Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in vulnerability scanning software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 12 tools, reviewed
#1 Intruder
Cloud scanner for infrastructure, web apps and cloud accounts · United Kingdom · intruder.io
Free tier External and cloud scanning UK-based
Intruder earns first place by being the product a generalist can start on a Tuesday and read on a Wednesday. The free plan runs weekly external scans for three users, the Cloud tier adds daily cloud checks and web app and API testing, and Pro adds agent-based scanning for internal servers and employee devices.
- Pricing: Tiered subscription. Four published tiers (Free, Cloud, Pro, Enterprise) with an annual discount of 20 percent. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Small teams without a security analyst
- Strengths: Weekly external scans on the free plan; Authenticated DAST for web apps and APIs; Cloud security checks.
Where it falls short
Internal coverage needs the Pro tier and its agents, so a company whose main exposure sits inside the network pays for the highest published plan. Web app testing is licensed per application, and the free plan excludes it.
Wrong for
Not for a company that wants one on-premise scanner with no cloud service, or for a security team that needs raw, hand-tuned scanning policies.
Visit Intruder →
#2 OpenVAS (Greenbone)
Open-source vulnerability management from a German vendor · Germany · greenbone.net
Open source German vendor Appliance or VM
Greenbone describes OpenVAS as the most widely used open-source vulnerability management system, with more than 100,000 installations and more than 100 partner companies. For a small buyer the appeal is a clear price ladder: free community software, a Basic product at 2,524 euros per year, and appliances through a quote.
- Pricing: Open source + paid tiers. OPENVAS BASIC is listed at 2,524 euros per year. Free plan: open source.
- Best for: Buyers who want open source or EU hosting
- Strengths: Open-source scan engine; OPENVAS BASIC entry product; OPENVAS SCAN appliances.
Where it falls short
You operate it: the appliance or VM sits on your network, someone updates it, and reports are less polished than SaaS rivals. Agent-based scanning appears as upcoming rather than shipping on the page we read.
Wrong for
Wrong for a team that wants a hosted service with zero infrastructure to look after, or one that mainly protects web apps.
Visit OpenVAS (Greenbone) →
#3 Detectify
Web application and attack surface scanner from Sweden · Sweden · detectify.com
Web and API focus Swedish company Published tiers
Detectify is the clearest buy for a team whose exposure is websites and APIs rather than servers. The pricing page publishes four annual tiers in euros, from a Starter plan with no platform fee and API scanning included to an Enterprise tier from 15,000 euros, and it claims 2,100 or more organizations as customers.
- Pricing: Annual platform fee + assets. Starter has no platform fee for up to 5 users, Standard starts at 2,500 euros per year, Professional at 5,000 and Enterprise at 15,000, with extra charges for added assets, domains and environments. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Teams protecting web apps and APIs
- Strengths: REST and GraphQL API scanning; Surface Monitoring; Application Scanning.
Where it falls short
The headline fee is only part of the bill: assets, domains and targets are charged on top, so the final number depends on a count you only know after scoping. Internal scanning sits in the Professional tier.
Wrong for
Wrong for a company whose problem is unpatched servers and network gear, or one that wants a flat all-in price.
Visit Detectify →
#4 Tenable Nessus
The standard downloadable network vulnerability scanner · United States · tenable.com
Dominant vendor Network scanning Multi-year licenses
Nessus is the scanner other products are compared against, and Tenable's own page calls it the most trusted vulnerability assessment solution. A buyer who needs to scan networks and report to an auditor gets a self-contained license with a price printed on the page: $4,790 for a year, with multi-year discounts and a free trial of Nessus Professional.
- Pricing: Per scanner / year. Nessus Professional is listed at $4,790 for one year, $9,330.95 for two and $13,637.54 for three, with Advanced Support at $400 as a separate line. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Consultants and in-house auditors
- Strengths: Nessus Professional scanner; Vulnerability assessment; Multi-year license discounts.
Where it falls short
The listed Nessus Professional price is a flat license for one scanner, which suits a consultant better than a growing company with many networks and sites. Support is a paid add-on.
Wrong for
Wrong for a team that wants a hosted scan of its public websites with no software to install, or a company on a tight budget with a handful of assets.
Visit Tenable Nessus →
#5 Holm Security
Nordic vulnerability platform, hosted in Europe · Sweden · holmsecurity.com
Hosted in Europe NIS2 packages Per-asset licensing
Holm Security packages a scanner for networks, web applications, cloud resources and APIs, and adds phishing simulation so the human side of risk sits in the same platform. Its licensing rule is easy to explain to a finance team: each product is priced on the number of assessed assets, and every feature is included once you buy the product.
