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HackerOne vs Qualys Web Application Scanning comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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
5.6
HackerOne enhances security and efficiency with varied ROI; larger entities benefit more than smaller ones, citing cost savings.
Sentiment score
2.5
Qualys Web Application Scanning delivers positive ROI, competitive licensing, scalability, and reduces failure rates with 70% time-saving automation.
HackerOne provides strong value by helping organizations find vulnerabilities faster and reduce the higher costs associated with security breaches.
Senior Software Developer at hireHQ
We receive rewards without needing to invest any money, so the return on investment is substantial.
dApp Auditor at Hacken
For someone who is starting or in the middle, it is very difficult because you can spend 20 hours sending 20 reports but none of them gets anything.
QA Engineering Lead at kintsugi
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
HackerOne's customer support is generally proactive and responsive, though some users have noted slower responses and communication issues.
Sentiment score
3.8
Customer service is generally positive but inconsistent, with some noting efficiency while others suggest improvements in speed and engagement.
We have priority support because we are a higher tier, and with high report volumes, the turnaround time is very good.
Senior Software Developer at hireHQ
Technical support at HackerOne has slowed down considerably compared to four years ago.
dApp Auditor at Hacken
The ease of collaboration with ethical hackers on HackerOne has been quite good.
Senior Security Professional at Oportun, Inc.
They have various options in the vulnerability management process, and when we initially bought our license, we didn't realize we needed PCI for better results, which isn't included in the default configurations.
Security Officer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Once we purchase the license, we have access to top-notch support.
Team Lead, Cyber Security at Uridium Technologies
I have dealt with Qualys's technical support, and any enhancements are challenging.
Senior Security Engineer at Charter Communications
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
HackerOne's scalable design efficiently supports growth and adaptability, accommodating large user bases and varying security needs effectively.
Sentiment score
7.2
Qualys Web Application Scanning offers scalable cloud integration but faces challenges with concurrent scan limits and report limitations.
It is a large platform with many programs and clients.
dApp Auditor at Hacken
HackerOne is very scalable because we can put bounties for any number of hackers at the same time and test thoroughly.
Senior Software Developer at hireHQ
It maintains a high signal-to-noise ratio and addresses scalability through infrastructure, triage services, and AI automation.
Consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
My concern remains the lack of deep dive analysis and that it produces similar vulnerability results as other tools such as Nessus based on version checks instead of real impact checks.
Security Officer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It is licensed for assets, so we just contact the team for additional licenses if needed.
Team Lead, Cyber Security at Uridium Technologies
At one point, there was a limitation on reporting for 100,000 assets at a time.
Senior Security Engineer at Charter Communications
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
HackerOne generally receives praise for stability and reliability, despite occasional reports of minor bugs and downtime.
Sentiment score
7.9
Users praise Qualys Web Application Scanning for its stability, reliability, minimal bugs, and consistently high-performance ratings.
HackerOne was down for some time and the response was not good.
QA Engineering Lead at kintsugi
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek cost predictability, faster responses, better integrations, improved triaging, communication, invite guidelines, and flexible payouts.
Qualys Web Application Scanning needs improvements in detection, usability, integration, performance, pricing, and feature set to compete effectively.
More advanced AI capabilities would help prioritize reports, reduce false positives, and speed up the validation.
Senior Software Developer at hireHQ
There are no clear guidelines for being invited to programs and conferences.
dApp Auditor at Hacken
Sometimes new users don't receive invites just because they are new, despite potentially being very skilled hackers, so I feel new users should get more chances and opportunities.
Senior ICT Security Consultant at Applied Principles Limited
With the growing reliance on AI, Qualys Web Application Scanning should be updated to handle AI-based applications and LLM-based attacks.
Associate Principal, Software Engineering at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
Qualys Web Application Scanning does IP-level testing, requiring direct input of credentials, and can only scan a few pages to provide known generic vulnerabilities.
Security Officer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I would like it to be cheaper because it is a bit expensive compared to competitors like Tenable Nessus.
Team Lead, Cyber Security at Uridium Technologies
 

Setup Cost

HackerOne is cost-effective for hunters, typically funded by companies, with a 20% fee on awards, making it affordable.
Qualys Web Application Scanning offers flexible, negotiable pricing, deemed cost-effective but pricey, with discounts for bulk orders.
The cost is rated as one since there is no need to pay anything, not even a fee or commission.
dApp Auditor at Hacken
I have not experienced any costs since I use HackerOne independently, just logging into the site, hunting bugs, and submitting them without any expenses.
Senior ICT Security Consultant at Applied Principles Limited
They offer discounts on bulk licenses, making it cheaper compared to competitors like Veracode DAST.
Associate Principal, Software Engineering at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
I find it a bit expensive compared to other competitors.
Team Lead, Cyber Security at Uridium Technologies
Regarding pricing, I think for personal use, it is costly, but if organizations are ready to pay, then it is fine as they are using it.
Security Officer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

