Aqua Cloud Security Platform vs Qualys VMDR comparison

Aqua Security and Qualys are both solutions in the Container Security category. Aqua Security is ranked #26, while Qualys is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.6. Aqua Security holds a 2.9% mindshare in Container Security, compared to Qualys’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Aqua Security users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Qualys users who would recommend it.

Aqua Cloud Security Platform

Read 16 Aqua Cloud Security Platform reviews

5,421 Views
4,066 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Qualys VMDR

Read 96 Qualys VMDR reviews

13,915 Views
2,783 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Aqua Cloud Security Platform

Qualys VMDR

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Qualys VMDR and Aqua Cloud Security Platform compete in the vulnerability management category. Aqua Cloud Security has the upper hand due to its focus on effective container security and runtime protection.

Features: Qualys VMDR is appreciated for seamless scanning capabilities, comprehensive vulnerability management, and automatic updates of vulnerability databases. It also supports policy compliance and asset management. Aqua Cloud Security excels in container security, image scanning, and runtime protection. It effectively secures Kubernetes workloads and Docker images and integrates seamlessly with cloud-native tools.

Room for Improvement: Qualys VMDR faces challenges with false positives, complicated reporting, and high costs of on-premise solutions for small firms. It also needs improvements in patch management for older systems. Aqua Cloud Security could enhance reporting intelligence, integration with CICD pipelines, and overall usability related to user roles and installation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys VMDR offers flexibility across different cloud environments, especially in public and hybrid clouds. Users report mixed experiences with customer service due to slow response times. Aqua Cloud Security is noted for its stable deployment in private clouds and prompt customer service and technical support.

Pricing and ROI: Qualys VMDR is more expensive, with pricing models based on asset numbers, providing positive ROI through enhanced vulnerability detection and risk reduction. Aqua Cloud Security is budget-friendly for large organizations, offering tailored pricing models and good ROI due to its container security focus and flexibility in meeting various requirements.

To learn more, read our detailed Aqua Cloud Security Platform vs. Qualys VMDR Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Aqua Cloud Security Platform vs. Qualys VMDR

April 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

Aqua Cloud Security Platform

Ranking in Container Security

26th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud and Data Center Security (17th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (21st), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (19th), Software Supply Chain Security (16th), DevSecOps (15th)

Qualys VMDR

Ranking in Container Security

9th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Asset Management (3rd), Vulnerability Management (3rd), Configuration Management Databases (3rd), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Container Security category, the mindshare of Aqua Cloud Security Platform is 2.9%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys VMDR is 2.1%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Container Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qualys VMDR	2.1%
Aqua Cloud Security Platform	2.9%
Other	95.0%

Container Security

Featured Reviews

Burak AKCAGUN

Business Development Manager at Axoft Ukraine

A robust and cost-effective solution, excelling in scalability, on-premises support, and responsive technical support, making it well-suited for enterprises navigating stringent regulatory environment

The most crucial aspect is runtime protection, specifically image scanning before preproduction and deployment. Customers find it invaluable to have the ability to check for vulnerabilities in an image before deployment, similar to a sandbox environment. This feature ensures that customers can identify any potential issues with the image, such as misconfigurations or vulnerabilities, before integrating it into their workloads and infrastructure. In their source pipeline, companies can identify issues before deploying changes. This is crucial because customers prefer resolving any problems or misconfigurations before the deployment process. Software change security, including GSPM Cloud, is a key feature customers seek in their infrastructure.

Read full review

Vaibhav Ghule

Soc Lead & Edr Administration at Persistent Systems

Continuous risk-based monitoring has strengthened incident response and vulnerability prioritization

I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries lack grouping operators in Qualys VMDR. From my experience, I would appreciate improvements in the query options in Qualys VMDR, specifically in the query-building process where I would need more features and operators. Additionally, we have been facing issues with Qualys on the cloud level. We cannot download the configuration profile from the cloud agent, and it is showing a pending action for download. During 2025, we noticed outages of Qualys a couple of times. I want to mention that there is an issue with receiving timely RCA deliveries. While this is not necessarily about the tool, it relates to support. The support has not been very responsive, and we are receiving RCAs a little delayed whenever we raise support cases or communicate with the TAMs. Additionally, the UI has a slight latency, which I and my team have experienced. They have also reported this latency issue when navigating through different pages.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We mainly used Aqua Security for container-related Kubernetes security in the CI/CD pipelines to secure the runtime of the Kubernetes clusters."

"Aqua Security is the most advanced solution in the market for container security."

