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

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Vulnerability management platforms. Two of fourteen models named Vicarius vRx first on the direct prompt; zero named Tenable Nessus. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/security/vulnerability-management-platforms/vicarius-vrx-vs-tenable-nessus/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vicarius vRx | 4% | #7 of 10 | 0% | 11 | 8 of 14 |
| Tenable Nessus | 4% | #8 of 10 | 30% | 23 | 11 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

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

## What the models said about Vicarius vRx

- "vRx is highly regarded in the mid-market space. It uses a single agent to perform vulnerability scanning, risk prioritization, and automated patching" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "For most mid-market B2B companies, Rapid7 InsightVM or Vicarius vRx are the strongest overall picks." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "described as the strongest fit because of its patchless protection and lower operational overhead" (Perplexity Sonar, direct prompt, alternative)

## 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.