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Ixia BreakingPoint 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

Ixia BreakingPoint
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
31st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Qualys Web Application Scan...
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (16th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Ixia BreakingPoint is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 1.9%, 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
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys Web Application Scanning1.9%
Ixia BreakingPoint0.7%
Other97.4%
Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
 

Featured Reviews

Prakarn Wungpichayssuk - PeerSpot reviewer
ManBusiness Directorager at CSG SOLUTION
Useful simulated attack database, high availability, but integration could improve
We are using Ixia BreakingPoint for security testing by generating traffic The most valuable feature of Ixia BreakingPoint is the ransomware and malware database for simulated attacks. The integration could improve in Ixia BreakingPoint. The vendor should provide a portal for webinars. I have…
AnkitSharma13 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has many protocols and options, making it very flexible."
"What Ixia BreakingPoint brings to the end customer is the use case."
"BPS VE evaluation was used for testing LTE Network elements with a focus on user plane testing BPS VE along with its UI and new concepts to reduce the complexity of manual testing to a large extent."
"The solution has many protocols and options, making it very flexible."
"We use Ixia BreakingPoint for Layer 7 traffic generation. That's what we like."
"The most valuable feature is Layer 7 traffic generation such as Facebook, Netflix, WhatsApp."
"It is a scalable solution."
"I like that we can test cloud applications."
"We can do scanning and submit reports straight to the customers when there are new vulnerabilities, then tell them whether they are affected or not."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning has multiple features like threat protection and container security scanning in one box."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is very stable and reliable."
"​We have experienced quick customer support. They have a complete list of our previous issues along with our history, which makes it faster for them to solve issues.​"
"The most valuable feature is that we are able to scan the services and put credentials like a user ID password, and we can verify the vulnerability level."
"Automated scanning has significantly improved our web application security management by reducing manual work."
"Key features include: Cloud-based, so the installation is not so tedious. Easily deployed. Highly scalable. Comprehensive reporting."
"Qualys' process of updating signatures is something we really appreciate, and it's way ahead of its industry peers."
 

Cons

"The quality of the traffic generation could be improved, to get closer to being accurate in what a real user would do."
"The flash GUI has room for improvement."
"The solution originally was hard to configure; I'm not sure if they've updated this to make it simpler, but if not, it's something that could be streamlined."
"The quality of the traffic generation could be improved with Ixia BreakingPoint, i.e. to get closer to being accurate in what a real user will do."
"The integration could improve in Ixia BreakingPoint."
"The SSL simulation is realistic but some kinds of tests work imperfectly."
"The price could be better."
"Currently BPS VE's REST API was just developed (some specific functionalities are implemented) and can be improved for better control over the tool using scripts, which help in test automation."
"There could be better management and faster 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."
"The area of false positives could be improved. There are quite a number of false positives as compared to other solutions."
"The support could be faster."
"It should have better automatic reporting."
"Sometimes the response time is low because the handshake fails, and then you have to re-login and start again."
"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."
"They should improve the performance of the security scanning. It should have better performance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no differentiation in licenses for Breaking Point. For one license, you will get all the features. There is no complexity in that."
"We have a one year subscription license for $25,000 US Dollars."
"The solution is expensive."
"The price is high. We pay for the license monthly."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"or us, the pricing is somewhere around $12,000 a year. I'm unsure as to what new licenses now cost."
"The cost is $30,000 USD for one year to cover WAS (Web Application Security) and the VM (Virtual Machine) security in a company with 200 employees."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning's pricing is a bit expensive compared to other solutions available in the market."
"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."
"Try the free trial of the product to understand the basic working mechanisms.​"
"I rate the software’s pricing a six out of ten."
"There are different options available with respect to licensing."
"Qualys WAS' pricing is competitive."
"Pricing was reasonable and competitive. It was not too far above the other products."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Construction Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

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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...
What is your primary use case for Qualys Web Application Scanning?
I use Qualys Web Application Scanning, and we are using Vulnerability Management. By Vulnerability Management, I mean not TotalCloud; they have some on-premises solutions also. Patch Management and...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Qualys WAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Corsa Technology
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 Ixia BreakingPoint vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,915 professionals have used our research since 2012.