Amazon Inspector vs Rapid7 Metasploit comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Rapid7 are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #26 with an average rating of 8.6, while Rapid7 is ranked #21 with an average rating of 9.3. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.0% mindshare in VM, compared to Rapid7’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Rapid7 users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Rapid7 Metasploit and Amazon Inspector are competitive products in security testing and vulnerability management. Rapid7 Metasploit often leads in user satisfaction due to favorable pricing and support, while Amazon Inspector's comprehensive features make it the preferred choice for enterprises seeking robust functionality.

Features: Rapid7 Metasploit offers an extensive exploit library, excellent penetration testing capabilities, and adaptability for customizable tasks. Amazon Inspector provides automated vulnerability assessments, seamless integration with AWS, and continuous monitoring, making it suitable for cloud-based environments.

Room for Improvement: Rapid7 Metasploit could enhance its automation capabilities, expand native cloud integrations, and improve scalability for large environments. Amazon Inspector would benefit from a more extensive exploit library, detailed reporting features, and improved functionality outside AWS-specific environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Rapid7 Metasploit allows flexible on-premises deployment, supporting tailored penetration tasks with noted responsive customer service. Amazon Inspector integrates directly with AWS services, offering streamlined automated deployment and efficient customer service through AWS support channels, simplifying operations for cloud-centric businesses.

Pricing and ROI: Rapid7 Metasploit may have higher upfront licensing costs but delivers strong ROI through advanced testing capabilities. Amazon Inspector offers cost-effective, consumption-based pricing, appealing to cloud-focused users by providing excellent ROI through its automated, cloud-native functionality.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Inspector vs. Rapid7 Metasploit Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Inspector vs. Rapid7 Metasploit

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 Rapid7 Metasploit is 2.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qualys TotalCloud	1.2%
Rapid7 Metasploit	2.1%
Amazon Inspector	1.0%
Other	95.7%

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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reviewer1247523

Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

Extensive exploit database and seamless integration enhance penetration testing capabilities

The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even the same attack you provide today will go in different ways another day. I prefer when the auditor or pen-tester provides the attack in a non-automated mode. For some, it might be a valuable option, but I'm not sure it's valuable for us, as after the attack has been provided, we should release a report detailing how it transpired and what the customer should improve to block this way of attack. If the attack was provided in an automated mode, you cannot receive sufficient information that helps with this final report for the customer. While you can check the vulnerability, and the system will tell you there is no vulnerability, usually, a human can change one, two, or three parameters and using the same technique and the same scripts can break the system. Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved in areas concerning the experience with finding particular scripts pre-installed in the solution. Customers, administrators, and pen-testers spend considerable time trying to locate the specific component they need by the name of the technique or the name of the attack, so any improvements in making it easier to find those predefined components by name or timeframe would be beneficial. Search filters could be a correct improvement.

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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

"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 scalability is good as well. I would rate it ten out of ten."

"I like the web API security and IoT scanning features the most. The user-friendly design of TotalCloud's interface enables customers to navigate it and use its full potential easily"

"I appreciate TotalCloud's real-time protection and remediation features. The remediation options include automated one-click remedies and custom changes that help manage vulnerabilities efficiently."

"It is a cloud-native app that integrates with both IaaS and SaaS. It seamlessly integrates with other platforms."

"I would rate Qualys TotalCloud ten out of ten."

"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."

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

"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."

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

"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."

"Amazon Inspector is highly stable, rated ten out of ten, and this stability impacts business security and administration positively."

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

"The scalability of the solution itself is unparalleled."

"The vulnerability discovery is valuable, and they also rank those vulnerabilities for you. So, you could rapidly attack some of the higher, severe vulnerabilities as they pop up, if they do pop up."

"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."

More Amazon Inspector pros

"The most valuable features and capabilities of Rapid7 Metasploit are its tight connection with InsightVM, which searches for potential threats and vulnerabilities and then validates whether we can break the system using those vulnerabilities, serving as a validator component of the InsightVM solution."

"The option to generate phishing emails has proven to be very valuable in understanding the behavior of users."

"The greatest advantage of Rapid7 Metasploit is that it is the only system that can directly exploit vulnerabilities on the Metasploit platform."

"I would definitely recommend Metasploit to others."

"The search engine is actually pretty cool, it allows you to search the vulnerability very fast, and the big difference is that the exploit you see on Metasploit has been tested and imported, it's going to work and it is not going to crash anything."

"I use Rapid7 Metasploit for payload generation and Post-Exploitation."

"Rapid7 offers comprehensive features within one platform, eliminating the need to integrate multiple tools to see all alerts in one place."

"I don't have any other tools like it, and I always use it when I'm doing a pen test. Metasploit is a great solution for penetration testing,"

More Rapid7 Metasploit pros

Cons

"Some major banks and insurance companies require an on-premises solution for comprehensive vulnerability management, which TotalCloud does not offer."

"Enhancing clarity regarding its compliance capabilities would be beneficial, as the current scope is limited in geographic coverage."

"A feature improvement could be the inclusion of Windows OS support for container security, as it is currently only supported for Linux."

