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Aqua Cloud Security Platform vs Qualys VMDR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 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

Aqua Cloud Security Platform
Ranking in Container Security
26th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
16
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
96
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
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys VMDR2.1%
Aqua Cloud Security Platform2.9%
Other95.0%
Container Security
 

Featured Reviews

Burak AKCAGUN - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Vaibhav Ghule - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Customers find it invaluable to have the ability to check for vulnerabilities in an image before deployment, similar to a sandbox environment."
"The DTA, which stands for Dynamic Threat Analysis, allows me to analyze Docker images in a sandbox environment before deployment, helping me anticipate risks."
"We mainly used Aqua Security for container-related Kubernetes security in the CI/CD pipelines to secure the runtime of the Kubernetes clusters."
"The container security element of this product has been very valuable to our organization."
"The CSPM product is great at securing our cloud accounts and I really like the runtime protection for containers and functions too."
"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."
"The container security element of this product has been very valuable to our organization."
"The most helpful feature of Aqua Security is Drift Prevention, which is a feature that allows images to be immutable, and one of the main reasons we went with Aqua Security is because it provides strong protection when it comes to runtime security."
"The most valuable feature is the vulnerability assessment."
"Qualys VMDR provides a real-time response and reporting feature, which is excellent."
"I find most valuable to achieve a channel system and we can also use it to track when we actually close the ticketing of the sites, and in addition, it is quite easy to implement."
"Authenticated scans provide different options, including those using or not using the FactSet and adding option profiles."
"I value the scheduling of scans and reports as per the desired timeframes."
"The Qualys Agent is most valuable for getting insight into what is happening on what device with all its metadata."
"In a world of the hybrid workforce and work from home, if you're looking for a more effective vulnerability management tool, you have to go to the agent-based vulnerability management tools that are out there, and we've been extremely happy with Qualys."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to run different capabilities with the same agent. With only one agent, we can have EDR, vulnerability management, compliance and some basic SaaS security capabilities."
 

Cons

"Sometimes I got stressed with the UI."
"They want to release improvements to their product to work with other servers because now there are more focused on the Kubernetes environment. They need to improve the normal servers. I would like to have more options."
"Aqua Security could improve the forwarding of logging into Splunk and into other tools, it should be easier."
"Aqua Security could provide more open documentation so that their learning resources can be more easily accessed and searched through online."
"In the next release, Aqua Security should add the ability to automatically send reports to customers."
"It's a bit hard to use the user roles. That was a bit confusing."
"Aqua Security lacks a lot in reporting."
"The user interface could be improved, especially in terms of organization and clarity."
"I am not happy with the technical support because I had a very bad experience with them."
"Qualys does have an on-prem solution, but it is very expensive."
"What we have found is that the solution is not closely tied with the patch management. It is okay with newer ones, like Windows 10 machines; it gives the correct patch. But for Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008, it does not give us the correct patch so we have to manually identify the patches. This is a major problem."
"The IT infrastructure, especially server administration, needs to be improved."
"Qualys VM could improve by having more skilled support personnel."
"Its integration with ServiceNow and other similar products is complicated and can be improved."
"Representation of the total number of vulnerabilities (with name) vs. the number of patches (with name)."
"The solution is a bit expensive if you do not have access to discounts."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of this solution could be improved."
"It comes at a reasonable cost."
"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."
"Aqua Security is not cheap, and it's not very expensive, such as Splunk, they are in the middle."
"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."
"When you want to cover yourself for scalability, you will be charged for the number you place on the scan itself."
"Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance isn't expensive right now. But the price for their product bundles could be better."
"I used to work there, so I never paid for the product. As an employee, we get a lifetime license for personal use, and that's what I'm using. It is a comprehensive platform, so there is a lot more to it. There could be other solutions that are probably a little bit cheaper, but it depends on what people need. Different people have different needs. It offers many things on the same platform. If you add all the things up, it should be cheaper, but I have not done any analysis specifically."
"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."
"The pricing is very competitive."
"We have an annual contract for Qualys VMDR. I believe it's for either two years or five years."
"In Nigerian Naira, we spend about roughly four to five million to use this solution and this is expensive compared to solutions like Nessus."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise70
 

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 ...
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 ...
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.
What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?
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 imp...
 

Also Known As

Aqua Security Platform, CloudSploit, Argon
Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Aqua Cloud Security Platform vs. Qualys VMDR and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
886,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.