Top 8 Network Scanning Tools & Software

As enterprises digitally transform and continue to evolve into hybrid models of work, their networks and device ecosystems grow ever larger. This makes an enterprise’s network more difficult to manage and keep secure.

Network scanning tools are part of an enterprise’s security arsenal against malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks launched against a company’s data and assets.

What are Network Scanning Tools?

Network scanning tools are tools that scan the traffic between devices, firewalls, routers, servers, and more for emerging threats to an enterprise’s network. They look for vulnerabilities in applications, code, operating systems, and more. Upon detecting a vulnerability, the network scanning tool alerts network administrators to suspicious behavior that needs to be resolved, such as an unauthorized log-in, a mismatch between user credentials and the device, or a questionable file being transferred within the network. Network scanning tools are often part of a comprehensive network management platform.

Also read: Best Network Management Software & Tools 2022

Features of Network Scanning Tools

Automation: Network scanning tools automatically scan for, detect, and remediate security incidents to prevent alarm fatigue in NetOps staff. They can also be configured to generate automatic reports on a regular basis.

Classification: Today’s network scanning tools often group similar vulnerabilities and prioritize them based on urgency. That way, NetOps knows what to remediate first.

Context: Network scanning tools not only identify threats and vulnerabilities but also provide information about the source and, more importantly, a recommended remediation plan.

Reporting and analytics: Though automation features prominently in network management, that doesn’t mean it should be done on autopilot. For issues that can’t be resolved through automation, a network scanning tool should generate a report or allow self-service analytics to network administrators.

Database: The network scanner gathers information on the enterprise’s various potential attack surfaces, such as unpatched software. It continuously compares data input to previously saved, known vulnerabilities in the database to identify new threats to programs, ports, scripts, or packet construction.

Also read: NetOps vs DevOps: Bringing Automation to the Network

Top 8 Network Scanning Tools

We’ve compiled a list of the top network scanning tools in no particular order.

Burp Suite

Burp Suite’s enterprise solution is a scanning tool that helps customers secure their entire portfolio and align security with development. It also uses automation to free up developers’ resources on tasks that matter most.

Key Features

Automated, accurate scans with proprietary out-of-band-application-security-test (OAST) method
Recurrent, concurrent, and/or scalable scans
Custom configurations for scan depth
Dynamic web vulnerability scanning
Vulnerability prioritization

Pros

Breadth of useful features
Excellent web version
Penetration testing
User friendly

Cons

Difficult log management
Reports not exportable to common formats

Pricing

The enterprise edition has three pricing tiers: Starter performs five concurrent scans for $6,995 per year, Grow includes 20 concurrent scans for $14,480 per year, and Accelerate performs 50+ scans for $29,450 per year.

Detectify

Detectify is a fully automated solution that maps out and scans attack surfaces for external threats. It uses ethical hackers to put your network to the test and find vulnerabilities, big and small.

Key Features

Application scanning
Automated discovery of your company’s known and unknown digital assets
Continuous network monitoring
Remediation action plans for software development team
Shareable analytics and reports

Pros

User-friendly interface
Great value for the price
Up-to-date security insights
Classification of vulnerabilities based on severity
Gives context to issues
Integrations with other tools

Cons

Difficult to get in touch with customer support
Not as user-friendly for non-technical users
Technical glitches

Pricing

For smaller companies, Detectify offers an ả la carte pricing menu for its surface monitoring and application scanning tools. Both come with a two-week free trial. After the trial period, customers pay $289/month for monitoring and $85 for app scanning. It appears Detectify does not offer a bundle option for these two tools. However, companies can save by paying annually, instead of month-by-month.

For scaled-up solutions, enterprises must reach out to Detectify for pricing details.

Intruder

Intruder is a cloud-based vulnerability scanner tool that scans devices, clouds, servers, and websites for new threats. Upon detecting threats, Intruder provides contextual information and interpretation to help companies better manage threats. For each discovered threat, Intruder classifies them according to severity, provides an action plan for remediation, and proactively scans your company’s system for new vulnerabilities.

Key Features

Full-stack scanning
At-a-glance reporting
Automated reports
Context, interpretation, and remediation plan
Security auditing
Certified penetration tester support

Pros

Meets comprehensive security needs
Pleasant user experience

Cons

Technical glitches
Data protection concerns

Pricing

Intruder Essential starts at $112 per month. Intruder Pro comes with a 30-day free trial. After the trial period, users can expect to pay $129 per month for the Pro version.

Manage Engine OpManager

Manage Engine OpManager is an integrated network management solution that provides a networking scanning tool to manage security across cloud environments, network devices, and servers.

