{"question": "best vulnerability scanning tools for small businesses", "category": "vulnerability-scanning-tools", "category_name": "vulnerability scanning tools", "audience": "small-businesses", "audience_name": "small businesses", "engine": "Claude (Anthropic) with web search", "model": "claude-opus-5", "asked_at": "2026-10-26T02:07:52Z", "permalink": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/vulnerability-scanning-tools-small-businesses-2026-10-26", "question_page": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/vulnerability-scanning-tools/small-businesses", "brands_named": [{"position": 1, "brand": "Intruder", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 2, "brand": "Cloud", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 3, "brand": "Tenable Nessus", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 4, "brand": "Tenable Nessus Essentials", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 5, "brand": "Nessus", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 6, "brand": "Nessus Essentials", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 7, "brand": "16 IPs", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 8, "brand": "Nessus Professional", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 9, "brand": "Professional", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 10, "brand": "Qualys", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 11, "brand": "Qualys Community Edition", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 12, "brand": "Community Edition", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 13, "brand": "Qualys VMDR", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 14, "brand": "OpenVAS / Greenbone", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 15, "brand": "OpenVAS / Greenbone Community Edition", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 16, "brand": "Astra Security", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 17, "brand": "Snyk", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 18, "brand": "Malwarebytes", "label": "recommended"}], "sources_cited": [{"url": "https://www.g2.com/categories/vulnerability-scanner/small-business", "domain": "g2.com", "source_type": "review"}, {"url": "https://www.getastra.com/blog/dast/vulnerability-scanning-for-smbs/", "domain": "getastra.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.intruder.io/blog/the-top-vulnerability-scanning-tools", "domain": "intruder.io", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://www.esecurityplanet.com/networks/smb-vulnerability-scanner/", "domain": "esecurityplanet.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.getapp.com/security-software/a/intruder/compare/nessus/", "domain": "getapp.com", "source_type": "review"}, {"url": "https://beaglesecurity.com/blog/article/intruder-pricing.html", "domain": "beaglesecurity.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://cipherssecurity.com/tenable-nessus-pricing-2026-editions-costs/", "domain": "cipherssecurity.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://ethicalhacking.ai/pricing/nessus-professional-pricing", "domain": "ethicalhacking.ai", "source_type": "other"}], "answer_text": "# Vulnerability scanners for small businesses\n\nHere's what I'd actually recommend, in rough order:\n\n**1. Intruder** - My default recommendation for a small business that wants something that just works. It's built for exactly this market (~59% of its reviewers are small businesses), does continuous external attack-surface scanning, and emails you when something new appears rather than making you babysit a console. **$149/mo** (Essential, external-only), $299/mo Cloud, $499/mo Pro. Easiest setup of anything on this list.\n\n**2. Tenable Nessus Essentials** - **Free for up to 16 IPs.** If your whole footprint is a handful of servers and a firewall, this is the best scan engine in the industry at zero cost. Nessus Professional (unlimited IPs, compliance templates, better reporting) jumps to roughly **$3,000-4,800/year** depending on term - a big step, and usually where small businesses should switch to Intruder or an MSP instead.\n\n**3. Qualys Community Edition / Qualys VMDR** - Worth a look if you may grow into compliance work (PCI, SOC 2). Cloud-based with no appliance to run, strong asset inventory. Pricing is sales-quote only, which is itself a signal about who they're built for.\n\n**", "answer_truncated": true, "measurement": "One answer from one engine on one date. Not a ranking and not a claim about the world; brands the engine did not name are not recorded.", "limitation": "Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.", "alerts": {"name": "Answer Watch Pro", "price_usd": 79, "period": "month", "gets": "daily change alerts for up to 5 brands in what one AI answer engine says, history, CSV export. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included", "url": "https://bikoosh.com/answers"}}