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BMC Helix Automation Console vs Rapid7 InsightVM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
7.3
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)
BMC Helix Automation Console
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
55th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Rapid7 InsightVM
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BMC Helix Automation Console is 0.9%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 InsightVM is 2.0%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys TotalCloud1.1%
Rapid7 InsightVM2.0%
BMC Helix Automation Console0.9%
Other96.0%
Vulnerability Management
 

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.
ShashiGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Soo at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Reasonably Priced
In terms of improvement, the product could benefit from streamlining the implementation process, particularly regarding customization. Currently, the process involves navigating through multiple layers of custom and staging forms, which can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Another aspect to consider is the foundation data provided out of the box, particularly regarding categorization and its associated values. This foundational data may only sometimes meet the mark, as organizations often require more flexibility to tailor it to their needs. Discovering hardware, for instance, can lead to different category processing needs, with certain layers providing minimal benefits. The challenge lies in the inability to directly specify servers, hardware, software, and their respective details, highlighting a need for improvement in this area. As per the current state of the Helix product, it has seen some resolution to issues but still faces challenges when adding more attributes. It can lead to restrictions, particularly with the progressive view page, limiting flexibility in certain cases. While benefits can be gained in other aspects, such drawbacks are common. Improvements are necessary to enhance flexibility in this regard. Exploring alternative solutions like containerization or cloud services may offer opportunities for optimization, requiring careful consideration due to the complexity involved. I'm still determining the current strategy. While there have been improvements in the latest version, there's still a need for further enhancements in an extended version. Additionally, stakeholders, including manufacturing companies, emphasize the importance of fine-tuning performance for the Helix product. The search functionality remains problematic, often taking more than 15 seconds, undermining reliability.
reviewer2775840 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Manages vulnerabilities effectively over time but needs improvement in web coverage and dashboard flexibility
Most of the dynamic asset tagging we use is manual, not dynamic. To manage the assets, we employed the manual approach because we have a limitation regarding the license, so we don't use the dynamic approach much. I don't know how the configuration assessment has assisted with meeting compliance standards. The product that we use is the on-premise solution where we configure assets and dynamically scan them. However, we use the default policies more, the template, so Rapid7 InsightVM on-premise version is not that effective in the web-related systems. However, it is best on the OS to identify and discover the OS-related vulnerabilities, more of open ports and the discovery of vulnerable ports or services. It would be better to improve Rapid7 InsightVM by including or working better to add web-related templates because it's not that effective in regard to web. I don't know if they may have a separate product regarding the web, but for the on-premise type, they are not strong in this area. I would prefer to see web-related templates in addition to improving the dashboard-related things because the dashboard has been constant for a very long time. It would be better to see various kinds of, perhaps a flexible type of dashboard. If it's not customizable at all, I would want to see the risk and asset over time with more flexibility. The current dashboard is not flexible in this regard; I have to dig down every day, so they should work on this as well, in addition to the web.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best part I like is the on-demand scans."
"Qualys TotalCloud fulfills all these needs."
"TotalCloud's best feature is the integration of cloud accounts. It helps with the risk and security posture management of our cloud infrastructure."
"Generally, Qualys is very good at detections, whether on cloud or on-prem, and the agent allows deployment on both infrastructures, providing continuous monitoring of your assets, which is a key selling point for us."
"The most valuable feature is extensibility."
"Qualys TotalCloud has helped us view our risk structure, vulnerabilities, and security posture."
"The agent and agentless scanning in TotalCloud, particularly the FlexScan method, is incredibly valuable. With traditional scanning approaches, we had to give IP ranges and whitelist IPs. All that is now simplified. FlexScan requires minimal intervention, and after configuration, it automatically collects data and performs necessary scans."
"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."
"In terms of scalability, I can only tell you my experience from our clients: I had Remedy installed, and then we installed Discovery, two months ago we installed Server Automation and we've now completed the installation with Vulnerability Management, and everything is inter-operational, it's all automated now, and our customers are happy."
"It's reasonably priced."
"Takes reports from other vulnerabilities."
"The product's initial setup phase was very easy."
"InsightVM has a very organized GUI with ease of use."
"From a scanning perspective, it’s great."
"NeXpose is a pretty good vulnerability scanner... There's a nice dashboard."
"This solution is much more user-friendly than past solutions I have used."
"The discovery and prioritization of vulnerabilities is a good feature along with the investigation, the trials function, and it's also user friendly."
"Overall, this is a product that I am very satisfied with."
"I rate InsightVM eight out of 10 for ease of setup. It takes two or three engineers to deploy. The solution requires some maintenance. It's mainly cleaning up data."
 

Cons

"Regarding technical support from Qualys, they respond, but the response time can be too long. Sometimes we need to wait weeks for solutions to simple questions."
"Qualys' customer service provides quality answers, but the response time is long, even though it is within the SLA."
"TotalCloud could improve its scanning of niche devices like Wi-Fi dongles and USB modems because they are often untested. It covers everything else, like laptops, mobile devices, and Bluetooth IoT devices. They can improve on the small IoT devices because hackers and testers use these."
"Although TotalCloud is a helpful tool, some of its advanced features are still under development."
"To improve the user experience, reporting could be simplified for better comprehension by end users and project managers, facilitating issue resolution."
"In my opinion, what can be improved in Qualys TotalCloud includes pricing and container scanning."
"The cloud licensing unit system is unclear, especially since "units" aren't well-defined."
"There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."
"With BMC I'd like to see the ability to integrate with other software."
"In terms of improvement, the product could benefit from streamlining the implementation process, particularly regarding customization."
"No third-party applications or integrations with additional software solutions."
"However, the main concern is the system's reliability."
"It would be nice to have an additional feature that would provide reports on who has logged onto the console or who did what on the console."
"This solution integrates with another module in Metasploit, that doesn't exist in the other solutions. It is subscribed to on our roadmap, but we chose to implement both Nexppose and AppSpider."
"The technical support is good in their knowledge, but they are a little slow."
"We have some issues with how it scans patches."
"They should integrate the solution with multiple products."
"There have been instances where technical support takes a long time to update the status of a ticket, which is something that can be improved."
"The on-premise updates could improve from Rapid7 InsightVM."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."
"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."
"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."
"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."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."
"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."
Information not available
"The solution's pricing is better than Nexus which charges a high amount for very little use."
"We have an annual license to use Rapid7 InsightVM and if we want to extend it, we will possibly choose more than one year."
"InsightVM is an expensive product, especially compared to its competitors, at around a million NOK per year."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"This solution is expensive, but it's fine for us as we have an open budget for security solutions. Protection and having the system secured is more important."
"Its price is too high. My only concern or issue with Rapid7 is its pricing."
"Its pricing depends on the number of users per month."
"The tool's price is neither too high nor too low. My company needs to pay 65,000 per year. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing fees attached to the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Construction Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise29
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise25
 

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...
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How would you choose between Rapid7 InsightVM and Tenable Nessus?
You have full visibility across cloud, network, virtual, and containerized infrastructures with Rapid7 Insight VM. Yo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 InsightVM?
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that both the setup cost and licensing are great.
What needs improvement with Rapid7 InsightVM?
To improve Rapid7 InsightVM, I wish to have integration with patching systems, which would be useful to us. The usabi...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
TrueSight Vulnerability Management, SecOps Response Service, BladeLogic Threat Director, BMC Helix Remediate
InsightVM, NeXpose
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Online Business Systems
ACS, Acosta, AllianceData, amazon.com, biogen idec, CBRE, CATERPILLAR, Deloitte, COACH, GameStop, IBM
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix Automation Console vs. Rapid7 InsightVM and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.