Key Features

Customizable dashboard views
Real-time network monitoring
Physical and virtual server monitoring
Configurable monitoring thresholds

Pros

Unified network management
Configurable thresholds

Cons

Slow load times in the dashboard and reporting tools
Lag between adding new devices/servers and OpManager recognizing them

Pricing

Manage Engine OpManager offers three product tiers: Standard, Professional, and Enterprise tiers. The Enterprise edition includes 250 devices for $11,545.

Nessus

Nessus is a top performing vulnerability scanning and assessment solution that can be combined with Tenable’s other products to scale your security needs as your company grows.

Key Features

Customized reporting
Classified scan results based on severity
Groupable vulnerabilities
Live Results scan
Exportable scan results

Nesuss’s Live Results scan assesses each new plug-in update offline and checks against your scan history to detect anomalies that may signal a threat to your network.

Pros

Breadth of features
User-friendly interface

Cons

False positives
Slow speed
Technical bugs
Low value compared to price

Pricing

Nessus’s pricing model is based on one-year, two-year, or three-year subscriptions, saving customers more money the longer their subscription is. The one-year plan is $3,390, the two-year costs $6,610.50, and the three-year costs $9,661.50.

Pentest-Tools

Pentest-Tools provides a cloud-based arsenal of products to address web and network vulnerabilities. Its OpenVAS network scanning tool performs an in-depth network scan to find outdated network services, missing patches, poorly configured servers, and other vulnerabilities that put your enterprise at risk.

Key Features

Automated testing and reporting
Bulk scanning
Context for vulnerabilities and actionable steps for remediation
VPN scanning in internal networks
Scan schedules

Pros

Time-saving automation
User-friendly interface
Good value for the price

Cons

Difficult to get support from vendor
Technical glitches
Compatibility issues with other software

Pricing

Pentest-Tools offers four pricing tiers to meet any company’s security needs. Its Enterprise edition includes more than 1,000 targets for a sprawling network, however, no pricing information is offered directly on the website. The next product tier, Teams, has a scope of up to 1,000 targets for $470/month.

Qualys

Qualys is a comprehensive security platform that includes a robust scanning tool to monitor internal and external networks, cloud environments, and more. Insights are visible through one central console for easier network security management.

Key Features

Automatic remediation
Contextual information available in KnowledgeBase
Customizable dashboards
Customizable reports
Manual, continuous, or scheduled monitoring options
Secure audit trails

Pros

High accuracy
Track vulnerabilities over time

Cons

Compatibility issues
Technical bugs

Pricing

Qualys offers three pricing tiers for its cloud platform: Express Lite, Express, and Enterprise. However, pricing information is available only upon contacting for a quote request.

SolarWinds

SolarWinds’s ipMonitor scans your company’s network, servers, applications, and more from one central console for more visibility into tech stack performance.

Key Features

Built-in reporting and dashboards
Automated remediation
Alerts and notifications

Pros

Easy device discoverability
Performs manual tasks
User-friendly interface for tech savvy users

Cons

Expensive
Requires training and acclimation for non-technical users

Pricing

ipMonitor is available for a free 14-day trial. After that, pricing starts at $1,570.

Benefits of Network Scanning Tools

Automation is the source of many network scanning tool benefits.

Attack prevention

Automation helps with some, but not all threats. For vulnerabilities and threats that have been detected before or are low priority, automation is one of many lines of defense that your enterprise has to protect its network.

Efficient NetOps

Your NetOps team benefits from automated tasks in today’s network scanning tools. Without the need to perform repetitive, manual tasks, NetOps team members can focus their energy on more critical security issues affecting the enterprise.

Reduced downtime

Providing round-the-clock monitoring assistance, automated network scanning tools reduce downtime when an exploit occurs or even prevents system failure entirely. Many vendors today offer configurable network scanning to meet your enterprise’s needs.

Resilience

Many network scanning tools keep track of past vulnerabilities that help inform and improve your approach to remediating future ones.

Who Needs Network Scanning Tools?

Any company operating online and across multiple devices needs a networking scanning tool. However, enterprises with complex security needs especially require a network scanning tool that covers all potential attack surfaces in its network.

This compilation of top network scanning tool vendors guides enterprises on how to pick the best one for their needs.

Tools that automate routine tasks will be especially valuable for enterprises that operate with small NetOps teams. Depending on the composition and experience levels of your NetOps and SecOps teams, user friendliness may be an important factor to consider as well, as it’s an issue that frequently arises in vendor reviews.

Also consider the solution price, which is usually set up according to time frame, number of users, or number of targets. Locking into a longer subscription period saves your enterprise money.

Read next: Best Network Monitoring Tools & Software of 2022