Amazon Inspector vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #26 with an average rating of 8.6, while Microsoft is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.1. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.0% mindshare in VM, compared to Microsoft’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Amazon Inspector and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management are competing products in the category of vulnerability management. Microsoft Defender seems to have the upper hand due to its extensive feature set, despite Amazon Inspector's smooth AWS integration.

Features: Amazon Inspector provides automated security assessments, tight integration with AWS services, and a focus on cloud-native environments, making it ideal for AWS-centric organizations. Microsoft Defender offers comprehensive vulnerability coverage, integration across Windows environments, and robust threat intelligence features, appealing to businesses seeking extensive capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Amazon Inspector could improve by expanding support beyond AWS-centric environments, enhancing threat intelligence capabilities, and offering more detailed reporting features. Microsoft Defender could benefit from simplifying its deployment process, improving integration with non-Microsoft environments, and offering more customizable reporting options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Amazon Inspector benefits from quick deployment within AWS, facilitating straightforward integration for existing AWS customers. Microsoft Defender, while more comprehensive, requires more effort in deployment but offers extensive Microsoft ecosystem integration and support. Customers report Amazon Inspector is easier to deploy, but Defender's support services may offer better long-term value.

Pricing and ROI: Amazon Inspector typically presents a cost-effective solution for AWS users due to its usage-based pricing model. Microsoft Defender has a higher initial setup cost but justifies this with a rich feature set and comprehensive management capabilities. Organizations leveraging cloud-native and Microsoft solutions may find the ROI attractive despite the higher upfront costs. Amazon Inspector may appear more budget-friendly, while Microsoft Defender appeals to businesses seeking extensive vulnerability management features.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Inspector vs. Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Inspector vs. Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

August 2026

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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 TotalCloud

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Amazon Inspector is 1.0%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is 1.4%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qualys TotalCloud	1.2%
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management	1.4%
Amazon Inspector	1.0%
Other	96.4%

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

Robert Orłowski

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.

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Abdalla Kenawy

AWS DevOps SRE/Infrastructure Engineer at Capgemini

Automated insights streamline data security assessment

For Amazon Inspector, we have many EC2 or virtual machines deployed inside our AWS environment, and the problem is that the existing package deployed inside this EC2 instance has already outdated packages. As we progress with time, this package needs to be updated for security enhancement, which requires us to uninstall the package, install the new version, and then we should be fine. However, the challenge comes with how to scan all our EC2 instances for security vulnerabilities, which is currently managed by Amazon Inspector. Amazon Inspector can scan EC2 instances or ECR, which is the ECR registry where we can save artifacts Docker images. Amazon Inspector can also scan Docker images uploaded to ECR for Elastic Registry service, and it can scan databases and S3 based on the latest updates. I noticed this from a couple of months ago, and it provides huge benefits for security. Regarding the best features of Amazon Inspector, it gives us a list of all existing outdated packages as part of a deployed package on EC2 instances or specific Python packages that are part of the Docker file and the Docker image itself, which are causing security concerns. Amazon Inspector can list these security concerns and offer guidance on how we can remediate it by updating the package to a specific upper version or something similar.

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reviewer2770602

Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Has helped with regional threat monitoring but needs better documentation and real-time capabilities

The documentation from Microsoft needs significant improvement. The documents are disorganized, with one document linking to another, making the steps unclear and difficult to follow. Regarding updates, it is not truly real-time as it takes between eight to twelve hours for updates to occur. It would be beneficial if updates could happen more quickly, perhaps within 10 minutes to half an hour. Support for integration and documentation needs to be more straightforward. The pricing is expensive, even though it is part of the E5 package.

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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 significantly reduced our workload in terms of managing risks, helping us to be more efficient and save substantial resources."

"If someone were to ask me to review Qualys TotalCloud, I would summarize it as an end-to-end solution for cloud security with visibility and governance-grade controls without needing to manage multiple disconnected tools."

"I would definitely recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other customers."

