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BigFix vs Qualys Patch Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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

BigFix
Ranking in Patch Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (5th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (14th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (4th)
Qualys Patch Management
Ranking in Patch Management
4th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of BigFix is 10.7%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Patch Management is 3.8%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

Bella Yakoby - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers third-party patching feature, good scalability, and enhance endpoint management capabilities
From the perspective of the team that's handling the environment, it's not so user-friendly compared to other solutions, the competitors. We hire new teams from time to time, and they are complaining, look, although BigFix is very robust and cross-platform, it's not so fun to work with. The user interface for the technical teams is not so advanced. It's not so intuitive compared to SCCM, compared to ManageEngine. And this is the fact that they have, with the teams, because they have the rejection. The look and feel of the system are old-fashioned. For new employees, it's less easy to find someone I don't need to educate on how to work with BigFix. Although it's easy, it's not as intuitive as the other solutions, and the functionality of the other solutions is less advanced. Let's summarize: The user interface has to be changed from the perspective of the teams that are managing the product. It's old school.
Revathi VeeraRaghavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a centralized platform for managing assets and vulnerabilities, enabling assessment, prioritization, and remediation
Qualys Patch Management system requires several improvements. Firstly, the inability to download asset patches and the lack of third-party application integration limit patch accessibility. Additionally, rollback options are unreliable, and pre-deployment patch testing is crucial. Reporting needs enhancement, particularly with group-based compliance percentages and clearer, VMDR-like reporting in the Patch Management module. Furthermore, detection speed should be improved, as patches are released 24 hours after QIDs are published. The user interface could be more functional, with dashboards for patch compliance visualization and simplified error code language. Finally, the Mac patch catalogue needs expansion, and automated workflows, policy enforcement, and testing procedures should be streamlined for seamless, user-independent operation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the biggest benefits BigFix has had for our organization is the ease and efficiency to perform many different tasks, across pillars and platforms, all from one pane of glass."
"The most valuable feature of BigFix is the software deployment."
"The patch management and the BigFix Inventory have been the most valuable features."
"The most valuable features are patch management, software installation, and asset management."
"Before we had BigFix, we had problems with some malware. BigFix allows us to immediately patch all instances of endpoints that were vulnerable to antivirus and initiate scans. That's key."
"It enables us to patch our systems quickly and within expectations and to increase our volume as needed. It has also helped us compress our patch sites. We used to do it monthly but now we do it weekly."
"The solution is unbelievably scalable."
"We receive the patches automatically, and BigFix spreads them automatically to our endpoints."
"Patch Management's most valuable feature is the ability to search for vulnerabilities using their QID."
"For a few applications, you do not need to go and download the patches from the network or somewhere else. They have the patches or the latest updates in the directory. You can just select a patch and deploy it to a server. You can create a patch job and select the patch. Everything is within the interface. You do not need to go out of it."
"The integrations with VMware include configurations to mitigate vulnerabilities. It helps us identify permissions and whatever is applicable for the vulnerability for faster patching."
"Qualys Patch Management helps reduce our client's organizational risk by 50 percent."
"Qualys Patch Management has reduced our organization's risk by almost 90 percent."
"The first thing I would say is the ease of use."
"The most valuable feature of Qualys Patch Management is the support and service provided by Qualys. The feedback that I got from our team is that Qualys' team is very supportive. They are always there to help us and solve queries in real-time. I liked the service aspect."
"We have all the information on one page. The dashboard provides comprehensive information on one page, making it easy to apply patches and monitor pending updates."
 

