Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Contrast Security Protect vs Qualys Web Application Scanning comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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

Contrast Security Protect
Ranking in Application Security Tools
29th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Qualys Web Application Scan...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Contrast Security Protect is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 2.0%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Qualys Web Application Scanning2.0%
Contrast Security Protect0.7%
Other97.3%
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Akshay Waghmare - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable DevSecOps product that gives fewer false positives
We use the product for DevSecOps.  The product gives a few false positives. We get 99 percent true positives.  Contrast Security Protect needs to improve integration.  I have been using the product for a year.  Contrast Security Protect is stable.  The solution is scalable. My company has ten…
AnkitSharma13 - PeerSpot reviewer
Web scanning needs improvement but offers good vulnerability detection
The downside of Qualys Web Application Scanning is that it cannot crawl automatically. If I provide an IP address and a login form, it does basic testing, but it doesn't go deep as IBM AppScan does. If Qualys Web Application Scanning could improve its crawling capability, it would be more user-friendly. Qualys Web Application Scanning does IP-level testing, requiring direct input of credentials, and can only scan a few pages to provide known generic vulnerabilities, which isn't as beneficial from my point of view. The Vulnerability Management also relies heavily on version numbers and will flag vulnerabilities based on the component version, but it doesn't check if a real fix exists, leading to flags on components that actually have workarounds available.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product gives a few false positives. We get 99 percent true positives."
"The solution has excellent real-time capabilities."
"Protect provides us with more in-depth visibility into ongoing attacks."
"The most valuable feature of Qualys Web Application Scanning is the effective scanning that can be done."
"The most valuable features are the scheduled scanning, detailed reports, asset management, the knowledge database, and the overall product framework."
"It scans web applications to identify vulnerabilities during deployment."
"You can integrate your Burp Suite results and create an integrated report. Also, the way it shows the results - threats and exploit details - makes remediation very easy."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is accurate and provides minimal false positives."
"It is a good product for website penetration testing to detect vulnerabilities."
"Qualys' process of updating signatures is something we really appreciate, and it's way ahead of its industry peers."
"The interface is user-friendly and easy to understand."
 

Cons

"Protect's reporting GUI is very basic. To get all statuses from the APIs, we needed to write our own KPI dashboard to provide reports."
"There's room for improvement in the initial setup."
"Contrast Security Protect needs to improve integration."
"The pricing does not seem to be competitive."
"The reporting contains too many false positives."
"We have many websites. We don't force scanning on all of them at once because it's taking some time."
"The support could be faster."
"Deployment can be complicated."
"Sometimes the response time is low because the handshake fails, and then you have to re-login and start again."
"The authenticated scanning feature could be improved by adding support for real-time scanning tokens and authorization tokens."
"The software’s pricing could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We are on an annual license for the solution and the pricing could be more affordable."
"The product has a very good licensing model."
"There are different options available with respect to licensing."
"From my perspective, it is a budget-friendly option."
"Qualys WAS' pricing is competitive."
"Licensing was based on the number of assets that you want to scan on your network. You can also do licensing on subscription. On subscription, it is easier and more flexible. You tell Qualys that you want to move from the 1000 to 2000 band or the 3000 or 5000 band, then they will give you the quotation for it. Once you pay for it, applying the licensing is quite easy and effective."
"Try the free trial of the product to understand the basic working mechanisms.​"
"Pricing was reasonable and competitive. It was not too far above the other products."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Security Tools solutions are best for your needs.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
26%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Contrast Security Protect?
The product gives a few false positives. We get 99 percent true positives.
What needs improvement with Contrast Security Protect?
Contrast Security Protect needs to improve integration.
What do you like most about Qualys Web Application Scanning?
The vulnerability management feature is a strong one. And also the patch management feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys Web Application Scanning?
Regarding pricing, I think for personal use, it is costly, but if organizations are ready to pay, then it is fine as they are using it.
What needs improvement with Qualys Web Application Scanning?
The downside of Qualys Web Application Scanning is that it cannot crawl automatically. If I provide an IP address and a login form, it does basic testing, but it doesn't go deep as IBM AppScan does...
 

Also Known As

Contrast Protect
Qualys WAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Williams-Sonoma, Autodesk, HUAWEI, Chromeriver, RingCentral, Demandware.
BskyB, Cartagena, ClearPoint Learning Systems, Connect Group, du, Fortrex Technologies, HBOR, HDI, Highlights for Children, The Lithuanian State Enterprise Centre of Registers, City of Miami Beach, Microsoft, MidlandHR, MSCI Inc., Northern Arizona University, Ofgem, Olympus Europa, PhoneFactor, RTL Nederland, ThousandEyes, VGZ Organisatie B.V.
Find out what your peers are saying about Contrast Security Protect vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.