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Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Semgrep comparison

 

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 Web Application Scan...
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (13th)
Semgrep
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
25th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Supply Chain Management Software (3rd), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (12th), Static Code Analysis (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 2.2%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Semgrep is 2.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
 

Featured Reviews

Kelvin Oladipo - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly scanning provides valuable vulnerability insights, but pricing improvements are needed
Qualys Web Application Scanning is user-friendly, easy to understand, easy to use, and easy to deploy. Credential scanning is very effective because it goes in-depth into the system, crawling the pages, and reporting on vulnerabilities. The product helps by providing options for remediating vulnerabilities it finds, making it really useful.
Henry Mwawai - PeerSpot reviewer
Automated code reviews and good scalability with custom rule adaptability
We use Semgrep to check custom user pipelines and test their claims for any vulnerabilities. We process the code by passing it through the testing process for any operability issues before sending feedback to the developers and providing the final product. This is part of the static testing…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Qualys Web Application Scanning is the effective scanning that can be done."
"I have found the detection of vulnerabilities tool thorough with good results and the graphical display output to be wonderful and full of colors. It allows many types of outputs, such as bar and chart previews."
"It works with many different products."
"Automated scanning has significantly improved our web application security management by reducing manual work."
"Qualys WAS' most valuable features are the navigation flow of the UI and the option for a different layer of security (identification and operation through email and mobile)."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is user-friendly, easy to understand, easy to use, and easy to deploy."
"The product prevents possible vulnerabilities in our network."
"​This product is designed for easy scalability and can easily scale up ​without major challenges."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to write our custom rules."
 

Cons

"Deployment can be complicated."
"I have dealt with Qualys's technical support, and any enhancements are challenging. I would rate them a five out of ten."
"The authenticated scanning feature could be improved by adding support for real-time scanning tokens and authorization tokens."
"We have many websites. We don't force scanning on all of them at once because it's taking some time."
"The software’s pricing could be improved."
"The UI is not user-friendly and you don't have a yearly reporting facility where you can slice and dice in different jobs."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is very complex to use, and its graphical interface is not very user-friendly."
"In certain cases, this product does have false positives, which the company should work on."
"There should be more information on how to acquire the system, catering to beginners in application security, to make it more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are on an annual license for the solution and the pricing could be more affordable."
"The product is expensive, at least initially, in comparison to other products in this category."
"Licensing was based on the number of assets that you want to scan on your network. You can also do licensing on subscription. On subscription, it is easier and more flexible. You tell Qualys that you want to move from the 1000 to 2000 band or the 3000 or 5000 band, then they will give you the quotation for it. Once you pay for it, applying the licensing is quite easy and effective."
"I rate the software’s pricing a six out of ten."
"The cost is $30,000 USD for one year to cover WAS (Web Application Security) and the VM (Virtual Machine) security in a company with 200 employees."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning's pricing is a bit expensive compared to other solutions available in the market."
"Pricing was reasonable and competitive. It was not too far above the other products."
"There are different options available with respect to licensing."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Qualys Web Application Scanning?
The vulnerability management feature is a strong one. And also the patch management feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys Web Application Scanning?
The price of Qualys Web Application Scanning is reasonable compared to other vendors. Qualys Web Application Scanning is priced per application rather than per user.
What needs improvement with Qualys Web Application Scanning?
I have experience with adaptive scanning for single-page applications, which was not very effective. Generally, comparing with other tools, Qualys Web Application Scanning still needs to improve on...
What needs improvement with Semgrep?
There should be more information on how to acquire the system, catering to beginners in application security, to make it more user-friendly.
What is your primary use case for Semgrep?
We use Semgrep to check custom user pipelines and test their claims for any vulnerabilities. We process the code by passing it through the testing process for any operability issues before sending ...
 

Also Known As

Qualys WAS
Semgrep Code, Semgrep Supply Chain, Semgrep AppSec Platform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

BskyB, Cartagena, ClearPoint Learning Systems, Connect Group, du, Fortrex Technologies, HBOR, HDI, Highlights for Children, The Lithuanian State Enterprise Centre of Registers, City of Miami Beach, Microsoft, MidlandHR, MSCI Inc., Northern Arizona University, Ofgem, Olympus Europa, PhoneFactor, RTL Nederland, ThousandEyes, VGZ Organisatie B.V.
Policygenius, Tide, Lyft, Thinkific, FloQast, Vanta, and Fareportal
Find out what your peers are saying about Sonar, Veracode, Checkmarx and others in Static Application Security Testing (SAST). Updated: August 2025.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.