

Qualys Web Application Scanning (WAS) and OWASP Zap compete in the web application security space. Qualys WAS appears to have the upper hand with more extensive features and structured ROI prospects, whereas OWASP Zap is favored for its cost-effectiveness as a free tool.
Features: Qualys WAS integrates seamlessly with Selenium IDE, offers efficient zero-day vulnerability scanning, and provides comprehensive reporting. It combines web application and internal management for effective functionality and enables API automation for CI/CD pipelines. OWASP Zap supports the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, comes with capabilities like automated scanning and intercepting proxy, and benefits from strong community-driven support.
Room for Improvement: Qualys WAS could benefit from improved API integrations and a more user-friendly UI. Its pricing model often requires revision to align with market expectations, and reporting features could be enhanced. OWASP Zap lacks advanced reporting capabilities and automation for emerging threats like AI-driven vulnerabilities. Its feature scope and detailed reporting options lag behind industry standards.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys WAS supports various deployment models, such as Hybrid, Private, and Public Cloud, offering flexibility. Although its technical support is reliable, feedback suggests it can feel impersonal. OWASP Zap is mostly an on-premises solution with easy installation, thanks to community support, yet lacks professional technical assistance like commercial options.
Pricing and ROI: Qualys WAS is considered expensive, with a pricing structure based on assets and applications, but provides a good ROI via automation and scalability. In contrast, OWASP Zap is a free tool, offering substantial value with features comparable to commercial products, although its ROI is limited by its feature scope and lack of formal support.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| OWASP Zap | 3.9% |
| Qualys Web Application Scanning | 2.0% |
| Other | 94.1% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 11 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 11 |
| Large Enterprise | 21 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 8 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 27 |
OWASP Zap is a free and open-source web application security scanner.
The solution helps developers identify vulnerabilities in their web applications by actively scanning for common security issues.
With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Zap is a popular choice among developers for ensuring the security of their web applications.
Qualys Web Application Scanning (WAS) is a fully cloud-based web application security scanner. The scanner will automatically crawl periodically and test web applications to discover potential vulnerabilities, including cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection. The consistent testing equips the automated service to generate consistent results, lessen false positives, and offer the ability to scale to protect thousands of websites effortlessly.
Qualys Web Application Scanning is bundled with different scanning technology to carefully scan websites for malware infections and will send notifications to website owners to assist in preventing blacklisting and brand reputation damage. As digital transformation takes place in various organizations, Qualys WAS gives organizations the ability to track and document their web app security status through its interactive reporting capabilities.
Qualys WAS empowers organizations to remediate any web application vulnerabilities quickly. Some of the key tools offered are:
Benefits of Qualys Web Application Scanning
Qualys Web Application Scanning offers many benefits, including:
Reviews from Real Users
Qualys Web Application Scanning stands out among its competitors for a variety of reasons. Two of those reasons are its progressive scan and quick detection of vulnerabilities.
P.K., a senior software developer at a tech vendor, writes, "The feature that I have found most valuable is the progressive scan. It is good. It's done in 24 hours."
Nagaraj S., lead cybersecurity engineer at a tech service company, notes, "I have found the detection of vulnerabilities tool thorough with good results and the graphical display output to be wonderful and full of colors. It allows many types of outputs, such as bar and chart previews."
We monitor all Static Application Security Testing (SAST) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.