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Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Tenable Nessus comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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

Zafran Security
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
18th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (2nd)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
8th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Patch Management (6th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (3rd), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (3rd), Software Supply Chain Security (5th)
Tenable Nessus
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 0.8%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 1.0%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Nessus is 8.8%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

Israel Cavazos Landini - PeerSpot reviewer
Weekly insights and risk analysis facilitate informed security decisions
I appreciate the weekly insights Zafran provides, which include critical topics for networks and IT security, allowing us to evaluate which insights apply to our environment. The organization score feature is valuable to keep the leadership team updated on how our infrastructure fares security-wise. The applicable risk level versus base risk level feature is beneficial because prior to Zafran, we only used the base risk level, but now understand that risk depends on the asset itself. Zafran is an excellent tool.
Scott Frederick - PeerSpot reviewer
Well-integrated with our vulnerability scanning utilities and efficient in asset tagging and identification
Our favorite features are the tagging and the ability to quickly find assets in the portal. Additionally, I do like the fact that Qualys CSAM is integrated with the rest of our vulnerability scanning utilities. We use the full suite from Qualys. The fact that it is integrated makes it very easy to understand. It shares tagging information with VMDR. That is very nice. Qualys CSAM has discovered assets not previously covered by our vulnerability management program. Primarily, if we have assets without vulnerabilities, they become less visible, but Qualys CSAM alerts us to them because they have IP addresses and are attached to our network. It could discover everything from printers to servers to endpoints. It could discover UPSs, network devices, and across all operating systems. It discovers our security badge readers and digital signage. We have to feed that the IP address ranges, but beyond that, it finds everything in our internal network. We were able to realize its benefits within the first quarter of installing it. We did have to take some time to learn it and understand how to operationally leverage what it was telling us, but it was very quick. In addition to vulnerabilities, Qualys CSAM helps identify other risk factors to a degree. For instance, we can see if servers or assets have incorrect naming standards. We have our network segmented into development model, test, and production, and we have server naming standards that identify which management they should be in. If a production server has the naming standard of a development model server, we can find that. That is one area we have used it for. We are not fully using TruRisk, but we are using the Qualys detection score that is central to our corporate risk prioritization approach. It has completely replaced our homegrown one.
HarshBhardiya - PeerSpot reviewer
Provided increased visibility across the organization's servers
The user interface of Tenable Nessus feels outdated and could be more user-friendly. Additionally, the documentation is not well-organized, which can be confusing when searching for solutions or specific information related to Tenable Nessus Professional. The reporting feature could be improved by allowing users to create their own templates instead of relying on predefined ones.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Overall, we have seen about eighty-seven percent reduction of the number of vulnerabilities that require urgency to remediate, specifically the number of criticals."
"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."
"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."
"We saw benefits from Zafran Security almost immediately after deploying it."
"Zafran is an excellent tool."
"The scanning results are pretty good, and some insights are quite valuable."
"We have a diverse organization with a robust infrastructure of more than 300,000 assets. By creating unauthorized lists and rules in the Qualys CSAM module, I can block certain software from being used in the organization."
"The most valuable feature is the real-time visibility Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides into all assets across our development and operational environments."
"Authorized and unauthorized software visibility is the best feature for me."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management has helped to improve the organization's security posture significantly."
"The most valuable feature is the Management sensor, which helps identify gaps in policy agent availability, thereby improving agent utilization."
"There are no stability issues, and I would rate it a ten out of ten."
"When you implement a dynamic tag using a query, you do not need to manually tag all the servers. It categorizes all the servers that come under that query. The tagging part is automatically done within a few minutes. It reduces the effort."
"Its initial setup was simple and straightforward."
"Tenable Nessus is an absolutely stable and fantastic product."
"The features of Tenable Nessus that I have found most valuable are its reliability and its ability to collate a dependable output, where we are able to get the same vulnerability when we test manually. The output is quite reliable."
"The most valuable features are that it's fast, it's easy to use and it provides good reports."
"We have done code scanning for a long period because as a company, we do DevOps as part of our development life cycle."
"It provides multiple recommendations towards the remedy of vulnerabilities."
"The initial setup of Tenable Nessus is very easy."
"It gives you an unlimited IP scan."
 

