Qualys VMDR vs Tenable Vulnerability Management comparison

Qualys and Tenable are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. Qualys is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while Tenable is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.8. Qualys holds a 5.0% mindshare in VM, compared to Tenable’s 3.2% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Qualys users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Tenable users who would recommend it.

Qualys VMDR

Read 96 Qualys VMDR reviews

12,798 Views
8,703 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Tenable Vulnerability Manag...

Read 45 Tenable Vulnerability Management reviews

7,052 Views
6,135 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Qualys VMDR

Tenable Vulnerability Manag...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Qualys VMDR and Tenable Vulnerability Management are leading products in the vulnerability management category. Qualys appears to have the upper hand due to its feature-rich platform, emphasizing continuous endpoint monitoring and vulnerability prioritization.

Features: Qualys VMDR offers a comprehensive vulnerability management and integration capability. It provides real-time asset visibility and automatic updates, enhancing adaptability. Its cloud-based approach requires no configuration on local machines. Tenable Vulnerability Management excels with its advanced configuration audit, extensive integration options, and real-time responses, making it ideal for complex audit needs.

Room for Improvement: Qualys VMDR's cloud dependency can impact smaller firms financially. Users have cited issues with reporting features, false positives, and the complexity of asset tagging systems. Tenable could enhance integration with third-party tools and improve its complex initial setup. Additionally, enhancing support response times would be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys VMDR is optimized for hybrid and public cloud environments, but has mixed customer service reviews due to slow support and complex processes. Tenable is praised for its flexible multi-cloud deployment capabilities and reliable customer support, providing better service quality.

Pricing and ROI: Qualys VMDR is more expensive, especially due to its escalating licensing structure, yet it delivers notable ROI for larger organizations. In contrast, Tenable offers a more flexible and cost-effective pricing model, providing excellent ROI for enterprises seeking comprehensive scanning solutions with clear security posture.

To learn more, read our detailed Qualys VMDR vs. Tenable Vulnerability Management Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Qualys VMDR vs. Tenable Vulnerability Management

January 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

7.0

Qualys VMDR enhances ROI by streamlining management, improving compliance, reducing vulnerabilities, saving time, and minimizing breaches effectively.

Sentiment score

7.0

Tenable Vulnerability Management offers cost-effective vulnerability identification, improving processes, visibility, automation, and IT ecosystems despite financial metric uncertainties.

We saw a return on investment through significant savings in time, money, and resources.

Shubhajit Saha

System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys VMDR report

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Vulnerability Management report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.6

Qualys VMDR support is responsive and helpful, but users note occasional delays and suggest better response time and depth.

Sentiment score

6.1

Tenable Support is responsive and knowledgeable, though response times and escalation process for complex issues can improve.

We usually get on calls with tech support, and they are very helpful.

reviewer2588394

Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees

The response time takes a while.

reviewer2592618

Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

The technical support provided by Qualys is pretty good.

Shubhajit Saha

System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys VMDR report

It needs improvement in response time and addressing feature requests promptly.

Mani Bommisetty

Infrastructure patching Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The technical support of Tenable Vulnerability Management is available 24/7, and whenever we require support, we can get it within five minutes.

Chethan Gowda

Windows Security Patching Operation III (Cyber Operations) at CBTS

We had used Tenable's expert support services in order to make sure that we run Tenable Vulnerability Management on a continuous basis and are able to utilize their services.

TarunKumar2

Deputy Global Chief Information Security Officer at Nissan Digital

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Vulnerability Management report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.9

Qualys VMDR is highly scalable, supporting numerous assets efficiently with customizable management and seamless cloud-based architecture.

Sentiment score

7.6

Tenable Vulnerability Management scales effectively for various sectors, leveraging cloud-based infrastructure and lightweight agents for seamless deployment.

Scalability depends on the license and the number of assets being monitored.

Shubhajit Saha

System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Qualys VMDR can handle scalability, although increasing the inventory can raise the licensing costs.

Ankesh Raj

Information Security Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Qualys VMDR's scalability is good, and the customer support is good.

reviewer2753559

Cyber Security Solution Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys VMDR report

They can seamlessly scale the number of endpoints from 100 to 1,000,000 in a day.

Mani Bommisetty

Infrastructure patching Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Tenable Vulnerability Management is highly scalable.

Chethan Gowda

Windows Security Patching Operation III (Cyber Operations) at CBTS

With the growing needs of our company, Tenable Vulnerability Management is able to safely adapt.

