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Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 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

Microsoft Defender External...
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (33rd)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (7th), Patch Management (5th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (3rd), Software Supply Chain Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 3.5%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 3.7%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Attack Surface Management (ASM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management3.7%
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management3.5%
Other92.8%
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

AndyChan3 - PeerSpot reviewer
General manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Enhanced visibility and exposes vulnerabilities but needs more integration
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will move to full-scale production in another year, maybe Microsoft External Attack Surface Management…
Nicki Møller - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
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

"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
"Qualys CSAM is valuable for providing end-of-life and end-of-sale information. It gives me visibility into the number of products or hardware items that are end-of-life."
"I mainly appreciate Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management for its patch management capabilities, which are essential in my job for deploying patches and remediating vulnerabilities."
"The fact that it is integrated makes it very easy to understand."
"It de-duplicates findings and helps you understand what the vulnerabilities from your external scans and your external attack surface management are and how they connect to the vulnerabilities on your internal scans."
"Getting different kinds of modules and inventory in one solution is good enough."
"The scanning results are pretty good, and some insights are quite valuable."
"I like the EASM part because it provides visibility into unmanaged assets that are public-facing."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management offers valuable features such as continuous vendor support, rapid response times, dedicated vendor partnerships, and advanced technical capabilities for risk identification."
 

Cons

"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."
"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."
"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."
"Qualys could improve by enhancing its dynamic tagging and role-based access control features, and by refining its user interface for a more intuitive and efficient user experience."
"We've received very poor guidance from them, especially after learning several things we need to fix during the Qualys conference."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is moderately good, while Rapid7 is slightly much better."
"Qualys could improve by enhancing its dynamic tagging and role-based access control features, and by refining its user interface for a more intuitive and efficient user experience."
"The deployment is somewhat complicated and could be made more user-friendly for most users. It is currently not user-friendly for all users. It is good but can be improved. It is a new product, and they are working on it."
"The scanning function could be improved."
"In my opinion, the area that needs improvement is the role-based access control (RBAC). The access privilege management needs to be more robust and streamlined to enhance user access management. Additionally, improvements to the user interface could be beneficial."
"Some areas that would be helpful are more comprehensive tagging and the ability to set up better dynamic rules."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It is cost-effective because, in a single tool, we are getting everything. All the solutions come in a single license or price."
"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 reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, centralized inventory, making it a cost-effective solution."
"Qualys offers excellent value for money."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can be expensive, especially if we already have VMDR."
"The cost for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is high."
"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."
"The pricing for Qualys CSAM is nominal."
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893,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement. Introduction of more AI automation into the products would also be beneficial. The integration is not as seamless co...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will ...
What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
I think the one thing Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can do better is the package management and the updating process. Knowing that you can't update any of the packages until you've done the...
What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
I primarily use it for a small, single-site, multi-source setup with multi-WAN inputs. I have a main fiber connection and a couple of failovers while managing different networks across different se...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.