Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Tenable.io Container Security comparison

Palo Alto Networks and Tenable are both solutions in the Container Security category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5, while Tenable is ranked #27 with an average rating of 8.5. Palo Alto Networks holds a 7.8% mindshare in Container Security, compared to Tenable’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Tenable users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 1, 2026

Tenable.io Container Security and Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks are competing solutions in the container security space. Prisma Cloud is considered the stronger option due to its superior features, even though Tenable.io offers better pricing and support.

Features: Tenable.io Container Security provides continuous monitoring, vulnerability assessment, and risk management to ensure robust visibility. In contrast, Prisma Cloud offers a more extensive cloud-native security suite, including threat detection, compliance monitoring, and integrated security features.

Room for Improvement: Tenable.io could improve its integration capabilities, especially with platforms like GitLab Ultimate, and streamline its operational complexity. Prisma Cloud might benefit from simplifying its complex deployment model and enhancing support for Windows security.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tenable.io Container Security is praised for its straightforward deployment and responsive support, while Prisma Cloud compensates for its more complex deployment with comprehensive support and in-depth technical guidance.

Pricing and ROI: Tenable.io is noted for lower setup costs and a favorable ROI due to efficient implementation. Prisma Cloud, although requiring a higher initial investment, offers valuable long-term strategic security benefits for those seeking advanced features.

To learn more, read our detailed Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs. Tenable.io Container Security Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs. Tenable.io Container Security

April 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

Qualys TotalCloud

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Container Security category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is 7.8%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable.io Container Security is 1.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Container Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks	7.8%
Qualys TotalCloud	1.4%
Tenable.io Container Security	1.0%
Other	89.8%

Container Security

Featured Reviews

Robert Orłowski

IT Security Expert at Alior Bank S.A.

Unified risk scoring has improved our cloud visibility and simplifies remediation priorities

Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IAS and SaaS. This solution provides a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce the work I would have to do. We are no longer based on CVSS; we are based on Qualys risk scoring, which is based on CVSS plus internal findings made by Qualys, and then assigns its own score. The TruRisk insight feature has found a small number of assets with high vulnerability scores, though I am cautious since some information is classified. Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution.

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reviewer2776578

Cyber Security Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Image scanning has supported consistent security practices during cloud deployment

On a scale of ten, we would say people are happy with Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks for the part we use. People are okay with it. We probably would give an eight. We don't give ten because if we don't use the other parts of Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks, it's because it was difficult to implement from an operational point of view. We could have deployed the runtime monitoring with Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks, but within our organization at our company, it was very difficult to find who would be the owner for the alerts. People have other tools and in the end, we don't use the full capabilities of a product that we pay for. It's partially related to the difficulty to integrate Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks runtime in our company's support process. We don't use the real-time monitoring part of Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks. We don't know about the automated remediation feature of Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks.

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Arun Seetha

Cyber Security Architect at a security firm with 201-500 employees

Detailed container image reports have improved vulnerability insight and support secure operations

Most valuable are the reports that are quite good, particularly the detailed ones for container image scanning. Tenable.io Container Security is giving me the vulnerability information of Docker images and the information about software bill of materials. However, my challenge at this time is that I am using all these solutions with GitLab Ultimate, and it does not support integration, so I am doing some alternate arrangements which are giving me operational complexity because I need to introduce something else instead of GitLab Ultimate. That is the primary concern regarding the benefits of real-time visibility into my containerized application security status.

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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

"The scalability is good as well. I would rate it ten out of ten."

"I would recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users because it is cost-efficient and has a good return on investment."

"The most valuable feature of Qualys TotalCloud is the visibility it provides."

"Qualys TotalCloud provides a single, prioritized view based on requirements such as identifying the most vulnerable assets and calculating the average time to remediate vulnerabilities."

"I appreciate TotalCloud's real-time protection and remediation features. The remediation options include automated one-click remedies and custom changes that help manage vulnerabilities efficiently."

"Qualys TotalCloud has significantly improved our organization by automating our reporting processes, reducing the time spent on report creation from two hours to less than fifteen to twenty minutes."

"The most valuable feature is extensibility."

"One of Qualys' best features is its categorization, which allows us to see the types of assets, their security postures, and the AI-powered version of the tool."

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

"Prisma Cloud has enabled us to take a very strong preventive approach to cloud security."

"It also provides us with a single tool to manage our entire cloud architecture. In fact, we are using a multi-account strategy with our AWS organization. We use Prisma as a single source of truth to identify high- or medium-severity threats inside our organization."

"It gave us visibility into and control over complex cloud environments, which helped us feel better about our security and secure the environment with the clinical data."

"The CVEs are valuable because we used to have a tool to scan CVEs, at the language level, for the dependencies that our developers had. What is good about Prisma Cloud is that the CVEs are not only from the software layer, but from all layers: the language, the base image, and you also have CVEs from the host. It covers the full base of security."

