Cortex Xpanse vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management comparison

Palo Alto Networks and Qualys are both solutions in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.5, while Qualys is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.9. Palo Alto Networks holds a 3.1% mindshare in ASM, compared to Qualys’s 4.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Qualys users who would recommend it.

Cortex Xpanse

Read 6 Cortex Xpanse reviews

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1,456 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...

Read 35 Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management reviews

4,977 Views
1,543 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Cortex Xpanse

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Cortex Xpanse and Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management are notable tools in the cybersecurity asset management sector. Qualys holds the upper hand due to its extensive features that suggest better long-term value and comprehensive threat management capabilities.

Features: Cortex Xpanse offers automated attack surface management, real-time visibility, and rapid threat identification, making it effective for dynamic monitoring. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides robust device management, advanced vulnerability detection, and proactive risk mitigation, delivering detailed insights across various IT environments.

Room for Improvement: Cortex Xpanse could benefit from expanding its feature set to include device management and vulnerability detection, enhancing its appeal for wider use cases. Qualys may improve by simplifying its interface to reduce the learning curve and integrating more streamlined reporting features for users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cortex Xpanse is valued for its easy deployment and responsive customer service, ensuring a seamless setup. In comparison, while Qualys offers robust customer support, its comprehensive toolset can introduce deployment challenges, necessitating more effort for teams.

Pricing and ROI: Cortex Xpanse is attractive for budget-conscious users with competitive setup costs and rapid ROI. Conversely, Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, despite higher initial costs, provides substantial long-term ROI through its comprehensive functionality and threat management capabilities, promising greater value over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Cortex Xpanse vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cortex Xpanse vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

February 2026

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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)

7th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...

Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)

2nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vulnerability Management (10th), Patch Management (4th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (3rd), Software Supply Chain Security (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of Cortex Xpanse is 3.1%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 4.0%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Attack Surface Management (ASM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management	4.0%
Cortex Xpanse	3.1%
Other	92.9%

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

Featured Reviews

reviewer1442496

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.

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Arshad N. R.

Cyber Security Specialist at UBS Financial

Customized dashboards and quick deployment support comprehensive asset management

We use the True Risk Score for vulnerability prioritization, though we do not solely rely upon it since some assets may be decommissioned soon or not in use. From Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, we primarily focus on internet-facing assets. We have created separate tasks for internet-facing assets and track the True Risk dashboard specifically for these assets. If the True Risk Score is higher for any internet-facing assets, then we take action accordingly. The True Risk Score is very helpful for prioritization. The initial setup was straightforward and easy. We needed to create customized tags, group them twice, and validate whether the operating system detection was true positive or false positive. We encountered some false positives, which required coordination with the IT team for verification. In six months, we had approximately 20-25 machines that needed verification on a weekly basis. We coordinated with the IT team to identify the exact operating system specifications.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its firewall and antivirus."

"Cortex Xpanse is a strong solution for attack surface management, including digital brand protection and continuous monitoring."

"As an attack surface manager, I highly recommend Cortex Xpanse, especially if there are many services exposed publicly on the internet."

"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."

"Cortex Xpanse has an easy-to-use user interface."

"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."

"Getting different kinds of modules and inventory in one solution is good enough."

"We have had zero attacks since we enabled all the features in Qualys CSAM."

"I recommend Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management due to its superior asset information collection capabilities, including comprehensive hardware and software inventorying."

"The most valuable feature is the Management sensor, which helps identify gaps in policy agent availability, thereby improving agent utilization."

"I mainly appreciate Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management for its patch management capabilities, which are essential in my job for deploying patches and remediating vulnerabilities."

"The best feature is asset discovery through their cloud agent or IP-based scanning."

"The scanning results are pretty good, and some insights are quite valuable."

"Our favorite features are the tagging and the ability to quickly find assets in the portal."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management pros

Cons

"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."

"Some improvements are needed in the user interface."

"Some improvements are needed in the user interface. It may require more enhancements."

"Cortex Xpanse needs to add dark-web scanning."

"Regarding technical support, I would rate it as a seven."

"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."

"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."

"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 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."

