Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Tenable Nessus

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) for Azure, on-premises, and multicloud (Amazon AWS and Google GCP) resources.N/A
Tenable Nessus
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Tenable headquartered in Columbia offers Nessus, a vulnerability scanning and security assessment solution used to analyze an entity's security posture, vulnerability testing, and provide configuration assessments.
$2,790
Pricing
Microsoft Defender for CloudTenable Nessus
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
1 Year
$2,790.00
1 Year + Advanced Support
$3,190.00
2 Years
$5,440.00
2 Years + Advanced Support
$6,240.00
3 Years
$7,951.00
3 Years + Advanced Support
$9,151.00
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Defender for CloudTenable Nessus
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Defender for CloudTenable Nessus
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
We haven't really, I mean we've used Google's options, but not really. We've just gotten demos really.
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
We were one of the first ones to deploy when Microsoft released it, so it's hard to compare, but what we hear from competitors, the fact that Microsoft can see the full ecosystem using this product makes it a lot better as compared to using a third party tool. So it's the ease …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
I was trained on AWS originally, but I'm starting to Azure more and more in Microsoft.
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Evaluated between cost. I just think it integrates better with the Microsoft stack and I mean, I think just cost from just that perspective and being the one pane of glass, I think that's enough.
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Had some coverage gaps and was more expensive compared to native Azure security controls, such as Defender for Cloud.
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Trend Micro Cloud One - Application Security, AWS Security Hub and Wiz
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
I believe Microsoft Defender for Cloud stacks up well against the other tools we looked at. It is native to the Azure platform and provides the same insights as the other tools. We selected Microsoft Defender for Cloud because it integrates well with the Azure resources and …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Defender is a robust cloud security solution, but Prisma is Comprehensive cloud-native security platform with full lifecycle security
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Defender for Cloud has a better range of functionality across the board. In terms of database, reliability, security solutions.
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
We use Microsoft Defender for Cloud as an integration of Defender 365 and collect all the incident into one dashboard.
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Defender for Cloud offered a more integrated and comprehensive solution for our multi-cloud environment, integrating well with our security and compliance needs
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is definitely the choice with the latest market trend and attacks that are currently happening. Microsoft has been able to safe guard a lot after the recent serious attacks happening globally in the digital world. There is a trust in this software …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Forcepoint ONE, Ivanti Endpoint Security for Endpoint Manager and Tenable Nessus
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
There is the several ways to protect the applications and lot more tools available in the market. Most commonly we used Crowd strike Falcon for endpoint detection and response capabilities. McAfee endpoint protection also provide broad range of security features. Best …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
We used to use Symantec and McAfee. It's been mostly defenders since, gosh, the last eight to 10 years. So we're a small organization. We don't have a lot of folks, so single-painted glass is really important to be able to see the whole environment in a single place. And the …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
When we purchase this data fund, we check with not competition and we decided to purchase these tools because it's strong and we have a good relationship with Microsoft.
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
It is very good in comparison to other products that we have used. Its price is very effective and attractive, and it also provides good security policies. threat intelligence is also good and user protection is also very much better, and it also serves new updates as and when …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
It provides great Integration with the existing resources. As we don’t have to worry about the compatibility of the product with our resources.
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Defender XDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Defender has the benefit of all the integration, included licensing for defender for server and being able to start small and grow.

Wiz licensing was too expensive, lacking features like an EDR making it a less favorable solution
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Purview Data Governance
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Defender for Cloud supports the hybrid resource assessment which includes Non-Azure Resources, Aws resources, gcp resources. So it is flexible to asses different cloud platforms. Also its pricing is comparatively affordable then Other cloud security tools available in …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Defender for Cloud (previously known as Azure Security Center) is a more comprehensive and extensive security solution. Currently, threat analytics make up only a small portion of the whole picture. It encourages a comprehensive picture of the cloud environment across all of …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Defender for Cloud is definitely less complex a solution and more turn-key. We found that it was easier to grab the information we needed, faster than the Palo solution. In addition, accounting loved the fact that it was less expensive. At the time of implementation, Palo's …
Tenable Nessus
Chose Tenable Nessus
Comparing other products, Nessus has a lot of plus points. Not only for PCIDSS, Nessus is great for other compliance bodies such as HIPAA, NIST etc.
Chose Tenable Nessus
We looked at AlienVault since it can be a SIEM and scanner all in one. Ultimately, we decided AlienVault didn't stack up well against Nessus so we decided to purchase Nessus. Glad we did.
Chose Tenable Nessus
Sometimes when we identify a vulnerability with Nessus that has an exploit, we made a proof of concept with Metasploit in order to show to the IT managers the importance of the software/hardware hardening.
Chose Tenable Nessus
Tools like Qualys, Rapid7 stack up well against Nessus, but I think Nessus is superior overall when compared to them, given the features it has.
Chose Tenable Nessus
Nessus is much easier to use.
Chose Tenable Nessus
Nessus is standard vulnerabilities assessment tool, i would recommend for mid or higher level organization to have their personalised tool from Nessus for day to day managing of their network security with continuous improvements.
Chose Tenable Nessus
Nessus is the smallest product in the Tenable stable and is also the first vulnerability scanner to be created almost 20 years ago. Great tool for once off scans. But you need the other products if you want real time monitoring etc
Chose Tenable Nessus
Defender provides lots of insight into missing patches and vulnerabilities on Windows devices but doesn't provide much help for other platforms.
Chose Tenable Nessus
Ease of deployment and use even for junior analysts, strong plugin support, and up-to-date CVE coverage, cost-effective licensing, especially for mid-size companies, and seamless integration with the SIEM tool. Overall, Nessus hit the right balance between functionality, …
Features
Microsoft Defender for CloudTenable Nessus
Threat Intelligence
Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
-
Ratings
Tenable Nessus
5.1
Ratings
43% below category average
Network Analytics00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Threat Recognition00 Ratings4.50 Ratings
Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Threat Analysis00 Ratings5.50 Ratings
Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Vulnerability Management Tools
Comparison of Vulnerability Management Tools features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
-
Ratings
Tenable Nessus
8.0
Ratings
1% below category average
IT Asset Realization00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Authentication00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Configuration Monitoring00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Web Scanning00 Ratings4.50 Ratings
Vulnerability Intelligence00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Defender for CloudTenable Nessus
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

