Qualys Exposure Management vs ServiceNow CMDB comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Qualys and ServiceNow are both solutions in the Configuration Management Databases category. Qualys is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.5, while ServiceNow is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5. Qualys holds a 9.4% mindshare in CMD, compared to ServiceNow’s 19.5% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Qualys users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.

Qualys Exposure Management

Read 101 Qualys Exposure Management reviews

21,170 Views
423 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

ServiceNow CMDB

Read 34 ServiceNow CMDB reviews

2,176 Views
2,176 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Qualys Exposure Management

ServiceNow CMDB

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 13, 2026

Qualys VMDR and ServiceNow CMDB compete in the IT management and cybersecurity space, offering distinct functionalities. Qualys VMDR seems to have the upper hand with its robust vulnerability management features and real-time capabilities.

Features: Qualys VMDR provides comprehensive vulnerability management, scalable agent-based scanning, and integrated patch management, enabling detailed asset tracking. ServiceNow CMDB is renowned for its strong integration capabilities in IT service management, offering comprehensive asset tracking and service mapping features.

Room for Improvement: Qualys VMDR could enhance its user interface, asset tagging, and false positive management while improving reporting and dashboard functionalities. ServiceNow CMDB requires substantial customization, which can be costly for smaller businesses, and could benefit from improved discovery processes and third-party tool integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys VMDR offers deployment flexibility across various environments but may need more responsive technical support. ServiceNow CMDB provides robust deployment options and excellent customer service but requires customization, which could complicate setup.

Pricing and ROI: Qualys VMDR can be expensive for small to mid-sized businesses, though it provides significant ROI through efficient vulnerability management. ServiceNow CMDB is also known for its high cost, especially for smaller enterprises, but delivers ROI to larger organizations by streamlining IT operations through its integration capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Qualys Exposure Management vs. ServiceNow CMDB Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Qualys Exposure Management vs. ServiceNow CMDB

September 2026

Download the complete report

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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

Qualys Exposure Management

Ranking in Configuration Management Databases

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

101

Ranking in other categories

IT Asset Management (2nd), Vulnerability Management (1st), Container Security (10th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (1st)

ServiceNow CMDB

Ranking in Configuration Management Databases

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Configuration Management Databases category, the mindshare of Qualys Exposure Management is 9.4%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow CMDB is 19.5%, down from 31.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management Databases Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
ServiceNow CMDB	19.5%
Qualys Exposure Management	9.4%
Other	71.1%

Configuration Management Databases

Featured Reviews

Ajay Paul

System Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees

Vulnerability management has prioritized high‑risk patching and simplified bulk system reporting

The primary issue is with the reporting functionality. Even though we fix vulnerabilities, the reports do not reflect the changes immediately. Sometimes we need to manually run a script to scan the systems before Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management will update the scan results. The main issue is the reporting delay, and sometimes the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management agent will not scan the system, which means we do not receive accurate reports in a timely manner. Additionally, there are many metrics for calculating vulnerabilities, such as the Qualys ID, severity scores, CVSS scores, and other metrics. The abundance of information can be confusing. These two aspects are the most significant negatives I have experienced with this tool.

Read full review

reviewer2782440

ServiceNow Consultant at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Automation features and integrated service mapping have streamlined incident and change management processes

There is probably room for improvement in ServiceNow CMDB. I'm so immersed in projects and solving direct customer issues that I don't think too much about potential improvements. Maintaining an accurate and up-to-date ServiceNow CMDB can be challenging due to incoming data from various sources, but ServiceNow has been developing small AI components to help with data discrepancies and deduplication recently. They have also improved integrations with other tools, providing many out-of-the-box integrations to different monitoring tools and CMDBs, which previously required coding experience for custom integrations. They are moving towards a more low-code or no-code approach, which is part of their goal as a company.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Performs automated, regular scans in the network."

"I am impressed with the VMDR feature."

"There are many features. Its reliability, ease of installation, ease of use, and the richness of the information provided are the most valuable features."

"QualysGuard has provided us with a valuable insight into vulnerabilities across our environment."

"Qualys VM's best feature is vulnerability management."

"We can now perform vulnerability scans with WAF integration, and the WAF has improved the vulnerability identification and reports to the SOC and CSO."

"This solution gives us insight into our environment and improves our security. It helps us to maintain a good patching system whereby we know that XYZ is vulnerable within the system."

"It's worth it, really, when you see the complete picture and see all the factors."

More Qualys Exposure Management pros

"The ServiceNow OOB toolsuite functionality allows you to manage the whole asset life cycle, which is really powerful."

"I deal mostly with asset management, and ServiceNow helps me do my job more effectively."

"Their support is very good and strong."

"CMDB provides a centralized repository for your assets and support representatives throughout the organization."

"ServiceNow excels in integration and is considered the best tool in the market for this purpose."

