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Qualys VMDR vs Rapid7 Metasploit comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 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
17th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (1st)
Qualys VMDR
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (4th), Configuration Management Databases (2nd), Container Security (9th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (1st)
Rapid7 Metasploit
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
20th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 1.0%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys VMDR is 6.4%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 Metasploit is 1.2%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Qualys VMDR6.4%
Zafran Security1.0%
Rapid7 Metasploit1.2%
Other91.4%
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.
Ankesh Raj - PeerSpot reviewer
Real-time responses and reporting streamline vulnerability management
Qualys VMDR provides a real-time response and reporting feature, which is excellent. It allows us to see real-time graphs and reports for every asset, server, and more, which is very user-friendly. Our clients have given good feedback, and they are satisfied with the tool. We use it daily to fix vulnerabilities by connecting with infrastructure to remediate. The feedback from the client side is very good.
Mani Bommisetty - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive insights with robust vulnerability detection and streamlined alert management
Rapid7 has a significant advantage in providing a clear picture of my environment. It provides insight and incident detection response capabilities. When deployed with the same agent in servers or endpoints, it identifies vulnerabilities and monitors data transmission to external sources. Rapid7 offers comprehensive features within one platform, eliminating the need to integrate multiple tools to see all alerts in one place.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Zafran is an excellent tool."
"We saw benefits from Zafran Security almost immediately after deploying it."
"Overall, we have seen about eighty-seven percent reduction of the number of vulnerabilities that require urgency to remediate, specifically the number of criticals."
"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."
"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."
"What I like about Qualys VM is the dashboard presentation. It's very good."
"It is a stable solution."
"The most valuable features are vulnerability scanning, policy compliance scanning, and tablet for web application scanning."
"Monitors workstations and servers for vulnerabilities and creates reports."
"Qualys VMDR provides us with a quick response to threat findings through regular scheduled scanning, which improves our security operations."
"The features that are most valuable are the identification, scan features, and the identification of vulnerabilities."
"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 if tags aren't made."
"It's very configurable to adjust impact to systems."
"The tool's most useful feature for penetration testing is its automation capabilities. With the professional edition, you can upload the results from Nessus in the Rapid7 Metasploit solution portal."
"It is scalable. It's in line with our needs."
"When I compare Metasploit with Nessus, I find that Metasploit is faster and it does not burden the system as much."
"It allows us to concentrate solely on identified vulnerabilities without the hassle of additional setup."
"The most valuable feature for us is the support for testing Linux-based web server components."
"All of the features are great."
"It's not possible to do penetration testing without being very proficient in Metasploit."
"I use Rapid7 Metasploit for payload generation and Post-Exploitation."
 

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."
"There are scenarios where a vulnerability is reported once yet not in subsequent scans, even if we have not fixed it."
"I would like to see this solution more developed and competitive in the Cloud space."
"It is more expensive vs. other products on the market."
"They should make it accessible for more operating systems."
"When you want to cover yourself for scalability, you will be charged for the number you place on the scan itself."
"The reporting needs improvement. It should generate much more stuff like field reports."
"The ability to manage user accounts and give rights to the operator to know about abnormalities of applications is something that needs improvement."
"It's not very user-friendly at times and requires in-depth understanding. So, a layman or someone new to Qualys won't be able to easily understand it. You need education to use the solution."
"Support is another area where improvement is needed, particularly for assisting non-security users."
"If your company's patch is not up to date, but you have other detection or defense solutions such as endpoint detection and response and antivirus software, the product exploit may not work effectively. This is because its exploit database update process is slow and not real-time. For zero-day vulnerabilities or new security threats, relying on Rapid7 Metasploit alone may not be effective."
"The solution is not user-friendly and has room for improvement."
"Metasploit cannot be installed on a machine with an antivirus."
"Better automation capabilities would be an improvement."
"I would like to see more capabilities, more functions, and more features. More types of attack vectors."
"The database is not always updated with the latest vulnerabilities or zero-day exploits. If a vulnerability arises a month or two ago, it might not be included in the database, which is something I would like to see improved."
"At the time I was using it, the graphical user interface needed some improvements."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"An annual license for a single scanner costs around $3,000."
"When you want to cover yourself for scalability, you will be charged for the number you place on the scan itself."
"In Nigerian Naira, we spend about roughly four to five million to use this solution and this is expensive compared to solutions like Nessus."
"The solution is expensive."
"Qualys VM is reasonably priced."
"We have an annual contract for Qualys VMDR. I believe it's for either two years or five years."
"They have recently changed the pricing model, which is now better than it was before."
"The pricing and licensing for Qualys could be improved."
"Rapid7 Metasploit is cheaper than Tenable.io Vulnerability Management."
"I have used the free version of Rapid7 Metasploit."
"There are two versions available, one of which is the Pro version, and the other is the free version."
"The pricing structure involves a one-time purchase cost of approximately twenty thousand dollars or euros for all customers."
"The great advantage with Rapid7 Metasploit, of course, is that it's free."
"The cost is approximately $15 per device."
"I use the open-source version of this product. Pricing is not relevant."
"Rapid7 Metasploit is an open-source solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise69
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?
Since we stood Zafran Security up in our private cloud, we handle the maintenance on our side. As we opted not to use...
What needs improvement with Zafran Security?
In terms of areas for improvement, Zafran Security is doing a really great job as a new and emerging company. Oftenti...
What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?
My use cases for Zafran Security revolve around two primary areas. One is around vulnerability management and priorit...
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 tagg...
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?
One area where Qualys VMDR can be improved is the missing feature for deploying agents for over 1,000 assets, as we n...
What do you like most about Rapid7 Metasploit?
I use Rapid7 Metasploit for payload generation and Post-Exploitation.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 Metasploit?
The pricing of Rapid7 Metasploit is quite affordable. It has a free version that many customers start with, and after...
What needs improvement with Rapid7 Metasploit?
The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even ...
 

Also Known As

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

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
City of Corpus Christi, Diebold, Lumenate, Nebraska Public Power District, Prairie North Regional Health, Apptio, Automation Direct, Bob's Stores, Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions, Carnegie Mellon University
Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys VMDR vs. Rapid7 Metasploit and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.