# Tenable Nessus alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 215 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where Tenable Nessus holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/tenable-nessus/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Tenable Vulnerability Management: 38
- Intruder: 30
- Qualys VMDR: 30
- Rapid7 InsightVM: 23
- ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus: 10
- Tenable One: 10

## Vulnerability management platforms

**Small business**: 60 of 84 answers did not name Tenable Nessus (Tenable Nessus is #3 of 11 at 5%).

- Intruder: first choice in 25 of those 60
- ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus: first choice in 6 of those 60
- Action1: first choice in 3 of those 60
- ESET Vulnerability & Patch Management: first choice in 3 of those 60
- Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management: first choice in 3 of those 60
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: first choice in 2 of those 60
- NinjaOne: first choice in 2 of those 60
- OpenVAS: first choice in 2 of those 60

**Mid-market**: 72 of 84 answers did not name Tenable Nessus (Tenable Nessus is #8 of 10 at 4%).

- Rapid7 InsightVM: first choice in 16 of those 72
- Tenable Vulnerability Management: first choice in 12 of those 72
- Qualys VMDR: first choice in 6 of those 72
- Intruder: first choice in 5 of those 72
- ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus: first choice in 3 of those 72
- Action1: first choice in 2 of those 72
- Greenbone OpenVAS: first choice in 2 of those 72
- SecPod SanerNow: first choice in 2 of those 72

**Enterprise**: 83 of 84 answers did not name Tenable Nessus.

- Tenable Vulnerability Management: first choice in 26 of those 83
- Qualys VMDR: first choice in 24 of those 83
- Tenable One: first choice in 10 of those 83
- Rapid7 InsightVM: first choice in 7 of those 83
- Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management: first choice in 4 of those 83
- Aikido Security: first choice in 1 of those 83
- DefectDojo: first choice in 1 of those 83
- ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus: first choice in 1 of those 83

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.