"Qualys could improve by enhancing its dynamic tagging and role-based access control features, and by refining its user interface for a more intuitive and efficient user experience."

"The only minor issue is occasionally being redirected to multiple teams, causing slight delays."

"There can be further simplification to reduce the overall noise and provide ESAM-related data."

"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is moderately good, while Rapid7 is slightly much better."

"Based on the company's budget, Qualys offers limited features, which can also be utilized in other environments."

"One downside of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is that I would prefer to see a more interactive dashboard."

"With Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, it was very difficult to extract detections from the system."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cortex Xpanse is cheaper than other solutions."

"The tool's cost is too high."

"The pricing for Qualys CSAM is nominal."

"It is cost-effective because, in a single tool, we are getting everything. All the solutions come in a single license or price."

"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 offers excellent value for money."

"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 cost for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is high."

"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 Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management pricing is well-aligned with our usage."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

10%

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	23

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.

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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...

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What is your primary use case for Cortex Xpanse?

Cortex Xpanse is usually used for security from clients.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

I'm not entirely sure about the pricing; I don't know.

See all answers

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...

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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...

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Comparisons

Tenable Attack Surface Management vs Cortex Xpanse

Compared 16% of the time

Bitsight vs Cortex Xpanse

Compared 13% of the time

CyCognito vs Cortex Xpanse

Compared 13% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex Xpanse

Compared 7% of the time

Rapid7 Exposure Command vs Cortex Xpanse

Compared 6% of the time

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Armis vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 6% of the time

Axonius vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 6% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 5% of the time

Bitsight vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 4% of the time

Tanium vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 2% of the time

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

March 2026

Download Cortex Xpanse product report

Buyer's Guide

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

March 2026

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management report

Download Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management product report

Overview

Xpanse provides a complete, accurate and continuously updated inventory of all global internet-facing assets. This allows you to discover, evaluate, and mitigate cyber attack surface risks. You can also evaluate supplier risk and assess the security of acquired companies.
Manual asset inventory maintenance is slow and prone to error. An outside-in view of your attack surface catches assets and exposures you never knew existed to help with attack surface reduction.

Get ahead of your ransomware risk assessment by discovering and remediating RDP exposures, the leading attack vector in ransomware attacks. Find exposed assets before attackers do.

Integration with Cortex XSOAR, Prisma Cloud, and our broader portfolio allows our ASM findings to enhance security workflows, and secure unknown, unmanaged risks on your cloud attack surface.

Palo Alto Networks

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides key features including asset inventory management, end-of-life tracking, dynamic tagging, and integration with CMDB, offering extensive visibility and support for proactive threat response.

Qualys offers comprehensive visibility across hardware and software assets, aiding in tracking unauthorized applications and facilitating automated vulnerability remediation. Its user-friendly interface and dynamic risk scoring enhance security posture management. Users leverage it for vulnerability management and compliance, benefiting from real-time risk identification and efficient operations in cloud and on-premises environments.

What are the key features of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

Asset Inventory Management: Provides detailed visibility over hardware and software assets.
End-of-Life Tracking: Helps identify technical debt by pinpointing outdated hardware and software.
Dynamic Tagging: Allows flexible classification and categorization of assets.
Real-Time Risk Identification: Detects risks as they arise, enhancing threat response capabilities.
CMDB Integration: Streamlines data integration for comprehensive asset insights.

What benefits should users look for in Qualys reviews?

Improved Security Posture: Enables proactive threat management and streamlined operations.
Efficient Remediation: Automates vulnerability management and patch deployment.
User-Friendly Operations: Simplifies cybersecurity operations with an intuitive interface.
Comprehensive Asset Visibility: Offers unparalleled insight into organizational assets.
Scalable Solutions: Facilitates asset tracking across cloud and on-premises environments.

Cybersecurity teams in various industries, such as financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing, utilize Qualys to manage technical debt through end-of-life tracking and facilitate robust patch management. It supports compliance and visibility initiatives, essential for maintaining data integrity and operational security in dynamic environments.

Qualys

Buyer's Guide

Cortex Xpanse vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

February 2026

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