- Pricing: Per asset, quote only. Quote-based, licensed by assessed assets: active IPs for networks, unique web applications, cloud resources, with a free trial on the pricing page. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Nordic and EU mid-sized companies facing NIS2
- Strengths: System and network security; Web application security; Cloud security (CSPM).
Where it falls short
No price is printed, so you cannot compare it with a flat-rate tool before a sales conversation. Because each application scanned requires its own license, a company with many small sites can see the bill climb quickly.
Wrong for
Wrong for a buyer who wants a published price and a self-serve checkout, or a developer-led team scanning code.
Visit Holm Security →
#6 Pentest-Tools.com
Cloud toolbox of scanners with published monthly plans · Romania · pentest-tools.com
Published prices Romanian company Tester-oriented
Pentest-Tools.com sells 19 tools behind one login, and the pricing page is one of the few in this list that shows dollar figures at a glance: NetScan covers network and cloud scanning, AppScan adds DAST for web applications and APIs, and Exploit adds validation.
- Pricing: Per asset / month. NetScan from $96 per month with 16 assets, AppScan from $140 per month with 5 assets and Exploit from $190 per month with 5 assets. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Consultants, agencies and testers
- Strengths: Network scanner; Website and API scanner; WordPress and Drupal scanners.
Where it falls short
It is built around the tester's workflow, so the output reads like a toolbox rather than a continuously updated risk register with ownership and ticket flows. The per-asset price steps up with each batch of assets.
Wrong for
Wrong for a company that wants a managed platform with owners, SLAs and an auditor-ready history for hundreds of servers.
Visit Pentest-Tools.com →
#7 Cyberwatch
French vulnerability and compliance platform with air-gap option · France · cyberwatch.fr
Sovereign EU option Air-gapped deployment French vendor
Cyberwatch is a French software vendor and a subsidiary of the EDF-Framatome group, and it leans on that identity: data stays in Europe, the company is a Hexatrust member and carries the Cybersecurity Made in Europe label, and customers can choose SaaS, on-premise or fully air-gapped deployment.
- Pricing: Quote only. No price on the pages we read; a platform demo is requested through the contact form. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Regulated European and public sector buyers
- Strengths: Vulnerability management; Configuration management; Patch management.
Where it falls short
Everything is behind a demo request, so cost and trial terms stay hidden until you speak to sales.
Wrong for
Wrong for a buyer who wants to sign up and scan today, or who needs a published price.
Visit Cyberwatch →
#8 Rapid7 InsightVM
Network vulnerability management inside Exposure Command · United States · rapid7.com
Dominant vendor Platform bundle Boston-based
InsightVM is a long-standing network vulnerability scanner, and Rapid7 now describes it as the vulnerability management technology that powers Exposure Command, with the same scanner and wider context. Essentials combines it with attack surface management; Ultimate adds cloud and application security.
- Pricing: Quote only. No price printed; InsightVM is now packaged inside Exposure Command Essentials and Ultimate, requested through a demo. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Mid-sized firms with a security team
- Strengths: InsightVM scanner; Exposure Command Essentials; Exposure Command Ultimate.
Where it falls short
The product page now steers visitors to a platform demo, and its FAQ asks whether to start with an Exposure Command demo or an InsightVM trial, so the standalone buying path is unclear. No price is published.
Wrong for
Wrong for a small team that wants to scan a few servers and sites this month at a printed price.
Visit Rapid7 InsightVM →
#9 Burp Suite
Web security testing toolkit and DAST scanner from PortSwigger · United Kingdom · portswigger.net
Pentester toolkit DAST edition UK company
Burp Suite is where manual web testing and automated scanning meet. PortSwigger sells Burp Suite Professional as the toolkit for penetration testers, Burp Suite DAST as the enterprise scanner, and Burp Suite Community Edition with the manual tools to learn on.
- Pricing: Per license. Burp Suite Professional is listed at $499. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Pentesters and AppSec engineers
- Strengths: Burp Scanner; Proxy interception; Authenticated API scanning.
Where it falls short
It assumes a skilled operator. The Professional edition is a desktop toolkit, so nobody gets a scheduled fleet-wide risk register from it, and the DAST edition is a separate purchase.
Wrong for
Wrong for an IT generalist who needs servers, firewalls and workstations checked for missing patches.
Visit Burp Suite →
#10 Invicti
Proof-based web and API scanner, including the former Acunetix · United States · invicti.com
Proof-based scanning Acunetix merged Austin, Texas
Invicti is the home of proof-based scanning, which tries to confirm that a flaw is exploitable instead of only suspecting it, and it has absorbed Acunetix: the Invicti site announces that Acunetix is now Invicti Web + API.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote-based; proof-of-concept licenses are offered, and an agentic pentest add-on is listed at a maximum of $500 per pentest. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Larger web estates and AppSec teams
- Strengths: Proof-based scanning; Multilayer API discovery; Stateful API security.
