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Cortex Xpanse vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Cortex Xpanse
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
3rd
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (8th), Patch Management (6th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (3rd), Software Supply Chain Security (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of Cortex Xpanse is 4.3%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 3.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ali Mohamed - PeerSpot reviewer
Proactively manages security and identifies vulnerabilities with good alerts
We use Cortex Xpanse as a security control for attack surface management in our organization When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action. It checks vulnerabilities periodically, ensuring they are addressed, which helps in…
Scott Frederick - PeerSpot reviewer
Well-integrated with our vulnerability scanning utilities and efficient in asset tagging and identification
Our favorite features are the tagging and the ability to quickly find assets in the portal. Additionally, I do like the fact that Qualys CSAM is integrated with the rest of our vulnerability scanning utilities. We use the full suite from Qualys. The fact that it is integrated makes it very easy to understand. It shares tagging information with VMDR. That is very nice. Qualys CSAM has discovered assets not previously covered by our vulnerability management program. Primarily, if we have assets without vulnerabilities, they become less visible, but Qualys CSAM alerts us to them because they have IP addresses and are attached to our network. It could discover everything from printers to servers to endpoints. It could discover UPSs, network devices, and across all operating systems. It discovers our security badge readers and digital signage. We have to feed that the IP address ranges, but beyond that, it finds everything in our internal network. We were able to realize its benefits within the first quarter of installing it. We did have to take some time to learn it and understand how to operationally leverage what it was telling us, but it was very quick. In addition to vulnerabilities, Qualys CSAM helps identify other risk factors to a degree. For instance, we can see if servers or assets have incorrect naming standards. We have our network segmented into development model, test, and production, and we have server naming standards that identify which management they should be in. If a production server has the naming standard of a development model server, we can find that. That is one area we have used it for. We are not fully using TruRisk, but we are using the Qualys detection score that is central to our corporate risk prioritization approach. It has completely replaced our homegrown one.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of the solution are its firewall and antivirus."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"Cortex Xpanse is a strong solution for attack surface management, including digital brand protection and continuous monitoring."
"When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action."
"Cortex Xpanse has an easy-to-use user interface."
"As an attack surface manager, I highly recommend Cortex Xpanse, especially if there are many services exposed publicly on the internet."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"The support is extremely helpful, deserving a 10 out of 10 rating."
"The end-of-life and end-of-service software and hardware are some of my favorite features."
"I recommend Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management due to its superior asset information collection capabilities, including comprehensive hardware and software inventorying."
"I would rate Qualys CSAM a ten out of ten."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management offers valuable features such as continuous vendor support, rapid response times, dedicated vendor partnerships, and advanced technical capabilities for risk identification."
"The fact that it is integrated makes it very easy to understand."
"Authorized and unauthorized software visibility is the best feature for me. It helps me understand security controls on our network and where we lack visibility. With a single security tool, we are able to get an extensive list."
"Qualys CSAM is valuable for providing end-of-life and end-of-sale information. It gives me visibility into the number of products or hardware items that are end-of-life."
 

Cons

"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"Cortex Xpanse needs to add dark-web scanning."
"Some improvements are needed in the user interface."
"Some improvements are needed in the user interface. It may require more enhancements."
"It's challenging to confirm the absolute coverage and penetration of Cortex Xpanse into the Dark Web. The solution lacks comprehensive intelligence on adversaries and risks, which other competitors might provide."
"There is an issue with the old versions of Cortex, and so when we have an older one with Windows or any OS, we have a problem with its connectivity with the cloud."
"We have had challenges modifying the agent configuration. Particularly, when we want to change the tenant that the agent is pointing to, we have had difficulties making that reliable and working properly."
"In my opinion, the area that needs improvement is the role-based access control (RBAC). The access privilege management needs to be more robust and streamlined to enhance user access management."
"Qualys CSAM is not super responsive, and there can be delays sometimes, especially with the network passive sensor. You might see duplicate objects which eventually disappear but it takes time. If that can be done faster, it will be great."
"From the user experience perspective, we need a simpler interface and reduced complexity in certain features, particularly with the Qualys Query Language."
"Based on the company's budget, Qualys offers limited features, which can also be utilized in other environments."
"One improvement that they can make in the EASM module is the scan frequency. After EASM is configured the first time, it allows you to do the complete configuration, but if you want to reconfigure it, it will not ask or provide any option for scan frequency. For that, you need to raise a case with Qualys and talk to the Qualys team."
"Currently, whenever the agent is running, it consumes over ten percent of my CPU, indicating that CPU consumption is another area Qualys needs to address."
"We encountered some false positives, which required coordination with the IT team for verification."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cortex Xpanse is cheaper than other solutions."
"The tool's cost is too high."
"The pricing for Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management is reasonable, with an annual subscription costing around $1,000 per year or a monthly subscription starting at approximately $72 per month, depending on the specific package and features included."
"The pricing is reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, centralized inventory, making it a cost-effective solution."
"The pricing is fair. I would love to see the price come down a little bit, but we do get a lot of value out of it. We are squeezing every ounce of value we can out of the tool."
"The pricing is market-competitive."
"The cost for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is high."
"Qualys offers excellent value for money."
"It is cost-effective because, in a single tool, we are getting everything. All the solutions come in a single license or price."
"The Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management pricing is well-aligned with our usage."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cortex Xpanse?
Cortex Xpanse has an easy-to-use user interface.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex Xpanse?
Cortex Xpanse is a bit expensive compared to other market solutions like FortyRicoh and RiskIQ, making it more suitable for enterprise companies.
What needs improvement with Cortex Xpanse?
It's challenging to confirm the absolute coverage and penetration of Cortex Xpanse into the Dark Web. The solution lacks comprehensive intelligence on adversaries and risks, which other competitors...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
The pricing is reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, centralized inventory, making it a cost-effective solution.
What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management helps us prioritize assets according to operating system, kernel version, installed software, and current version information. The ASM assists with attack surf...
What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
We are using Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management for daily activities such as identifying new assets through network scanning and agent-based scanning for newly provisioned assets. When any new a...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex Xpanse vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.