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Cortex Xpanse vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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)
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
3rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (6th), Patch Management (4th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (3rd), Software Supply Chain Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of Cortex Xpanse is 2.6%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 3.4%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Attack Surface Management (ASM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management3.4%
Cortex Xpanse2.6%
Other94.0%
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1442496 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Ensures robust security management with seamless integration
We work with the cloud version of Cortex Xpanse. We are working with Palo Alto products right at the moment. We have Cortex and GlobalProtect that we are using. I'm not sure if we utilize Cortex Xpanse's capability to identify internet-facing assets. I'm not sure about the automated threat assessment of Cortex helping prioritize vulnerabilities. I would assess the integration capabilities of Cortex Xpanse as good; no issues so far with integration with other tools from different vendors. Cortex Xpanse supports our organization's regulatory compliance efforts 100%, and it's what we need from it. Right now, I am working only with Palo Alto for security. I am not planning to work with some other vendors. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Cortex Xpanse a nine.
Nicki Møller - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Enables automation and quick access to necessary information
One of the significant challenges Qualys is discovery, which I know Microsoft excels at. I can't recall how well Qualys performs this function; it seems I might be missing some details. However, if there's one key aspect to focus on, it's discovery—the ability to identify assets that you are not aware of, even when you can see they are present. Understanding what those assets are is crucial. With Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, it was very difficult to extract detections from the system. The features within Qualys are limited to what they have developed. Sometimes a complete overview is needed to push to a Power BI dashboard, Splunk, ServiceNow, or other platforms. The export process is incredibly challenging. We needed a developer to write a hundred-line Python script that would loop over certain assets due to export limitations. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management could improve its integration capabilities. While it generates substantial data, correlating it with other data sources can be challenging. The export process is difficult, and pre-built integrations with other tools could be enhanced for better process implementation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"As an attack surface manager, I highly recommend Cortex Xpanse, especially if there are many services exposed publicly on the internet."
"Cortex Xpanse is a strong solution for attack surface management, including digital brand protection and continuous monitoring."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its firewall and antivirus."
"The best feature of the product is that it's easy to manage when we have set it up, and the beneficial impact of Cortex Xpanse for the company is security."
"Cortex Xpanse has an easy-to-use user interface."
"When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"Authorized and unauthorized software visibility is the best feature for me."
"There are no stability issues, and I would rate it a ten out of ten."
"We have a diverse organization with a robust infrastructure of more than 300,000 assets. By creating unauthorized lists and rules in the Qualys CSAM module, I can block certain software from being used in the organization."
"The support has been excellent; they are responsive and effectively bring in the appropriate resources to help solve problems."
"ESAM covers the entire attack surface, discovers more, and provides complete details about the assets, such as the external interface and internal interface, correlating them so we get the complete details of the assets, which were not given by the other solution."
"I use it primarily with tagging, asset counts, and groups that we can put them in, and we also use it to tell if a device has been merged and seen in Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, so that's beneficial for us too."
"The most valuable feature is the real-time visibility Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides into all assets across our development and operational environments."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management offers comprehensive features to cover our entire attack surface."
 

Cons

"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"Regarding technical support, I would rate it as a seven."
"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."
"Cortex Xpanse needs to add dark-web scanning."
"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."
"The product stability has notably declined over the last two months, and the performance to fulfill a page request is very slow compared to its previous performance."
"I think the one thing Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can do better is the package management and the updating process."
"The main aspect that needs improvement is the user interface, which should be more intuitive."
"They should address the false positives generated in EASM. It is fetching assets that have Infosys as the keyword. They should fix that."
"There have been a couple of times where Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management wasn't accessible and I'd reach out to our TAM and they'd say, 'Qualys is down.' They say, 'We'll let you know when it's back up.' Of course, they never let you know when it's back up."
"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 the best practice for categorizing assets with the C-SAM module in Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, I see potential for improvement with integration of other CMDB systems in creating a relationship with Qualys and other solutions."
"In our reporting, we faced a challenge syncing with cloud devices."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cortex Xpanse is cheaper than other solutions."
"The tool's cost is too high."
"Qualys offers excellent value for money."
"Though the solution is considered expensive, if bundled with other services such as VMDR or cloud agents, its value would significantly increase. It is currently a bit costly, but with bundling, it could become attractive to more customers."
"The Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management pricing is well-aligned with our usage."
"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."
"Qualys is competitively priced for its features. Its pricing is suitable for large organizations with more than 4,000 assets, but for smaller organizations with few assets, such as banks, the costs might be high. They should come up with packages that are suitable for small organizations."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Performing Arts
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex Xpanse?
I don't know the licensing or setup cost; I have no idea about the cost.
What needs improvement with Cortex Xpanse?
I'm not sure right now; I have nothing to comment on regarding what could be improved in the product. We are using it and we are satisfied. I have nothing to comment right now on what other feature...
What is your primary use case for Cortex Xpanse?
Cortex Xpanse is usually used for security from clients.
What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
I think the one thing Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can do better is the package management and the updating process. Knowing that you can't update any of the packages until you've done the...
What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
I primarily use it for a small, single-site, multi-source setup with multi-WAN inputs. I have a main fiber connection and a couple of failovers while managing different networks across different se...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex Xpanse vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.