotalCloud could improve its scanning of niche devices like Wi-Fi dongles and USB modems because they are often untested. It covers everything else, like laptops, mobile devices, and Bluetooth IoT devices. They can improve on the small IoT devices because hackers and testers use these."

"Enhancing clarity regarding its compliance capabilities would be beneficial, as the current scope is limited in geographic coverage."

"There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."

"To be honest, I would move out from this tool because it does not give a full view of vulnerability."

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

"Brinqa could improve in terms of the speed of their service and resource provision."

"I would like to see more on the automation side. There should be proper tools and support for automation in Tenable itself."

"The price could be more reasonable. I used the free Nessus version in my lab with which you can only scan 16 IP addresses."

"EQA's and dashboards should be addressed in the next release."

"It would be a good idea if they have a simulation of attacks or a use case for finding a new vulnerability or dealing with a zero-day attack."

"The report for counters is too simple and would be improved by a dashboard."

"We would like to have the option of using the solution for the cloud as well as on-premises with the same license at the same time. That would be very helpful."

"The price could be more reasonable. I used the free Nessus version in my lab with which you can only scan 16 IP addresses. If I wanted to put it in the lab in my network at work, and I'm doing a test project that has over 30 nodes in it, I can't use the free version of Nessus to scan it because there are only 16 IP addresses. I can't get an accurate scan. The biggest thing with all the cybersecurity tools out there nowadays, especially in 2020, is that there's a rush to get a lot of skilled cybersecurity analysts out there. Some of these companies need to realize that a lot of us are working from home and doing proof of concepts, and some of them don't even offer trials, or you get a trial and it is only 16 IP addresses. I can't really do anything with it past 16. I'm either guessing or I'm doing double work to do my scans. Let's say there was a license for 50 users or 50 IP addresses. I would spend about 200 bucks for that license to accomplish my job. This is the biggest complaint I have as of right now with all cybersecurity tools, including Rapid7, out there, especially if I'm in a company that is trying to build its cybersecurity program. How am I going to tell my boss, who has no real budget of what he needs to build his cybersecurity program, to go spend over $100,000 for a tool he has never seen, whereas, it would pack the punch if I could say, "Let me spend 200 bucks for a 50 user IP address license of this product, do a proof of concept to scan 50 nodes, and provide the reason for why we need it." I've been a director, and now I'm an ISO. When I was a director, I had a budget for an IT department, so I know how budgets work. As an ISO, the only thing that's missing from my C-level is I don't have to deal with employees and budgets, but I have everything else. It's hard for me to build the program and say, "Hey, I need these tools." If I can't get a trial, I would scratch that off the list and find something else. I'm trying to set up Tenable.io to do external PCI scans. The documentation says to put in your IP addresses or your external IP addresses. However, if the IP address is not routable, then it says that you have to use an internal agent to scan. This means that you set up a Nessus agent internally and scan, which makes sense. However, it doesn't work because when you use the plugin and tell it that it is a PCI external, it says, "You cannot use an internal agent to scan external." The documentation needs to be a little bit more clear about that. It needs to say if you're using the PCI external plugin, all IP addresses must be external and routable. It should tell the person who's setting it up, "Wait a minute. If you have an MPLS network and you're in a multi-tenant environment and the people who hold the network schema only provide you with the IP addresses just for your tenant, then you are not going to know what the actual true IP address that Tenable needs to do a PCI scan." I've been working on Tenable.io to set up PCI scans for the last ten days. I have been going back and forth to the network thinking I need this or that only to find out that I'm teaching their team, "Hey, you know what, guys? I need you to look past your MPLS network. I need you to go to the edge's edge. Here's who you need to ask to give me the whitelist to allow here." I had the blurb that says the plugin for external PCI must be reachable, and you cannot use an internal agent. I could have cut a few days because I thought I had it, but then when I ran it, it said that you can't run it this way. I wasted a few hours in a day. In terms of new features, it doesn't require new features. It is a tool that has been out there for years. It is used in the cybersecurity community. It has got the CV database in it, and there are other plugins that you could pass through. It has got APIs you can attach to it. They can just improve the database and continue adding to the database and the plugins to make sure those don't have false positives. If you're a restaurant and you focus on fried chicken, you have no business doing hamburgers."

"I think the reporting templates could be improved with Tenable Nessus."

More Tenable Nessus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."

"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."

"Its price seems higher compared to other tools, but it is worth it. If they could adjust the pricing and make it comparable with other tools, that would be great."