"The centralization in general is great. You get one version of the truth when you have a CMDB because it's all centralized."

"The product's most valuable feature is its ability to extract the details of organizational hardware and provide the latest setup updates."

"It's not too difficult to configure with regard to the UI. My experience working with ServiceNow CMDB has been a very comfortable one."

More ServiceNow CMDB pros

Cons

"Qualys VMDR identifies vulnerabilities and suggests fixes. However, it does not automate patching unless the patch management module is purchased separately."

"The main issue is the reporting delay, and sometimes the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management agent will not scan the system, which means we do not receive accurate reports in a timely manner."

"From the application security perspective, Qualys has a way to go."

"I felt hindered sometimes within reports in that they were lacking somewhat on the customization side in terms of making use of the data."

"It's quite complex on the way it is set up, so it takes a fair bit of time in order to get your head around it in order to deploy it. Once you've deployed it, then you're never confident on the versions of the browsers and the SSL certificates, etc. You have to always go back into Qualys and check."

"It is a struggle to be able to pull our report and to be able to do onboarding using automated tools."

"The ability to manage user accounts and give rights to the operator to know about abnormalities of applications is something that needs improvement."

"If anything, I would like to see the user interface modernized a bit more."

More Qualys Exposure Management cons

"There is some customization we need from the customer side."

"I would like to see them partner with some key scanning technology companies to give them a real end-to-end offering."

"You need to perform additional planning because their recommendation is not to add columns to the core tables."

"We have various service levels and SLAs for our customers like platinum, gold, etc. Each SLA has an associated hardware and computing configuration. We cannot define that in ServiceNow for each customer. For example, a customer with 100 servers might be in the platinum category while a client with 25 would be in gold."

"Because I'm an SME, the most important thing is the technical help that I can get, so better, more useful technical support would be good."

"In general, the pain points are related to ServiceNow. There is a lack of development. ServiceNow is not a true configuration management tool. So, a lot of development is needed to get it to be the kind of tool that you would like it to be. It serves as a platform, and you only get out of it what you invest in terms of development. So, CMDB on its own isn't quite robust until you actually have a CMD project to make it robust. The same thing is there with asset management and all other parts of it. Out of the box, it's not competitive with a like-for-like application."

"We would like the solution to be made more easily scalable in future updates."

"Definitely, the price needs to be lower because there are clients that I work with who cannot afford ServiceNow. I have to end up proposing alternate solutions to fit their budget."

More ServiceNow CMDB cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They have recently changed the pricing model, which is now better than it was before."

"Qualys VM is reasonably priced."

"The tool's pricing is expensive and I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."

"In Nigerian Naira, we spend about roughly four to five million to use this solution and this is expensive compared to solutions like Nessus."

"The product is more expensive than that of any other vendor."

"Usually every implementation is different and the quote is in function of number of assets."

"The license is on a yearly basis."

"The solution is reasonably priced for the value it provides."

More Qualys Exposure Management pricing and cost advice

"It is always fluctuating. It seems to change every six months. Every time they come out with a new iteration, it changes. It is pretty complicated, and they should improve it."

"The product is pricey."

"The market sees ServiceNow as the Ferrari in terms of pricing. It's at the very top, and its cost is very, very high."

"I would like it to be cheaper. If you've got a large environment, it can get quite expensive quite quickly. You still get a return on investment, but everybody has a tight budget. In terms of licensing, everything is pretty much known upfront. Being SaaS-based, there are no real additional gotchas that we came across."

"In comparison to the cost of other solutions, you get value for your money with ServiceNow CMDB. It could definitely be cheaper though."

"It is really expensive. I don't know actually how much it costs, but in 2016, when a client decided to move from an old solution to ServiceNow and had to choose a supplier for ServiceNow, I had heard that it could cost $10 per hour, which is really expensive. I am not aware of any additional fees to the standard licensing fees. There is no standard ServiceNow solution. When a company wants to acquire ServiceNow, they already know which module they will choose. In a basic package, you would have Service Catalog, Incident Management, and Change Management. These modules are usually required in an IT company."

"The product price falls on the higher side of the spectrum."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Outsourcing Company

13%

Healthcare Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	74

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	23

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that we can consider both time and money saved.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?

I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries lack grouping operators in Qualys VMDR. From my experience, I would appreciate imp...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Qualys VMDR?

I have some understanding about PeerSpot, and I have visited the website. PeerSpot is similar to TrustRadius. It takes reviews from customers or end users who are using the tools and technologies i...

See all answers

What needs improvement with ServiceNow CMDB?

I believe that related to the solutions in the Now Assist platform, we can put more autonomy on that. Some reconciliation can be automated. AI Assist is the current improvement now. I don't have an...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for ServiceNow CMDB?

I primarily work with ITSM, HR, SPM, AI, Now Assist, CMDB, and CSDM modules, covering almost all of these areas. I use the integration with ServiceNow CMDB with all the processes that we have imple...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering ServiceNow CMDB?