TarunKumar2

Deputy Global Chief Information Security Officer at Nissan Digital

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Vulnerability Management report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.9

Qualys VMDR is highly stable, reliable, and effective, with minimal downtime and challenges mostly due to user-side issues.

Sentiment score

8.1

Tenable Vulnerability Management is praised for its reliable, stable performance, minimal downtime, and longstanding market reputation.

Qualys VMDR is stable.

reviewer2753559

Cyber Security Solution Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys VMDR report

I have faced no stability issues with Tenable.

Mani Bommisetty

Infrastructure patching Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The stability is commendable, and I would rate Tenable ten out of ten.

Rishabh-Khanna

Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

The stability of Tenable Vulnerability Management is highly reliable.

Chethan Gowda

Windows Security Patching Operation III (Cyber Operations) at CBTS

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Vulnerability Management report

Room For Improvement

Qualys VMDR needs improved support, efficient reporting, UI, asset notifications, reduced tool dependency, better pricing, and comprehensive resources.

Users criticize Tenable's interface, customization, pricing, support, setup complexity, and suggest improvements for SMB compatibility and user-friendliness.

It does not automate patching unless the patch management module is purchased separately.

Shubhajit Saha

System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

If AI features were integrated, it could enhance the capabilities significantly.

Ankesh Raj

Information Security Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

One area where Qualys VMDR can be improved is the missing feature for deploying agents for over 1,000 assets, as we need to do it manually.

reviewer2753559

Cyber Security Solution Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys VMDR report

They should also accelerate the process of implementing new features upon request.

Mani Bommisetty

Infrastructure patching Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

I would suggest HP WebInspect as a better option than Tenable.io.

Rishabh-Khanna

Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Tenable Vulnerability Management is not very effective for real-time risk prioritization for our organization's security strategy.

Chethan Gowda

Windows Security Patching Operation III (Cyber Operations) at CBTS

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Vulnerability Management report

Setup Cost

Qualys VMDR pricing is high for small businesses but offers flexibility, discounts, and comprehensive features for larger enterprises.

Tenable Vulnerability Management is costly, with prices from $2,300 to $137,000, suitable for enterprises but pricey for SMBs.

I would rate the pricing between seven to eight out of ten.

Shubhajit Saha

System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

I have a notion that Qualys might be more expensive than Rapid7.

Ankesh Raj

Information Security Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Qualys offers better pricing and is feature-packed compared to other tools.

reviewer2588394

Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys VMDR report

Tenable charges around $40 per device, while Rapid7 costs $10 to $15 per device.

Mani Bommisetty

Infrastructure patching Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

I would not say very expensive for Tenable Vulnerability Management; it is not prohibitive, but at the same time, there are some other tools in the marketplace which are offering the same kind of services that Tenable offers, the same kind of features that Tenable has offered at a lesser cost.

TarunKumar2

Deputy Global Chief Information Security Officer at Nissan Digital

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Vulnerability Management report

Valuable Features

Qualys VMDR offers user-friendly management, real-time insights, and powerful integrations, significantly improving vulnerability prioritization and remediation efficiency.

Tenable offers seamless interface, robust scanning, and integration, with AI-driven prioritization and continuous updates for effective vulnerability management.

The prioritization of vulnerabilities has improved our remediation efforts by around thirty to thirty-five percent.

reviewer2588394

Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees

It impacts my workflow overall, with the patch management features as it has the missing patches listed in detail, making it easier to get a comprehensive report and providing some dashboards that offer visual representation.

Nabanita Roy

JMS, RPSG Ventures Limited at RP Sanjiv Goenka Group

Qualys VMDR's continuous monitoring capabilities help us respond to emergent threats by enabling my team to reach out to the security engineers whenever there is any detection of a vulnerability, informing them about it, and creating an incident.

Vaibhav Ghule

Soc Lead & Edr Administration at Persistent Systems

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys VMDR report

Tenable enables vulnerability management through potential AI integration that consolidates efforts and resolves multiple vulnerabilities simultaneously.

Mani Bommisetty

Infrastructure patching Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The main benefit of integration with Tenable Vulnerability Management is that there will be no lack of missing vulnerabilities when it comes to the patching environment.

