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DefectDojo vs Nucleus Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 23, 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

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (12th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (8th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (2nd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (7th)
DefectDojo
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
46th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
DevSecOps (13th)
Nucleus Security
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
43rd
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (29th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (14th), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DefectDojo is 0.8%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nucleus Security is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys TotalCloud1.2%
Nucleus Security1.0%
DefectDojo0.8%
Other97.0%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

YashwantShinde - PeerSpot reviewer
Soc Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Risk-based visibility has transformed how I prioritize cloud vulnerabilities and protect key assets
The best features Qualys TotalCloud offers are cloud asset visibility, vulnerability assessment, and risk prioritization. This risk-based prioritization helped me quickly identify high-risk vulnerabilities and focus on remediation instead of going through every finding. TrueRisk-based prioritization is useful for understanding which vulnerabilities need attention first. It improved our workflow mainly by giving us a single view of cloud assets and their risk, so we could focus on the higher priority vulnerabilities instead of reviewing every finding manually. This helped us prioritize remediations more efficiently and reduce the time spent on vulnerability assessment and follow-up. Qualys TotalCloud helped us identify exposures that might otherwise have been missed, especially across cloud assets, vulnerabilities, and identities. With the SaaS configuration, the unified inventory and risk view made it easier to connect vulnerabilities with asset criticality, exposure, and access permissions, allowing us to investigate high-risk exposures first and address them before they could become bigger security issues.
reviewer2267097 - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration and Solution Architect at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Easy to use with efficient vulnerability reporting and team collaboration
Use case, so all the reports from GitLeaks, DefectDojo, GitLeaks or dependency check or Trivy, they make reports, and we send this report to DefectDojo to have CVMs, Central Vulnerability Management. DefectDojo is Central Vulnerability Management. If you have a dashboard to set, we have…
reviewer2872923 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vulnerability And Compliance Manager at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Unified vulnerability view has improved risk-based decisions but reporting still needs work
One of the main issues with Nucleus Security is its lack of reporting capability. The user interface resembles an early 2000s application style, and although its speed is decent, it could be improved as more data is ingested. The overall appearance and feel need work, especially compared to modern applications from Rapid7, Qualys, and Tenable, which have more engaging user interfaces. The reporting capability is severely lacking; not being able to filter to granularity or have custom built queries is an annoyance that needs an overhaul. Additionally, there are bugs that have not been resolved, such as when you create a report and remove an asset, the asset still appears in the report despite not being present in the system anymore, leading to issues that need to be addressed quickly. Nucleus Security can become a difficult investment because I already have a vulnerability management solution, and I question where Nucleus Security fits with its licensing model. While I acknowledge automation has been described, it would be amazing to control the entire vulnerability management workflow from Nucleus Security without needing to log onto other systems. Having controls or actions that can be sent from the console down to the scanner for rescans would be beneficial. If Nucleus Security is going down this path, it should ensure that it becomes a one-stop shop for vulnerability management across multiple applications.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The scalability is good as well. I would rate it ten out of ten."
"Qualys TotalCloud provides a single, prioritized view based on requirements such as identifying the most vulnerable assets and calculating the average time to remediate vulnerabilities."
"I would recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users because it is cost-efficient and has a good return on investment."
"If I had to say something positive about the product that brings me the biggest benefit, I would say it has accurate reports, gets new update CVEs, zero-day attack detection, and is easy to manage with its GUI."
"The most valuable feature is the consolidated information that it provides from various platforms."
"By integrating TotalCloud, we have significantly reduced vulnerabilities in our deployment pipeline."
"Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable features are its security capabilities that help identify and mitigate risk factors."
"TotalCloud provides the easiest and the best approach for cloud infrastructure management."
"With the pipeline of detection and DefectDojo, we are able to see the real vulnerabilities, and we fix them."
"The best features that Nucleus Security offers in my experience are the unified integrations with all of the different vulnerability management platforms."
"Nucleus Security has impacted my organization positively by providing a single pane view of vulnerabilities from different connectors and enabling the automation of reporting and alerting on findings that are out of due date or out of SLA."
"The best features Nucleus Security offers, in my opinion, are that it is really great in showcasing things and providing centralized vulnerability management."
"Nucleus Security has fundamentally changed how we manage our vulnerability lifecycle and made our entire incident response process much more proactive, organized, and reliable."
 

Cons

"With the growing integration of AI, I would like Qualys to enhance its service offerings to better accommodate AI-related risks."
"I would appreciate additional integration options to connect Qualys TotalCloud with our other vulnerability management tools."
"Overall, we are satisfied with it. However, the response part of the Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) module can be improved. It is not yet in place according to requirements; it is not completely available even though the module has been released."
"The downside is only in container security, but it has not been a long time since they introduced these models."
"There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."
"One of the things that could be improved is the alerts. Qualys is a fantastic tool, especially with the TruRisk feature, but one challenge that most leaders face involves alert fatigue."
"There should be improvement from a dashboard perspective when collecting and showcasing data to lead management."
"The areas in the solution that have room for improvement include the UI/UX design, which should be improved, and they should integrate more artificial intelligence into the product."
"We need something to notify the team responsible for a product when vulnerabilities are found."
"On a scale of one to ten, I would rate Nucleus Security overall a six."
"While the platform is incredibly powerful, the initial configuration curve of Nucleus Security can be a bit steep."
"One of the main issues with Nucleus Security is its lack of reporting capability."
"Nucleus Security needs a better view into exposure management, as exposure management and attack path management are missing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."
"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."
"The pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."
"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."
"Qualys TotalCloud is cost-efficient and was selected for its value compared to other products."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers good pricing that is affordable and competitive with the market. Our partnership also provides us with additional benefits."
"While Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive and may soon be considered overpriced."
Information not available
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise32
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
To be totally honest, I do not have any best features because I have had a bad experience using this tool, especially...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is vulnerability management and exposure management. I use this tool to evalua...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DefectDojo?
The pricing is great. It is much cheaper compared to other solutions. We don't want to pay for things we are able to ...
What needs improvement with DefectDojo?
We need something to notify the team responsible for a product when vulnerabilities are found. We are able to attach ...
What is your primary use case for DefectDojo?
Use case, so all the reports from GitLeaks, DefectDojo, GitLeaks or dependency check or Trivy, they make reports, and...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nucleus Security?
The licensing model is straightforward, with one license across multiple assets for multiple connectors. It is always...
What needs improvement with Nucleus Security?
While the platform is incredibly powerful, the initial configuration curve of Nucleus Security can be a bit steep. Wh...
What is your primary use case for Nucleus Security?
In the initial phase when we first brought Nucleus Security into our environment, instead of immediately pushing it i...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Wiz, Qualys, Tenable and others in Vulnerability Management. Updated: August 2026.
910,479 professionals have used our research since 2012.