Cons

"Initially, we were somewhat concerned about the scalability of Zafran due to our large asset count and the substantial amount of information we needed to process."
"I think the ability to have some enhanced reporting capabilities is something they can improve on, as they have good reports but we have asked for some specific reporting enhancements."
"The dashboarding and reporting functionality of Zafran Security is an area that definitely could use some improvements."
"Some areas that would be helpful are more comprehensive tagging and the ability to set up better dynamic rules."
"The deployment is somewhat complicated and could be made more user-friendly for most users."
"The only minor issue is occasionally being redirected to multiple teams, causing slight delays."
"The main aspect that needs improvement is the user interface, which should be more intuitive."
"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."
"There can be further simplification to reduce the overall noise and provide ESAM-related data."
"Based on the company's budget, Qualys offers limited features, which can also be utilized in other environments."
"It is automatically exporting the vulnerabilities and the assets. However, it would be useful to have the ability to select or to filter which we would like to export."
"There could be an integration between Tenable Nessus and other Tenable products. It will help us manage all the solutions using one dashboard."
"Model OS costs (and its segregation schema for individual modules)."
"We feel the solution's technical support to be very bad."
"This is still a maturing product. Tenable is only a scanner for one ability, while other solutions like Rapid7 have more tools for verification. We still have to manually verify to see if the vulnerability is a false positive or not."
"The price could be reduced."
"Tenable Nessus could improve the reporting."
"Scans aren't done properly and some devices aren't pinged."
"From my point of view the solution basically is not for the big enterprise."
 

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."
"Qualys offers excellent value for money."
"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."
"Though the solution is considered expensive, if bundled with other services such as VMDR or cloud agents, its value would significantly increase. It is currently a bit costly, but with bundling, it could become attractive to more customers."
"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."
"The pricing for Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management is reasonable, with an annual subscription costing around $1,000 per year or a monthly subscription starting at approximately $72 per month, depending on the specific package and features included."
"The cost for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is high."
"We pay approximately $2,500 on a yearly basis."
"The solution is worth the cost. It's a good investment."
"The price of Tenable Nessus is much more competitive versus other solutions on the market."
"Nessus Manager is not an expensive product. It has its limitations, but the pricing reflects that. We have a yearly subscription."
"This solution is affordable."
"We incurred a single cost for a perpetual license, although I cannot comment on the price as this is above my management level."
"Nowadays, your vulnerability applications are going to be kind of pricey because lots of them, including Rapid7, are based upon a base price, but then they add in the nodes. That's where they get you. If you're a big network, obviously, you need to scan everything. Therefore, it's going to be costly. The risk and insurance money associated with having ransomware on my networks is going to cost me more money, time, and marketing than the price of the tool. That's why I'm speaking only as an information security officer to security operations. This is the tool that is there in my toolbox to say whether we vulnerable or not. At this point, I don't care about how much it costs my company to have it because if I wasn't able to report it and we got ransomware, then who cares? I'm probably going to be out of business because it happened. That's why I don't care about the price. I have it, and I could use it effectively and do my report. At the end of the day, even if we get ransomware, as long as I reported it, followed my protocol, and put in the change, irrespective of whether it was ignored or denied, I did my job."
"I think the price is fairly affordable. It provides a license that is fair."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?
The current pricing of Zafran Security is fair overall. They were good to work with to accommodate our organization w...
What needs improvement with Zafran Security?
The dashboarding and reporting functionality of Zafran Security is an area that definitely could use some improvement...
What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?
Zafran Security is helping reduce the amount of critical vulnerabilities in our environments that require prompt reme...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
The pricing is reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, c...
What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management helps us prioritize assets according to operating system, kernel version, insta...
What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
We are using Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management for daily activities such as identifying new assets through networ...
How would you choose between Rapid7 InsightVM and Tenable Nessus?
You have full visibility across cloud, network, virtual, and containerized infrastructures with Rapid7 Insight VM. Yo...
What's the difference between Tenable Nessus and Tenable.io Vulnerability Management?
Tenable Nessus is a vulnerability assessment solution that is both easy to deploy and easy to manage. The design of ...
What do you like most about Tenable Nessus?
We have around 500 virtual machines. Therefore, we conduct monthly scans and open tickets for our developers to addre...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Information Not Available
Bitbrains, Tesla, Just Eat, Crosskey Banking Solutions, Covenant Health, Youngstown State University
Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs. Tenable Nessus and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.