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With so many different vulnerability scanning software available, figuring out which is right for you is tough. You know you want to proactively discover and address security gaps before they can be exploited but need to figure out which tool is best. I've got you! In this post I'll help make your choice easy, sharing my personal experiences using dozens of different vulnerability scanning tools with a variety of teams and projects, with my picks of the best vulnerability scanning software.

What Is Vulnerability Scanning Software?

Vulnerability scanning software is a tool used in cybersecurity to detect security weaknesses and vulnerabilities in computer systems, networks, and applications. It systematically scans these systems to identify potential vulnerabilities like outdated software, missing patches, and configuration flaws, providing a security assessment of the scanned environment.

The benefits and uses of vulnerability scanning software include enhancing an organization's cybersecurity by proactively identifying vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cyber attackers. It helps in prioritizing security risks and guides the remediation process to fix detected vulnerabilities. This software is essential for maintaining compliance with various security standards and regulations, ensuring the organization's digital infrastructure is safeguarded against potential threats. By regularly scanning systems, it supports a robust security posture and builds trust with customers and stakeholders.

Overviews Of The 10 Best Vulnerability Scanning Software Solutions

Here’s a brief description of each vulnerability scanning system to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface.

Best vulnerability scanning software to lower the rate of false positives

  • Free plan available
  • From $25/user/month (billed annually)
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Rating: 4.3/5

New Relic is an all-in-one observability platform that helps you monitor, troubleshoot, and tune your full stack. It allows companies to monitor and enhance their network’s security by identifying possible weaknesses that could be exploited by hackers. With New Relic, you can proactively scan their systems for potential vulnerabilities, getting a comprehensive overview of their security status, which can help in making informed decisions and creating effective cybersecurity strategies.

Moreover, New Relic offers real-time vulnerability scanning, which is exceptionally crucial in today's rapidly-evolving digital landscape where new threats emerge by the minute. With its continuous and automatic scanning, you can quickly detect and resolve any security issues. The platform's vulnerability triage feature gives you information based on criticality. Then, it displays a prioritized list of your vulnerable libraries as well as suggestions on which libraries to update to. This is perfect if you are not sure what to prioritize.

Lastly, New Relic's vulnerability scanning is known for its accuracy. The tool's comprehensive scanning capabilities dramatically reduce false positives, ensuring that the IT team's focus is not diverted by irrelevant alerts. The quality of its reporting also provides teams with all the crucial information needed to address vulnerabilities effectively. By providing a clear picture of the security landscape of a system, New Relic makes it easier.

New Relic integrates with over 600 applications within the categories of application monitoring, infrastructure, security, traffic simulation, logging, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Services, open-source monitoring, machine learning ops, and Prometheus.

Best for proof-based vulnerability scanning

  • Free trial + free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.6/5

Invicti is a comprehensive web application and API security tool designed to help enterprises identify and fix vulnerabilities in their web assets. It offers automated discovery and security testing for web applications and APIs, integrating seamlessly into the software development lifecycle.

Invicti offers proof-based scanning technology. Unlike traditional scanners that merely identify potential vulnerabilities, Invicti goes a step further by safely exploiting these vulnerabilities in a read-only manner to confirm their existence. This can reduce false positives, saving development teams valuable time that would otherwise be spent on manual verification.

The software's comprehensive scanning capabilities cover a wide range of vulnerabilities, including those in complex applications and server configurations. Integrations include MuleSoft Anypoint Exchange, Amazon API Gateway, Apigee API hub, Kubernetes, Azure Boards, Bitbucket, Bugzilla, FogBugz, DefectDojo, Freshservice, GitHub, GitLab, Jazz Team Server, and Jira.

Best for hybrid scanning with AcuSensor Technology

  • Free plan available
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.1/5

Acunetix is a web application and API security scanner designed to automate security testing for organizations, providing a robust solution for identifying, testing, and addressing vulnerabilities in web applications and APIs. 

One of the most notable features is its AcuSensor Technology, which combines black-box scanning techniques with feedback from sensors placed inside the source code. This hybrid approach allows for highly accurate scanning with a low false-positive rate, ensuring that developers can trust the results and focus on genuine vulnerabilities.

The software is designed to be user-friendly, with a Login Sequence Recorder that simplifies the testing of password-protected areas and DeepScan technology that can interpret SOAP, XML, AJAX, and JSON. These features make it easier for security teams to conduct comprehensive scans without extensive manual intervention. 