Where it falls short
Pricing is hidden behind a demo, and the product mix of DAST, ASPM, SAST and software supply chain features is broader than a small company usually buys.
Wrong for
Wrong for a small company with one or two websites and no AppSec staff, or a team that needs patch scanning of servers.
Visit Invicti →
#11 Snyk
Developer-first scanner for code, dependencies and containers · United States · snyk.io
Developer workflow Free plan Boston-based
Snyk is the odd member of this ranking, and it is included because buyers searching for a vulnerability scanner often mean the dependencies and code their developers ship. The Free plan gives access to code, open-source, infrastructure-as-code and container scanning with IDE, CLI and source-control integrations, and Team starts at $25 per month for up to 10 developers.
- Pricing: Per team / month. Free plan at $0 per month, Team from $25 per month for up to 10 developers, and credit-based Enterprise pricing on request. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Software teams shipping their own code
- Strengths: Snyk Code (SAST); Snyk Open Source (SCA); Snyk Container.
Where it falls short
It does not map your servers, firewalls or public IP ranges, so an operations buyer would see nothing of their estate. Free limits are low: five projects and 100 code tests a month.
Wrong for
Wrong for an operations team with servers, network devices and no developers, or a buyer who needs an external attack surface report.
Visit Snyk →
#12 Wiz
Cloud and AI security platform with context across code and runtime · United States · wiz.io
Cloud-native Quote only New York headquarters
Wiz treats vulnerability scanning as one part of a wider cloud security graph that connects code, cloud resources and runtime. Its own pricing page describes licensing that lets customers shift usage between capabilities, offered as Wiz One, Wiz Go and a la carte options, all by custom quote.
- Pricing: Quote only. Custom quote through a form; licensing is offered as Wiz One, Wiz Go or a la carte, with no printed price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Cloud-heavy companies with a security team
- Strengths: Code, cloud and defend modules; Context graph across code, cloud and runtime; Red agent for attack path testing.
Where it falls short
There is no public price, no free plan and no self-serve trial on the pages we read.
Wrong for
Wrong for a company with servers on-premise and a small IT team, or one that needs a fixed budget before talking to sales.
Visit Wiz →
Questions and answers
What is the best vulnerability scanning software in 2026?
Intruder ranks first of 12, best for small teams without a security analyst. OpenVAS (Greenbone) is second (buyers who want open source or EU hosting) and Detectify third (teams protecting web apps and APIs). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
What is the difference between a vulnerability scanner and a penetration test?
A scanner is automated and repeatable: it compares what it finds against a database of known flaws and runs weekly or daily at a small marginal cost. A penetration test is a person, or increasingly an AI agent supervised by a person, chaining weaknesses together to prove what an attacker could reach.
How much does a vulnerability scanner cost?
The range is wide.
Is there a free vulnerability scanner that is good enough for a small business?
Yes, with limits. Greenbone's open-source OpenVAS needs your own server and some patience, but it costs nothing in license fees.
Do I need authenticated scanning?
Usually yes, for anything internal. An unauthenticated scan sees only what a stranger sees, such as open ports and version banners, and it misses missing operating system patches and weak local settings.
How often should we scan?
Match the cadence to how fast the asset changes. Internet-facing systems benefit from weekly or daily scans, and Intruder's paid tiers describe daily cloud checks and emerging-threat scans that run when a new widely exploited flaw is published.
Can a scanner take down production systems?
It can, which is why scan policies matter. Network scanners send many probes, and fragile systems such as old printers, industrial controllers and legacy databases sometimes crash or lock up.
What does PCI scanning require?
If you take card payments and are subject to PCI DSS, external vulnerability scans must be performed by an Approved Scanning Vendor and repeated at least quarterly. Not every scanner qualifies.
Do open-source scanners like OpenVAS and Nuclei replace paid tools?
They can for a team with the skill to run them. OpenVAS from Greenbone is described by the company as the world's most widely used open-source vulnerability management system, and Nuclei is an MIT-licensed template-driven scanner on GitHub.
How is a vulnerability scanner different from endpoint protection or a web application firewall?
A scanner looks for weaknesses before an attack and reports them. Endpoint protection watches devices for malicious behavior as it happens, and a web application firewall blocks hostile requests at the edge of a site. They complement each other.
What should we do with a long list of findings?
Sort by exposure first, then severity. A medium flaw on a public login page matters more than a high one on an isolated test server.
