Invicti vs Qualys Web Application Scanning comparison

Invicti and Qualys are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. Invicti is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.5, while Qualys is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.7. Invicti holds a 1.5% mindshare in SAST, compared to Qualys’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Invicti users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Qualys users who would recommend it.

Invicti

Read 31 Invicti reviews

3,717 Views
2,379 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Qualys Web Application Scan...

Read 40 Qualys Web Application Scanning reviews

4,234 Views
2,964 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Invicti

Qualys Web Application Scan...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Qualys Web Application Scanning and Invicti are competitors in the web application security space. Invicti often has the upper hand in user satisfaction due to its comprehensive feature set and perceived value for money.

Features: Qualys Web Application Scanning is strong in identifying and detailing security vulnerabilities, enhancing security assessments with its thorough reporting. It integrates efficiently into existing workflows. Invicti is known for its automation features and precise vulnerability detection, easing the process of finding and fixing issues swiftly. It's also recognized for its robust integration capabilities, providing comprehensive coverage across various environments.

Room for Improvement: Qualys users suggest better integration options with other tools, enhanced customization settings, and improved user interface design. Invicti users would like improvements in reporting features, enhanced user experience during scans, and better documentation for advanced features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys is noted for its straightforward deployment and generally reliable customer service, though some users mention support responsiveness issues. Invicti's deployment process is smooth, with commendable customer support seen as more responsive than Qualys, giving it an edge in both areas.

Pricing and ROI: Qualys Web Application Scanning is viewed as cost-effective, with a good return on investment, but less competitive pricing than Invicti. Invicti's pricing is higher, yet users believe its comprehensive feature set justifies the cost, resulting in satisfactory ROI despite the higher initial expense.

To learn more, read our detailed Invicti vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Invicti vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning

March 2026

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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

Invicti

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Container Security (25th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (8th), API Security (8th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (4th), Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) (5th)

Qualys Web Application Scan...

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

13th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Invicti is 1.5%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Invicti	1.5%
Qualys Web Application Scanning	1.8%
Other	96.7%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Valavan Sivgalingam

Senior Manager, Security Engineering at ESS

Dynamic testing regularly identifies web vulnerabilities and has strong false positive confirmations

It has good false positive confirmations, confirmed issues identification, and proof of exploit-related features as part of it. We use Invicti for these things in our portfolios. The solution includes Proof-Based Scanning technology. Invicti is part of our SSDLC portfolio, and DAST dynamic testing is very important for our web applications and portfolios. For both the API endpoints and web applications, we do regular testing on a monthly basis for all our releases. Invicti does a good job. The only concern is on the performance side, but other than that, we find it really helpful in identifying web vulnerabilities. A full scan takes more time based on your website and other factors, but for us, it takes more than two to three days. The scan performance can be improved upon. When we check with them, they discuss proof-based scanning and related aspects. However, there could be intermittent results that could help us.

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AnkitSharma13

Security Officer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has a comprehensive resulting mechanism. It is a one-stop solution for all your security testing mechanisms."

"It has improved the security of our code by scanning it and finding security defects."

"When we try to manually exploit the vulnerabilities, it often takes time to realize what's going on and what needs to be done."

"High level of accuracy and quick scanning."

"Its ability to crawl a web application is quite different than another similar scanner, and sometimes it can find more vulnerabilities that another scanner can’t."

"NetSparker is a very easy to use and understand product."

"I like that it's stable and technical support is great."

"Crawling feature: Netsparker has very detail crawling steps and mechanisms. This feature expands the attack surface."

More Invicti pros

"Licensing is the most valuable. Qualys provides the best licensing for companies. It is the best product for the development purposes of web applications. The product has a lot of integrations."

"The most valuable features are the scheduled scanning, detailed reports, asset management, the knowledge database, and the overall product framework."

"The feature that I have found most valuable is the progressive scan. It is good. It's done in 24 hours."

"Qualys Web Application Scanning is robust and mature from industry standards."

"The most valuable feature of Qualys Web Application Scanning is the effective scanning that can be done."

"WAS gave us visibility into our externally exposed web applications and showed us vulnerabilities that we were not aware of and did not know how to test for."