"The support process is inefficient due to the excessive number of replies required when submitting tickets."

"In a future release, I suggest that zero-day vulnerabilities should be predicted in advance using AI technologies. The system is not 100% secure yet, so proactive threat hunting could be enhanced to be more proactive than the current system."

"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."

"The vulnerability part is good, but the policy compliance module needs improvement because it involves a lot of manual work. Specifically, the remediation part of the controls requires enhancements."

"Two areas for improvement in Qualys TotalCloud are the speed of the public cloud platform and vulnerability detection."

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

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

"One major area for improvement is remediation. My team works on remediating findings over time, likely using available patches. However, easier integration with Amazon's patching services would be very helpful."

"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 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."

"There isn't too much to improve right now. Scanning on demand or as a part of the pipeline versus a post pipeline solution would be good, but it is not a deal breaker by any means."

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

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

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

More Amazon Inspector cons

"The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even the same attack you provide today will go in different ways another day."

"The initial setup was a bit "tweaky" for the open-source version."

"Support is another area where improvement is needed, particularly for assisting non-security users."

"Rapid7 Metasploit could be made easier for new users to learn."

"The open-source version has reporting limitations. You need to develop these capabilities yourself. Built-in reporting is an excellent feature for penetration testing, but it isn't a must-have. The solution could also cover more vulnerabilities. Metasploit has around 10,000 exploits in its library, but more is always better."

"The solution is not very scalable, it does not provide any automation to be able to scale it."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"The database is not always updated with the latest vulnerabilities or zero-day exploits. If a vulnerability arises a month or two ago, it might not be included in the database, which is something I would like to see improved."

More Rapid7 Metasploit cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."

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

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

"The pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is very transparent and clear."

"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."

"Rapid7 Metasploit is an open-source solution."

"I use the open-source version of this product. Pricing is not relevant."

"We pay monthly. The pricing is reasonable."

"I have used the free version of Rapid7 Metasploit."

"There are two versions available, one of which is the Pro version, and the other is the free version."

"The cost is approximately $15 per device."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product's pricing a six. So it's fairly priced."

"The pricing structure involves a one-time purchase cost of approximately twenty thousand dollars or euros for all customers."

More Rapid7 Metasploit pricing and cost advice

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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

Construction Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

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	4
Large Enterprise	12

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...

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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...

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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...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 Metasploit?

The pricing of Rapid7 Metasploit is quite affordable. It has a free version that many customers start with, and after...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Rapid7 Metasploit?

The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Rapid7 Metasploit?

I use Rapid7 Metasploit as a distributor, as an integrator, and as a user. I use Rapid7 Metasploit in my company inte...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 6% of the time

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Tenable Nessus vs Amazon Inspector

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Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 9% of the time

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 7% of the time

FortiCNAPP vs Amazon Inspector

Compared 3% of the time

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Qualys VMDR vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 8% of the time

Tenable Nessus vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 8% of the time

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 5% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 5% of the time

Intruder vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 3% of the time

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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

Rapid7 Metasploit

July 2026

Download Rapid7 Metasploit product report

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

No data available

Metasploit

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)

Rapid7 Metasploit provides robust exploitation capabilities, vulnerability assessment, and seamless integration with InsightVM, enhancing penetration testing and security awareness.

Rapid7 Metasploit stands out in the cybersecurity sphere for its extensive exploit modules and automated testing processes. It supports multiple interfaces and databases, simplifying exploit development and facilitating network scanning through integration with Nmap. Its emphasis on vulnerability discovery and incident detection positions it as a key tool in various IT environments, despite limitations in GUI effectiveness and exploit update speeds.

What are the key features of Rapid7 Metasploit?

Exploitation Capabilities: Offers a vast array of exploit modules for advanced penetration testing.
Automation: Streamlines testing processes, ensuring efficient workflow.
Integration: Works with tools like Nmap for enhanced network scanning.
Open Source: Leverages extensive user contributions for diverse payload options.
User Interface: Intuitive design assists in phishing email generation and testing.

What benefits can users expect from Rapid7 Metasploit?

Comprehensive Testing: Enables thorough vulnerability assessments across environments.
Incident Detection: Facilitates early identification and response to security threats.
Efficiency: Automates redundant tasks, reducing manual effort.
Insightful Reporting: Provides detailed analysis for informed decision-making.

In industries such as government and education, Rapid7 Metasploit integrates into security protocols and training programs. Its deployment on platforms like Kali Linux aligns with IP assets for effective scanning and phishing detection. Organizations benefit from its ability to track processes and collaborate securely with entities, enhancing overall cybersecurity readiness.

Rapid7

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

betterment, caplinked, flatiron, university of nutri dame

City of Corpus Christi, Diebold, Lumenate, Nebraska Public Power District, Prairie North Regional Health, Apptio, Automation Direct, Bob's Stores, Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions, Carnegie Mellon University

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Inspector vs. Rapid7 Metasploit

August 2026

Free Report: Amazon Inspector vs. Rapid7 Metasploit

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Inspector vs. Rapid7 Metasploit and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

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