SIDE BY SIDE · FACTS ONLY

Censys vs Tenable: asset inventory facts side by side

SHORT ANSWER

Censys describes 2 of the five approaches on the pages we read and Tenable describes 3; they differ on CAASM aggregation and Exposure management. On collection, Censys works without new agents and Tenable does not describe its collection method on the pages we read. Many estates run two of these approaches together, so the question is often which pair, not which one; we do not score either.

By The Inventory Desk · CAASM Finder · Published 2026-10-11

Desk research from public vendor pages read on 27 September and 11 October 2026. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.

How do their approaches compare?

Top bar: Censys ASM
Lower bar, lighter: Tenable One

Full bar: described on the vendor's pages we read
Hatched bar: described with a condition (another product, a higher tier, or part of the approach)
Stub: not in our sources (it may exist; we did not find it)

The bars show what each vendor's own pages describe, or how your answers weigh the five approaches. They are not a measure of how well a product works.

What are the facts, side by side?

From each vendor's own pages. Differs marks rows where the recorded status or check value differs.
Fact	Censys ASM	Tenable One
Positioning	Censys's external exposure management product, built on first-party scanning of all 65K ports and the Censys Internet Map.	Tenable's exposure management platform. Tenable Attack Surface Management, part of Tenable One, maps external assets from a map of more than 5 billion assets; Tenable One adds attack path analysis, Hexa AI remediation and connectors for third-party data.
Deployment	Discovery expands from seeds the customer adds in the console or through the API; assets found beyond the seeds appear under a Found by Censys tab. Source: Censys docs: seed your attack surface · Read 27 Sep 2026	Tenable Attack Surface Management is sold through a demo request, not online. Source: Tenable: buy · Read 27 Sep 2026
CAASM aggregationDiffers	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	With a condition Tenable One Connectors bring third-party data into the platform; a unified asset inventory is not described in detail on the pages we read. Source: Tenable One · Read 27 Sep 2026
Agent-based inventory	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
External attack surface management	Described First-party scanning across all 65K ports finds services on nonstandard ports, starting from seeds you supply. Source: Censys external exposure management · Read 27 Sep 2026	Described Identifies domains related to your inventory from a map of 5 billion+ assets with 200+ metadata fields. Source: Tenable Attack Surface Management · Read 27 Sep 2026
CMDB-centred inventory	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Exposure managementDiffers	With a condition Applies EPSS and KEV to external findings, confirms reachability and routes remediation tasks; internal assets are not described. Source: Censys external exposure management · Read 27 Sep 2026	Described Tenable One is Tenable's exposure management platform, with attack path analysis across 150+ techniques and Hexa AI automated remediation. Source: Tenable One · Read 27 Sep 2026
Servers and network devicesDiffers	Not in our sources	Partly Tenable One includes vulnerability management alongside external attack surface data. Source: Tenable: buy · Read 27 Sep 2026
Cloud workloadsDiffers	Matches Names AWS, Google Cloud and Azure among its integrations. Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
SaaS applications	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Identities as assets	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Off-network laptops	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
OT and IoT devices	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Internet-facing discovery	Matches First-party scanning of all 65K ports. Source: Censys external exposure management · Read 27 Sep 2026	Matches A 5 billion+ asset map with 200+ metadata fields. Source: Tenable Attack Surface Management · Read 27 Sep 2026
Offers its own agent	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Works without new agentsDiffers	Matches Discovery runs from the internet, starting from seeds added in the console or through the API. Source: Censys docs: seed your attack surface · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Merges records from several sourcesDiffers	Not in our sources	Partly Tenable One Connectors bring third-party data into the platform. Source: Tenable One · Read 27 Sep 2026
Feeds or updates a CMDBDiffers	Matches ServiceNow CMDB is a named integration. Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Cross-source queries and reports	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Workflows, tickets or actionsDiffers	Matches Auto-creates, routes and tracks remediation tasks. Source: Censys external exposure management · Read 27 Sep 2026	Partly Hexa AI orchestrates automated remediation in Tenable One. Source: Tenable One · Read 27 Sep 2026
Price or pricing basis published	Partly ASM is contact sales; a free platform account exists and credits start at $100. Source: Censys pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026	Partly Attack Surface Management is not sold online; Tenable publishes adjacent prices, such as Tenable One Vulnerability Management at $3,700 for one year for up to 250 assets. Source: Tenable: buy · Read 27 Sep 2026
Free tier or trial	Partly A free Censys platform account exists; ASM itself is sold through sales. Source: Censys pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026	Partly Free trials for Tenable One Vulnerability Management and Nessus; the Tenable One platform and its exposure products are demo only. Source: Tenable free trials · Read 11 Oct 2026
Platform it is part of	None	Tenable: External findings sit in Tenable One next to Tenable vulnerability data. Source: Tenable One · Read 27 Sep 2026
Integrations	Webex, Slack, Jira, ServiceNow ITSM, Tenable VM, Google Security Operations, Microsoft Sentinel, ServiceNow CMDB, Axonius, Brinqa, AWS, Google Cloud and Azure. Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026	Tenable One Connectors bring third-party data into the platform. Source: Tenable One · Read 27 Sep 2026
Price	ASM: contact sales. A free Censys platform account exists, and credits start at $100. Source: Censys pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026	Attack Surface Management: demo request only. Adjacent published price: Tenable One Vulnerability Management at $3,700 for one year for up to 250 assets. Source: Tenable: buy · Read 27 Sep 2026

