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Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Tenable.io Web Application Scanning comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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 Web Application Scan...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
16th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (13th)
Tenable.io Web Application ...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 1.8%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is 1.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tenable.io Web Application Scanning1.4%
Qualys Web Application Scanning1.8%
Other96.8%
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

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.
JP
Cyber Security Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Centralized license management transforms asset manipulation based on functions and improves security posture
Now that the license is centralized, it's a significant feature to manipulate assets based on their functions. It provides a centralized view from end-to-end to its assets' identities and vulnerabilities. One of the greatest features is Kubernetes. The automated scanning capability is pretty standard in the market, and Tenable's prioritization engine helps improve the security posture.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Automated scanning has significantly improved our web application security management by reducing manual work."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is user-friendly, easy to understand, easy to use, and easy to deploy."
"Its most valuable features are patch management, vulnerability management, and PCI compliance."
"The most valuable features are the scheduled scanning, detailed reports, asset management, the knowledge database, and the overall product framework."
"The most valuable feature is that we are able to scan the services and put credentials like a user ID password. We can verify the vulnerability level."
"Licensing is the most valuable. Qualys provides the best licensing for companies. It is the best product for the development purposes of web applications. The product has a lot of integrations."
"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."
"It works with many different products."
"It is fully automated."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning provides a detailed report, identifying functions that are complex and need to be more maintainable and readable."
"Tenable provides the end analysis results covering all the published vulnerabilities and information on the market."
"The most valuable features of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning are the integration into specific use cases and scanning. All of the features of the solution are useful."
"The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment."
"Our customers adopt this solution because of the replication testing and the vulnerability assessment it can do. It is a multi-faceted product."
"We can get detailed information about vulnerabilities."
"We use the tool for our websites. We have a vulnerable subdomain. The tool helps to scan it for vulnerabilities."
 

Cons

"The solution needs to adjust its pricing. They should make it more affordable."
"The product should allow users to upload their payloads."
"Sometimes the response time is low because the handshake fails, and then you have to re-login and start again."
"We receive false positives sometimes when using a solution that could be improved. However, the technical team provides us with the exact explanation why it was giving us that kind of error."
"The reporting contains too many false positives."
"It should have better automatic reporting."
"One area for improvement is the user interface. The new UI, which was recently upgraded, feels more complex and less user-friendly than the old version."
"The downside of Qualys Web Application Scanning is that it cannot crawl automatically."
"The market is standard for vulnerability scanning, however, the posture can be improved through Tenable's prioritization engine."
"The technical support needs improvement. Currently, it takes time, which might be due to the free version, but providing some level of support could encourage future purchase decisions."
"The reporting has a very limited customization capability."
"Sometimes it lags with different cloud environments."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning could improve by offering faster fuzzing."
"We have encountered some problems with the technical support from Tenable; I would rate it a five out of ten. It is not efficacious, especially the first-level support."
"It would be great if there were a dashboard that is more user-friendly."
"They have a general dashboard for web application scanning, but the dashboards and reporting can be improved. They probably have some features in their roadmap."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing was based on the number of assets that you want to scan on your network. You can also do licensing on subscription. On subscription, it is easier and more flexible. You tell Qualys that you want to move from the 1000 to 2000 band or the 3000 or 5000 band, then they will give you the quotation for it. Once you pay for it, applying the licensing is quite easy and effective."
"Try the free trial of the product to understand the basic working mechanisms.​"
"The product has a very good licensing model."
"I rate the software’s pricing a six out of ten."
"Qualys WAS' pricing is competitive."
"The cost is $30,000 USD for one year to cover WAS (Web Application Security) and the VM (Virtual Machine) security in a company with 200 employees."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning's pricing is a bit expensive compared to other solutions available in the market."
"It is an expensive platform."
"It follows the same licensing scheme as Tenable.io and Tenable. sc."
"I rate the product's pricing a four out of ten."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to the competitors. The license cost is based on the number of users and the annual usage."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is expensive for small businesses."
"For Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, it comes to around 6,50,000 Indian rupees, plus taxes."
"The pricing is okay."
"The application is extremely affordable. There are no additional costs involved with licensing. We switched to Tenable.io Web Application Scanning from other solutions due to pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Qualys Web Application Scanning?
The vulnerability management feature is a strong one. And also the patch management feature.
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 do you like most about Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment.
What needs improvement with Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
If there were a solution, I would like to see automation and an integrated remediation solution for vulnerability or patch management.
What advice do you have for others considering Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
I do not understand what API approach means; I do not understand this term. I think Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is the best option on the market at the moment. My review rating for this pro...
 

Also Known As

Qualys WAS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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.
IMDEX
Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys Web Application Scanning vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.