Acunetix vs Qualys TotalCloud comparison

Invicti and Qualys are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. Invicti is ranked #23 with an average rating of 8.3, while Qualys is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.8. Invicti holds a 1.3% mindshare in VM, compared to Qualys’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Invicti users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Qualys users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Acunetix and Qualys TotalCloud are key players in cybersecurity, focusing on vulnerability management and cloud security. Qualys TotalCloud generally leads due to its extensive features offering more value that justifies its cost.

Features: Acunetix offers an efficient web vulnerability scanner, comprehensive reports, and actionable insights, all tailored for web application security. Qualys TotalCloud provides a wider range of features including network security, cloud workload protection, and complete cloud infrastructure security.

Room for Improvement: Acunetix could enhance its network security capabilities, expand its cloud integrations, and provide more detailed guidance on remediation. Qualys TotalCloud might improve its user interface, reduce the learning curve, and offer more flexible pricing options to cater to smaller businesses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Acunetix integrates smoothly with existing workflows and is known for responsive service. In contrast, Qualys TotalCloud uses a scalable SaaS-based model with deep integration across platforms but may present a steeper learning curve.

Pricing and ROI: Acunetix has a lower initial cost, appealing to budget-conscious organizations with a focus on web vulnerabilities, delivering favorable ROI. Qualys TotalCloud, despite a higher upfront cost, provides extensive features resulting in a potentially higher ROI for those needing comprehensive cloud security.

To learn more, read our detailed Acunetix vs. Qualys TotalCloud Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix vs. Qualys TotalCloud

April 2025

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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:

Categories and Ranking

Zafran Security

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 0.4%. The mindshare of Acunetix is 1.3%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.1%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

Israel Cavazos Landini

Associate Director IT Security Operations at Novartis

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.

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AnubhavGoswami

Compliance Manager at Compunnel

Attractive automated reports with boost user productivity and an easy setup

The primary use is mainly related to vulnerability assessment, including both public and internal IP addresses By using this tool, we have reduced the workload and increased the productivity of users. It generates automated reports. This feature is beneficial when sharing reports with clients as…

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Sushant Samantara

IT Manager at Capgemini

Helps us minimize attack surfaces by identifying root accounts and encryption issues

TotalCloud provides written explanations to guide remediation and eliminate cyber risks. While all cloud platforms offer security features, it's challenging to consolidate them into a single dashboard. Qualys TotalCloud effectively addresses this by consolidating multiple cloud platforms and subscriptions onto one dashboard. This allows users to quickly identify and mitigate misconfigurations and risks, simplifying security management. Before implementing TotalCloud, our compliance rate was approximately 50 to 60 percent. However, after adopting the platform, it has increased to 80 to 90 percent. TotalCloud also helps us minimize attack surfaces by identifying root accounts and encryption issues, thereby enhancing our overall security by 40 percent. TotalCloud offers a unified platform for assessing vulnerabilities and threats across both IaaS and PaaS environments. This unified view has improved our cloud security posture management. We gain a single, prioritized view of risks through TotalCloud's TruRisk Insights feature. This feature considers not only the QDA score but also factors in cost and other relevant elements to provide a comprehensive risk assessment. From a potentially overwhelming list of findings, TruRisk Insights prioritizes the most critical risks, allowing us to focus our efforts and resources on addressing these high-priority tasks efficiently. A single, prioritized view of risk streamlines the risk assessment process by eliminating the need to consolidate multiple sources. This comprehensive view is instrumental in communicating with other business customers who may be unaware of potential risks or misconfigurations within their resources. By identifying and informing them of these issues, we can guide them towards compliance and ensure a more secure environment. TruRisk Insights provides valuable findings by identifying vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, displaying them on a dashboard, and offering deeper insights into the attack surface. It analyzes not only internet-facing devices but also those indirectly connected, providing a comprehensive understanding of potential risks. This is crucial because even devices not directly connected to the internet can be vulnerable if they have an attack surface. TruRisk Insights also offers mitigation strategies, making it a highly useful tool for managing security risks. With the VMDR feature enabled and the Qualys Agent installed on various assets, we can identify existing vulnerabilities. TruRisk Insights then calculates risk scores, prioritizes tasks, and presents the number of findings. This allows us to focus on mitigating high-priority vulnerabilities while deferring those with lower priority, ultimately reducing overall risk. TruRisk Insights provides device details, allowing for containerization of misconfigured devices. This process involves isolating problematic devices and rectifying misconfigurations, ultimately enhancing our security posture.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"Zafran is an excellent tool."

"Their technical support has been very active. If I have an issue, I can reach out to them and get an answer pretty quick."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the speed at which it can scan multiple domains in just a few hours."

"There is a lot of documentation on their website which makes setting it up and using it quite simple."

