Last Updated: May 2026
Fast open-source vulnerability scanner with template-based detection and community contributions. Nuclei Scanner currently offers a Free/OSS pricing model. Below is a complete breakdown of all available plans, costs, and what each tier includes.
Free & Open Source (MIT License)
Includes
Best for: Security researchers, bug bounty hunters, DevSecOps teams
Free tier + paid plans from $89/month
Includes
Best for: Teams wanting managed scanning without self-hosting
Nuclei Scanner is one of the most generous free offerings in security tooling — bug-bounty hunters, DevSecOps engineers, security researchers, and red teamers get enterprise-grade template-driven scanning with 9,000+ community templates at zero license cost. There is no upgrade path because Nuclei itself is free, but teams wanting managed scanning without self-hosting should evaluate ProjectDiscovery Cloud starting at $89/month — worth it for teams running continuous monitoring across many assets. Upgrade from self-hosted Nuclei to Cloud the moment your scan fleet exceeds 1–2 dedicated machines or you need scheduled multi-asset monitoring. Compared to commercial scanners like Detectify ($89/month for 25 assets) and Tenable Web App Scanning at higher per-asset pricing, ProjectDiscovery Cloud offers competitive value with the same template engine.
Nuclei is permanently free under the MIT license — no discounts apply. ProjectDiscovery Cloud (the commercial managed offering) has a free tier and offers paid plans starting at $89/month, with annual billing yielding 15–20% savings. ProjectDiscovery offers academic discounts and free Open Source program access for verified OSS maintainers. Black Friday promotions occasionally appear on Cloud annual plans. There is no trial because the OSS Nuclei is free, but ProjectDiscovery Cloud offers a free tier as a permanent evaluation. See the official ProjectDiscovery pricing page.
Yes — Nuclei is fully free and open-source under the MIT license. The full scanner with 9,000+ community templates, CI/CD integration, and multi-protocol support is free for everyone.
Nuclei OSS is free for everyone. The cheapest commercial managed option is ProjectDiscovery Cloud's free tier ($0), with paid plans starting at $89/month for managed scanning.
Nuclei OSS does not need a trial because it is permanently free. ProjectDiscovery Cloud offers a free tier as a permanent evaluation, so no time-limited trial is required.
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