"Customers find it invaluable to have the ability to check for vulnerabilities in an image before deployment, similar to a sandbox environment."

"The CSPM product is great at securing our cloud accounts and I really like the runtime protection for containers and functions too."

"Valuable features include the ability to connect it to our Docker Hub where our images are stored, good integration with Slack, and the connection to the CV, to easily see which CVs are on each image."

"The container security element of this product has been very valuable to our organization."

"The main reasons we chose Aqua Security were the visibility it provided into the container platform and the great customer service."

"The image security and image scanning were quite easy compared to Prisma, the solution was very user-friendly, easy to set up, stable, and the documentation was robust."

More Aqua Cloud Security Platform pros

"Qualys VMDR provides a real-time response and reporting feature, which is excellent."

"Qualys VM has greatly helped us to improve and maintain our posture of security."

"This solution gives us insight into our environment and improves our security."

"I strongly recommend that you use this solution."

"The solution shows us classic categories, including high, medium, and low risks. It also shows critical items, and that gives us the advantage of prioritizing things."

"The integrations for this solution are very good, as I use a different product for virtual patching of vulnerabilities and Qualys integrates well with that product."

"Qualys VM's best features are vulnerability management and customizable scoring."

"The top one for me is that the vulnerabilities are kept up to date."

More Qualys VMDR pros

Cons

"Aqua Security lacks a lot in reporting. It provides all the open issues, but no actionable solution is provided."

"I would like Aqua Security to look into the development of a web security portal."

"We would like to see an improvement in the overview visibility that this solution offers."

"The solution could improve user-friendliness."

"The user interface could be improved, especially in terms of organization and clarity."

"It's a bit hard to use the user roles. That was a bit confusing."

"They want to release improvements to their product to work with other servers because now they are more focused on the Kubernetes environment."

More Aqua Cloud Security Platform cons

"I do not like that all of the data is stored on the cloud."

"As users of Qualys for the last three years, we have identified and shared many areas where Qualys needed to have improvements, including vulnerability database having some false positives, web scan module requiring authentication to access basic web forms, asset tagging being a complex technique, and for policy compliance they need to add more leading IT standards for leading IT service providers like Juniper, Cisco, and Microsoft."

"The price could be better. Asset view is still a legacy feature. I'm not able to extract the information about the asset with complete details. It would be better if they fixed that in the next release. I know Qualys is already working on it, so I'm hopeful it will be available in the next five or six months. That would be something that's changed where I seek improvement."

"I can't say as I have worked mostly on its vulnerability management module."

"Improve the API speed."

"The IoT scan is not great."

"For a beginning, the initial setup is complex. You have to have some knowledge for setting it up and using it."

"Qualys VM could improve by having more skilled support personnel."

More Qualys VMDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They were reasonable with their pricing. They were pretty down-to-earth about the way they pitched their product and the way they tried to close the deal. They were one of the rare companies that approached the whole valuation in a way that made sense for our company, for our needs, and for their own requirements as well... They will accommodate your needs if they are able to understand them and they're stated clearly."

"Dealing with licensing costs isn't my responsibility, but I know that the licenses don't depend on the number of users, but instead are priced according to your workload."

"The pricing of this solution could be improved."

"It comes at a reasonable cost."

"Aqua Security is not cheap, and it's not very expensive, such as Splunk, they are in the middle."

"Qualys VM is reasonably priced."

"Qualys is cheaper and more affordable than other solutions."

"We do see over $100,000 in terms of price, for mid-size programs. You likely will pay more than $100,000 without any discount. It is a bit pricey."

"The pricing is very competitive."

"When you want to cover yourself for scalability, you will be charged for the number you place on the scan itself."

"An annual license for a single scanner costs around $3,000."

"Qualys VM is better suited for medium to large companies because the price can be too much for smaller customers."

"The pricing and licensing for Qualys could be improved."

More Qualys VMDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	70

Questions from the Community

What do you think of Aqua Security vs Prisma Cloud?

Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very valuable feature and their speed of integration is very good. The initial setup was ...

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What do you like most about Qualys VMDR?

I like that we have many scanners and channels that don't overload. It helps us scan and track easily. Also, the tagging system is good for tagging. We can still use QualysAgent task ID tools even ...

See all answers

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

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that we can consider both time and money saved.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?

See all answers

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Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Aqua Cloud Security Platform

April 2026

Download Aqua Cloud Security Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Qualys VMDR

April 2026

Download Qualys VMDR product report

Also Known As

Aqua Security Platform, CloudSploit, Argon

Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security

Overview

Aqua Cloud Security Platform supports container environments with strong features such as Docker and Kubernetes integration, efficient vulnerability management, and seamless runtime protection, making it a key choice for cloud and container security.

