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OpenVAS vs Nessus: catalog facts
OpenVAS	Nessus
Free The Community Edition is free and open source. Greenbone enterprise products are paid.	Freemium Nessus Essentials is free for up to sixteen IP addresses. Professional is a paid…
Linux, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux
Large community vulnerability feed with authenticated scanning Scheduling, reporting and tracking included rather than bolted on	Very large and rapidly updated plugin library Configuration and compliance auditing alongside vulnerability scanning
The community feed lags the paid enterprise feed Installation and feed synchronisation are involved	Free Essentials edition is capped at sixteen IP addresses Closed source, with subscription pricing beyond the free tier
Self-hosted	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-2.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.