AuditCore vs Tenable
Tenable (Nessus, Tenable.io, Tenable Web App Scanning) is the enterprise standard for vulnerability management — network scanning, asset inventory, compliance reporting across infrastructure. AuditCore is purpose-built for web application + API + AI security, priced for SMB. Different scope, different price tier.
The TL;DR
Pick AuditCore if: You're a SaaS or web business under $50M revenue. You care most about your web app, APIs, and (if applicable) mobile / AI features. You want one-time pricing per site instead of a 5-figure annual contract. You need explicit compliance mapping (PCI/GDPR/ISO/NIS2/HIPAA) per requirement, not a generic 'compliance report'.
Pick Tenable if: You manage a network with hundreds/thousands of internal assets (servers, IoT, OT, network devices). You need authenticated network scans + asset inventory + agent-based monitoring. You're large enough that the $10K+/year price tag is rounding error and you want enterprise SLAs. Compliance reporting for SOC2/HIPAA at infrastructure scale matters more than per-requirement mapping.
Run both: If you operate both a web SaaS AND meaningful infrastructure (your own datacenter, on-prem appliances, IoT). Tenable for infra-side asset + vuln management, AuditCore for web/API/AI-side depth. Combined still beats Tenable Web App Scanning add-on cost.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Pricing accurate as of mid-2026. Tenable.io WAS pricing from tenable.com (quote-based for most plans).
| Feature | AuditCore | Tenable |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price Different tier — Tenable is enterprise-priced. | $0 free, $29 paid (one-time per site) | Quote-based, typically $5K-50K/year |
| Pricing model | One-time per site, unlimited rescans | Annual subscription per asset/IP |
| Free tier | yes (1-page audit) | Nessus Essentials (16 IP free, network only) |
| Setup time | <2 min, just paste URL | Hours-days (agent deployment, asset import) |
| Web application scanning (DAST) | yes (50+ tools orchestrated) | yes (Tenable WAS add-on, separate license) |
| OWASP Top 10 coverage | yes (WAS) | |
| BOLA / BFLA cross-role testing Tenable WAS does authenticated scanning but doesn't have AuditCore's depth on cross-role replay. | ||
| OpenAPI / GraphQL deep fuzzing | ||
| Network-level vulnerability scanning Tenable wins decisively on network/infra. | partial (nmap NSE) | yes (industry-best Nessus engine) |
| Asset inventory + classification | yes (Tenable.asm + Tenable One) | |
| Agent-based monitoring | yes (Nessus Agent) | |
| Cloud asset discovery (AWS/Azure/GCP) | yes (Tenable Cloud Security) | |
| Container / Kubernetes scanning | yes (Trivy) | yes (Tenable Cloud) |
| AI prompt-injection scanner Unique to AuditCore. | ||
| AI-readiness scanner Unique to AuditCore. | ||
| Mobile (APK / IPA) scanning | ||
| SEO audit included | yes (60+ checks) | |
| WordPress-specific tests | yes (11) | partial (generic CMS) |
| Per-standard compliance mapping Different focus — Tenable on infrastructure standards (CIS, STIG); AuditCore on web app standards. | yes (PCI/GDPR/ISO/NIS2/HIPAA) | yes (PCI ASV, CIS, DISA STIG) |
| PCI ASV scanner | yes (ASV-certified) | |
| White-label PDF reports | yes (Tenable.io) | |
| Self-serve setup | no (sales-led) |
Frequently asked questions
Is AuditCore an alternative to Nessus?+
For web apps, yes. For network/infra scanning, no — Nessus is the industry leader and we don't try to compete on network vuln scanning at that depth. If your security need is 'I have a web SaaS and want it audited continuously', AuditCore fits. If your need is 'I have 500 servers + IoT devices + a corporate network and need asset discovery + monthly vuln scans', use Tenable.
How does AuditCore compare to Tenable Web App Scanning specifically?+
Tenable WAS is their dedicated DAST product, separately licensed on top of Tenable.io. Coverage is comparable on OWASP Top 10. AuditCore goes deeper on: BOLA/BFLA cross-role testing, GraphQL deep fuzzing, AI prompt-injection, AI-readiness, mobile binary scanning, WordPress-specific, SEO. Tenable WAS goes deeper on: integration with Tenable's broader vuln management workflow, enterprise SAML/RBAC, sales-engineering support. Pick on what matters to YOUR stack.
Can AuditCore do PCI ASV scans?+
No — we're not an Approved Scanning Vendor. PCI quarterly external scans (req 11.3.2) must come from an ASV. Tenable IS an ASV. Many teams use Tenable's PCI ASV for the quarterly external + AuditCore for everything else (continuous internal scans, secure development, change-driven re-scans). See our PCI DSS compliance page for the full mapping.
We have a 200-person network — should we use AuditCore?+
AuditCore would only cover your customer-facing web properties, not your internal network/infrastructure. For a network of that size you want Tenable.io (or Qualys VMDR / Rapid7 InsightVM). Pair them with AuditCore for the web/API/AI side and you're complete.
What's the realistic cost difference?+
Tenable.io starts around $2K/year for small deployments, more typically $10K-30K/year for the configurations companies actually buy (WAS add-on + cloud + asset mgmt). AuditCore Growth = $99 one-time per site. For 10 sites = $990 once. For a 50-site agency = $4,950 once. So if you have a few sites and no infra to scan, AuditCore is 10-100x cheaper. If you have hundreds of internal assets, the comparison doesn't really make sense — different products.
Does AuditCore have an asset inventory?+
Not in the Tenable sense (network discovery, agent-based asset cataloging). What we have: per-account scan history showing all scanned domains + subdomains discovered + tech stack detected per scan. Useful for 'what did we audit and when'; not a replacement for an Attack Surface Management tool if you need continuous external attack-surface discovery.
How is the developer experience compared?+
AuditCore: paste URL, 60s. PDF + JSON via API. GitHub Action one-liner. MCP server for Claude/Cursor. Self-serve. Tenable: sales conversation, agent deployment, asset import wizards. More configuration, more capability, longer time-to-first-scan. Both are valid tradeoffs depending on your scale.