# Nessus Professional vs Terrascan: side-by-side comparison (2026)

[Nessus Professional](https://cybersectools.com/tools/nessus-professional) is a commercial [vulnerability assessment](https://cybersectools.com/categories/vulnerability-assessment) solution by [Tenable](https://cybersectools.com/companies/tenable). [Terrascan](https://cybersectools.com/tools/terrascan) is a free [security scanning](https://cybersectools.com/categories/security-scanning) solution. Features, integrations, deployment and the company behind each one, side by side.

## Side-by-side comparison

| | Nessus Professional | Terrascan |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Commercial | Free |
| Category | Vulnerability Assessment | Security Scanning |
| Verified | No | No |
| Deployment type | On-Premises | On-Premises |
| Company size fit | Startup, SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise | Startup, SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise |
| GitHub stars | – | 5,144 |
| Last commit | – | Jul 2025 |
| Company | Tenable | – |
| Headquarters | – | – |

### Use cases and capabilities

| | Nessus Professional | Terrascan |
|---|---|---|
| Vulnerability | Yes | – |
| Security Scanning | Yes | – |
| CVE | Yes | – |
| Penetration Testing Framework | Yes | – |
| NIST | Yes | – |
| PCI DSS | Yes | – |
| CIS | Yes | – |
| Network Scanning | Yes | – |
| VAPT | Yes | – |
| Kubernetes | – | Yes |
| Azure | – | Yes |
| GCP | – | Yes |
| AWS | – | Yes |
| Infrastructure as Code | – | Yes |

### Core features

**Nessus Professional**

10 features listed. Sign in on the page to see them.

**Terrascan**

No features listed.

## Which one fits you

Based on what each listing shows: deployment, company size, price and open source.

- [Terrascan](https://cybersectools.com/tools/terrascan) fits if you need a free product and you want an open-source product.

## Nessus Professional vs Terrascan FAQ

Common questions when comparing Nessus Professional vs Terrascan for vulnerability assessment.

### What is the difference between Nessus Professional and Terrascan?

**Nessus Professional**: Vulnerability scanner for assessing networks, systems, and apps for security flaws, built by Tenable.

**Terrascan**: Terrascan is a static code analyzer that scans Infrastructure as Code for security misconfigurations and compliance violations across multiple cloud platforms and container environments.

The table above shows where their features, integrations, deployment and company size fit differ.

### Who makes Nessus Professional and Terrascan?

**Nessus Professional** is made by Tenable. **Terrascan** is open-source with 5,144 GitHub stars. The vendor behind a product decides its roadmap, support, and longevity, so check each company's profile before you commit.

### Is Nessus Professional a good alternative to Terrascan?

In part. Nessus Professional and Terrascan are not in the same category on CybersecTools. Key differences: Nessus Professional is Commercial while Terrascan is Free, Terrascan is open-source. Use the table above to see where features, deployment and company size fit differ.

## Related comparisons

- [Nessus Professional vs Mondoo CIS Benchmarks & Security Policies](https://cybersectools.com/compare/mondoo-cis-benchmarks-and-security-policies-vs-nessus-professional)
- [Nessus Professional vs Webray RayScan](https://cybersectools.com/compare/nessus-professional-vs-webray-rayscan)
- [Nessus Professional vs Positive Technologies XSpider PRO](https://cybersectools.com/compare/nessus-professional-vs-positive-technologies-xspider-pro)
- [Terrascan vs Mondoo CIS Benchmarks & Security Policies](https://cybersectools.com/compare/mondoo-cis-benchmarks-and-security-policies-vs-terrascan)
- [Terrascan vs Webray RayScan](https://cybersectools.com/compare/terrascan-vs-webray-rayscan)
- [Terrascan vs Positive Technologies XSpider PRO](https://cybersectools.com/compare/positive-technologies-xspider-pro-vs-terrascan)

## Alternatives to each

- [See all Nessus Professional alternatives](https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/nessus-professional)
- [See all Terrascan alternatives](https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/terrascan)

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Source: https://cybersectools.com/compare/nessus-professional-vs-terrascan

For AI agents: each product above has its own Markdown page (add .md to its URL, for example https://cybersectools.com/tools/nessus-professional.md). Every CybersecTools shortlist is listed at https://cybersectools.com/shortlists.md.

More on Nessus Professional and Terrascan: funding, momentum, hiring and news, plus the full product and company record, are available through the Mandos MCP Server (paid plans), which connects to AI assistants: https://mandos.io/mcp?utm_source=cybersectools.com&utm_medium=compare-md