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Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Tenable Security Center comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.3
Qualys TotalCloud enhances efficiency and automation, achieving up to 40% cost savings and over 50% improved asset scanning.
Sentiment score
3.7
Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks boosts efficiency and ROI with XSOAR integrations, though ROI quantification can be challenging.
Sentiment score
6.5
Tenable Security Center boosts ROI by minimizing costs, enhancing security, reducing manpower needs, and preventing costly data breaches.
We are able to scan all our assets with less human intervention and achieve overall effective outcomes.
Dns architect at a tech consulting company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It has saved about 90% of our time.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
TotalCloud has generated overall savings of 30 to 40 percent across various departments.
Security Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
The solution provides a good ROI, especially for regular customers, offering discounts for three-year licenses.
Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I don't think the tool in itself is very capable of doing that, but we have XSOAR and other tool integrations done on the platform, so this can be accomplished.
Technical Solutions Architect at IBM
If we cannot adjust how to operate the solution, then it becomes very difficult, so hearing and initial tuning are very important.
Marketing Expert at J's communication
Through the use of Tenable Security Center, my clients achieve more efficient patching and gain visibility and understanding of security operations, leading to improved resilience and infrastructure insight.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Qualys TotalCloud's customer service is praised for responsiveness despite occasional delays, with ratings from seven to ten.
Sentiment score
6.6
Cortex Cloud's customer service is praised for prompt, knowledgeable support and effective troubleshooting, earning high user ratings.
Sentiment score
7.4
Tenable Security Center customer support is responsive and knowledgeable, with U.S. support rated higher than the European counterpart.
They are helpful, respond to my queries, and can answer any question.
Developer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Qualys's tech support is highly responsive, providing multiple ways to interact with them.
Service Manager, Security Operations at CDA IT SOLUTIONS
Qualys' customer service provides quality answers, but the response time is long, even though it is within the SLA.
Works at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
If I make it a high priority, they have resolved one query within 20 minutes.
Assistant Security Architect at Cloudnomics
If local Indian support cannot resolve an issue, global tech support aligns promptly within the agreed SLA.
Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Fast response times and knowledgeable staff who understand the intricacies of the system.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Longer response times and less thorough assistance.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
They are helpful and were very helpful to us, coordinating with us on several issues.
Head of Information Security at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Qualys TotalCloud is highly scalable and adaptable, efficiently supporting varied environments and large-scale deployments with robust performance.
Sentiment score
4.5
Palo Alto's Cortex Cloud is scalable and efficient, with easy onboarding, but can be costly for higher licenses.
Sentiment score
8.0
Tenable Security Center is praised for its seamless scalability, adaptability, and integration, accommodating diverse organizational needs and sizes effectively.
We started our organization about nine months back. We started with about 30 users, and we now have more than 100 users.
CIO at a venture capital & private equity firm with 11-50 employees
Our organization currently uses it to manage over 1200 web applications.
Analyst, Information Security at Infosys
It is absolutely scalable, and I would rate its scalability as nine out of ten.
retired at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
For stability, scalability, mean time to response, and potential incident investigation improvements, I would give it a nine or probably even a ten.
Business Development Team Lead at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Onboarding endpoints and assets on Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is very easy.
Assistant Security Architect at Cloudnomics
The platform is able to auto-shut certain resources that are not in use through the agentless scan feature.
Technical Solutions Architect at IBM
I can scale it extensively with the use of agents, allowing scanning in restrictive environments and loosely connected devices.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
Scalability is a bit limited with Tenable Security Center.
Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Qualys TotalCloud is stable and reliable, offering 99.9% uptime with quick support for minor issues and transparent maintenance updates.
Sentiment score
7.8
Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is praised for its stability, reliability, and seamless security performance without latency or issues.
Sentiment score
8.0
Tenable Security Center is highly stable and reliable, handling large tasks efficiently with users rating its stability highly.
Overall, the support provided has been excellent.
Analyst, Information Security at Infosys
It has a lot of scanning mechanisms, which are agentless APIs, eBPF, and cloud agents, that are highly reliable.
Sr Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is a stable solution, which is why we chose it.
CIO at a venture capital & private equity firm with 11-50 employees
My impression of Cloud Runtime Security in stopping attacks in real-time is that I have never had an issue where it has let something through, causing an outage or concerns to the customer.
Business Development Team Lead at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
However, now in Cortex Cloud, I have not seen any lag or buffer.
Assistant Security Architect at Cloudnomics
My evaluation of how stable and reliable Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is very positive.
Technical Solutions Architect at IBM
The stability of the solution is outstanding.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
 

