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Nucleus Security vs Qualys VMDR comparison

 

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

Nucleus Security
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
41st
Ranking in Risk-Based Vulnerability Management
14th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (26th), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (13th)
Qualys VMDR
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
3rd
Ranking in Risk-Based Vulnerability Management
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (3rd), Configuration Management Databases (3rd), Container Security (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Nucleus Security is 0.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys VMDR is 4.4%, down from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys VMDR4.4%
Nucleus Security0.8%
Other94.8%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

BJ
Technical Director at Entrust Software Development India
Centralized security testing has improved vulnerability remediation and compliance reporting
I recommend more enhancements focusing on penetration testing for both SSL over HTTP and non-SSL over HTTP, specifically targeting the RCP Rich Client Platform and Equinox frameworks that allow on-premises desktop applications to be tested simultaneously. I believe those would significantly improve the tool in the future. I choose eight as my rating primarily because of the installer app; it becomes challenging to identify the actual vulnerabilities. Once we build this installer—rather than just working on the codebase—sometimes, we face gaps considering the build parameters and conversions to the installer. Identifying those gaps is an area that could use improvement after the installer or desktop application testing, which would be beneficial. That is the only reason; otherwise, I could easily rate it a ten out of ten given its smooth operational process.
Vaibhav Ghule - PeerSpot reviewer
Soc Lead & Edr Administration at Persistent Systems
Continuous risk-based monitoring has strengthened incident response and vulnerability prioritization
I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries lack grouping operators in Qualys VMDR. From my experience, I would appreciate improvements in the query options in Qualys VMDR, specifically in the query-building process where I would need more features and operators. Additionally, we have been facing issues with Qualys on the cloud level. We cannot download the configuration profile from the cloud agent, and it is showing a pending action for download. During 2025, we noticed outages of Qualys a couple of times. I want to mention that there is an issue with receiving timely RCA deliveries. While this is not necessarily about the tool, it relates to support. The support has not been very responsive, and we are receiving RCAs a little delayed whenever we raise support cases or communicate with the TAMs. Additionally, the UI has a slight latency, which I and my team have experienced. They have also reported this latency issue when navigating through different pages.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have seen clear compliance and risk control outcomes more than other operational metrics, including fewer process gaps during documentation and safety checks, strong consistency in following protocols for handling, traceability, and staff awareness, better audit readiness, a lower chance of procedure errors, and faster escalation when something appears out of standard, which is very important for us in the healthcare sector."
"I think the best features that Nucleus Security offers are purely the faster remediation to dev tools, which is crucial for managing, prioritizing, and fixing vulnerabilities while helping operational pipelines run these vulnerability management tools."
"Qualys has a continuous endpoint monitoring feature for agent-based scanning. Once you deploy the solution, it monitors everything that is happening every 30 minutes. Then, if there are any vulnerabilities, they are reported."
"It's very configurable to adjust impact to systems."
"The most valuable feature of Qualys Container Security is the detailed information in the reports and the remediation, which is done to make sure there are no vulnerabilities."
"Qualys VMDR is easy to understand and provides detailed reports."
"Using the policy compliance module allowed this to be automated and saved time as well as generated more complete coverage of assets leading to greater assurance."
"I like the solution's web application security for scanning, the solution is flexible with good integration."
"The most valuable feature is the connection of threat intelligence information with identified vulnerabilities, which means you can prioritize vulnerabilities according to actual attacks."
"I like Qualys because it is a very complete product, more so than Tenable."
 

Cons

"Protocols can be too complex in practice sometimes, and some processes can feel heavy and disconnected from our daily workflow."
"I choose eight as my rating primarily because of the installer app; it becomes challenging to identify the actual vulnerabilities."
"Improve the API speed."
"Qualys VM should improve its methodology."
"The user interface (UI) is quite complicated."
"The only improvement I can think of is on the implementation side. At times it is a bit slow."
"The reporting needs improvement. It should generate much more stuff like field reports."
"I do not like that all of the data is stored on the cloud."
"The IoT scan is not great and we would like to see some improvements to it."
"I would like to see this solution simplified to work more easily in a multi-cloud environment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance isn't expensive right now. But the price for their product bundles could be better."
"I used to work there, so I never paid for the product. As an employee, we get a lifetime license for personal use, and that's what I'm using. It is a comprehensive platform, so there is a lot more to it. There could be other solutions that are probably a little bit cheaper, but it depends on what people need. Different people have different needs. It offers many things on the same platform. If you add all the things up, it should be cheaper, but I have not done any analysis specifically."
"It's very expensive, especially if you want to use multiple modules of Qualys."
"They have recently changed the pricing model, which is now better than it was before."
"Qualys VM is reasonably priced."
"An annual license for a single scanner costs around $3,000."
"Qualys is a pay-as-you-go model, so there's flexibility to the pricing."
"The license is on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise70
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nucleus Security?
I have a good experience with that, so we don't have much problem dealing with pricing, setup, and licensing.
What needs improvement with Nucleus Security?
I think it can be improved by making it more practical, integrated, and easier for teams to apply in real-world workflow from a healthcare perspective. The main improvements I can see right now are...
What is your primary use case for Nucleus Security?
I have been using Nucleus Security for the past few years in my company, particularly in the healthcare field.I use Nucleus Security especially for understanding radiation safety, nuclear medicine,...
What do you like most about Qualys VMDR?
I like that we have many scanners and channels that don't overload. It helps us scan and track easily. Also, the tagging system is good for tagging. We can still use QualysAgent task ID tools even ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that we can consider both time and money saved.
What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?
I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries lack grouping operators in Qualys VMDR. From my experience, I would appreciate imp...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Agrokor Group, American Specialty Health, American State Bank, Arval, Life:), Axway, Bank of the West, Blueport Commerce, BSkyB, Brinks, CaixaBank, Cartagena, Catholic Health System, CEC Bank, Cegedim, CIGNA, Clickability, Colby-Sawyer College, Commercial Bank of Dubai, University of Utah, eBay Inc., ING Singapore, National Theatre, OTP Bank, Sodexo, WebEx
Find out what your peers are saying about Wiz, Tenable, Qualys and others in Vulnerability Management. Updated: April 2026.
886,426 professionals have used our research since 2012.