I help customers evaluate their CMDB health. We use the CMDB health to make that analysis, to see the relationships, what is missing with the processes they have, and any mis-ownership issues. So, ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Rapid7 Metasploit vs Qualys Exposure Management

Compared 3% of the time

Wiz vs Qualys Exposure Management

Compared 2% of the time

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Compared 22% of the time

Faddom vs ServiceNow CMDB

Compared 19% of the time

OpenText Universal Discovery and Universal CMDB vs ServiceNow CMDB

Compared 15% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys Exposure Management

September 2026

Download Qualys Exposure Management product report

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow CMDB

August 2026

Download ServiceNow CMDB product report

Also Known As

Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security

No data available

Overview

Qualys VMDR is a comprehensive cybersecurity tool offering vulnerability management, patch management, and continuous monitoring with real-time asset discovery. It delivers scalable, cloud-based solutions that enhance security operations without additional infrastructure.

Qualys VMDR provides a robust platform for enterprise security, integrating vulnerability management, compliance, and asset inventory for full visibility across cloud and on-premises environments. It features a comprehensive dashboard with threat intelligence-driven prioritization and remediation capabilities. Users benefit from accurate assessments via agent-based scanning and appreciate the intuitive, customizable scanning and reporting interface. However, there's room for improvement in false positive reduction, UI simplification, and integration capabilities, along with enhancements in asset management for large-scale deployments and the vulnerability database. Enhancing technical support speed, patch management, compliance standards, and inter-module navigation would further enrich user experience.

What are the key features of Qualys VMDR?

Vulnerability Management: Identifies and manages security vulnerabilities across environments.
Patch Management: Ensures systems are updated with the latest patches.
Continuous Monitoring: Offers real-time insights into security posture.
Asset Discovery: Provides up-to-date asset inventory and visibility.
Threat Intelligence: Enhances prioritization and remediation processes.
Customizable Dashboard: Facilitates easier scanning and reporting through an intuitive interface.

What benefits can users expect when evaluating Qualys VMDR?

Scalability: Cloud-based deployment offers easy, cost-effective expansion.
Accurate Assessment: Agent-based scanning keeps security data current.
Enhanced Security Operations: Comprehensive features streamline vulnerability management.
Advanced Reporting: Facilitates detailed insights for better security decision-making.

Qualys VMDR is widely used in industries needing stringent security and compliance measures, offering comprehensive vulnerability and compliance management. It is deployed to secure web applications, servers, and crucial assets, supporting a wide range of sectors by ensuring policy adherence and vulnerability tracking through its powerful cloud platform.

Qualys

ServiceNow CMDB offers a user-friendly interface with customizable features, seamless integration, reliable performance, detailed discovery tools, and robust data governance. It is essential for effective asset management and IT service optimization.

ServiceNow CMDB serves as a central management facility for configuration items supporting processes like incident, change, and asset management. It provides scalable tracking of IT hardware assets, integrates discovery, and manages relationships among configuration items to enhance infrastructure and service visualization. With strong data governance, automation capabilities, and integration with business modules, it supports cloud and on-premises environments effectively.

What are the most important features of ServiceNow CMDB?

User-Friendly Interface: Customizable and easy-to-navigate, allowing for efficient management.
Seamless Integration: Interfaces with Microsoft Active Directory and business tools effortlessly.
Automation Capabilities: Automates processes to enhance operational efficiency.
Reliability: Offers consistent performance and detailed discovery tools.
Data Governance: Strong regulatory compliance and data management.

What key benefits or ROI should users expect?

Asset Tracking: Centralized asset management with scalable solutions.
IT Service Management: Enhanced project and service portfolio management.
Centralization: Consolidates configuration data for improved decision-making.
Scalability: Adapts to growing business needs and large data sets.

ServiceNow CMDB is implemented across multiple industries to manage complex IT infrastructures. In finance, it supports asset tracking and compliance. Healthcare uses it for critical configuration management and reliable discovery. Tech companies benefit from its integration capabilities and process automation to maintain competitive edge.

ServiceNow

Sample Customers

Agrokor Group, American Specialty Health, American State Bank, Arval, Life:), Axway, Bank of the West, Blueport Commerce, BSkyB, Brinks, CaixaBank, Cartagena, Catholic Health System, CEC Bank, Cegedim, CIGNA, Clickability, Colby-Sawyer College, Commercial Bank of Dubai, University of Utah, eBay Inc., ING Singapore, National Theatre, OTP Bank, Sodexo, WebEx

Wayfair, Siemens, Allianz, Experian, Vitas Healthcare

Buyer's Guide

Qualys Exposure Management vs. ServiceNow CMDB

September 2026

Free Report: Qualys Exposure Management vs. ServiceNow CMDB

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