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Sentra vs Varonis Platform comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 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

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (10th), Container Security (11th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (7th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (7th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (2nd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (6th)
Sentra
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (14th), Data Detection & Response (DDR) (2nd), Data Security Platforms (DSP) (5th)
Varonis Platform
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (16th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (8th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (6th), Data Governance (5th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (1st), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (3rd), Compliance Management (7th), Ransomware Protection (7th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (6th), Insider Risk Management (1st), AI Security (8th)
 

Featured Reviews

RO
IT Security Expert at Alior Bank S.A.
Unified risk scoring has improved our cloud visibility and simplifies remediation priorities
Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IAS and SaaS. This solution provides a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce the work I would have to do. We are no longer based on CVSS; we are based on Qualys risk scoring, which is based on CVSS plus internal findings made by Qualys, and then assigns its own score. The TruRisk insight feature has found a small number of assets with high vulnerability scores, though I am cautious since some information is classified. Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution.
reviewer2795433 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Cloud audits have become smoother and data risks are reduced through automated discovery
I cannot think of any improvements, really. Sentra does what it's meant to do, finding shadow data. If the data classification feature was improved ever so slightly, maybe a little bit quicker to use, that would be good, but that's the type of thing where it's never going to be perfect anyway, so there are no real improvements that I can see with Sentra, no big ones anyway. The only area where I see potential for improvement is making it quicker to use the data classification section. Other than that, I haven't seen any areas where I'd want it to be improved.
TarunKumar11 - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Leadership Council at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Data governance has strengthened and automation now reduces risk and manual compliance work
Varonis Platform offers key features including data discovery, data classification, data analysis, governance, user and entity behavior analysis, also known as UEBA, which helps in ransomware detection, insider threat detection, and compliance reporting. It does a lot of automation from a remediation standpoint, as well as investigation and forensics. The number one feature that makes the biggest difference for my clients is visibility into unstructured data; that is the most difficult for organizations to achieve. They do not have a good understanding of where sensitive data resides, who has access to this data, whether this access is appropriate, and how data is being used. Varonis Platform provides visibility, governance, threat detection, and automated remediation around data. Varonis Platform is a great data discovery platform that provides visibility into sensitive data estimates and how it is being used. Clients have been able to reduce excessive permissions, strengthen their compliance posture, detect insider threats, and ransomware activity, which would otherwise be difficult and manual. Varonis Platform is deployed in my clients' organizations in a combination of all types. Many clients use Varonis Platform in a largely SaaS-based model since it is a data security platform consumed in this way, and many organizations still operate hybrid environments. As far as Varonis Platform is in a position to get the data source and identify systems, it can discover and classify more secure data. Deployment in most of our clients is cloud-based, connecting to Microsoft 365, AWS, or other SaaS applications such as Salesforce. In other environments, it is a hybrid deployment with SaaS and on-premises, including file servers, NAS devices, and AD servers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Qualys TotalCloud has improved our security posture."
"TotalCloud has been excellent in providing us with immediate access to all the products and features we need, such as CSPM, TruRisk Insights, and compliance reports, including CIS and HIPAA."
"While automatic inventory detection upon connection is a helpful feature, a truly valuable capability would be assessing an environment's security posture against Azure and CIS best practices."
"I would definitely recommend it because it is easy to handle any cloud resources."
"Once you have your vulnerabilities fixed and your patches pushed out using Qualys TotalCloud, then you are able to eliminate threats and cyber risk."
"I would definitely recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other customers."
"With TotalCloud, we can scan through the API. If we are not able to deploy cloud agents on the machine, we can use the API."
"Qualys TotalCloud is an excellent platform, and the beauty of the platform is that we can get all the vulnerabilities, see all the reports in a single dashboard, view them segregated, and easily learn about critical, high, and medium findings with appropriately provided remediation steps."
"Sentra has increased the security of our cloud estate."
"This solution informs us about who's moving data, whether accidentally or on purpose."
"It can easily identify unusual behavior or access patterns that may pose a potential threat, while operating as a unified reporting system."
"Varonis Platform has definitely reduced the risk of data breaches at many client sites and has definitely lowered manual effort; manual effort has decreased by seventy percent due to automating data classification and permission reviews."
"Technical support from Varonis is rated as nine out of ten."
"The telemetry to capture everything and the reports are very easy to configure without having a developer degree."
"I also appreciate the reporting feature, which allows for the extraction of various reports based on specific needs. These reports can be used for audit purposes, such as tracking changes in file locations or deletions."
"The solution ensures that users have not accidentally shared sensitive information with the wrong people or too many people."
"That alerting and reporting service is great."
 