"The best features in Qualys TotalCloud include the total asset management of the cloud environment. It is very easy to export the report and see the vulnerabilities related to the cloud specifically."

"By integrating TotalCloud, we have significantly reduced vulnerabilities in our deployment pipeline."

"One of Qualys' best features is its categorization, which allows us to see the types of assets, their security postures, and the AI-powered version of the tool."

"The most valuable feature of Qualys TotalCloud is the visibility it provides."

"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."

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

"The most valuable feature of Amazon Inspector is the categorization of findings, which filters vulnerabilities by instance, container image, container repository, and Lambda function."

"My experience with AWS technical support is very good, I didn't face any specific challenges, and even the documentation of AWS is good for both Microsoft, which is Azure, and AWS."

"The scalability of the solution itself is unparalleled."

"The findings dashboards are neat and easy to understand, offering clear demarcations for different types of findings and detailed insights into specific vulnerabilities and their associated instances. It is not a place where everything is dumped together. It offers an easy-to-understand layout."

"The integration of Amazon Inspector with other AWS services has enhanced our security. Security Hub is a major asset because it allows us to centralize data from various AWS services. We can integrate third-party tools as well. It is just a single-click option."

"I recommend Amazon Inspector because it allows the automation of processes and requires less manual monitoring."

"The assessment reports provided by Amazon Inspector have helped me in identifying security vulnerabilities in my cloud applications by giving us a nicely designed dashboard that provides all the security information we need to work on remediation."

"It operates continuously, so as soon as resources are created, it scans them for vulnerabilities."

More Amazon Inspector pros

"A valuable feature is the ease of management and integration with Microsoft products."

"The recommendations, scores, and steps to remediate actions are highly useful."

"Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management has streamlined our threat management processes and provided region-specific customization for our healthcare operations."

"Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is versatile and assesses vulnerabilities, providing detailed information on CVEs, their categories, and exploit statuses."

"The integration with SIEM is the best, specifically the native integration with Microsoft SIEM."

"Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is a good product, and I believe it deserves a positive recommendation."

"The product’s most valuable features are compliance, recommendations, and inventories."

"The integration with Sentinel has been one of the most valuable features for my organization."

More Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management pros

Cons

"The cost of Qualys TotalCloud is high and could be more competitive."

"The cloud licensing unit system is unclear, especially since "units" aren't well-defined."

"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 response part of the Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) module can be improved."

"The price is very expensive, actually."

"The main area needing improvement is integration. Although the team is strengthening TotalCloud, integration can be enhanced with SIEM, SOAR, ITSM, and other sources."

"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."

"With the growing integration of AI, I would like Qualys to enhance its service offerings to better accommodate AI-related risks."

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

"The most challenging aspect I faced with Amazon Inspector during integration was automating the remediation process."

"One area for improvement in Amazon Inspector is the automation aspect."

"There are challenges associated with the interdependencies in AWS services, like requiring an Active Directory for other services, resulting in additional charges."

"The false positive rate of Amazon Inspector is a little high, and it is not covering all different applications and scanning."

"There is room for improvement in the scanning capabilities. I'd like to see broader coverage in terms of the vulnerabilities detected."

"The other point is that the reporting features of Inspector need improvement. For example, I am in an organization with millions of CVEs, and getting an overview of all this is challenging."

"It has automated vulnerability assessment, yet I seek more flexibility in defining custom vulnerability checks tailored to my needs, which is more difficult."

"It has a limited scope. So, AWS Inspector primarily focuses on the security of the EC2 instance. So, if your architecture includes other AWS services, then you may need to use additional tools for your comprehensive security assessment. So that is one con. Another is, like, we have a dependency on agents."

More Amazon Inspector cons

"Integration can be improved."

"There is a good solution from Microsoft, however, there is a gap between Windows and Linux management."

"The constant changes in the product configuration or the console setup can sometimes be challenging."

"The technical support takes too much time to resolve tickets."

"When I create rules, it gave me problems and I did not know where the problem was located."

"The automated remediations can be more specific."

