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Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs WithSecure Elements Exposure Management (XM) comparison

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Executive Summary

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

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (11th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (8th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (2nd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (7th)
Microsoft Defender Vulnerab...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (19th), Microsoft Security Suite (17th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (6th)
WithSecure Elements Exposur...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
79th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (38th), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (25th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is 1.3%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WithSecure Elements Exposure Management (XM) is 0.5%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys TotalCloud1.2%
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management1.3%
WithSecure Elements Exposure Management (XM)0.5%
Other97.0%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2859021 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Risk-based triage has transformed container security and now prioritizes high-impact threats
The best features Qualys TotalCloud offers currently include managing cloud infrastructure and container security while facing major challenges such as alert fatigue. Traditional vulnerability scanners flag hundreds of CVEs on short-lived Kubernetes containers, some of which have no internet exposure or are gone before we can even triage them. I leverage Qualys TotalCloud to move beyond static CVSS. I use it to implement runtime exposure, correlation risk reprioritization, and shift-left integration. This notifies developers to fix a base image upstream rather than patching live ephemeral instances. In my work with cloud and container security, the biggest operational hurdle was alert fatigue. I use Qualys to shift left from static CVSS severity to context-aware risk prioritization. I correlated raw vulnerability data with real-time risk factors such as public network exposure, active runtime execution, or overly permissive IAM roles. This allows us to immediately drop the priority of isolated containers and escalate lower-severity CVEs that sit on an exposed, high-risk path. We can map these findings directly back to our CI/CD pipelines so developers can patch the root base images upstream. We have drastically cut down the signal-to-noise ratio, saved a lot of manual hours doing triage work, and ensured engineering effort goes directly towards high-impact risk reduction.
reviewer2770602 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Has helped with regional threat monitoring but needs better documentation and real-time capabilities
The documentation from Microsoft needs significant improvement. The documents are disorganized, with one document linking to another, making the steps unclear and difficult to follow. Regarding updates, it is not truly real-time as it takes between eight to twelve hours for updates to occur. It would be beneficial if updates could happen more quickly, perhaps within 10 minutes to half an hour. Support for integration and documentation needs to be more straightforward. The pricing is expensive, even though it is part of the E5 package.
PP
System Specialist at Fix-Forum Oy
Stable, scalable, and can be deployed on both cloud and on-premises
We usually need the solution to have extra protection against data breaches, as we have seen with our customers. The solution is deployed on the public cloud The solution works both outside and on-premises of the company, thus preventing secondary breaches from reaching the company's data. The…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I appreciate TotalCloud's real-time protection and remediation features. The remediation options include automated one-click remedies and custom changes that help manage vulnerabilities efficiently."
"TotalCloud's best feature is the integration of cloud accounts. It helps with the risk and security posture management of our cloud infrastructure."
"I like the web API security and IoT scanning features the most. The user-friendly design of TotalCloud's interface enables customers to navigate it and use its full potential easily"
"The biggest strengths of Qualys TotalCloud are that it is pretty good at cloud visibility, has easy integration, and also has multi-cloud compatibility."
"The best part I like is the on-demand scans."
"The vulnerability management feature is the one I like the most because it provides a clear picture of all vulnerabilities."
"The platform's unified view of the organization proves particularly valuable for leadership team meetings."
"Qualys TotalCloud has helped us view our risk structure, vulnerabilities, and security posture."
"The solution is highly scalable."
"The integration with Sentinel has been one of the most valuable features for my organization."
"The real-time threat intelligence feature of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is helpful in terms of security."
"A valuable feature is the ease of management and integration with Microsoft products."
"The main advantage of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is that it can locate and prevent most threats even when the endpoints are not connected to the corporate network, as long as the internet is available."
"The integration with SIEM is the best, specifically the native integration with Microsoft SIEM."
"Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is a good product, and I believe it deserves a positive recommendation."
"One valuable feature is the Microsoft Security Scorecard."
"The solution works both outside and on-premises of the company, thus preventing secondary breaches from reaching the company's data."
 

Cons

"There should be improvement from a dashboard perspective when collecting and showcasing data to lead management."
"We would like to see Windows-based sensors available in Qualys, as this would make the platform more versatile and support a broader range of environments."
"Qualys TotalCloud needs to improve its accuracy for non-Windows operating systems."
"The downside is only in container security, but it has not been a long time since they introduced these models."
"Although TotalCloud is a helpful tool, some of its advanced features are still under development."
"In terms of improvement, remediation still belongs to the cloud team, which is one of the issues we faced with Qualys TotalCloud."
"Two areas for improvement in Qualys TotalCloud are the speed of the public cloud platform and vulnerability detection."
"It is already perfect, but they can bring some newer dashboards and customization options for the dashboard. It would be great to be able to include on-prem assets on the dashboard."
"The automated remediations can be more specific."
"Probably my only criticism would be the cost. It is expensive."
"The general support could be improved."
"Integration can be improved."
"Sometimes the stability of the agents could be improved."
"There should be risk scoring added to Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management; specifically, they call it quantification of the risk."
"The setup phase of the product is not that easy and needs a person to have a certain level of expertise."
"Regarding Microsoft's technical support, I would rate it a three out of ten; they could be more responsive and knowledgeable."
"The cost of the solution has room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."
"Its price seems higher compared to other tools, but it is worth it. If they could adjust the pricing and make it comparable with other tools, that would be great."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers good pricing that is affordable and competitive with the market. Our partnership also provides us with additional benefits."
"TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be."
"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."
"The pricing is comparable. It is built into our other product, so I cannot piecemeal it. It is a part of our subscription."
"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."
"Qualys TotalCloud is cost-efficient and was selected for its value compared to other products."
"The licensing costs are reasonable."
"The licensing model follows a per-user per-month structure."
"I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The product’s pricing is medium."
"The tool is a bit costly."
"The cost of the solution is mid-ranged but worth the price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
16%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
In terms of improvement, remediation still belongs to the cloud team, which is one of the issues we faced with Qualys...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is regarding the cloud visibility that we were not having previously. Previous...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?
Configuration of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is something that needs improvement. In future updates o...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?
I can control the applications using Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, which are its best features for me ...
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Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
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Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys, Wiz, Tenable and others in Vulnerability Management. Updated: August 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.