"Although Qualys TotalCloud is relatively expensive due to its unique automation features, its cost-effectiveness is rated an eight out of ten, with ten being the most costly."

"While Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive and may soon be considered overpriced."

"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."

"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."

"Qualys TotalCloud is cost-efficient and was selected for its value compared to other products."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

Information not available

"I think the price is fairly affordable. It provides a license that is fair."

"We pay approximately $2,500 on a yearly basis."

"The solution is expensive."

"This solution is affordable."

"Its pricing is great and can't be improved. It is very cheap. It is less than 2,000 pounds a license, and you can't really ask for more. It has unlimited IPs and unlimited scans. There are no particular pricing constraints. The only additional cost is the inherent cost of the people to actually review the actual scans."

"Nowadays, your vulnerability applications are going to be kind of pricey because lots of them, including Rapid7, are based upon a base price, but then they add in the nodes. That's where they get you. If you're a big network, obviously, you need to scan everything. Therefore, it's going to be costly. The risk and insurance money associated with having ransomware on my networks is going to cost me more money, time, and marketing than the price of the tool. That's why I'm speaking only as an information security officer to security operations. This is the tool that is there in my toolbox to say whether we vulnerable or not. At this point, I don't care about how much it costs my company to have it because if I wasn't able to report it and we got ransomware, then who cares? I'm probably going to be out of business because it happened. That's why I don't care about the price. I have it, and I could use it effectively and do my report. At the end of the day, even if we get ransomware, as long as I reported it, followed my protocol, and put in the change, irrespective of whether it was ignored or denied, I did my job."

"The price is okay. I would give it a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."

"While Tenable Nessus is a good enterprise solution, the high price would likely make it prohibitive to smaller organizations."

More Tenable Nessus pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

18%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Retailer

12%

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	38

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	41
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	35

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys TotalCloud?

I was not involved in pricing, setup cost, and licensing, but I can say that the setup was fast, within a quarter, an...

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What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?

In terms of improvements, the features we are using in Qualys TotalCloud are working in the best optimal way, and I d...

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What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?

I have been using Qualys TotalCloud for the last eight months to scan the hardware and the virtual devices in our inf...

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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 ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable Nessus?

Based on my experience, the pricing for Tenable Nessus is somewhat higher, but customers still want to pay for it, so...

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Comparisons

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Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 7% of the time

JupiterOne vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 6% of the time

Orca Security vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 6% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 5% of the time

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Nucleus Security vs Brinqa

Compared 12% of the time

Vulcan Cyber vs Brinqa

Compared 12% of the time

Wiz vs Brinqa

Compared 11% of the time

Tenable Security Center vs Brinqa

Compared 9% of the time

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Brinqa

Compared 3% of the time

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Qualys Exposure Management vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 6% of the time

Rapid7 InsightVM vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 5% of the time

Rapid7 Metasploit vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 4% of the time

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 3% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Tenable Nessus

Compared 3% of the time

More Tenable Nessus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys TotalCloud

October 2026

Download Qualys TotalCloud product report

Buyer's Guide

Vulnerability Management

September 2026

Download Brinqa product report

Buyer's Guide

Tenable Nessus

September 2026

Download Tenable Nessus product report

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

No data available

Overview

Qualys TotalCloud enhances security posture across cloud environments with continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, and risk visualization, ensuring efficient threat assessment and automated remediation for improved cyber risk reduction.

Qualys TotalCloud offers a robust suite of security tools essential for organizations managing multi-cloud infrastructures. By integrating cloud accounts and automating workflows, it supports AWS, Azure, and GCP, offering comprehensive vulnerability management and zero-day detection. The platform's user-friendly design, combined with its extensive risk management and unified threat assessment capabilities, enables organizations to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities effectively. TruRisk Insights provides clear insights on cyber risks, while the automation options streamline patch management and scanning processes. API integration across IaaS and SaaS environments further enhances resource allocation efficiency and saves time, addressing misconfigurations across cloud environments.

What are the most important features of Qualys TotalCloud?