HackerOne excels in vulnerability tracking, researcher engagement, and integration, enhancing security through a global ethical hacker community.
Qualys Web Application Scanning offers efficient vulnerability management with Selenium IDE integration, real-time monitoring, and comprehensive security features.
It has a very simple user interface, and it gives you a quick response—if you submit a bug, someone reaches out to you within minutes, telling you they will verify the bug, and it can be verified in just a few days, sometimes even less than a day, which stands out for me.
Senior ICT Security Consultant at Applied Principles Limited
HackerOne is a very good platform with the trust of different companies including Shopify, PayPal, and Uber.
Senior Software Developer at hireHQ
I find bug bounty programs most valuable for our organization because they invite researchers from around the globe to find bugs in our environment, allowing us to fix various severity vulnerabilities or bugs that, if left unaddressed, could lead to losing customers.
Consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
It effectively detects vulnerabilities like the OWASP Top 10 without any issues in reporting.
Senior Security Engineer at Charter Communications
Credential scanning is very effective because it goes in-depth into the system, crawling the pages, and reporting on vulnerabilities.
Team Lead, Cyber Security at Uridium Technologies
Qualys Web Application Scanning is accurate and provides minimal false positives.
Associate Principal, Software Engineering at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
 

Categories and Ranking

HackerOne
Ranking in Application Security Tools
18th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (32nd), Bug Bounty Platforms (2nd), Penetration Testing Services (2nd), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (7th), AI Observability (16th)
Qualys Web Application Scan...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
15th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of HackerOne is 0.8%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 1.7%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys Web Application Scanning1.7%
HackerOne0.8%
Other97.5%
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

NitishKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Crowdsourced security has strengthened our bug discovery and improved vulnerability response
HackerOne is already doing well, although I believe implementing stricter SLAs for the time to first response and time to bounty would help prevent researchers' burnout, especially regarding duplicate submissions. I suggest systematic bug rewards because currently, if a researcher finds one bug in multiple places, they often only get paid for one. Improving the handling of systemic vulnerabilities would encourage deeper research. Additionally, improving multi-currency and crypto payout options would help make the platform more accessible globally.
AnkitSharma13 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Officer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Web scanning needs improvement but offers good vulnerability detection
The downside of Qualys Web Application Scanning is that it cannot crawl automatically. If I provide an IP address and a login form, it does basic testing, but it doesn't go deep as IBM AppScan does. If Qualys Web Application Scanning could improve its crawling capability, it would be more user-friendly. Qualys Web Application Scanning does IP-level testing, requiring direct input of credentials, and can only scan a few pages to provide known generic vulnerabilities, which isn't as beneficial from my point of view. The Vulnerability Management also relies heavily on version numbers and will flag vulnerabilities based on the component version, but it doesn't check if a real fix exists, leading to flags on components that actually have workarounds available.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HackerOne?
I'm not very sure about pricing, setup costs, and licensing, as those are managed by our management team.
What needs improvement with HackerOne?
HackerOne is already doing well, although I believe implementing stricter SLAs for the time to first response and time to bounty would help prevent researchers' burnout, especially regarding duplic...
What is your primary use case for HackerOne?
Our main use case for HackerOne is to create a bridge between the organization and a global community of ethical hackers where we ask them to find bugs in our environment, and based on that, they p...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys Web Application Scanning?
Regarding pricing, I think for personal use, it is costly, but if organizations are ready to pay, then it is fine as they are using it.
What needs improvement with Qualys Web Application Scanning?
The downside of Qualys Web Application Scanning is that it cannot crawl automatically. If I provide an IP address and a login form, it does basic testing, but it doesn't go deep as IBM AppScan does...
What is your primary use case for Qualys Web Application Scanning?
I use Qualys Web Application Scanning, and we are using Vulnerability Management. By Vulnerability Management, I mean not TotalCloud; they have some on-premises solutions also. Patch Management and...
 

Also Known As

HackerOne Assets, HackerOne Pentesting Services, HackerOne Security Assessments, HackerOne Vulnerability Management
Qualys WAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Anthropic, Crypto.com, General Motors, GitHub, Goldman Sachs, Uber, and the U.S. Department of Defense
BskyB, Cartagena, ClearPoint Learning Systems, Connect Group, du, Fortrex Technologies, HBOR, HDI, Highlights for Children, The Lithuanian State Enterprise Centre of Registers, City of Miami Beach, Microsoft, MidlandHR, MSCI Inc., Northern Arizona University, Ofgem, Olympus Europa, PhoneFactor, RTL Nederland, ThousandEyes, VGZ Organisatie B.V.
Find out what your peers are saying about HackerOne vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.