Where do they differ?

CAASM aggregation: Censys is not in our sources; Tenable describes it with a condition.
Exposure management: Censys describes it with a condition; Tenable describes it.
Servers and network devices: Censys is not in our sources; Tenable partly matches.
Cloud workloads: Censys matches; Tenable is not in our sources.
Works without new agents: Censys matches; Tenable is not in our sources.
Merges records from several sources: Censys is not in our sources; Tenable partly matches.
Feeds or updates a CMDB: Censys matches; Tenable is not in our sources.
Workflows, tickets or actions: Censys matches; Tenable partly matches.

Can they work together?

Yes, on the pages we read:

Tenable VM is a named integration.
Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026
Webex, Slack, Jira, ServiceNow ITSM, Tenable VM, Google Security Operations, Microsoft Sentinel, ServiceNow CMDB, Axonius, Brinqa, AWS, Google Cloud and Azure.
Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026

Choose Censys if

Your biggest unknown is what you expose to the internet
You want external findings to land in ServiceNow CMDB or an aggregation tool you already run

Choose Tenable if

You already run Tenable vulnerability management
Your question is which exposures to fix first more than which assets exist

Which limits should you check?

Censys

An external view only: internal devices, SaaS apps and identities are not covered.
Discovery starts from seeds you supply, and ASM pricing goes through sales.

Tenable

Attack Surface Management and the Tenable One platform are demo only; free trials cover Vulnerability Management and Nessus.
A unified internal asset inventory, SaaS apps and identities are not described on the pages we read.

Put Censys and Tenable in the asset census with others Run the finder

Questions people ask

Is Censys or Tenable better?

Neither is scored on this site. Censys describes 2 of five approaches and Tenable 3 on the pages we read, and they differ on 8 recorded facts. Which fits depends on where your assets live, whether you can install agents, your CMDB and your tools; the finder checks those.

Do Censys and Tenable work with a CMDB?

Censys: Matches. ServiceNow CMDB is a named integration. Tenable: Not in our sources.

Do Censys or Tenable publish prices?

Censys: ASM: contact sales. A free Censys platform account exists, and credits start at $100. Tenable: Attack Surface Management: demo request only. Adjacent published price: Tenable One Vulnerability Management at $3,700 for one year for up to 250 assets.