"The solution's dashboard looks very user-friendly."

"The application visibility is amazing. For example, sometimes we don't know what a particular custom port is for and what is running on it. The visibility enables us to identify applications, what the protocol is, and what service is behind it. Within Azure, it is doing a great job of providing visibility. We know exactly what is passing through our network. If there is an issue of any sort we are able to quickly detect it and fix the problem."

"The most valuable features are the alerts and auto-remediation because it allows us a lot of flexibility to customize and do things the Palo Alto team never intended. We faced some challenges with certificates because we also have next-gen firewalls. We would like to equip all the traffic because there have been many cases in which the developers have done things by mistake. Deploying certificates on virtual machines can be complex in a development environment, but we managed to do that with Prisma Cloud."

"Overall, the Palo Alto solution is extremely good for helping us take a preventative approach to cloud security."

More Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks pros

"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, it is a good solution."

"Nessus scanner is very effective for internal penetration testing."

"Tenable.io detects misconfiguration when you deploy a Docker or Kubernetes container. It's much better to remedy these issues during deployment instead of waiting until the container is already in the production environment."

"The tool's most valuable feature is scanning, reporting, and troubleshooting."

"Most valuable are the reports that are quite good, particularly the detailed ones for container image scanning."

"The strong security provided by the product in the container environment is its most valuable feature."

"The solution shows you the exploitable vulnerabilities and helps you prioritize."

"Currently, I haven't implemented the solution due to its deprecation by the site. However, I can highlight some benefits of Tenable Cloud Security, a cybersecurity solution with various features for scanning vulnerabilities in both cloud environments and on-premises container security."

More Tenable.io Container Security pros

Cons

"The cloud licensing unit system is unclear, especially since "units" aren't well-defined."

"The onboarding process is a bit difficult. In the initial phase, it is very difficult to understand the features, what the dashboard contains, and what criteria they are using."

"The cost of Qualys TotalCloud is high and could be more competitive."

"The response part of the Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) module can be improved."

"The downside is only in container security, but it has not been a long time since they introduced these models."

"I think Qualys TotalCloud needs to improve its handling of zero-day vulnerabilities and supply chain management because modern ransomware attacks not only target prime critical infrastructures but also the supply chain system."

"In TotalCloud, I would suggest improvements in policy checks to cater to various inventory types like VPCs, subnets, S3 buckets, or IAMs. There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."

"Qualys' customer service provides quality answers, but the response time is long, even though it is within the SLA."

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

"The area for improvement is less about the product and more about the upsell. If we've already agreed that we'd like your product x, y, or z, don't try to add fries to my burger. I don't need it."

"I don't think their SaaS offering is adoptable by large enterprises like ours, in every case."

"The dashboard can be created at the user level instead of the cloud account level, which will help save time."

"The IM security has room for improvement."

"This could be one input that its pricing could be adjusted with respect to other competitors regarding any new features that could be added or improvements to be made in Prisma Cloud (Annual Contract)."

"I don't have any specific notes for improvement; however, if they could continue to focus more on giving users the ability to create custom policies and configurations, that would be ideal."

"Prisma Cloud's application security capabilities should be enhanced."

"In terms of improvement, there are some small things like hardening and making sure the Linux resources are deployed well but that's more at an operational level."

More Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks cons

"They need to work on auto-remediation so it's easier for the security team to act quickly when certain assets or resources are deployed. The latest version has a CIS benchmark that you need to meet for containers in the cloud, but more automation is needed."

"I feel that in certain areas this product has false positives which the company should work on. They should also try to include business logic vulnerabilities in the scanner testing. Finally, the vulnerability assessment feature should be increased to other hardware devices, apart from firewalls."

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."

"The initial setup is highly complex."

"However, my challenge at this time is that I am using all these solutions with GitLab Ultimate, and it does not support integration, so I am doing some alternate arrangements which are giving me operational complexity because I need to introduce something else instead of GitLab Ultimate."

"I feel that in certain areas this product has false positives which the company should work on."

"The support is tricky to reach, so we would like better-oriented technical support enabled."

"I believe integration plays a crucial role for Tenable, particularly in terms of connecting with other products and various container solutions like Docker or Kubernetes. It seems that in future updates, enhanced integration is something I would appreciate. Currently, there is integration with Docker, but when it comes to Kubernetes or other container solutions, it appears to be a challenge, especially with on-prem scanners."

More Tenable.io Container Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."

"I am not sure about the pricing. From what I understand, it is a bit on the higher side, but I do not have the exact numbers."

"The pricing is comparable. It is built into our other product, so I cannot piecemeal it. It is a part of our subscription."

