IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs Rapid7 Metasploit comparison

IBM and Rapid7 are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. IBM is ranked #45 with an average rating of 5.0, while Rapid7 is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.4. IBM holds a 0.5% mindshare in VM, compared to Rapid7’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Rapid7 users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Rapid7 Metasploit and IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment are products in cybersecurity, each addressing different security assessment aspects. Metasploit leads in user satisfaction with pricing and customer support, while Guardium is regarded as superior for its extensive features and comprehensive security value.

Features: Metasploit is known for penetration testing capabilities, an extensive exploit database, and effective risk validation. IBM Guardium focuses on robust vulnerability management, real-time monitoring, and database security.

Room for Improvement: Metasploit could enhance its database security focus, add more comprehensive reporting, and include real-time monitoring. IBM Guardium could streamline its deployment process, improve ease of use for quick integration, and increase user-friendliness.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Metasploit offers a streamlined deployment process with responsive customer support. IBM Guardium may involve a more complex deployment but provides adequate support for its extensive features.

Pricing and ROI: Metasploit is seen as cost-effective with a quick ROI due to penetration testing tools. IBM Guardium, while having a higher setup cost, provides significant long-term security benefits and a strong ROI for deep database vulnerability assessments.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Rapid7 Metasploit Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Rapid7 Metasploit

July 2025

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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

Zafran Security

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 0.9%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 Metasploit is 1.4%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

Israel Cavazos Landini

Associate Director IT Security Operations at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees

Weekly insights and risk analysis facilitate informed security decisions

I appreciate the weekly insights Zafran provides, which include critical topics for networks and IT security, allowing us to evaluate which insights apply to our environment. The organization score feature is valuable to keep the leadership team updated on how our infrastructure fares security-wise. The applicable risk level versus base risk level feature is beneficial because prior to Zafran, we only used the base risk level, but now understand that risk depends on the asset itself. Zafran is an excellent tool.

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Dr. Sajid Latif

Guardium Administrator at Interactive Group

Improvements sought in database optimization while benefiting from robust security monitoring

We use the analytical functionality of Guardium, but the analytical functionality is not so powerful or flexible because it does not include the application user ID. It only includes the database user ID. To identify risky users, it does not support end users, so IBM must incorporate this feature into the built-in analytical engine of the Guardium. There is only one problem I experienced while using Guardium: the internal database of the collector is MySQL, which is not so powerful or flexible. When you make a query in a MySQL database, it takes too much time to respond. IBM should replace this MySQL database with a more powerful internal database for the logging mechanism so that Guardium can collect logging data flexibly and ensure optimization. My overall experience with Guardium is good. The only problem is that IBM must replace the internal DB, MySQL, with a more powerful enterprise-level database because enterprises use it at an enterprise level, and MySQL does not support optimally.

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Mani Bommisetty

Infrastructure patching Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Comprehensive insights with robust vulnerability detection and streamlined alert management

Rapid7 has a significant advantage in providing a clear picture of my environment. It provides insight and incident detection response capabilities. When deployed with the same agent in servers or endpoints, it identifies vulnerabilities and monitors data transmission to external sources. Rapid7 offers comprehensive features within one platform, eliminating the need to integrate multiple tools to see all alerts in one place.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Zafran is an excellent tool."

"Overall, we have seen about eighty-seven percent reduction of the number of vulnerabilities that require urgency to remediate, specifically the number of criticals."

"We saw benefits from Zafran Security almost immediately after deploying it."

"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."

"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."

"It helped with some of the regulatory requirements. It also helped with some of the security analytics and analysis. It was worthwhile from that perspective."

"The reporting features are good and there are many built-in reports that can be quickly configured."

"The most valuable feature is that it provides a simple English recommendation on actions that you need to take once a vulnerability is discovered."

"The Vulnerability Assessment feature is quite stable and helps identify numerous vulnerabilities in databases."

"It contains almost all the available exploits and payloads."

"It is scalable. It's in line with our needs."

"The solution is open source and has many small targetted penetration tests that have been written by many people that are useful. You can choose different subjects for the test, such as Oracle databases or Apache servers."

"The most valuable feature for us is the support for testing Linux-based web server components."

"I use Rapid7 Metasploit for payload generation and Post-Exploitation."

"The greatest advantage of Rapid7 Metasploit is that it is the only system that can directly exploit vulnerabilities on the Metasploit platform."

"Rapid7 Metasploit is a useful product."

"It's not possible to do penetration testing without being very proficient in Metasploit."

More Rapid7 Metasploit pros

Cons

"I think the ability to have some enhanced reporting capabilities is something they can improve on, as they have good reports but we have asked for some specific reporting enhancements."

"The dashboarding and reporting functionality of Zafran Security is an area that definitely could use some improvements."

"Initially, we were somewhat concerned about the scalability of Zafran due to our large asset count and the substantial amount of information we needed to process."

"The interface could be improved by having sub-groups of tests, ultimately making the process of collecting tests faster."

"It was not as easy to use. The user-friendliness of it was somewhat lower than what I was expecting. It was also lacking in terms of the ease of the setup. There should be an automatic agent for deployment."

"Building policies is not that easy. There are some things that are turned off by default, for example, displaying values."

"There is only one problem I experienced while using Guardium: the internal database of the collector is MySQL, which is not so powerful or flexible."