"It is easy to use."

"The simplicity of exporting reports and the simplicity and clarity of the reports included with the product are good."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning pros

Cons

"The support's response time could be faster since we are in different time zones."

"The scannings are not sufficiently updated."

"It would be better for listing and attacking Java-based web applications to exploit vulnerabilities."

"The support's response time could be faster since we are in different time zones."

"Netsparker doesn't provide the source code of the static application security testing."

"The higher level vulnerabilities like Cross-Site Scripting, SQL Injection, and other higher level injection attacks are difficult to highlight using Netsparker."

"The licensing model should be improved to be more cost-effective. There are URL restrictions that consume our license. Compared to other DAST solutions and task tools like WebInspect and Burp Enterprise, Invicti is very expensive. The solution’s scanning time is also very long compared to other DAST tools. It might be due to proof-based scanning."

"They don't really provide the proof of concept up to the level that we need in our organization. We are a consultancy firm, and we provide consultancy for the implementation and deployment solutions to our customers. When you run the scans and the scan is completed, it only shows the proof of exploit, which really doesn't work because the tool is running the scan and exploiting on the read-only form. You don't really know whether it is actually giving the proof of exploit. We cannot prove it manually to a customer that the exploit is genuine. It is really hard to perform it manually and prove it to the concerned development, remediation, and security teams. It is currently missing the static application security part of the application security, especially web application security. It would be really cool if they can integrate a SAS tool with their dynamic one."

More Invicti cons

"Sometimes the response time is low because the handshake fails, and then you have to re-login and start again."

"I would like it to be cheaper because it is a bit expensive compared to competitors like Tenable Nessus."

"The support could be faster."

"The tool should have a live HTTP editor and more configuration options for some situations, such as handling applications that have URL rewriting enabled."

"The GUI could be a little less complicated as it opens a lot of new windows for creating search lists, templates, reports, or for scanning purposes."

"Deployment can be complicated."

"The software’s pricing could be improved."

"There's a distinction between internal and external scanning processes that could be streamlined. Currently, for internal scanning, specific configurations and scanner appliances need to be deployed within the network, which differs from the simpler setup for external scans. This dual process complicates the setup for comprehensive scanning coverage."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think that price it too high, like other Security applications such as Acunetix, WebInspect, and so on."

"It is competitive in the security market."

"Netsparker is one of the costliest products in the market. It would help if they could allow us to scan multiple URLs on the same license."

"OWASP Zap is free and it has live updates, so that's a big plus."

"We never had any issues with the licensing; the price was within our assigned limits."

"Invicti is best suited for large enterprises. I don't think small and medium-sized businesses can afford it. Maintenance costs aren't that great."

"We are using an NFR license and I do not know the exact price of the NFR license. I think 20 FQDN for three years would cost around 35,000 US Dollars."

"The solution is very expensive. It comes with a yearly subscription. We were paying 6000 dollars yearly for unlimited scans. We have three licenses; basic, business, and ultimate. We need ultimate because it has unlimited scan numbers."

More Invicti pricing and cost advice

"From my perspective, it is a budget-friendly option."

"We normally purchase an annual license."

"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."

"Qualys WAS' pricing is competitive."

"Qualys Web Application Scanning's pricing is a bit expensive compared to other solutions available in the market."

"It is an expensive platform."

"The product is expensive, at least initially, in comparison to other products in this category."

"Qualys has an IT-based licensing based on a yearly license, which is a good way of handling it. However, in some cases, when we do the PCI scanning, the host will not like the scanning and we lose the IT license. So, this could be improved."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	13

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netsparker Web Application Security Scanner?

The setup cost is pretty competitive. For example, if you want to talk about the SAST license, it comes to about $150 or sometimes less than $100, depending on the conversion or the number of licen...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Invicti?

At this time, there is nothing that comes to mind. However, most of the products in the market are pretty much neck-to-neck competitors. Speaking about it, there are a couple of factors which they ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Invicti?

I have worked on a couple of products, specifically in web application security. I have worked on Invicti, and with respect to PAM, I have worked with BeyondTrust. I have not worked specifically fo...