"It can operate both as a standalone and it can be integrated with other applications, which makes it a very versatile solution to have."

"It's very user-friendly for the testing teams. It's very easy for them to understand things and to fix vulnerabilities."

"The features of Acunetix have proved most effective in identifying vulnerabilities."

"The tool's most valuable feature is performance."

"The vulnerability scanning option for analyzing the security loopholes on the websites is the most valuable feature of this solution."

More Acunetix pros

"Qualys TotalCloud has improved our security posture."

"Vulnerability and threat detection and assessment of the criticality of the vulnerabilities exposed are most valuable."

"The most valuable feature is the consolidated information that it provides from various platforms."

"Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable feature is its agent versatility."

"Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable feature is its ability to link clusters of assets, providing a clear model of deployments, vulnerabilities, and statuses."

"With TotalCloud, we can scan through the API. If we are not able to deploy cloud agents on the machine, we can use the API."

"Qualys TotalCloud has helped us view our risk structure, vulnerabilities, and security posture."

"While automatic inventory detection upon connection is a helpful feature, a truly valuable capability would be assessing an environment's security posture against Azure and CIS best practices."

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

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."

"Acunetix needs to include agent analysis."

"I had some issues with the JSON parameters where it found some strange vulnerabilities, but it didn't alert the person using it or me about these vulnerabilities, e.g., an error for SQL injection."

"Acunetix needs to be dynamic with JavaScript code, unlike Netsparker which can scan complex agents."

"Integration into other tools is very limited for Acunetix. While we're trying to incorporate a CI/CD process where we're integrating with JIRA and we're integrating with Jenkins and Chef, it becomes problematic. Other tools give you a high integration capability to connect into different solutions that you may already have, like JIRA."

"The only problem that they have is the price. It is a bit expensive, and you cannot change the number of applications for the whole year."

"It is difficult to create a proxy connection."

"Tools that would allow us to work more efficiently with the mobile environment, with Android and iOS."

"When monitoring the traffic we always have issues with the bandwidth consumption and the throttling of traffic."

More Acunetix cons

"In a future release, I suggest that zero-day vulnerabilities should be predicted in advance using AI technologies. The system is not 100% secure yet, so proactive threat hunting could be enhanced to be more proactive than the current system."

"Although TotalCloud is a helpful tool, some of its advanced features are still under development."

"We encountered challenges identifying the correct resource category for certain items, such as those in containers or storage."

"With the growing integration of AI, I would like Qualys to enhance its service offerings to better accommodate AI-related risks."

"I would like the ability to disable certain default built-in policies as they can be misleading when creating dashboards. That is the top one."

"The main area needing improvement is integration. Although the team is strengthening TotalCloud, integration can be enhanced with SIEM, SOAR, ITSM, and other sources."

"I would appreciate additional integration options to connect Qualys TotalCloud with our other vulnerability management tools."

"The system is not 100% secure yet, so proactive threat hunting could be enhanced to be more proactive than the current system."

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The costs aren't very expensive. It costs around $3000 or $4000."

"When we looked at all other vendors and what they were asking for, to provide a third of what Acunetix was capable of doing, it was an easy decision... But now that it's coming to a cost where it's line with market value, it becomes more of a competition... Acunetix is raising the cost of licensing. It's 3.5 times what we were initially quoted."

"It is a bit expensive. If you need to check five applications, you have to pay almost 14,000. It is an agreement for two years at 7,000 per year for only five applications. You cannot change the applications in the license. So, you are stuck with the same license for the five applications for one full year."

"Implementing Acunetix needs a medium or larger business agency, because you need some money to get Acunetix. It is costly, but if you care about your agency's security, then maybe it's a cost that might help you in the future."

"When compared with other products, the pricing is a little bit high. But it gives value for the price. It serves the purpose and is worthwhile for the price we pay."

"The pricing and licensing are reasonable to a point. In order to run multiple scans at a time, we are going to have to purchase a 100 count license, which is an overkill. Though, compared to what we were paying for, the cost seems reasonable."

"The solution is expensive."

"The pricing is a little high, and moreover, it's kind of domain-based."

More Acunetix pricing and cost advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."

"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."

"The pricing is comparable. It is built into our other product, so I cannot piecemeal it. It is a part of our subscription."

"I am not sure about the pricing. From what I understand, it is a bit on the higher side, but I do not have the exact numbers."

"Although Qualys TotalCloud is relatively expensive due to its unique automation features, its cost-effectiveness is rated an eight out of ten, with ten being the most costly."

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."

"While Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive and may soon be considered overpriced."

"The pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Government

13%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?

I find that the pricing for Zafran aligns well with the comprehensive features it offers. The asset and user-based li...

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What needs improvement with Zafran Security?

While Zafran Security is already a powerful tool, there are areas where it could be further improved to provide even ...

