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Cybersixgill vs Qualys VMDR vs Rapid7 Metasploit 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Cybersixgill is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys VMDR is 4.9%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 Metasploit is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys VMDR4.9%
Rapid7 Metasploit1.7%
Cybersixgill0.5%
Other92.9%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1528356 - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Cyber Threat-Intelligence Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
Provides early detection of imminent attacks, and speeds up addressing of vulnerabilities internally because it makes them real
They're a newer company, so they're working on their UI a lot. Sometimes the UI is a little glitchy. They're working on different things and making efforts, so that's totally forgivable. But regarding their scraping abilities, things could be solidified. There are definitely improvements that could be made on the specificity for setting certain queries. Step-by-step videos would be useful, instead of a book of instructions, because they're a new tool. They're now getting to the point where video training would be useful, or even live training. More digestible video instructions or opportunities for training, so that you actually learn hands-on, would help.
Vaibhav Ghule - PeerSpot reviewer
Soc Lead & Edr Administration at Persistent Systems
Continuous risk-based monitoring has strengthened incident response and vulnerability prioritization
I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries lack grouping operators in Qualys VMDR. From my experience, I would appreciate improvements in the query options in Qualys VMDR, specifically in the query-building process where I would need more features and operators. Additionally, we have been facing issues with Qualys on the cloud level. We cannot download the configuration profile from the cloud agent, and it is showing a pending action for download. During 2025, we noticed outages of Qualys a couple of times. I want to mention that there is an issue with receiving timely RCA deliveries. While this is not necessarily about the tool, it relates to support. The support has not been very responsive, and we are receiving RCAs a little delayed whenever we raise support cases or communicate with the TAMs. Additionally, the UI has a slight latency, which I and my team have experienced. They have also reported this latency issue when navigating through different pages.
reviewer1247523 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Extensive exploit database and seamless integration enhance penetration testing capabilities
The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even the same attack you provide today will go in different ways another day. I prefer when the auditor or pen-tester provides the attack in a non-automated mode. For some, it might be a valuable option, but I'm not sure it's valuable for us, as after the attack has been provided, we should release a report detailing how it transpired and what the customer should improve to block this way of attack. If the attack was provided in an automated mode, you cannot receive sufficient information that helps with this final report for the customer. While you can check the vulnerability, and the system will tell you there is no vulnerability, usually, a human can change one, two, or three parameters and using the same technique and the same scripts can break the system. Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved in areas concerning the experience with finding particular scripts pre-installed in the solution. Customers, administrators, and pen-testers spend considerable time trying to locate the specific component they need by the name of the technique or the name of the attack, so any improvements in making it easier to find those predefined components by name or timeframe would be beneficial. Search filters could be a correct improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"To be diligent for the customer, we usually go into Cybersixgill Investigative Portal to analyze and search things. The solution tells us the reputation of cyber threat actors. So, if someone has a reputation of one, it is a really bad idea to care about what that person is saying. However, if you find someone with a reputation of nine, then there is a high probability that we need to address the problem. You can get information about these type of actors in Cybersixgill Investigative Portal. They have a huge collection, which is like having the rules/goals of the dark web and deep web without having to go there. Our analysts avoid going dark web because they have Cybersixgill Investigative Portal and can get the news from their browser, searching wherever they want."
"The solution’s approach of using limited open source intelligence and focusing, instead, on the Deep Web and Dark Web is what seals the deal. That is why I like them. I have other tools that I can aggregate all the open source intelligence from. I value Cybersixgill because it provides access to things that no one else does."
"They also provide some of the greatest notification capabilities. I put in a customer's company name and domain names, or sometimes I put in their IP addresses as a keyword. Once Sixgill collects information that includes those keywords, they then provide us email notifications. That means we can catch information related to our customers as soon as possible."
"The advanced analysis has made our security operations more efficient. It has also potentially given us quicker access to data that we might not have otherwise located."
"The process of defining and discovering scans is organized efficiently."
"It's a good product. After the scan our internet works well. It scans our security posture."
"The integrations for this solution are very good. I use a different product for virtual patching of vulnerabilities and Qualys integrates well with that product."
"It's very configurable to adjust impact to systems."
"It's also highly customizable, allowing us to tailor it to our needs."
"The initial setup and onboarding process of Qualys VMDR was quite smooth, as we were able to draft the SOPs from the documentation portal itself and everything was available in the documentation, so it was not a hassle for us to get the integrations done on time."
"This is one of the best products I have worked with so far. I like the power of Qualys, and it's a better solution because you can scan a compact file, a BIT file, or batch files. The product already knows what's happening inside, and you don't need to expand the package. Tenable will do the same thing, but you need to have a package issuance claim. With Qualys, we can immediately understand the file, even a compact file. If there's some kind of discovery or incident, you will know what happened in the environment."
"I am impressed with the VMDR feature."
"The solution is open source and has many small targetted penetration tests that have been written by many people that are useful. You can choose different subjects for the test, such as Oracle databases or Apache servers."
"It contains almost all the available exploits and payloads."
"Rapid7 has a significant advantage in providing a clear picture of my environment."
