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Cortex Xpanse vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

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

Cortex Xpanse
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
3rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (8th), Patch Management (5th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (3rd), Software Supply Chain Security (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of Cortex Xpanse is 4.1%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 4.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Attack Surface Management (ASM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management4.4%
Cortex Xpanse4.1%
Other91.5%
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ali Mohamed - PeerSpot reviewer
Proactively manages security and identifies vulnerabilities with good alerts
We use Cortex Xpanse as a security control for attack surface management in our organization When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action. It checks vulnerabilities periodically, ensuring they are addressed, which helps in…
Nicki Møller - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables automation and quick access to necessary information
One of the significant challenges Qualys is discovery, which I know Microsoft excels at. I can't recall how well Qualys performs this function; it seems I might be missing some details. However, if there's one key aspect to focus on, it's discovery—the ability to identify assets that you are not aware of, even when you can see they are present. Understanding what those assets are is crucial. With Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, it was very difficult to extract detections from the system. The features within Qualys are limited to what they have developed. Sometimes a complete overview is needed to push to a Power BI dashboard, Splunk, ServiceNow, or other platforms. The export process is incredibly challenging. We needed a developer to write a hundred-line Python script that would loop over certain assets due to export limitations. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management could improve its integration capabilities. While it generates substantial data, correlating it with other data sources can be challenging. The export process is difficult, and pre-built integrations with other tools could be enhanced for better process implementation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cortex Xpanse has an easy-to-use user interface."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its firewall and antivirus."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"Cortex Xpanse is a strong solution for attack surface management, including digital brand protection and continuous monitoring."
"As an attack surface manager, I highly recommend Cortex Xpanse, especially if there are many services exposed publicly on the internet."
"When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action."
"The best feature of the product is that it's easy to manage when we have set it up, and the beneficial impact of Cortex Xpanse for the company is security."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management offers comprehensive features to cover our entire attack surface."
"The scanning results are pretty good, and some insights are quite valuable."
"I would rate Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management ten out of ten."
"Overall, I would give Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management a nine out of ten."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is definitely good for a big company; it really helps you keep an eye on your whole environment rather than little pieces here and there throughout your tech stack."
"I mainly appreciate Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management for its patch management capabilities, which are essential in my job for deploying patches and remediating vulnerabilities."
"We have a diverse organization with a robust infrastructure of more than 300,000 assets. By creating unauthorized lists and rules in the Qualys CSAM module, I can block certain software from being used in the organization."
"The asset management part is very simple and essential, and Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management was particularly effective because the information was available exactly where needed, enabling automation and quick access to necessary answers."
 

Cons

"Some improvements are needed in the user interface. It may require more enhancements."
"There is an issue with the old versions of Cortex, and so when we have an older one with Windows or any OS, we have a problem with its connectivity with the cloud."
"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"Some improvements are needed in the user interface."
"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"Regarding technical support, I would rate it as a seven."
"It's challenging to confirm the absolute coverage and penetration of Cortex Xpanse into the Dark Web. The solution lacks comprehensive intelligence on adversaries and risks, which other competitors might provide."
"Cortex Xpanse needs to add dark-web scanning."
"It is automatically exporting the vulnerabilities and the assets. However, it would be useful to have the ability to select or to filter which we would like to export."
"One improvement that they can make in the EASM module is the scan frequency. After EASM is configured the first time, it allows you to do the complete configuration, but if you want to reconfigure it, it will not ask or provide any option for scan frequency. For that, you need to raise a case with Qualys and talk to the Qualys team."
"There can be further simplification to reduce the overall noise and provide ESAM-related data."
"Currently, whenever the agent is running, it consumes over ten percent of my CPU, indicating that CPU consumption is another area Qualys needs to address."
"There have been a couple of times where Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management wasn't accessible and I'd reach out to our TAM and they'd say, 'Qualys is down.' They say, 'We'll let you know when it's back up.' Of course, they never let you know when it's back up."
"The product stability has notably declined over the last two months, and the performance to fulfill a page request is very slow compared to its previous performance."
"Further research and development are needed to enhance integration with other cloud agents and products, particularly improving communication with external products and vendors."
"As of now, the support, results, and low false positives do not necessitate changes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cortex Xpanse is cheaper than other solutions."
"The tool's cost is too high."
"The pricing is fair. I would love to see the price come down a little bit, but we do get a lot of value out of it. We are squeezing every ounce of value we can out of the tool."
"The pricing is market-competitive."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can be expensive, especially if we already have VMDR."
"Qualys is competitively priced for its features. Its pricing is suitable for large organizations with more than 4,000 assets, but for smaller organizations with few assets, such as banks, the costs might be high. They should come up with packages that are suitable for small organizations."
"Qualys offers excellent value for money."
"Though the solution is considered expensive, if bundled with other services such as VMDR or cloud agents, its value would significantly increase. It is currently a bit costly, but with bundling, it could become attractive to more customers."
"The pricing for Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management is reasonable, with an annual subscription costing around $1,000 per year or a monthly subscription starting at approximately $72 per month, depending on the specific package and features included."
"It is cost-effective because, in a single tool, we are getting everything. All the solutions come in a single license or price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex Xpanse?
I don't know the licensing or setup cost; I have no idea about the cost.
What needs improvement with Cortex Xpanse?
I'm not sure right now; I have nothing to comment on regarding what could be improved in the product. We are using it and we are satisfied. I have nothing to comment right now on what other feature...
What is your primary use case for Cortex Xpanse?
Cortex Xpanse is usually used for security from clients.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
For vulnerability management, we have a good price. We have a solid deal in place for the first and second years. However, as we expand to multiple locations, the pricing varies. For some clients, ...
What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
Integration of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, particularly with ServiceNow, takes a very long time, and it needs prioritization of patch rules based on vulnerability risk. It should support...
What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
We use Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management mainly for asset management consolidation because we are using different tools. We have around 256 locations and 480 sites. We have created multiple pla...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex Xpanse vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.