Cons

"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."
"The onboarding process is a bit difficult. In the initial phase, it is very difficult to understand the features, what the dashboard contains, and what criteria they are using."
"In TotalCloud, I would suggest improvements in policy checks to cater to various inventory types like VPCs, subnets, S3 buckets, or IAMs. There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."
"There should be improvement from a dashboard perspective when collecting and showcasing data to lead management."
"A feature improvement could be the inclusion of Windows OS support for container security, as it is currently only supported for Linux."
"I think Qualys TotalCloud needs to improve its handling of zero-day vulnerabilities and supply chain management because modern ransomware attacks not only target prime critical infrastructures but also the supply chain system."
"With the growing integration of AI, I would like Qualys to enhance its service offerings to better accommodate AI-related risks."
"The patching process with Qualys Patch Management, which is part of TotalCloud, does not cover installing certain prerequisites on the servers or workstations. This shortcoming means we must rely on SCCM when any service stack updates or additional prerequisites are needed."
"If the data classification feature was improved ever so slightly, maybe a little bit quicker to use, that would be good, but that's the type of thing where it's never going to be perfect anyway, so there are no real improvements that I can see with Sentra, no big ones anyway."
"Varonis Platform could be improved because when I used it, we had a significant issue related to the large volume of data on that file share."
"The solution's interface is a little complicated with regard to setting up filters and reports."
"While Varonis Platform is powerful, the initial data scanning and indexing can take significant time in large environments."
"The GUI should be more functional. There should be a process for connecting through Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc."
"Varonis requires more access permissions for its core functions compared to competitors, which can be a concern for companies about data safety."
"For user-based reports, log on activity, and stuff like that, it doesn't seem to really be present like Log360."
"The troubleshooting capabilities could be improved. It has so many interconnected components."
"One area for improvement is the calculation engine. When applying rules in Varonis, especially for large datasets (terabytes of data), the calculations can be slow and require time to process. Speeding up this process would be beneficial."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive."
"I am not sure about the pricing. From what I understand, it is a bit on the higher side, but I do not have the exact numbers."
"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."
"Although Qualys TotalCloud is relatively expensive due to its unique automation features, its cost-effectiveness is rated an eight out of ten, with ten being the most costly."
"While Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive and may soon be considered overpriced."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."
"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."
"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."
Information not available
"Licensing is on an annual basis. Maintenance and renewal fees are separate. Varonis Datalert is quite expensive."
"You could do a subscription, where you pay yearly, or you could purchase it outright. The licensing cost is based on the number of users on the system that you are monitoring."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
"The pricing is good. It neither expensive nor cheap. It is average."
"Varonis Platform wasn't certainly the cheapest solution."
"It's expensive, kind of, really expensive."
"The platform is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
8%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise30
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
To be totally honest, I do not have any best features because I have had a bad experience using this tool, especially...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is vulnerability management and exposure management. I use this tool to evalua...
What needs improvement with Sentra?
I cannot think of any improvements, really. Sentra does what it's meant to do, finding shadow data. If the data class...
What is your primary use case for Sentra?
My main use case for Sentra is agentless data discovery. Sentra offers the ability to identify across the entire clou...
What advice do you have for others considering Sentra?
I would say that audits could be anywhere from 10 to 20% smoother from using a tool such as this, because if data is ...
What needs improvement with Varonis Platform?
Varonis Platform could be improved because when I used it, we had a significant issue related to the large volume of ...
What is your primary use case for Varonis Platform?
My main use case for Varonis Platform is to monitor access to sensitive data across file shares, Microsoft 365, and S...
What advice do you have for others considering Varonis Platform?
Varonis Platform receives a rating of seven out of ten. I chose seven out of ten because the user experience was easy...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
No data available
SlashNext Complete
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Information Not Available
Nottingham Building Society
Find out what your peers are saying about Wiz, Palo Alto Networks, Varonis and others in Data Security Posture Management (DSPM). Updated: July 2026.
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