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Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management 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

Microsoft Defender External...
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (33rd)
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 (5th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (3rd), Software Supply Chain Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 3.2%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 3.5%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Attack Surface Management (ASM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management3.5%
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management3.2%
Other93.3%
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

AndyChan3 - PeerSpot reviewer
General manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Enhanced visibility and exposes vulnerabilities but needs more integration
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will move to full-scale production in another year, maybe Microsoft External Attack Surface Management…
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

"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
"Tags are very useful for us since we can tag virus applications in infrastructure types such as databases, operating systems, or web platforms."
"We have had zero attacks since we enabled all the features in Qualys CSAM."
"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."
"I would rate Qualys CSAM a ten out of ten."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides accurate content that identifies all the endpoints, making it better in that way, and the review results for finding vulnerabilities and reporting also show that it identifies most of them, helping us complete tasks in 3.5 days instead of five."
"The integration with different third-party tools, such as cloud providers like Azure and AWS, and asset management tools like CMDB systems, is valuable."
"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."
 

Cons

"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."
"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."
"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."
"Sometimes both updates and software types appear together on one list, making it hard to differentiate."
"We encountered some false positives, which required coordination with the IT team for verification."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is moderately good, while Rapid7 is slightly much better."
"Integration of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, particularly with ServiceNow, takes a very long time, and it needs prioritization of patch rules based on vulnerability risk."
"The UI needs improvement as it can become overwhelming after prolonged use."
"The deployment is somewhat complicated and could be made more user-friendly for most users. It is currently not user-friendly for all users. It is good but can be improved. It is a new product, and they are working on it."
"In our reporting, we faced a challenge syncing with cloud devices."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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 CyberSecurity Asset Management can be expensive, especially if we already have VMDR."
"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."
"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."
"Qualys offers excellent value for money."
"The Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management pricing is well-aligned with our usage."
"The pricing for Qualys CSAM is nominal."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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 needs improvement with Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement. Introduction of more AI automation into the products would also be beneficial. The integration is not as seamless co...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will ...
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 Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.