"The reporting feature needs improvement. The time taken to fetch reports based on the number of events can be extensive, unlike Tenable, which is more user-friendly and faster."

"The solution should improve the responsiveness of its live technical support."

"It is necessary to add some training materials and a tutorial for beginners."

"The database is not always updated with the latest vulnerabilities or zero-day exploits. If a vulnerability arises a month or two ago, it might not be included in the database, which is something I would like to see improved."

"Better automation capabilities would be an improvement."

"While Metasploit excels in vulnerability assessment, it could improve in vulnerability management."

"The solution is not very scalable, it does not provide any automation to be able to scale it."

"Rapid7 Metasploit can add a GUI feature because it is only available online."

More Rapid7 Metasploit cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"One thing not advantageous for it was that it was a little bit more expensive. I would rate it one out of five in terms of pricing."

"I have used the free version of Rapid7 Metasploit."

"I use the open-source version of this product. Pricing is not relevant."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product's pricing a six. So it's fairly priced."

"The pricing structure involves a one-time purchase cost of approximately twenty thousand dollars or euros for all customers."

"It is expensive. Our license expired, and our company is not thinking to renew because of our budget."

"We pay monthly. The pricing is reasonable."

"It is a reasonably priced solution. I would rate it from five out of ten."

"Rapid7 Metasploit is an open-source solution."

More Rapid7 Metasploit pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

37%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?

Since we stood Zafran Security up in our private cloud, we handle the maintenance on our side. As we opted not to use...

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What needs improvement with Zafran Security?

In terms of areas for improvement, Zafran Security is doing a really great job as a new and emerging company. Oftenti...

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What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?

My use cases for Zafran Security revolve around two primary areas. One is around vulnerability management and priorit...

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What needs improvement with IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment?

We use the analytical functionality of Guardium, but the analytical functionality is not so powerful or flexible beca...

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What is your primary use case for IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment?

We are still using IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment. We only use IBM Guardium Data Protection and monitoring, da...

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What advice do you have for others considering IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment?

We do not use IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment for data encryption or any other tool for analytics, or identity ...

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What do you like most about Rapid7 Metasploit?

I use Rapid7 Metasploit for payload generation and Post-Exploitation.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 Metasploit?

The pricing of Rapid7 Metasploit is quite affordable. It has a free version that many customers start with, and after...

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What needs improvement with Rapid7 Metasploit?

The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even ...

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Comparisons

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Qualys VMDR vs Zafran Security

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Compared 31% of the time

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Compared 26% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment

Compared 25% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment

Compared 19% of the time

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Tenable Nessus vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 16% of the time

Pentera vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 10% of the time

Acunetix vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon Inspector vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 9% of the time

Qualys VMDR vs Rapid7 Metasploit

Compared 7% of the time

More Rapid7 Metasploit Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Zafran Security

July 2025

Download Zafran Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Vulnerability Management

August 2025

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment report

Download IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment product report

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 Metasploit

August 2025

Download Rapid7 Metasploit product report

Also Known As

No data available

Metasploit

Overview

Zafran Security integrates with existing security tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively, proving that most critical vulnerabilities are not exploitable, optimizing threat management.

Zafran Security introduces an innovative operating model for managing security threats and vulnerabilities. By leveraging the threat exposure management platform, it pinpoints and prioritizes exploitable vulnerabilities, reducing risk through immediate remediation. This platform enhances your hybrid cloud security by normalizing vulnerability signals and integrating specific IT context data, such as CVE runtime presence and internet asset reachability, into its analysis. No longer reliant on patch windows, Zafran Security allows you to manage risks actively.

What are the key features of Zafran Security?

Threat Exposure Management: Utilizes existing tools to prioritize vulnerabilities and manage threats.
Integrative Analysis: Combines security data with IT context for precise vulnerability management.
Real-time Risk Reduction: Enables immediate risk management without waiting for patches.
Hybrid Cloud Compatibility: Functions across diverse cloud environments for comprehensive security.

What benefits can users expect from Zafran Security?

Improved Security: Enhances protection by efficiently identifying and mitigating risks.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces unnecessary patching expenses by confirming non-exploitable vulnerabilities.
Time Savings: Frees developers to focus on root causes by handling immediate threats.
Comprehensive Insight: Offers a holistic view of security threats and vulnerabilities.

In industries where security is paramount, such as finance and healthcare, Zafran Security provides invaluable protection by ensuring that only exploitable vulnerabilities are addressed. It allows entities to maintain robust security measures while allocating resources efficiently, fitting seamlessly into existing security strategies.

Zafran Security

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment scans data infrastructures (databases, data warehouses and big data environments) to detect vulnerabilities, and suggests remedial actions. The solution identifies exposures such as missing patches, weak passwords, unauthorized changes and misconfigured privileges.

IBM

Attackers are always developing new exploits and attack methods—Metasploit penetration testing software helps you use their own weapons against them. Utilizing an ever-growing database of exploits, you can safely simulate real-world attacks on your network to train your security team to spot and stop the real thing.

Rapid7

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

City of Corpus Christi, Diebold, Lumenate, Nebraska Public Power District, Prairie North Regional Health, Apptio, Automation Direct, Bob's Stores, Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions, Carnegie Mellon University

Buyer's Guide

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Rapid7 Metasploit

July 2025

Free Report: IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Rapid7 Metasploit

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Rapid7 Metasploit and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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