"Its price seems higher compared to other tools, but it is worth it. If they could adjust the pricing and make it comparable with other tools, that would be great."

"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."

"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."

"TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

"The pricing and the licensing are both very fair... The biggest advice I would give in terms of costs would be to try to understand what the growth is going to look like. That's really been our biggest struggle, that we don't have an idea of what our future growth is going to be on the platform. We go from X number of licenses to Y number of licenses without a plan on how we're going to get from A to B, and a lot of that comes as a bit of a surprise. It can make budgeting a real challenge for it."

"The cost was not on the higher side. Overall, the cost gets recovered with its implementation."

"If you pay for three years of Palo Alto, it's better. If you're planning on doing this, it's obviously not going to be for one year, so it's better if you go with a three-year license... The only challenge we have is with the public cloud vendor pricing. The biggest lesson I have learned is around the issues related to pricing for public cloud. So when you are doing your segmentation and design, it is extremely important that you work with someone who knows and understands what kinds of needs you will have in the future and how what you are doing will affect you in terms of costs."

"I don't know a better way to do it, but their licensing is a little confusing. That's due to the breadth of different types of technologies they are trying to cover. The way you license depends on where you're securing. When they were Twistlock it was a simple licensing scheme and you could tell what you were doing. Now that they've changed that scheme with Palo Alto, it is quite confusing. It's very difficult to predict what your costs are going to be as you try to expand coverage."

"Regarding Prisma Cloud's pricing, we started small, and then we just kept on growing."

"One thing we're very pleased about is how the licensing model for Prisma is based on work resources. You buy a certain amount of work resources and then, as they enable new capabilities within Prisma, it just takes those work resource units and applies them to new features. This enables us to test and use the new features without having to go back and ask for and procure a whole new product, which could require going through weeks, and maybe months, of a procurement process."

"The pricing is good. They gave us some good discounts right at the end of the year based on the value that it brings, visibility, and the ability to build in cloud, compliance, and security within one dashboard."

"The purchasing process was easy and quick. It is a very economical solution."

More Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"The solution's pricing is neither cheap nor very expensive."

"It's best to be an institutional buyer and directly contact the sales team as they can provide over-the-top discounts for bulk orders."

"I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten."

"I rate the tool's pricing a three out of ten."

"The product does not operate on a pay-per-license model."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	28

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	38
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	57

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys TotalCloud?

The price is very expensive, actually.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?

Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple en...

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What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?

Our use case involves the assets that we have under cloud, the assets exposed to the internet, and the internal appli...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks?

Prisma Cloud helps support DevSecOps methodologies, making those responsibilities easier to manage.

See all answers

What Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform do you recommend?

We like Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks, since it offers us incredible visibility into our entire cloud system. We...

See all answers

What do you think of Aqua Security vs Prisma Cloud?

Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very valu...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable.io Container Security?

The solution's pricing is neither cheap nor very expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Tenable.io Container Security?

Several things need improvement about Tenable.io Container Security. First, they should support GitLab Ultimate. Seco...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Tenable.io Container Security?

I have been dealing with Tenable.io Container Security for almost four to six months.

See all answers

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Compared 6% of the time

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SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security vs Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks

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Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

Sysdig Secure vs Tenable.io Container Security

Compared 7% of the time

Aqua Cloud Security Platform vs Tenable.io Container Security

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys TotalCloud

May 2026

Download Qualys TotalCloud product report

Buyer's Guide

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks

May 2026

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks report

Download Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Tenable.io Container Security

May 2026

Download Tenable.io Container Security product report

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

Prisma Public Cloud, RedLock Cloud 360, RedLock, Twistlock, Aporeto

Tenable FlawCheck, FlawCheck

Overview

Qualys TotalCloud enhances security posture across cloud environments with continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, and risk visualization, ensuring efficient threat assessment and automated remediation for improved cyber risk reduction.

Qualys TotalCloud offers a robust suite of security tools essential for organizations managing multi-cloud infrastructures. By integrating cloud accounts and automating workflows, it supports AWS, Azure, and GCP, offering comprehensive vulnerability management and zero-day detection. The platform's user-friendly design, combined with its extensive risk management and unified threat assessment capabilities, enables organizations to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities effectively. TruRisk Insights provides clear insights on cyber risks, while the automation options streamline patch management and scanning processes. API integration across IaaS and SaaS environments further enhances resource allocation efficiency and saves time, addressing misconfigurations across cloud environments.

What are the most important features of Qualys TotalCloud?

