# Rapid7 InsightVM vs Tenable Nessus: which do AI models recommend for vuln management, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Vulnerability management platforms. Ten of fourteen models named Rapid7 InsightVM first on the direct prompt; zero named Tenable Nessus. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/security/vulnerability-management-platforms/rapid7-insightvm-vs-tenable-nessus/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid7 InsightVM | 30% | #1 of 10 | 19% | 63 | 14 of 14 |
| Tenable Nessus | 4% | #8 of 10 | 30% | 23 | 11 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Tenable Vulnerability Management, Vicarius vRx)
- GPT-5.4 mini: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management)
- Perplexity Sonar: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Qualys VMDR, Vicarius vRx)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: Intruder, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management)
- Mistral Small: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: Intruder, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, SureCloud)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM, Vicarius vRx) (alternatives: Intruder, Tenable Vulnerability Management)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management)
- Kimi K2: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Intruder, Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: Qualys VMDR)
- MiniMax M2.5: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: Intruder, Tenable One)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: rapid7 insightvm first (first choices: Rapid7 InsightVM) (alternatives: Intruder, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: SecPod SanerNow, Vicarius vRx) (alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Nucleus Security, Rapid7 InsightVM)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: Tenable Vulnerability Management) (alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Intruder) (alternatives: ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Rapid7's Insight platform)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: Qualys VMDR) (alternatives: ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Tenable Vulnerability Management)

## What the models said about Rapid7 InsightVM

- "What to Avoid on a Limited Budget - Full‑featured enterprise tools (Rapid7, Qualys, Tenable.io)" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "Dropped in Forrester 2024 rankings; doesn't own patching engine/roadmap; prioritization gaps vs. leaders. High costs for extras." (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Lacks deep vulnerability intelligence, missing Active Directory/Entra ID visibility, limited patching features" (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "For most mid-sized B2B companies, Rapid7 InsightVM offers the best balance of capability, prioritization intelligence, and published pricing." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "Rapid7 InsightVM stands out most often in mid-market contexts for its balance of power, usability, and actionable insights" (Grok 4.1 Fast, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Rapid7 InsightVM is the most frequently recommended vulnerability scanning and management tool for mid-sized B2B companies" (Mistral Small, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Tenable Nessus

- "Avoid trying to scrape out a "Free" version of Nessus; Tenable discontinued its unlimited community scanner" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "Avoid Standalone "Point-in-Time" Scanners for Enterprise VM ... Why to avoid them for enterprise VM" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "scanners like older Nessus/OpenVAS versions criticized for inaccurate Windows scans or signature mismatches" (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "the best starting point is Nessus Essentials (free) + a free vulnerability feed for on‑prem scanning" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, budget prompt, first choice)
- "I'd recommend Tenable Nessus Professional as the starting point" (Grok 4.1 Fast, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "useful for getting started with proven scanning technology, with the limitation of scan limits and lack of centralized reporting" (Muse Glimmer 30B, budget prompt, alternative)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.