Aqua Cloud Security Platform focuses on comprehensive container and cloud security enhancements. It offers robust tools for Docker and Kubernetes, efficient vulnerability management, and on-demand patching. The platform is praised for its Runtime Protection, Drift Prevention, and robust documentation, promoting seamless integration with existing platforms. Image scanning, Digital Threat Analysis, and sandboxing services accentuate security measures while integration with Docker Hub ensures ease of use. Scalable runtime policies, image assurance, and dynamic threat analysis simplify security tasks. Challenges remain in developing web security portals and greater standard server integration. Enhancing reporting, simplifying training, and improving log forwarding are key goals. Resource consumption, clearer roles, automation, and code analysis are vital future considerations.

What are the most important features of Aqua Cloud Security Platform?

Docker and Kubernetes Support: Ensures container security and streamlined operations.
Vulnerability Management: Efficient scanning and on-demand patching.
Strong Runtime Protection: Implements Drift Prevention and scalable policies.
Seamless Integration: Works with existing platforms for optimal performance.
Image Assurance and Threat Analysis: Provides thorough security checks and dynamic analysis.

What benefits or ROI can users expect?

Simplified Container Security: Streamlines container and cloud tasks for enhanced protection.
Enhanced Image Assessment: Detects configurations and risks efficiently.
Greater Data Protection: Ensures application visibility and security in deployments.
Flexible Licensing Models: Offers potential for reconsideration and optimization.

Aqua Cloud Security Platform is leveraged in industries focusing on container security, vulnerability scanning, and securing Kubernetes configurations within CI/CD pipelines. It is employed for image assessments and network security, demonstrating its efficacy in cloud applications and workload protection. Efficiently identifying misconfigurations and risks in cloud environments, it provides scanning for public clouds and docker environments, emphasizing data protection and application visibility tailored to customer-specific deployments.

Aqua Security

Qualys VMDR is a comprehensive cybersecurity tool offering vulnerability management, patch management, and continuous monitoring with real-time asset discovery. It delivers scalable, cloud-based solutions that enhance security operations without additional infrastructure.

Qualys VMDR provides a robust platform for enterprise security, integrating vulnerability management, compliance, and asset inventory for full visibility across cloud and on-premises environments. It features a comprehensive dashboard with threat intelligence-driven prioritization and remediation capabilities. Users benefit from accurate assessments via agent-based scanning and appreciate the intuitive, customizable scanning and reporting interface. However, there's room for improvement in false positive reduction, UI simplification, and integration capabilities, along with enhancements in asset management for large-scale deployments and the vulnerability database. Enhancing technical support speed, patch management, compliance standards, and inter-module navigation would further enrich user experience.

What are the key features of Qualys VMDR?

Vulnerability Management: Identifies and manages security vulnerabilities across environments.
Patch Management: Ensures systems are updated with the latest patches.
Continuous Monitoring: Offers real-time insights into security posture.
Asset Discovery: Provides up-to-date asset inventory and visibility.
Threat Intelligence: Enhances prioritization and remediation processes.
Customizable Dashboard: Facilitates easier scanning and reporting through an intuitive interface.

What benefits can users expect when evaluating Qualys VMDR?

Scalability: Cloud-based deployment offers easy, cost-effective expansion.
Accurate Assessment: Agent-based scanning keeps security data current.
Enhanced Security Operations: Comprehensive features streamline vulnerability management.
Advanced Reporting: Facilitates detailed insights for better security decision-making.

Qualys VMDR is widely used in industries needing stringent security and compliance measures, offering comprehensive vulnerability and compliance management. It is deployed to secure web applications, servers, and crucial assets, supporting a wide range of sectors by ensuring policy adherence and vulnerability tracking through its powerful cloud platform.

Qualys

Sample Customers

HPE Salesforce Telstra Ellie Mae Cathay Pacific HomeAway

Agrokor Group, American Specialty Health, American State Bank, Arval, Life:), Axway, Bank of the West, Blueport Commerce, BSkyB, Brinks, CaixaBank, Cartagena, Catholic Health System, CEC Bank, Cegedim, CIGNA, Clickability, Colby-Sawyer College, Commercial Bank of Dubai, University of Utah, eBay Inc., ING Singapore, National Theatre, OTP Bank, Sodexo, WebEx

Buyer's Guide

Aqua Cloud Security Platform vs. Qualys VMDR

April 2026

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