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Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance HVM vs Tenable Nessus comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (11th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (8th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (1st), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (6th)
Qualys Virtual Scanner Appl...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
55th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Tenable Nessus
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

RO
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.
Manjunath Kolukula - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Analyst at Viking Europe
Automated vulnerability scans have reduced maintenance and support strategic security work
I was previously informed about Qualys TotalCloud, Qualys Patch Management, and Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management. I do not use those products. Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance HVM provides comprehensive detection capabilities, and the minimal maintenance feature enhances my strategic security initiatives. I assess the benefits of automated reporting and alert mechanisms in the product to be valuable. The product requires minimal maintenance and minimal interference from my side, which benefits my organization as I do not need to maintain it often and it does not require constant interference. I use the seamless integration feature with other security tools. I am a Cyber Security Analyst at Viking Europe. I have given this product an overall rating of ten out of ten.
MohammedJaffir - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder at Cipheroot
Has enabled me to reduce false positives and perform deep credential auditing with seamless integrations
I mostly use the configuration audit feature for the audit configuration as a scan policy, and I will use it for credential audit, which helps me scan credentials access such as local administrator or root access, performing a deeper and more accurate check of local configuration settings and file systems, making it a highly recommended feature. Regarding integration capabilities, we can integrate Tenable Nessus with SIM tools such as Splunk, IBM QRadar, and Azure Sentinel, as well as with ticketing systems such as ServiceNow, Jira, and Slack. There is no complexity as it is very easy to integrate everything. In terms of the reporting feature, while vulnerability scanning can throw some false positives, Tenable Nessus has very few, achieving a reduction of 75% to 80% false positives with manual analysis needed. We can generate standard Nessus reports that typically include host summaries and vulnerabilities by host and plugin, alongside solutions and remediation recommendations. The main benefits I get from Tenable Nessus are complete asset inventory and comprehensive attack surface management, allowing us to prioritize vulnerabilities based on risk, focusing on true risk and threat path analysis.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Once you have your vulnerabilities fixed and your patches pushed out using Qualys TotalCloud, then you are able to eliminate threats and cyber risk."
"One of the most valuable features of Qualys TotalCloud is FlexScan, which is specifically for internet-facing VMs. We found this feature to be very useful. It was a key differentiator for us."
"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."
"We were able to realize its benefits within 24 to 48 hours."
"If I had to say something positive about the product that brings me the biggest benefit, I would say it has accurate reports, gets new update CVEs, zero-day attack detection, and is easy to manage with its GUI."
"I appreciate Qualys TotalCloud's ability to onboard any type of device with ease, including containers."
"The vulnerability management feature is the one I like the most because it provides a clear picture of all vulnerabilities."
"The most valuable feature is the consolidated information that it provides from various platforms."
"Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance HVM provides comprehensive detection capabilities, and the minimal maintenance feature enhances my strategic security initiatives."
"If you are implementing it as part of an ongoing VA or retention operation, you should probably use Tenable."
"The scanning capabilities are very good."
"Tenable Nessus is an absolutely stable and fantastic product."
"The solution is easy to understand for users because instructions are included on the platform."
"You can then direct your team to create a report on the discovered vulnerabilities."
"With my experience, I would definitely recommend it."
"The main benefits I get from Tenable Nessus are complete asset inventory and comprehensive attack surface management, allowing us to prioritize vulnerabilities based on risk, focusing on true risk and threat path analysis."
"It is easy to deploy and easy to use. Its reporting is good. From this reporting, you can see the pain point in your network, which makes it easy to fix them. It is easy to understand the reports and export them."
 

Cons

"The support is not up to the mark and seems to be overburdened."
"Their customer support needs improvement."
"Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple enough for everyone to understand."
"I sometimes have difficulty detecting or uninstalling certain versions of applications, which I have to do manually."
"Qualys's ticketing system can be confusing when assigning tasks to individuals, and support could be improved by offering instant call solutions with engineers in addition to ticket replies."
"We encountered challenges identifying the correct resource category for certain items, such as those in containers or storage."
"Regarding technical support from Qualys, they respond, but the response time can be too long. Sometimes we need to wait weeks for solutions to simple questions."
"Qualys TotalCloud's increasing complexity, due to the development and deployment of multiple solutions, is making the GUI difficult to navigate."
"I have concerns regarding pricing and technical support, which are also areas for improvement."
"EQA's and dashboards should be addressed in the next release."
"Pricing is one of the most important features, and it is something that they can improve on."
"Based on my experience, the pricing for Tenable Nessus is somewhat higher, but customers still want to pay for it, so it remains acceptable."
"Sometimes, the categorization for clients was tricky at first, however, they eventually got used to it."
"We use credentialed scans. They need more permissions and more changes or settings on Windows and Linux."
"The report for counters is too simple and would be improved by a dashboard."
"The reports are okay, but the interface is a bit difficult to navigate in some cases."
"In general, it is extremely expensive. If they have a higher price, that's fine, but if there were one or two solutions where you can buy something for a cheaper price then that would make sense for many users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."
"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 pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."
"TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be."
"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."
"Although Qualys TotalCloud is relatively expensive due to its unique automation features, its cost-effectiveness is rated an eight out of ten, with ten being the most costly."
Information not available
"Its pricing is great and can't be improved. It is very cheap. It is less than 2,000 pounds a license, and you can't really ask for more. It has unlimited IPs and unlimited scans. There are no particular pricing constraints. The only additional cost is the inherent cost of the people to actually review the actual scans."
"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."
"There is an annual license required to use this solution."
"Cost-wise, it's an affordable tool."
"This solution is affordable."
"Our organization is huge so our license costs $30,000."
"The price of Tenable Nessus is much more competitive versus other solutions on the market."
"I would like to see better discounts."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Construction Company
67%
Healthcare Company
5%
Transportation Company
5%
Outsourcing Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise28
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise35
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple en...
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...
What needs improvement with Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance HVM?
I have noticed some drawbacks and areas for improvement in Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance HVM. I would like to see ...
What is your primary use case for Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance HVM?
Vulnerability scanning is the purpose for which I use Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance HVM.
What advice do you have for others considering Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance HVM?
I was previously informed about Qualys TotalCloud, Qualys Patch Management, and Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management....
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable Nessus?
Based on my experience, the pricing for Tenable Nessus is somewhat higher, but customers still want to pay for it, so...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
No data available
No data available
 

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 Wiz, Tenable, Qualys and others in Vulnerability Management. Updated: June 2026.
900,051 professionals have used our research since 2012.