"There should be risk scoring added to Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management; specifically, they call it quantification of the risk."

"The documentation from Microsoft needs significant improvement. The documents are disorganized, with one document linking to another, making the steps unclear and difficult to follow."

More Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud is cost-efficient and was selected for its value compared to other products."

"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."

"The pricing is comparable. It is built into our other product, so I cannot piecemeal it. It is a part of our subscription."

"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."

"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."

"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."

"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."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

"It's priced according to market standards for its services."

"The lowest cost would be around $10 for a few small accounts, however, for thousands of accounts, it could be around $5000 to $6000 dollars per month."

"It is scaled as you go. There are probably a certain number of scans per month, and there are tiers. If you're under a certain tier, it is free. The second level is pennies, and then all the way up to like a million. So, it has a tiered pricing program. They're pretty good with your initial scanning, and there is room to scale based on being affordable, but it is fairly cheap. There are no additional costs. They pretty much think about it as a pay-per-scan type model."

"The pricing is very transparent and clear."

"The product’s pricing is medium."

"I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."

"The tool is a bit costly."

"The licensing costs are reasonable."

"The licensing model follows a per-user per-month structure."

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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

13%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Government

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	30

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

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

The price is very expensive, actually.

See all answers

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...

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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...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon Inspector?

I am not honestly sure about the pricing side of Amazon Inspector, but that is taken care of by a separate team. I be...

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What needs improvement with Amazon Inspector?

They might launch support for third-party environments in the next version regarding the best features in Amazon Insp...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Amazon Inspector?

I mostly use Amazon Inspector for vulnerability scanning on AWS native applications. For hybrid applications, we have...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?

We are open to discounts on the pricing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?

Configuration of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is something that needs improvement. In future updates o...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?

I can control the applications using Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, which are its best features for me ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Wiz vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 8% of the time

JupiterOne vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 7% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 6% of the time

Aqua Cloud Security Platform vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 2% of the time

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Tenable Nessus vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 10% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 9% of the time

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 8% of the time

Rapid7 Metasploit vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 8% of the time

FortiCNAPP vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 3% of the time

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Qualys VMDR vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

Compared 7% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

Compared 7% of the time

Tenable Nessus vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

Compared 7% of the time

Rapid7 Metasploit vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

Compared 5% of the time

Rapid7 InsightVM vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys TotalCloud

July 2026

Download Qualys TotalCloud product report

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Inspector

August 2026

Download Amazon Inspector product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

July 2026

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management report

Download Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management product report

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

No data available

Overview

Qualys TotalCloud enhances security posture across cloud environments with continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, and risk visualization, ensuring efficient threat assessment and automated remediation for improved cyber risk reduction.

Qualys TotalCloud offers a robust suite of security tools essential for organizations managing multi-cloud infrastructures. By integrating cloud accounts and automating workflows, it supports AWS, Azure, and GCP, offering comprehensive vulnerability management and zero-day detection. The platform's user-friendly design, combined with its extensive risk management and unified threat assessment capabilities, enables organizations to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities effectively. TruRisk Insights provides clear insights on cyber risks, while the automation options streamline patch management and scanning processes. API integration across IaaS and SaaS environments further enhances resource allocation efficiency and saves time, addressing misconfigurations across cloud environments.

What are the most important features of Qualys TotalCloud?

Accurate Vulnerability Reports: Delivers precise and actionable insights for risk mitigation.
Zero-Day Detection: Identifies and addresses zero-day vulnerabilities proactively.
Unified Threat Assessment: Offers comprehensive evaluation of threats across the environment.
Extensive Risk Management: Manages risks effectively with advanced insights and prioritization.
Continuous Monitoring: Provides non-stop surveillance for vulnerabilities and threats.
Cloud-Native Automation: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts using automation.
FlexScan for Internet-Facing VMs: Scans external VMs efficiently to detect vulnerabilities.
Dashboard Risk Visualization: Clear visualization helps prioritize vulnerabilities.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Security Posture: Enhances threat detection and response across clouds.
Time Savings: Automation reduces time spent on manual vulnerability management.
Resource Efficiency: Better allocation of resources through streamlined workflows.
Enhanced Risk Prioritization: Focus on critical vulnerabilities for effective mitigation.
Integrated Cloud Accounts: Facilitates seamless cloud management and security.

