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Acunetix vs Nucleus Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 23, 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
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (11th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (7th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (1st), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (6th)
Acunetix
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
28th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (13th), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (8th), DevSecOps (6th)
Nucleus Security
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
40th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (28th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (14th), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (13th)
 

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.
Rahul Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Engineer - Penetration Tester at a government with 10,001+ employees
Identifies vulnerabilities across bulk web applications but needs better support and cleaner reports
The best feature Acunetix offers is the centralized dashboard and the quality of reports it generates, which includes various options for selecting reports and developer options for directly sharing the reports with developers. The centralized dashboard of Acunetix gives visibility into the security aspects of mass applications; for instance, with more than 200 applications, it provides a valuable overview of findings and necessary fixes, along with a high-level summary that helps us achieve compliance through monthly and sometimes weekly scanning. In terms of reporting, Acunetix is excellent because it can generate different types of reports, such as an executive summary report, detailed reports, and developer reports that can be shared directly with developers. Acunetix positively impacts my organization by helping identify outdated libraries and applications, including legacy applications vulnerable to old attacks based on OWASP Top 10, thus aiding in compliance checks for PCI DSS and OWASP. Acunetix provides a centralized report with compliance-related aspects and a vulnerability timeline, effectively helping reduce vulnerabilities and save time.
VK
manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Unified vulnerability workflows have transformed how our teams prioritize and resolve critical risks
While the platform is incredibly powerful, the initial configuration curve of Nucleus Security can be a bit steep. When first setting up complex, multi-layered automation rules and asset groupings, the interface can feel a little overwhelming. Having more intuitive step-by-step visualized wizards or guided templates for building complex triage workflows would make the onboarding process much smoother for new team members. Dashboard customization and reporting would definitely be on my wish list. While the default dashboards are great for a general overview, it can take a bit of manual tweaking when building highly tailored workspace views for different engineering groups. Having a more flexible drag-and-drop widget system where individual teams can prioritize exactly what metrics they see first on their layout would be a huge quality of life update. On the reporting side, the data it generates is solid, but I would like to see more granular control over formatting within the platform itself. Sometimes leadership wants data tailored in very specific ways, and currently, we occasionally have to export the data and clean it up externally to meet those exact visual preferences.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I highly recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users."
"Qualys TotalCloud has significantly reduced our workload in terms of managing risks, helping us to be more efficient and save substantial resources."
"I would recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users because it is cost-efficient and has a good return on investment."
"Qualys TotalCloud has helped us view our risk structure, vulnerabilities, and security posture."
"One of the most valuable features of Qualys TotalCloud is FlexScan, which is specifically for internet-facing VMs. We found this feature to be very useful. It was a key differentiator for us."
"Its dashboards are brilliant. It provides in-depth insights."
"Its excellent graphical interface makes the scanning process simple."
"TotalCloud's best feature is the integration of cloud accounts. It helps with the risk and security posture management of our cloud infrastructure."
"It has been able to find some vulnerabilities, and we've been able to remediate our websites and vulnerabilities, thanks to Acunetix."
"The most valuable feature of Acunetix is the UI and the scan results are simple."
"Acunetix gives us code-level identification of vulnerabilities and a good understanding of the code-level vulnerability fixes, which is much more helpful for us because we can understand how to fix the vulnerabilities at the code level."
"The tool's most valuable feature is scan configurations. We use it for external physical applications. The scanning time depends on the application's code."
"As a team, it's helped us to deliver better security assessments."
"Picks up weaknesses in our app setups."
"We are able to create a report which shows the PCI DSS scoring and share it with the application teams. Then, they can correlate and see exactly what they need to fix, and why."
"The most important element for us is that it's very easy for developers to use, as they don't need to have any knowledge about security or threats; they just run the tool against their application and get the results."
"Nucleus Security has fundamentally changed how we manage our vulnerability lifecycle and made our entire incident response process much more proactive, organized, and reliable."
"The best features that Nucleus Security offers in my experience are the unified integrations with all of the different vulnerability management platforms."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in vulnerability scanning, particularly for PaaS environments. Currently, Qualys does not have full access to these instances, which limits its effectiveness."