Room For Improvement

Qualys TotalCloud requires UI improvements, better cloud integration, enhanced support, and optimized reporting, onboarding, and vulnerability detection.
Cortex Cloud's interface and costs challenge users, with needs for improved integration, efficiency, and identity management features.
Users desire improved reporting, third-party integration, interface design, vulnerability handling, web scanning, pricing, support, and user-friendly features.
Ideally, the scanner should automatically detect and scan all subdomains, even if not explicitly defined, ensuring comprehensive vulnerability assessment.
Analyst, Information Security at Infosys
Ideally, updates should be more immediate, enabling quicker implementation of solutions.
Project Lead at Persistent Systems
Our goal is to integrate all these functions into Qualys, creating a single dashboard for comprehensive security monitoring and management.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Regarding the generative AI security tool, I know for sure it's Agentic.
Cybersecurity Analyst at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The solution is quite premium in cost compared to alternatives such as Wiz.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
There is not a clear MSP model compared to other vendors such as CrowdStrike.
Business Development Manager For Palo Alto Networks at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It's important for Tenable to catch up on testing capabilities that are present in solutions like Qualys.
Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The reports and plugins for reports and scans could benefit from enhancements.
IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Translating reports into European languages is especially relevant in Central Eastern Europe, where clients often require reports in local languages.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
 

Setup Cost

Qualys TotalCloud is costly but justified for large companies due to features, flexibility, and VMware integration efficiencies.
Tenable Security Center is costly per asset, with options including subscription and perpetual licenses, generally pricier than competitors.
Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Pricing is managed by our finance team; however, Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches.
Vice President at Inspira Enterprise
The solution is costly, with high-end capabilities suitable for enterprises.
Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Today, it is smart and easy to calculate the licenses.
Cloud Security Manager at T-Systems International GmbH
The product is somewhat pricey, reflecting its valuable features and status as a high-quality solution in the vulnerability management market.
IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Tenable Security Center is quite expensive, particularly for the CEE region, causing us to lose cases due to its pricing.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
The price of Tenable Security Center is not so high; it's relatively a cheaper solution.
Marketing Expert at J's communication
 