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What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?

Our primary use case for Zafran involves leveraging it to enhance our vulnerability risk scoring methodology. In toda...

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What do you like most about Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?

The tool's most valuable feature is scan configurations. We use it for external physical applications. The scanning t...

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What is your primary use case for Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?

I typically use Acunetix ( /products/acunetix-reviews ) to identify vulnerabilities for clients.

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What advice do you have for others considering Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?

I would recommend Acunetix to others. Overall, I rate this solution seven out of ten.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys TotalCloud?

It is not cheap. For smaller businesses, people running businesses with a small number of users cannot afford Qualys,...

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What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?

While I am still learning TotalCloud, which has the latest features introduced, I attended a Qualys event this year. ...

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What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?

Sometimes I lack the details of misconfigured devices, such as cloud servers and cloud machines, which are hosted in ...

See all answers

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Also Known As

No data available

AcuSensor

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

Overview

Zafran Security integrates with existing security tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively, proving that most critical vulnerabilities are not exploitable, optimizing threat management.

Zafran Security introduces an innovative operating model for managing security threats and vulnerabilities. By leveraging the threat exposure management platform, it pinpoints and prioritizes exploitable vulnerabilities, reducing risk through immediate remediation. This platform enhances your hybrid cloud security by normalizing vulnerability signals and integrating specific IT context data, such as CVE runtime presence and internet asset reachability, into its analysis. No longer reliant on patch windows, Zafran Security allows you to manage risks actively.

What are the key features of Zafran Security?

Threat Exposure Management: Utilizes existing tools to prioritize vulnerabilities and manage threats.
Integrative Analysis: Combines security data with IT context for precise vulnerability management.
Real-time Risk Reduction: Enables immediate risk management without waiting for patches.
Hybrid Cloud Compatibility: Functions across diverse cloud environments for comprehensive security.

What benefits can users expect from Zafran Security?

Improved Security: Enhances protection by efficiently identifying and mitigating risks.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces unnecessary patching expenses by confirming non-exploitable vulnerabilities.
Time Savings: Frees developers to focus on root causes by handling immediate threats.
Comprehensive Insight: Offers a holistic view of security threats and vulnerabilities.

In industries where security is paramount, such as finance and healthcare, Zafran Security provides invaluable protection by ensuring that only exploitable vulnerabilities are addressed. It allows entities to maintain robust security measures while allocating resources efficiently, fitting seamlessly into existing security strategies.

Zafran Security

Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner is an automated web application security testing tool that audits your web applications by checking for vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, Cross site scripting, and other exploitable vulnerabilities.

Invicti

TotalCloud is the Qualys approach to Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) for cloud infrastructure and SaaS environments. With TotalCloud, customers extend TruRisk insights (transparent cyber risk scoring methodology) from the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform to their cloud environments allowing for a seamless unified view of cyber risk across on-prem, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.

Features and capabilities of Qualys TotalCloud include, but are not limited to:

Discover: Complete visibility and insights into cyber-risk exposure across multi-cloud. Continuously discover and monitor all your workloads across a multi-cloud environment for a 360-degree view of your cloud footprint. Identify known and previously unknown internet-facing assets for 100% visibility and tracking of risks.

Assess: Comprehensive cloud-native assessments with FlexScanTM. Extensive scanning capabilities with Qualys FlexScan, including no-touch, agentless, API- and snapshot-based scanning, along with agent- and network-based scanning for in-depth assessment. Use these multiple scanning methods to scan a workload to get a unified and comprehensive view of vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.

Prioritize: Unified security view to prioritize cloud risk with TruRiskTM. Experience a unified risk-based view of cloud security with insights across workloads, services, and resources. Qualys TruRisk quantifies security risk by workload criticality and vulnerabilities; it correlates with ransomware, malware, and exploitation threat intelligence to prioritize, trace, and reduce risk.

Defend: Real-time protection against evolving and unknown threats with InstaProtectTM. Qualys enables continuous monitoring of all cloud assets to ensure they are protected against threats and attacks at runtime. Qualys keeps your cloud runtime safe by detecting known and unknown threats across the entire kill chain in near real-time across a multi-cloud environment.

Remediate: Fast remediation with QFlow – no code, drag-and-drop workflows. The integration of QFlow technology into Qualys TotalCloud saves security and DevOps teams valuable time and resources. Automation and no-code, drag-and-drop workflows help simplify the time-consuming operational tasks of assessing vulnerabilities on ephemeral cloud assets, alerting on high-priority threats, remediating misconfigurations, and quarantining high-risk assets.

Qualys

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Joomla!, Digicure, Team Random, Credit Suisse, Samsung, Air New Zealand

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix vs. Qualys TotalCloud

April 2025

Free Report: Acunetix vs. Qualys TotalCloud

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