A-LIGN Vulnerability Assessment Service vs OpenVAS: 2026 Comparison
A-LIGN Vulnerability Assessment Service is a commercial vulnerability assessment tool by A-LIGN. OpenVAS is a free vulnerability assessment tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best vulnerability assessment fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
A-LIGN Vulnerability Assessment Service
Mid-market and enterprise teams managing hybrid infrastructure will value A-LIGN Vulnerability Assessment Service for its ability to scan both on-premises and cloud environments in a single workflow without forcing tool consolidation. The service covers authenticated and unauthenticated scans across network and application layers with scheduled continuous monitoring, hitting both ID.RA and DE.CM in NIST CSF 2.0. Skip this if you need a platform that bundles remediation orchestration or threat intelligence; A-LIGN is assessment-focused, leaving remediation execution to your existing ticketing and patching systems.
Security teams with limited budgets who can tolerate manual tuning will find OpenVAS valuable for network-wide vulnerability discovery at zero cost. It runs on commodity hardware, covers CVSS scoring across 200,000+ known vulnerabilities, and integrates with Greenbone's commercial support if you need it later. Skip this if your organization lacks Linux administration depth or expects a polished UI and hands-off updates; OpenVAS demands configuration discipline and prioritizes breadth of scanning over ease of operation.