Chethan Gowda

Windows Security Patching Operation III (Cyber Operations) at CBTS

The best features of Tenable Vulnerability Management are flexibility, breadth and scope, and the fact that their current vulnerabilities come out, and they have tests for them within a day or two.

reviewer2721399

SOC Analyst at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Vulnerability Management report

Categories and Ranking

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

Ranking in other categories

IT Asset Management (3rd), Configuration Management Databases (3rd), Container Security (9th)

Tenable Vulnerability Manag...

Ranking in Vulnerability Management

5th

Ranking in Risk-Based Vulnerability Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Patch Management (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Qualys VMDR is 5.0%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Vulnerability Management is 3.2%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Qualys VMDR	5.0%
Tenable Vulnerability Management	3.2%
Other	91.8%

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

Vaibhav Ghule

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.

Read full review

Chethan Gowda

Windows Security Patching Operation III (Cyber Operations) at CBTS

Have maintained accurate vulnerability scans and gained actionable remediation insights across thousands of servers

Tenable Vulnerability Management agents are very lightweight, and the results we get are very accurate. The solutions they provide to us, assuming if one vulnerability exists, there will be a solution. The resolution they give us in wording will be the best solution. The exploit rates and the reports we get provide a lot of information, making it very easy for us to verify.The main benefit of integration with Tenable Vulnerability Management is that there will be no lack of missing vulnerabilities when it comes to the patching environment. That is one of the key aspects of why we have integrated Tenable to our patching tools. It has a vast capacity of pushing the data to our tools due to its capability and compatibility. That is also one of the reasons why we are using Tenable Vulnerability Management.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	70

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

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 ...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?

See all answers

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 the program is such that if a company should desire to handle the installation t...

See all answers

What do you like most about Tenable.io Vulnerability Management?

The tool has an easy-to-use interface.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Tenable.io Vulnerability Management?

I don't think that there is any very specific area where enhancements need to happen in Tenable Vulnerability Management's feature sets. The only area which possibly is not a part of the feature, b...

See all answers

Comparisons

Rapid7 InsightVM vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 9% of the time

Tenable Nessus vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 8% of the time

Tenable Security Center vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 5% of the time

Rapid7 Metasploit vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 2% of the time

More Qualys VMDR Competitors

Tenable Nessus vs Tenable Vulnerability Management

Compared 8% of the time

Tenable Security Center vs Tenable Vulnerability Management

Compared 6% of the time

Amazon Inspector vs Tenable Vulnerability Management

Compared 4% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Identity vs Tenable Vulnerability Management

Compared 4% of the time

The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai vs Tenable Vulnerability Management

Compared 4% of the time

More Tenable Vulnerability Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys VMDR

January 2026

Download Qualys VMDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Tenable Vulnerability Management

January 2026

Download Tenable Vulnerability Management product report

Also Known As

Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security

Tenable.io

Overview

Vulnerability Management, Detection, and Response (VMDR) is a cornerstone product of the Qualys TruRisk Platform and a global leader in the enterprise-grade vulnerability management (VM) vendor space. With VMDR, enterprises are empowered with visibility and insight into cyber risk exposure - making it easy to prioritize vulnerabilities, assets, or groups of assets based on business risk. Security teams can take action to mitigate risk, helping the business measure their actual risk exposure over time.

Qualys VMDR offers an all-inclusive risk-based vulnerability management solution to prioritize vulnerabilities and assets based on risk and business criticality. VMDR seamlessly integrates with configuration management databases (CMDB), Qualys Patch Management, Custom Assessment and Remediation (CAR), Qualys TotalCloud and other Qualys and non-Qualys solutions to facilitate vulnerability detection and remediation across the entire enterprise.

With VMDR, users are empowered with actionable risk insights that translate vulnerabilities and exploits into optimized remediation actions based on business impact. Qualys customers can now aggregate and orchestrate data from the Qualys Threat Library, 25+ threat intelligence feeds, and third-party security and IT solutions, empowering organizations to measure, communicate, and eliminate risk across on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments.

Qualys

Managed in the cloud and powered by Tenable Nessus, Tenable Vulnerability Management (formerly Tenable.io) provides the industry's most comprehensive vulnerability coverage with real-time continuous assessment of your organization. Built-in prioritization, threat intelligence and real-time insight help you understand your exposures and proactively prioritize remediations.

Tenable

Sample Customers

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

Global Payments AU/NZ

Buyer's Guide

Qualys VMDR vs. Tenable Vulnerability Management

January 2026

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