Accurate Vulnerability Reports: Delivers precise and actionable insights for risk mitigation.
Zero-Day Detection: Identifies and addresses zero-day vulnerabilities proactively.
Unified Threat Assessment: Offers comprehensive evaluation of threats across the environment.
Extensive Risk Management: Manages risks effectively with advanced insights and prioritization.
Continuous Monitoring: Provides non-stop surveillance for vulnerabilities and threats.
Cloud-Native Automation: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts using automation.
FlexScan for Internet-Facing VMs: Scans external VMs efficiently to detect vulnerabilities.
Dashboard Risk Visualization: Clear visualization helps prioritize vulnerabilities.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Security Posture: Enhances threat detection and response across clouds.
Time Savings: Automation reduces time spent on manual vulnerability management.
Resource Efficiency: Better allocation of resources through streamlined workflows.
Enhanced Risk Prioritization: Focus on critical vulnerabilities for effective mitigation.
Integrated Cloud Accounts: Facilitates seamless cloud management and security.

Qualys TotalCloud is deployed in sectors needing rigorous vulnerability management, such as finance and healthcare. Companies utilize it to secure multi-cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and GCP, focus on compliance, and integrate security into CI/CD pipelines to detect and remedy threats pre-deployment.

Qualys

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks provides comprehensive cloud-native security solutions. It covers dynamic workload identity, automated forensics, and multi-cloud protection, ensuring robust security across diverse cloud platforms.

Prisma Cloud delivers advanced capabilities for managing cloud security across AWS, Azure, and GCP platforms. It offers dynamic workload identity creation, real-time monitoring, and seamless integration into CI/CD pipelines. With automation, centralized dashboards, and enhanced visibility, users effectively manage security misconfigurations and vulnerabilities. While optimizing cloud environments through runtime protection and compliance, Prisma Cloud faces challenges with its navigation, pricing, and limited automation capabilities. Users seek improvements in API security, role-based access controls, and documentation quality, emphasizing the need for enhanced customization and reporting features.

What are the important features of Prisma Cloud?

Dynamic Workload Identity: Enables unique workload identities for security purposes.
Automated Forensics: Offers detailed insights into threats and incidents automatically.
Runtime Protection: Provides ongoing detection and blocking of suspicious activities.
Multi-Cloud Security: Protects environments on AWS, Azure, and GCP simultaneously.
Compliance Management: Assists in meeting regulatory standards across cloud platforms.

What benefits or ROI should users consider in reviews?

Enhanced Security Posture: Strengthens cloud defense lines with proactive monitoring.
Centralized Dashboard: Offers unified oversight of multiple cloud environments.
Efficient Misconfiguration Handling: Quickly identifies and addresses security lapses.
Seamless CI/CD Integration: Integrates security within development workflows.
Improved Visibility: Provides transparent insights into security operations and alerts.

Industries like finance and telecom rely on Prisma Cloud for managing cloud security posture and container security. Teams utilize its capabilities across hybrid and multi-cloud settings to ensure compliance and robust threat protection. Features like misconfiguration detection and runtime monitoring are critical in promoting security objectives in these sectors.

Palo Alto Networks

Tenable.io Container Security provides advanced real-time visibility, container image scanning, and actionable vulnerability data, supporting Docker environments efficiently.

Tenable.io Container Security is designed for containerized applications, offering detailed reports and robust policy configuration to detect and address vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in real-time. Users leverage its features to enhance security in CI/CD pipelines, ensuring safe deployment in both cloud and on-prem environments. While it delivers significant benefits, areas such as GitLab Ultimate support and Docker-based installations require enhancement, alongside improvements in support, integration, and false-positive reduction.

What are the key features offered by Tenable.io Container Security?

Detailed Reports: Comprehensive insights into container image scanning and detected vulnerabilities.
Real-time Visibility: Continuous monitoring of container environments for enhanced security.
Policy Configuration: Flexible security policies tailored to organizational requirements.
Misconfiguration Detection: Identifies configuration errors during container deployment.
Vulnerability Data: Provides actionable insights to prioritize security fixes.

What benefits do users experience with Tenable.io Container Security?

Efficient Scanning: Identifies vulnerabilities quickly in container environments.
Effective Troubleshooting: Addresses security issues with detailed insights.
Prioritization of Vulnerabilities: Helps focus on critical security threats.
Software Bill of Materials: Gain understanding of components and licenses used.

Tenable.io Container Security is implemented across industries to secure container workloads, integrating seamlessly with CI/CD platforms and DevOps pipelines. Organizations benefit from its capabilities to manage cloud-based and on-prem environments, ensuring security for mature security practices and maintaining compliance within their clusters.

Tenable

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Amgen, Genpact, Western Asset, Zipongo, Proofpoint, NerdWallet, Axfood, 21st Century Fox, Veeva Systems, Reinsurance Group of America

ServiceMaster

Buyer's Guide

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs. Tenable.io Container Security

April 2026

Free Report: Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs. Tenable.io Container Security

Find out what your peers are saying about Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs. Tenable.io Container Security and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.

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