Cons

"The BigFix Inventory could have an increased scope regarding the tools that can be detected. It does not cover all the possible software installed in Asset."
"The console interface is not friendly, and requires training before using it in production."
"Needs to improve Network Access Protection (NAP) technologies to prevent computers with vulnerabilities from gaining access to networks."
"Sometimes the workstations communicate back to the BigFix server two or three days in a week or something similar. Sometimes there can be a delay reporting back to the server for a variety of reasons, such as users turning their computer off when they go home. When the user comes back and turns the computer back on BigFix needs to synchronize and sometimes it can take some time, approximately one week. The communication between the agent and the server should be faster, there is room for improvement in this area."
"I would like to see for it to be a little easier for new users to be able to learn and create relevant statements. In my opinion, that's the hardest part for bringing on new people that haven't had BigFix experience. Being able to have easier ways to build relevance in ActionScript would be the biggest improvement I'd like to see."
"Implementing a business solution with BigFix has some issues, primarily concerning the time required for distribution to clients if there are too many."
"The solution should have some kind of a local caching methodology, where the patches can be taken locally into a localized relay server, and from there, the patch can be applied, so that there is not much usage of the network required."
"The solution’s pricing could be improved."
"Its implementation is too recent to make any judgments about areas needing improvement. In terms of pricing, of course, it is not free. Cheaper is always better."
"I struggled to see patch availability for some applications in the Qualys console, requiring me to use third-party repositories."
"The GUI has areas that need improvement, particularly in the accuracy of results when adding dashboards and running queries."
"Not all patches are supported, so there are some restrictions. Some remediations require script-level changes which Qualys does not support."
"Reporting needs enhancement, particularly with group-based compliance percentages and clearer, VMDR-like reporting in the Patch Management module."
"However, it would be good to have more widgets and AI-generated reports. I have not seen anything related to AI with Qualys."
"The pricing of the solution is slightly high compared to other tools in our field."
"One area for improvement in Qualys Patch Management is knowing whether patches have been completely downloaded in a particular QGS appliance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is less costly when compared to other solutions, and this is a good solid solution for what we have paid."
"I would stay with the Managed Virtual Server license model, which is a 1-to-1 license per OS whether it is virtual or physical."
"I can estimate the reduced cost of servers maintenance to approximatively $500,000."
"There's not much big cost. We only have to pay the agents' cost for the server, and for the systems."
"The price of the solution is high. There are not any additional fees from the standard license."
"The tool's price continues to go up. The cost per endpoint can vary, ranging from approximately 30 to 80 dollars per year. Compared to other products, pricing is in the middle. You need to buy an additional database license, but most users already have it."
"The cost is slightly high."
"Its price is very reasonable."
"Its price is competitive in the market. Compared to other solutions like Rapid7, Qualys offers a favorable price point and robust features."
"While the cost of Qualys Patch Management is slightly high compared to alternative tools, it is not excessively expensive."
"Pricing for Qualys Patch Management is moderate."
"Pricing is on the higher side. We found it costly compared to other vendors."
"Qualys Patch Management's pricing is competitive."
"Qualys Patch Management comes as part of a bundled package with several modules, making it a cost-effective deal for us."
"The licensing cost is more than 2,000 for the whole Americas region"
"Qualys Patch Management is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
52%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
5%
Computer Software Company
19%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BigFix?
The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BigFix?
The pricing is competitive, but not the most competitive.
What needs improvement with BigFix?
Implementing a business solution with BigFix has some issues, primarily concerning the time required for distribution to clients if there are too many. Building a management console is quick and si...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys Patch Management?
Qualys Patch Management comes as part of a bundled package with several modules, making it a cost-effective deal for us. I cannot speak to the separate cost, as we have always used it as part of th...
What needs improvement with Qualys Patch Management?
I do not have any major problems. I think it's working great. My recommendation would be not just for Patch Management but for Qualys itself. I am using Qualys through a third party or reseller. Th...
What is your primary use case for Qualys Patch Management?
We are in the education industry, and we perform weekly scans. On weekends, we scan our entire management, servers, and expectations. Then on Monday, I set up some weekly reports. From these, I'll ...
 

Also Known As

Tivoli Endpoint Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

US Foods, Penn State, St Vincent's Health US Foods, Sabadell Bank, SunTrust, Australia Sydney, Stemac, Capgemini, WNS Global Services, Jebsen & Jessen, CenterBeam, Strauss, Christian Hospital Centre, Brit Insurance, Career Education Corporation
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Find out what your peers are saying about BigFix vs. Qualys Patch Management and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
839,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.