Best for proactive vulnerability management

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $138/month
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Rating: 4.8/5

Intruder is a cloud-based vulnerability scanner that aims to help businesses of all sizes discover security weaknesses in their online systems. The tool provides continuous monitoring of the network to identify vulnerabilities and reduce the attack surface.

Intruder provides a proactive security monitoring service, which includes regular scans to detect new threats as they emerge. Its network vulnerability scanning checks for over 10,000 vulnerabilities automatically. The tool then prioritizes the results to help focus on the issues that matter most and provide clear information on how to fix them.

Integrations are natively available with Slack, MS Teams, Jira, Github, and Gitlab. Other integrations can be accessed through Zapier and API.

Intruder costs from $196/month/application. A 14-day free trial is also available.

Best for comprehensive code-to-cloud security

  • Free plan available (up to 2 users)
  • From $314/month (billed annually, up to 10 users)
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Rating: 4.7/5

Aikido Security is a comprehensive DevSecOps platform designed to provide end-to-end security for code and cloud environments. It integrates various security scans and features, including vulnerability management, SBOM generation, cloud posture management, container image scanning, and dependency scanning.

One of the key strengths of Aikido Security is its all-in-one platform that integrates multiple scanning capabilities, including Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Software Composition Analysis (SCA), Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning, container scanning, and secrets detection.

This holistic approach ensures that all potential vulnerabilities across different layers of an application and its infrastructure are identified and addressed. By providing full coverage from code to cloud, Aikido Security helps organizations maintain a robust security posture. The software also supports compliance with standards such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001:2022 by automating the collection of evidence and generating detailed security reports.

Aikido integrates with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, MS Azure Cloud, DigitalOcean, Drata, Vanta, GitHub, GitLab Cloud, Bitbucket, Jira, Slack, Docker Hub, AWS Elastic Container Registry, GCP Artifact Registry, CircleCI, and Jenkins.

Best for enterprise vulnerability mitigation

  • Free 30-day trial and demo available
  • $1,195 for 100 workstations and a single-user license
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Rating: 4.2/5

ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus is a comprehensive tool designed for enterprise vulnerability management, offering features such as secure configuration deployment, compliance, automated patch deployment, and zero-day vulnerability mitigation. It goes beyond the capabilities of traditional vulnerability management tools, providing executive reports, antivirus audits, deployment policies, and role-based administration.

Its ability to automate vulnerability assessment, patch management, and compliance management from a single console makes it a standout choice for large organizations with complex security needs. ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus distinguishes itself with its robust capabilities, including detailed insights and reports that streamline the vulnerability management process. Its all-in-one platform for managing network vulnerabilities and its prioritization-focused approach to identifying and addressing vulnerabilities make it an ideal choice for enterprises.

ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus offers a comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment feature that identifies and prioritizes a wide array of vulnerabilities, considering factors like exploitability and severity. Its integrations include Active Directory, Azure AD, AWS, and G Suite, which facilitates the management and monitoring of vulnerabilities across different platforms and services. The software provides tools for vulnerability assessment, compliance, patch management, network device security configuration management, and zero-day vulnerability mitigation.

Best for identifying potential security weaknesses across an organization's network

  • 30-day free trial
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.6/5

ESET PROTECT Complete provides a robust cybersecurity framework designed to protect businesses from a wide range of digital threats. This solution offers a suite of tools including endpoint protection, cloud sandboxing, and data encryption, aiming to deliver a secure, manageable, and comprehensive defense mechanism against malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.

As a vulnerability scanning software, ESET PROTECT Complete excels in identifying and addressing potential security weaknesses across an organization's network. It provides detailed vulnerability reports, highlighting areas of concern and recommending actionable steps to mitigate risks. Its scanning engine is both thorough and efficient, ensuring minimal disruption to operational activities while maintaining a high level of security awareness.

ESET PROTECT Complete natively integrates with a variety of tools, including ESET Endpoint Security, ESET Endpoint Antivirus, ESET Security Management Center, ESET Dynamic Threat Defense, ESET Secure Authentication, ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server, ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server, ESET Full Disk Encryption, Microsoft Active Directory, and SIEM tools.

ESET PROTECT Complete offers pricing upon request + a 30-day free trial.

Information security solution that provides deep visibility into global assets

  • 30 Days Free Trials
  • Customized price upon request
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Rating: 4.4/5

Qualys analyzes misconfigurations and threats across your global tech environment with six sigma accuracy. The system provides real-time alerts on zero-day vulnerabilities, compromised assets, and network irregularities. You can quarantine compromised assets with a single click, buying you more time to investigate and contain an attack.

