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Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Sonatype Repository Firewall comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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 Application Security Tools
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (10th)
Sonatype Repository Firewall
Ranking in Application Security Tools
27th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 2.0%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sonatype Repository Firewall is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Qualys Web Application Scanning2.0%
Sonatype Repository Firewall0.6%
Other97.4%
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

AnkitSharma13 - PeerSpot reviewer
Web scanning needs improvement but offers good vulnerability detection
The downside of Qualys Web Application Scanning is that it cannot crawl automatically. If I provide an IP address and a login form, it does basic testing, but it doesn't go deep as IBM AppScan does. If Qualys Web Application Scanning could improve its crawling capability, it would be more user-friendly. Qualys Web Application Scanning does IP-level testing, requiring direct input of credentials, and can only scan a few pages to provide known generic vulnerabilities, which isn't as beneficial from my point of view. The Vulnerability Management also relies heavily on version numbers and will flag vulnerabilities based on the component version, but it doesn't check if a real fix exists, leading to flags on components that actually have workarounds available.
Ashish Shukla - PeerSpot reviewer
You will get clean code every time, and that's a great achievement
For the QA team, it's a really good tool. For those who are not on the QA team, it is also a good tool to use for SDL in the SDLC. It plays a very critical role of doing the automatic quality check recommendation. Meaning, when using this tool, people can easily rectify the issues in the environment itself, instead of going to a higher environment and identifying them. This tool is quite easy to use and learn. We decided that there was no need to hire anyone new who would specialize in this. We had a team of about five to ten people who learned how to use this tool. There are some other automation tools like Jenkins, for example, that require a lot of effort to configure and write out the code, but you do not need to do such for this tool. I thought outside of the box and saw that there are many options available to us when using this tool. The plugins are there, you can download and use the tool at ease and you do not need to do any kind of development. Overall, it’s quite easy to use.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Qualys Web Application Scanning is robust and mature from industry standards."
"The tool links vulnerabilities with DDIs and gives a complete overview of the application. The continuous monitoring capability is good."
"​We have experienced quick customer support. They have a complete list of our previous issues along with our history, which makes it faster for them to solve issues.​"
"It works with many different products."
"Licensing is the most valuable. Qualys provides the best licensing for companies. It is the best product for the development purposes of web applications. The product has a lot of integrations."
"It is a cloud-based solution, so it is easy to scale."
"​This product is designed for easy scalability and can easily scale up ​without major challenges."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is accurate and provides minimal false positives."
"Another thing that I like about Sonatype is that if you download something today, and five days from today it becomes vulnerable, it will notify you."
"The customer service is fantastic."
"The product's network and intrusion protection features are valuable. It also has rules and compliance features for security."
"The firewall is the only solution that supports Nexus Repository."
 

Cons

"It is unclear how to build automation on Qualys. We do some automation, but not fully, because working is difficult."
"I have dealt with Qualys's technical support, and any enhancements are challenging. I would rate them a five out of ten."
"There could be better management and faster scanning."
"The product should allow users to upload their payloads."
"The area of false positives could be improved. There are quite a number of false positives as compared to other solutions. They could probably fine tune the algorithm to be able to reduce the number of false positives being detected."
"Deployment can be complicated."
"Sometimes the response time is low because the handshake fails, and then you have to re-login and start again."
"We receive false positives sometimes when using a solution that could be improved. However, the technical team provides us with the exact explanation why it was giving us that kind of error."
"There are several features lacking in the current offering, particularly concerning container support and AI packages."
"What I don't like is the lack of an option to pick up the phone and call someone for support. That is something they need to improve on. They need to have a professional services package, or they need to include that option with their services."
"The tool needs to improve its file systems. The product should also include zero test feature."
"There are several features lacking in the current offering, particularly concerning container support and AI packages, like humming phase support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are on an annual license for the solution and the pricing could be more affordable."
"Try the free trial of the product to understand the basic working mechanisms.​"
"It is an expensive platform."
"There are different options available with respect to licensing."
"From my perspective, it is a budget-friendly option."
"I rate the software’s pricing a six out of ten."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning's pricing is a bit expensive compared to other solutions available in the market."
"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."
"The pricing is reasonable if you're a large enterprise developing code. It's not super-expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Insurance Company
11%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise27
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?
Regarding pricing, I think for personal use, it is costly, but if organizations are ready to pay, then it is fine as they are using it.
What needs improvement with Qualys Web Application Scanning?
The downside of Qualys Web Application Scanning is that it cannot crawl automatically. If I provide an IP address and a login form, it does basic testing, but it doesn't go deep as IBM AppScan does...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sonatype Nexus Firewall?
Also, I consider it average. Some people might consider it expensive, however, since it supports many beautiful features, I would say it is worth it.
What is your primary use case for Sonatype Nexus Firewall?
Many companies, including ours, use Nexus Repository due to concerns about malware and critical vulnerabilities. There should be a specific method to prevent malicious packages from entering the in...
What advice do you have for others considering Sonatype Nexus Firewall?
I would give the solution eight out of ten. I would look at the comparison of Sonatype to some other firewalls. There is room for improvement, especially mentioning container support and AI packages.
 

Also Known As

Qualys WAS
Sonatype Nexus Firewall, Nexus Firewall
 

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.
EDF, Tomitribe, Crosskey, Blackboard, Travel audience
Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys Web Application Scanning vs. Sonatype Repository Firewall and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.