Accurate Vulnerability Reports: Delivers precise and actionable insights for risk mitigation.
Zero-Day Detection: Identifies and addresses zero-day vulnerabilities proactively.
Unified Threat Assessment: Offers comprehensive evaluation of threats across the environment.
Extensive Risk Management: Manages risks effectively with advanced insights and prioritization.
Continuous Monitoring: Provides non-stop surveillance for vulnerabilities and threats.
Cloud-Native Automation: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts using automation.
FlexScan for Internet-Facing VMs: Scans external VMs efficiently to detect vulnerabilities.
Dashboard Risk Visualization: Clear visualization helps prioritize vulnerabilities.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Security Posture: Enhances threat detection and response across clouds.
Time Savings: Automation reduces time spent on manual vulnerability management.
Resource Efficiency: Better allocation of resources through streamlined workflows.
Enhanced Risk Prioritization: Focus on critical vulnerabilities for effective mitigation.
Integrated Cloud Accounts: Facilitates seamless cloud management and security.

Qualys TotalCloud is deployed in sectors needing rigorous vulnerability management, such as finance and healthcare. Companies utilize it to secure multi-cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and GCP, focus on compliance, and integrate security into CI/CD pipelines to detect and remedy threats pre-deployment.

Qualys

Brinqa specializes in providing a comprehensive approach to cyber risk management for businesses. It integrates data from multiple sources to deliver risk insights tailored to help prioritize and address vulnerabilities effectively.

Focused on understanding and managing cyber risks, Brinqa integrates seamlessly into existing IT frameworks, offering a scalable and customizable platform. By correlating data, it delivers valuable insights into potential vulnerabilities and threats, helping prioritize actions and optimize security measures. Its framework enables predictive risk assessment, fostering a proactive approach in security strategy. With actionable intelligence, it supports robust decision-making to mitigate cyber threats efficiently.

What are Brinqa's Key Features?

Data Integration: Collates data from diverse sources to offer a unified view of risk.
Risk Prioritization: Uses machine learning to highlight critical issues.
Customizable Dashboards: Provides dynamic dashboards for tailored insights.
Automated Reporting: Facilitates comprehensive reporting for compliance.
Predictive Analytics: Offers anticipative evaluations of potential risk factors.

What Benefits Should Users Consider?

Improved Security Posture: Users can effectively focus on critical threats.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlines risk management processes, saving time.
Cost Effectiveness: Optimizes resource allocation, reducing wasted investment.
Enhanced Compliance: Simplifies regulatory adherence with detailed reports.

In healthcare, Brinqa helps protect patient information by continuously monitoring network vulnerabilities. In financial services, its real-time insights help safeguard sensitive transactional data. For energy sectors, it ensures infrastructure security, critically assessing and mitigating risks associated with operational technology.

Brinqa

Tenable Nessus enhances cybersecurity by detecting vulnerabilities with comprehensive scanning, user-friendly dashboards, and automated reporting, providing value in asset management, configuration audits, and compliance.

Providing real-time monitoring and ease of use, Nessus stands out with its integration capabilities, predictive prioritization, extensive plugin system, and cost-effectiveness. It supports vulnerability assessments for networks, applications, and devices, offering detailed reports for continuous security improvement. Nessus' capabilities extend across on-premise and cloud deployments, aiding compliance and remediation processes while aligning with security standards. While robust, it could benefit from enhanced cloud capabilities, improved scanning accuracy, and more flexible licensing options.

What are the standout features of Tenable Nessus?

Comprehensive Scanning: Covers platforms for in-depth vulnerability detection.
User-Friendly Dashboards: Simplifies monitoring with intuitive interfaces.
Automated Reporting: Streamlines data presentation and dissemination.
Integration Capabilities: Connects seamlessly with other tools for enhanced functionality.
Predictive Prioritization: Focuses on vulnerabilities with the greatest impact potential.

What benefits and ROI should users expect when evaluating Tenable Nessus in reviews?

Cost-Effectiveness: Provides strong value for investment in anomaly detection.
Real-Time Monitoring: Keeps security threats in check continuously.
Asset Management: Aids in tracking and securing organization-wide assets.
Detailed Reporting: Offers clear insights into compliance and security posture.

Tenable Nessus is implemented widely across industries for internal and external vulnerability assessments and management, aiding organizations in scanning servers, workstations, and network devices. Benefiting sectors prioritize security within their unique environments, leveraging Nessus for its thorough reports and compliance assurance.

Tenable

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation

Bitbrains, Tesla, Just Eat, Crosskey Banking Solutions, Covenant Health, Youngstown State University

Buyer's Guide

Vulnerability Management

September 2026

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Find out what your peers are saying about Wiz, Qualys, Tenable and others in Vulnerability Management. Updated: September 2026.

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