To protect your IT environment, you need to know which assets are connected to your network. Qualys’ free Global AssetView application helps security teams accomplish this by automatically identifying all known and unknown assets on a network. You can quickly grab detailed information about each asset, including installed software, running services, and vendor lifecycle information. The application also helps with asset organization, enabling teams to categorize assets into product families with custom tagging.

Qualys supports native integrations with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Pricing is based on several factors, including the number of user licenses, Qualys Cloud Platform Apps, internal web applications, and IP addresses your team will be utilizing.

EASM solution with multi-layer vulnerability assessment engine

Cyberpion is an external attack surface management (EASM) solution that helps organizations identify and manage previously unknown, high-risk assets. The platform’s intelligent vulnerability assessment engine provides deep insights into the connected assets posing the highest risk to your digital landscape. Threat mitigation is automated with Cyberpion’s Active Protection tool, which immediately neutralizes assets vulnerable to attack.

Cyberpion runs continuous, multi-layered vulnerability scans and assessments across your entire attack surface. The assessment engine conducts web, cloud, DNS, PKI, and TLS analyses, providing a comprehensive snapshot of your organization’s security posture. With this information, your team can take action against the connected assets that pose a risk to your IT environment.

Integrations are available with Splunk, Cortex XSOAR, ServiceNow, and Azure.

Pricing is available upon request.

Free Windows security scanner with built-in remediation guidance

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is a free vulnerability scanner designed for small to medium-sized businesses. QA analysts can scan local and remote systems to identify common IIS and SQL administrative vulnerabilities, like weak passwords or too many admin accounts and missing security updates.

Users can scan multiple computers by domain or IP address range. After each scan, MBSA provides a detailed report on which systems were scanned, the vulnerabilities found, and step-by-step instructions on fixing each issue. QA analysts can quickly access security reports for each computer from MBSA’s GUI. Reports older than seven days will indicate a new scan should be performed, ensuring your team maintains a regular cadence of security monitoring.

MBSA is compatible with Windows Server 2008 R2, Server 2003, Server 2008, Vista, XP, and Windows 2000.

The Best Vulnerability Scanning Software Solutions Summary

Tools Price
New Relic From $25/user/month (billed annually)
Invicti Pricing upon request
Acunetix Pricing upon request
Intruder From $138/month
Aikido Security From $314/month (billed annually, up to 10 users)
ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus $1,195 for 100 workstations and a single-user license
ESET PROTECT Complete Pricing upon request
Qualys Customized price upon request
Cyberpion No details
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer No details
Compare Software Specs Side by Side

Compare Software Specs Side by Side

Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.

Compare Software

Other Options

Here are a few more vulnerability scanning tools that didn’t make the top list.

Comparison Criteria

The criteria below will help you decide which vulnerability scanning software tool is best for your business. 

  1. User Interface (UI): A simple, user-friendly interface helps security analysts configure a vulnerability scan quickly and accurately. 
  2. Usability: Good usability makes vulnerability scanning tools accessible to security experts and developers. Increased access enables software teams to implement security testing earlier in the development lifecycle. 
  3. Integrations: The best vulnerability scanners offer a variety of plug-ins and integrations that easily connect with your existing SIEM and CI/CD tools. 
  4. Value for $: The cost of your scanning tool should match the value it brings to your security efforts. 

Vulnerability Scanning Tools: Key Features

These key features ensure your vulnerability scanning tool provides the best protection against threats. 

  1. Asset Discovery: To protect your IT environment, you must know which assets are connected to the network. The top scanning tools can detect known and unknown assets that pose a high risk to your organization. 
  2. Threat Intelligence: There are countless cyber threats across the clear, deep, and dark web. Select a scanning tool that provides the latest threat research you need to mitigate attacks. 
  3. Automation: You can send secure products to market faster with scanning tools that automate your security team’s pre- and post-scan operations. 
  4. Threat Prioritization: Your scanning software should help you triage threats, enabling you to quickly contain security issues that pose the highest risk to your business. 

What do you think about this list?

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Paulo Gardini Miguel
By Paulo Gardini Miguel

Paulo is the Director of Technology at the rapidly growing media tech company BWZ. Prior to that, he worked as a Software Engineering Manager and then Head Of Technology at Navegg, Latin America’s largest data marketplace, and as Full Stack Engineer at MapLink, which provides geolocation APIs as a service. Paulo draws insight from years of experience serving as an infrastructure architect, team leader, and product developer in rapidly scaling web environments. He’s driven to share his expertise with other technology leaders to help them build great teams, improve performance, optimize resources, and create foundations for scalability.