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Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Tenable.io Web Application Scanning 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
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (9th)
Tenable.io Web Application ...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
19th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 2.2%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is 1.3%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools
 

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.
Harshal Deshmukh - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple tool to use, good dashboard capabilities and offers asset criticality ratings
It has good dashboard capabilities and gives good results with priority ratings, asset criticality ratings, and exposure scores for vulnerabilities. It also provides automated web application scanning, which customers appreciate because it doesn't disturb the web application or hamper the business. While testing the web application, sometimes it happens that the website or application goes down. But with Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, it doesn't affect the business. It has good unified web application scanning and exposure management.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The Qualys Web Application Scanning solution offers a single comprehensive console and consolidated reporting, covering all aspects from on-prem to cloud and compliance, etcetera."
"The tool links vulnerabilities with DDIs and gives a complete overview of the application. The continuous monitoring capability is good."
"You can integrate your Burp Suite results and create an integrated report. Also, the way it shows the results - threats and exploit details - makes remediation very easy."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is robust and mature from industry standards."
"The vulnerability management feature is a strong one. And also the patch management feature."
"With our vulnerabilities under control, it's putting our services in compliance and minimizing our risk for exposure."
"The most valuable feature is that we are able to scan the services and put credentials like a user ID password. We can verify the vulnerability level."
"It is a very stable solution."
"All the features are valuable to us as they offer cutting-edge scanning methods and address the latest issues with a contemporary approach. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is highly stable. I rate it a nine out ten. Since the solution works on the Cloud, it's highly scalable. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. The setup of the solution is straightforward. The Return on Investment is substantial. I recommend the solution to all."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The solution's instant reports feature is the most effective for detecting threats."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is very easy to use."
"The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment."
"The most valuable features of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning are the integration into specific use cases and scanning. All of the features of the solution are useful."
"It collects the vulnerabilities on the hostnames and sends them to the Tenable.io cloud. Tenable has its own cloud where Tenable.io is running, but there are many connectors to other cloud solutions. Tenable can do vulnerability scanning for other cloud managers such as Azure, Amazon, and so on."
"I would recommend Tenable.io Web Application Scanning to others."
 

Cons

"The UI is not user-friendly and you don't have a yearly reporting facility where you can slice and dice in different jobs."
"The GUI could be a little less complicated as it opens a lot of new windows for creating search lists, templates, reports, or for scanning purposes."
"They should try to include business logic vulnerabilities in the scanner testing."
"The software’s pricing could be improved."
"There should be better visibility into the application."
"There could be better management and faster scanning."
"I would like it to be cheaper because it is a bit expensive compared to competitors like Tenable Nessus."
"We procured around 110 licenses for Web Application Scanning, but we have issues running concurrent scans. I don't currently have the option to trigger scans for all 100-plus websites. The default limit is around 10 conference scans. It's not very scalable, to be honest, because of the limitation that they put on concurrent scans."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is not very user-friendly and you need a lot of information to get proper reports. The tool's support is not very responsive."
"The reporting has a very limited customization capability."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning conducts a general scan, which wastes time. The scan needs to be specific."
"The solution's dashboards could be improved and made more user-friendly."
"The market is standard for vulnerability scanning, however, the posture can be improved through Tenable's prioritization engine."
"The report customization needs to be better."
"The cloud and the on-premises versions have their own controllers, and there is no way to centrally manage controllers."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning could improve by offering faster fuzzing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Try the free trial of the product to understand the basic working mechanisms.​"
"Qualys has an IT-based licensing based on a yearly license, which is a good way of handling it. However, in some cases, when we do the PCI scanning, the host will not like the scanning and we lose the IT license. So, this could be improved."
"It is an expensive platform."
"We normally purchase an annual license."
"We are on an annual license for the solution and the pricing could be more affordable."
"The product has a very good licensing model."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning's pricing is a bit expensive compared to other solutions available in the market."
"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."
"It follows the same licensing scheme as Tenable.io and Tenable. sc."
"I rate the product's pricing a four out of ten."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is expensive for small businesses."
"For Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, it comes to around 6,50,000 Indian rupees, plus taxes."
"The application is extremely affordable. There are no additional costs involved with licensing. We switched to Tenable.io Web Application Scanning from other solutions due to pricing."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to the competitors. The license cost is based on the number of users and the annual usage."
"The pricing is okay."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
10%
Retailer
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment.
What needs improvement with Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
Improvements could include providing coverage reports in the free version and features related to security reports. Also, enhancing technical support would be beneficial as there is room for improv...
What advice do you have for others considering Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
I would recommend Tenable.io Web Application Scanning as it provides us with good reports, which help improve our code base, despite the lack of financial benefits. Overall, I would rate it seven o...
 

Also Known As

Qualys WAS
No data available
 

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.
IMDEX
Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys Web Application Scanning vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.