Qualys TotalCloud is deployed in sectors needing rigorous vulnerability management, such as finance and healthcare. Companies utilize it to secure multi-cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and GCP, focus on compliance, and integrate security into CI/CD pipelines to detect and remedy threats pre-deployment.

Qualys

Amazon Inspector offers automated vulnerability detection, scanning AWS workloads and recommending remediation, ensuring enhanced security without constant supervision.

Amazon Inspector provides advanced automated vulnerability assessments, specifically designed for AWS environments. It scans EC2 instances, ECR, and container images for vulnerabilities, ranking them by priority. With capabilities like integration with CloudTrail and CloudWatch, adherence to compliance benchmarks, and a comprehensive view for diverse resources, it supports continuous detection and detailed reporting. Users can schedule regular scans, maintaining strong security oversight. Current feedback highlights a need for improved scanning of EBS, S3, and EFS, as well as expanded databases and better patch integration.

What features make Amazon Inspector stand out?

Automated Vulnerability Assessments: Detects and prioritizes vulnerabilities in AWS workloads.
Continuous Detection: Keeps an eye on EC2, ECR, and container images for ongoing risk management.
Integration Capabilities: Works with CloudTrail and CloudWatch to centralize oversight and alerts.
Compliance Adherence: Aligns with industry benchmarks for strengthened regulatory compliance.
Detailed Reporting: Provides comprehensive reports with findings and CVEs.

What benefits do users gain from Amazon Inspector?

Enhanced Security: Automates vulnerability detection, reducing manual efforts.
Efficiency: Identifies and prioritizes threats, streamlining resource allocation.
Comprehensive Oversight: Detailed reports improve understanding and response strategies.
Regulatory Compliance: Aligns with compliance standards, aiding legal adherence.

Amazon Inspector is utilized across industries, including finance, healthcare, and tech, assisting with robust security management in cloud-native environments. By integrating with services like Security Hub and SIEM, businesses maintain compliance and streamline alert management. This solution supports broader security frameworks, often paired with third-party tools to enhance protection strategies.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management enables organizations to identify vulnerabilities, manage patches, and fortify threat detection. It offers endpoint assessments, cloud incident management, and dynamic security through Microsoft's Security Scorecard integration.

Organizations leverage Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management for advanced threat detection and response. It provides robust tools for vulnerability assessment and cloud incident management, integrated with Microsoft's Security Scorecard to enhance dynamic security profiling. Key features include automatic patch deployment, security configuration management, and seamless integration with Microsoft platforms, benefiting both on-prem and cloud environments. Organizations can track vulnerabilities with severity-based reports, helping manage outdated software and minimizing threat exposure.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?

Compliance: Ensures adherence to security regulations.
Recommendations: Provides actionable advice for security enhancements.
Inventories: Offers detailed inventory tracking for software and hardware.
Threat Identification: Detects potential threats proactively.
Vulnerability Assessment: Evaluates system vulnerabilities comprehensively.
Zero-day Protection: Shields systems from newly discovered exploits.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Integration: Facilitates seamless integration with Microsoft and diverse platforms.
Risk Mitigation: Assists in mitigating risks through accurate assessments.
Prioritization: Helps prioritize vulnerabilities for efficient patch management.
Up-to-date Protection: Ensures systems remain secured and current.

In healthcare, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management helps manage compliance with health regulations, while in finance, it aids in securing sensitive data from cyber threats. Manufacturing sectors benefit from its patch management, keeping operational technology systems less vulnerable to disruptions.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

betterment, caplinked, flatiron, university of nutri dame

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Inspector vs. Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

August 2026

Free Report: Amazon Inspector vs. Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Inspector vs. Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

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