"I would like the ability to disable certain default built-in policies as they can be misleading when creating dashboards. That is the top one."
"Two areas for improvement in Qualys TotalCloud are the speed of the public cloud platform and vulnerability detection."
"Enhancing clarity regarding its compliance capabilities would be beneficial, as the current scope is limited in geographic coverage."
"It has been working very well, but it would be helpful if the dashboard could generate reports tailored to specific compliance needs. For example, in India, we have to comply with RBI and SEBI guidelines. It w"
"We encountered challenges identifying the correct resource category for certain items, such as those in containers or storage."
"Although TotalCloud is a helpful tool, some of its advanced features are still under development."
"An area for improvement would be to focus on risks related to AI, such as large language models and potential data leakage."
"I rate its stability six out of ten."
"The only problem that they have is the price. It is a bit expensive, and you cannot change the number of applications for the whole year."
"The jargon used makes it difficult for project managers to understand the issues, and the technical explanations used make it difficult for developers to understand issues. These things should be simplified much more. That would be very helpful for us when explaining to them what needs to be fixed. The report output needs to be simplified."
"The solution's pricing could be better."
"However, it doesn't seem very helpful or useful for scanning web services, and that has what I feel that the organization could work better on that."
"It would be nice to have a feature to "retest" only a single vulnerability that the customer reports as patched, and delete it from the next scans since it has already been patched."
"We want to see how much bandwidth usage it consumes. When we monitor traffic we have issues with the consumption and throttling of the traffic."
"The cost can be reduced as management has noted it to be on the higher side."
"While the platform is incredibly powerful, the initial configuration curve of Nucleus Security can be a bit steep."
"Nucleus Security needs a better view into exposure management, as exposure management and attack path management are missing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers good pricing that is affordable and competitive with the market. Our partnership also provides us with additional benefits."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing is comparable. It is built into our other product, so I cannot piecemeal it. It is a part of our subscription."
"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."
"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."
"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."
"Acunetix was around the same price as all the other vendors we looked at, nothing special."
"It is a bit expensive. If you need to check five applications, you have to pay almost 14,000. It is an agreement for two years at 7,000 per year for only five applications. You cannot change the applications in the license. So, you are stuck with the same license for the five applications for one full year."
"When compared with other products, the pricing is a little bit high. But it gives value for the price. It serves the purpose and is worthwhile for the price we pay."
"The cost is based on two types of licenses, ConsultLite, and ConsultPlus, as well as the number of domains that are scanned."
"The solution is expensive."
"When we looked at all other vendors and what they were asking for, to provide a third of what Acunetix was capable of doing, it was an easy decision... But now that it's coming to a cost where it's line with market value, it becomes more of a competition... Acunetix is raising the cost of licensing. It's 3.5 times what we were initially quoted."
"All things considered, I think it has a good price/value ratio."
"Implementing Acunetix needs a medium or larger business agency, because you need some money to get Acunetix. It is costly, but if you care about your agency's security, then maybe it's a cost that might help you in the future."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise29
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise19
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple en...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
Our use case involves the assets that we have under cloud, the assets exposed to the internet, and the internal appli...
What is your primary use case for Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?
In a typical enterprise environment, Acunetix is mainly used for visibility, detection, and investigation across netw...
What advice do you have for others considering Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?
I advise that Acunetix is the best option. Invest time in proper initial configuration and scope definitions. The too...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Acunetix?
Everything is perfect and good, including the pricing and all related aspects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nucleus Security?
I have a good experience with that, so we don't have much problem dealing with pricing, setup, and licensing.
What needs improvement with Nucleus Security?
Nucleus Security needs a better view into exposure management, as exposure management and attack path management are ...
What is your primary use case for Nucleus Security?
My main use case for Nucleus Security is unifying the vulnerability management landscape, providing a single source o...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
AcuSensor
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Joomla!, Digicure, Team Random, Credit Suisse, Samsung, Air New Zealand
Information Not Available
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