See all answers

What do you like most about Qualys Web Application Scanning?

The vulnerability management feature is a strong one. And also the patch management feature.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys Web Application Scanning?

See all answers

Comparisons

Acunetix vs Invicti

Compared 9% of the time

Veracode vs Invicti

Compared 8% of the time

SonarQube vs Invicti

Compared 6% of the time

OpenText Dynamic Application Security Testing vs Invicti

Compared 5% of the time

Rapid7 InsightAppSec vs Invicti

Compared 4% of the time

More Invicti Competitors

OWASP Zap vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 8% of the time

Checkmarx SAST vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 7% of the time

SonarQube vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 7% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 5% of the time

Veracode vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 5% of the time

More Qualys Web Application Scanning Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Invicti

March 2026

Download Invicti product report

Buyer's Guide

Qualys Web Application Scanning

March 2026

Download Qualys Web Application Scanning product report

Also Known As

Netsparker

Qualys WAS

Overview

Invicti helps DevSecOps teams automate security tasks and save hundreds of hours each month by identifying web vulnerabilities that matter. Combining dynamic with interactive testing (DAST + IAST) and software composition analysis (SCA), Invicti scans every corner of an app to find what other tools miss with 99.98% accuracy, delivering on the promise of Zero Noise AppSec. Invicti helps discover all web assets — even ones that are lost, forgotten, or created by rogue departments. With an array of out-of-the-box integrations, DevSecOps teams can get ahead of their workloads to hit critical deadlines, improve processes, and communicate more effectively while reducing risk and hitting the ROI goals.

Invicti

Qualys Web Application Scanning (WAS) is a fully cloud-based web application security scanner. The scanner will automatically crawl periodically and test web applications to discover potential vulnerabilities, including cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection. The consistent testing equips the automated service to generate consistent results, lessen false positives, and offer the ability to scale to protect thousands of websites effortlessly.

Qualys Web Application Scanning is bundled with different scanning technology to carefully scan websites for malware infections and will send notifications to website owners to assist in preventing blacklisting and brand reputation damage. As digital transformation takes place in various organizations, Qualys WAS gives organizations the ability to track and document their web app security status through its interactive reporting capabilities.

Qualys WAS empowers organizations to remediate any web application vulnerabilities quickly. Some of the key tools offered are:

Deep Scanning: All apps and APIs on your internal network and public cloud are covered by Qualys WAS deep scanning to show you any visible vulnerabilities.
DevSec Ops Tool: Detect security issues in your code while still in app development stages and generate comprehensive reports.
Comprehensive Discovery: Discover and catalog new and unknown web apps in your network.
Malware Detection: Scan a website, identify vulnerabilities, and receive alerts to any infections.

Benefits of Qualys Web Application Scanning

Qualys Web Application Scanning offers many benefits, including:

Quick Deployment: Requires no infrastructure or software to upkeep.
Effortless Scalability: Effortlessly launch a deep scan and protect thousands of websites.
Centralized Management: Manage and mend all web app vulnerabilities through a single interface.
Excellent Integration Capabilities: Integrates with Qualys Web App Firewall (WAF) for a single-click virtual patching of found vulnerabilities.
Respond to Threats Immediately: Qualys Continuous Monitoring offers the user a hands-free service by automatically launching scanning and sending notifications of a potential threat.
Cost-effective Solution: Data is analyzed in real time as Qualys WAS is an end-to-end solution; this helps avoid costs associated with managing multiple security vendors.

Reviews from Real Users

Qualys Web Application Scanning stands out among its competitors for a variety of reasons. Two of those reasons are its progressive scan and quick detection of vulnerabilities.

P.K., a senior software developer at a tech vendor, writes, "The feature that I have found most valuable is the progressive scan. It is good. It's done in 24 hours."

Nagaraj S., lead cybersecurity engineer at a tech service company, notes, "I have found the detection of vulnerabilities tool thorough with good results and the graphical display output to be wonderful and full of colors. It allows many types of outputs, such as bar and chart previews."

Qualys

Sample Customers

Samsung, The Walt Disney Company, T-Systems, ING Bank

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.

Buyer's Guide

Invicti vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning

March 2026

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