Valuable Features

Qualys TotalCloud offers efficient asset discovery, security posture management, and vulnerability management with excellent integration and threat intelligence features.
Cortex Cloud enhances security management with AI-driven threat detection, automation, and seamless CI/CD integration, reducing response times significantly.
Tenable Security Center offers comprehensive vulnerability management with intuitive tools, strong integration, and flexible compliance for effective threat detection.
This view of risk helps reduce the work we would have to do to combine multiple sources to prioritize risk.
Works at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
It will help cybersecurity professionals monitor the cloud and find vulnerabilities.
Developer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
We are enjoying the new feature, FlexScan, which is valuable for Internet-facing VMs.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
AI/ML aids in anticipating remediation for misconfigurations and vulnerabilities, and automatic remediation can be easily configured.
Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks has reduced the time spent on incident investigations, and if I had to estimate, I would say it has cut our investigation time in half.
Sr. Compliance Analyst at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
This simplifies the management of shared responsibility among different people and entities, allowing you to use one single tool instead of having dozens of different tools to orchestrate and integrate.
Business Development Manager For Palo Alto Networks at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
We obtained good reports showing when patches were closed and the details of each patch, including who executed it and everything related to the patching process until it was closed.
Head of Information Security at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Tenable Security Center provides an overall score of vulnerabilities, comparing an organization with others in the same industry.
IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
The most effective feature of Tenable Security Center for detecting vulnerabilities is its capability for critical mapping.
Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
11th
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (11th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (2nd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (7th)
Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto N...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
18th
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (10th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (9th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (10th), Software Supply Chain Security (6th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (4th), Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) (6th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (5th)
Tenable Security Center
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
15th
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
22nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is 1.0%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Security Center is 2.4%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys TotalCloud1.2%
Tenable Security Center2.4%
Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks1.0%
Other95.4%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2859021 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Risk-based triage has transformed container security and now prioritizes high-impact threats
The best features Qualys TotalCloud offers currently include managing cloud infrastructure and container security while facing major challenges such as alert fatigue. Traditional vulnerability scanners flag hundreds of CVEs on short-lived Kubernetes containers, some of which have no internet exposure or are gone before we can even triage them. I leverage Qualys TotalCloud to move beyond static CVSS. I use it to implement runtime exposure, correlation risk reprioritization, and shift-left integration. This notifies developers to fix a base image upstream rather than patching live ephemeral instances. In my work with cloud and container security, the biggest operational hurdle was alert fatigue. I use Qualys to shift left from static CVSS severity to context-aware risk prioritization. I correlated raw vulnerability data with real-time risk factors such as public network exposure, active runtime execution, or overly permissive IAM roles. This allows us to immediately drop the priority of isolated containers and escalate lower-severity CVEs that sit on an exposed, high-risk path. We can map these findings directly back to our CI/CD pipelines so developers can patch the root base images upstream. We have drastically cut down the signal-to-noise ratio, saved a lot of manual hours doing triage work, and ensured engineering effort goes directly towards high-impact risk reduction.
SJ
Technical Solutions Architect at IBM
Cloud security has improved as AI-driven runtime protection detects threats and reduces incidents
In my opinion, Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks could be improved or enhanced in various ways. I don't have an idea about that yet because for that you actually need to use two or three different other tools to make a basic comparison. If you ask me how good the tool is, I would fairly rate it quite high. The tool is very popular, and customers can already see that it is one of the cloud leaders in the security space. The platform had a very good feature which provides documentation links about how to use a specific feature on the UI. It takes you to the proper documentation page where it suggests what to do and tells you about the steps that need to be done for a resource deployment. My thoughts about improving the product which I believe could greatly aid vendors is that it used to be a very user-friendly tool, but now they have incorporated everything under one umbrella. It has XDR, XSOAR, and Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks. Before, we used to have separate modules and separate environments for each of these capabilities or features. Right now, it is a little complex and users would take their own time to know the tool better. This is something that would have been way better, but I would say there would be different opinions on this. Talking about user-friendliness, it has decreased now.
reviewer1534134 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Information Security at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Centralized analytics have strengthened patch visibility and support efficient regulatory reporting
From my experience, I assess the product's analytics capabilities as successful. It helped us significantly with patching and managing the risk of the patching process across all our environments, including network devices with Windows and Unix systems. The product covered several environments and gave us exactly what we needed in our environment. Tenable Security Center's centralized platform helped with risk assessment and management across our IT environments. It covered the patching process, and we previously faced many issues regarding how to patch different environments, how to monitor the patching process, and whether it was successful or not. We obtained good reports showing when patches were closed and the details of each patch, including who executed it and everything related to the patching process until it was closed. This gave us good details about the process which helped us significantly in our reporting and even in audits, whether internal or external. We learned how to close audit issues safely and successfully. We used the dashboards for real-time threat insights and extracted several dashboards from Tenable Security Center. We use these dashboards in our cybersecurity dashboard and committees that we have. These dashboards are part of our committees, especially the cybersecurity committee and other committees that we attend.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
16%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
In terms of improvement, remediation still belongs to the cloud team, which is one of the issues we faced with Qualys...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is regarding the cloud visibility that we were not having previously. Previous...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks?
I am not fully aware of the pricing and licensing of Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks. The pricing is also based on...
What needs improvement with Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks?
In my opinion, Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks could be improved or enhanced in various ways. I don't have an idea...
What is your primary use case for Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks?
The usual use cases for Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks that I have been working with mostly are as simple as dete...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable SC?
The price of Tenable Security Center is not so high; it's relatively a cheaper solution.
What needs improvement with Tenable SC?
We did conduct a long implementation which relates to what I think can be improved about Tenable Security Center. In ...
What is your primary use case for Tenable SC?
The typical use case for Tenable Security Center is that it is an on-premise solution, and it can use the agent and a...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
No data available
Tenable.sc, Tenable Unified Security, Tenable SecurityCenter
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Information Not Available
IBM, Sempra Energy, Microsoft, Apple, Adidas, Union Pacific
Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs. Tenable Security Center and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.