"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."
"I don't have any other tools like it, and I always use it when I'm doing a pen test. Metasploit is a great solution for penetration testing,"
"It is scalable. It's in line with our needs."
"The most valuable feature for us is the support for testing Linux-based web server components."
"The Search Engineering feature is good."
 

Cons

"We need real-time updated information. If we could have this, it would be amazing. For example, if someone was posting something, then ten second later, it was on the platform. Sometimes, it takes a minute or hours right now, depending on the forum."
"Regarding their scraping abilities, things could be solidified. There are definitely improvements that could be made on the specificity for setting certain queries."
"The breadth of access to data is good, but there are gaps. More data would be my suggestion because the platform is good and I have no complaints about the system. I think it is just a case of always trying to get more data sources."
"Sixgill has strong capabilities based on search queries, but there is some difficulty in using Sixgill. Their querying is very powerful but it can be difficult. It's not hugely complex but you need some skill to use Sixgill querying."
"If anything, I would like to see the user interface modernized a bit more."
"Could use additional security for the app."
"Qualys currently does not have any features for scanning SCADA, IoT, and Industrial Control Systems."
"It's not very user-friendly at times and requires in-depth understanding. So, a layman or someone new to Qualys won't be able to easily understand it. You need education to use the solution."
"I would like to see this solution simplified to work more easily in a multi-cloud environment."
"Certain integration factors between different options could be improved."
"The IoT scan is not great."
"There are scenarios where a vulnerability is reported once yet not in subsequent scans, even if we have not fixed it."
"At the time I was using it, the graphical user interface needed some improvements."
"While Metasploit excels in vulnerability assessment, it could improve in vulnerability management."
"The reporting feature needs improvement. The time taken to fetch reports based on the number of events can be extensive, unlike Tenable, which is more user-friendly and faster."
"The database is not always updated with the latest vulnerabilities or zero-day exploits."
"Better automation capabilities would be an improvement."
"The solution should improve the responsiveness of its live technical support."
"There are numerous outdated exploits in their database that should be updated."
"Rapid7 Metasploit could be made easier for new users to learn."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing and licensing are good. It is expensive for us because the US dollar is quite strong compared to our dollar. Otherwise, it is quite reasonable for what it is. All the tools in the market are around the same price from my experience."
"The pricing is cheap compared with Recorded Future. Sixgill's cost-effectiveness is very good."
"Sometimes, Cybersixgill Investigative Portal is cheaper than its competitors."
"We do see over $100,000 in terms of price, for mid-size programs. You likely will pay more than $100,000 without any discount. It is a bit pricey."
"When you want to cover yourself for scalability, you will be charged for the number you place on the scan itself."
"The pricing and licensing for Qualys could be improved."
"An annual license for a single scanner costs around $3,000."
"Usually every implementation is different and the quote is in function of number of assets."
"We have an annual contract for Qualys VMDR. I believe it's for either two years or five years."
"Qualys VM is better suited for medium to large companies because the price can be too much for smaller customers."
"It is more expensive than other products on the market."
"The great advantage with Rapid7 Metasploit, of course, is that it's free."
"The pricing structure involves a one-time purchase cost of approximately twenty thousand dollars or euros for all customers."
"It is a reasonably priced solution. I would rate it from five out of ten."
"I use the open-source version of this product. Pricing is not relevant."
"I have used the free version of Rapid7 Metasploit."
"Rapid7 Metasploit is an open-source solution."
"There are two versions available, one of which is the Pro version, and the other is the free version."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product's pricing a six. So it's fairly priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Non Profit
6%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise70
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What do you like most about Qualys VMDR?
I like that we have many scanners and channels that don't overload. It helps us scan and track easily. Also, the tagg...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that we can consider both time and money saved.
What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?
I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries la...
What do you like most about Rapid7 Metasploit?
I use Rapid7 Metasploit for payload generation and Post-Exploitation.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 Metasploit?
The pricing of Rapid7 Metasploit is quite affordable. It has a free version that many customers start with, and after...
What needs improvement with Rapid7 Metasploit?
The automated approach in the audits or in the hacking testing with Rapid7 Metasploit could be improved because even ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security
Metasploit
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Current customers include large enterprises, financial services, manufacturing, GSIs, MSSPs, government and law enforcement entities.
Agrokor Group, American Specialty Health, American State Bank, Arval, Life:), Axway, Bank of the West, Blueport Commerce, BSkyB, Brinks, CaixaBank, Cartagena, Catholic Health System, CEC Bank, Cegedim, CIGNA, Clickability, Colby-Sawyer College, Commercial Bank of Dubai, University of Utah, eBay Inc., ING Singapore, National Theatre, OTP Bank, Sodexo, WebEx
City of Corpus Christi, Diebold, Lumenate, Nebraska Public Power District, Prairie North Regional Health, Apptio, Automation Direct, Bob's Stores, Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions, Carnegie Mellon University
Find out what your peers are saying about Wiz, Tenable, Qualys and others in Vulnerability Management. Updated: February 2026.
883,896 professionals have used our research since 2012.