Action1
Action1
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.0 out of 10
Action1
Action1
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.0 out of 10
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Defender for CloudTenable Nessus
Likelihood to Recommend
8.1
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.9
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.7
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.1
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Defender for CloudTenable Nessus
Likelihood to Recommend
If you need to proceed with pay as you go service then go ahead with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. This could be expensive in the long run but if the organization usage is slightly less than then this would suite the purpose. Also, it has the latest threat updates, so you're future proof in terms of potential treats.
Read full review
Nessus is perfectly suitable for performing comprehensive vulnerability assessment scans being a vulnerability scanner. It is less appropriate for performing penetration testing since it is not a penetration testing tool, it does not have the ability and modules to exploit the vulnerabilities of the system.
Read full review
Pros
  • Automation is crucial to managing sprawl and the additional complexity that comes with it. SOC management workbooks and process automation give significant flexibility.
  • The Security posture score and Security Alerts are neatly centralized and offer me crucial information quickly.
  • Defender for Cloud avoids the common compromise of simplicity for completeness (former Azure Security Center). The security warnings and advice go into great detail while remaining current and useful.
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  • Shows you how to fix certain vulnerabilities and the commands to run.
  • Gives you the CVEs that the vulnerabilities are matched to.
  • Easy to understand the vulnerabilities list, giving reasons why the issues need to be patched or fixed.
Read full review
Cons
  • UI/UX. It can get a little messy when navigating around with all the flyouts in the Azure portal which can be frustrating, particularly when under time pressure.
  • The query languages for the queries and workbooks are another language that needs to be learned - it would be nice to have kept it closer to T-SQL or something like that to minimize the need to learn new syntax.
  • Adding cost estimations to the security recommendations would really improve the experience.
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  • Could use an upgrade within reports.
  • Scans can take a long time to complete. Have to break them down in small sections.
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Likelihood to Renew
It is a great product that integrates nicely when running an Azure platform and even multi-cloud environment. Not looking for point-solutions but a suite that answers most requirements. It is very comfortable being able to use KQL, workbooks and automation that is native to the azure platform
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Nessus is best and easy to use application for Vulnerabilities finding and reporting, it has multiple platforms and wide scope covering almost all devices for security improvement so far, thus we are very likely to continue its services.
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Usability
Compliance mapping capabilities of the software and reporting.
Ease in deployment and implementation.
Seamless integration of the software with cloud and other third party applications.
The software ensures quick incident response and avilability of ready to help customer services providers.
User interface of the product is very friendly.
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Tenable Nessus is a great product and provides a lot of value, but it is difficult to set up and use and the amount of data it generates can be overwhelming. It does help us prioritize based on the severity of the detection, however there are sometimes mitigating factors that we have implemented that Nessus does not account for, which causes lots of noise in the reports.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
I haven't needed to contact support yet. But issues are easily solved with a quick internet search which means support and by extension, the larger community are involved and knowledgeable.
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Alternatives Considered
I believe Microsoft Defender for Cloud stacks up well against the other tools we looked at. It is native to the Azure platform and provides the same insights as the other tools. We selected Microsoft Defender for Cloud because it integrates well with the Azure resources and gives the needed insight, security alerts and recommendations.
Read full review
Ease of deployment and use even for junior analysts, strong plugin support, and up-to-date CVE coverage, cost-effective licensing, especially for mid-size companies, and seamless integration with the SIEM tool. Overall, Nessus hit the right balance between functionality, performance, and total cost of ownership for our needs and usability.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Ensuring compliance with data protection regulations can prevent costly fines and legal issues, positively impacting ROI.
  • Effective cloud resource protection can optimize cloud spending and resource utilization, ultimately reducing cloud infrastructure costs.
  • The subscription costs associated with Defender for Cloud can add to an organization's operational expenses, impacting ROI.
  • Smaller organizations may find the feature set and complexity of Defender for Cloud unnecessary, potentially overinvesting in security solutions.
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  • It has helped identify security flaws in our infrastructure that has helped better secure our client's data. It did so quickly and efficiently so I was able to move on to other tasks.
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ScreenShots

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Screenshots

Screenshot of Remediation of critical issues in codeScreenshot of Cloud security benchmark mapped to industry FramworksScreenshot of Prioritization of critical risks with contextual threat analysisScreenshot of Workload protectionScreenshot of Unified DevOps VisibilityScreenshot of Visualizations to improve security posture proactively