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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 Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
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

"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."
"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 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."
"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 most valuable features of Qualys VMDR include patch management and the use of virtual scanners to scan appliances and devices, especially those provided by vendors where we cannot manage them ourselves."
"It is a simple solution that makes scanning easy. You just give it a scheduled task, and it will do everything for you."
"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."
"Qualys VM's best feature is vulnerability management."
"The initial setup was good. We didn't have any problems with it."
"The features that are most valuable are the identification, scan features, and the identification of vulnerabilities."
"The product's patch management is excellent for keeping our critical servers and third-party applications updated efficiently."
"Detects new hosts along with vulnerabilities."
"Rapid7 offers comprehensive features within one platform, eliminating the need to integrate multiple tools to see all alerts in one place."
"The most valuable features and capabilities of Rapid7 Metasploit are its tight connection with InsightVM, which searches for potential threats and vulnerabilities and then validates whether we can break the system using those vulnerabilities, serving as a validator component of the InsightVM solution."
"The most valuable features of Metasploit include its powerful capabilities for exploitation and scanning."
"When I compare Metasploit with Nessus, I find that Metasploit is faster and it does not burden the system as much."
"The greatest advantage of Rapid7 Metasploit is that it is the only system that can directly exploit vulnerabilities on the Metasploit platform."
"It allows us to concentrate solely on identified vulnerabilities without the hassle of additional setup."
"The option to generate phishing emails has proven to be very valuable in understanding the behavior of users."
"It is scalable. It's in line with our needs."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"Qualys VM's scanner doesn't pick up every vulnerability, so we have to use multiple scanners to cover that gap."
"The IoT scan is not great."
"The reporting and dashboards could improve in Qualys VM. However, they have improved since the previous versions."
"We are moving away from Qualys to Defender ATP because I find that Defender ATP is much better at prioritizing the vulnerabilities that I should be looking at."
"Could use additional security for the app."
"This solution could be improved by extending the agent capabilities to different operating systems including Mac and Linux. We would also like the capability to easily check for vulnerability in assets in the IOTs."
"Certain integration factors between different options could be improved."
"Qualys VMDR identifies vulnerabilities and suggests fixes. However, it does not automate patching unless the patch management module is purchased separately."
"I think areas with shortcomings that need improvement are more integration and automation."
"The open-source version has reporting limitations. You need to develop these capabilities yourself. Built-in reporting is an excellent feature for penetration testing, but it isn't a must-have. The solution could also cover more vulnerabilities. Metasploit has around 10,000 exploits in its library, but more is always better."
"The reporting feature needs improvement."
"While Metasploit excels in vulnerability assessment, it could improve in vulnerability management."
"Advanced Infrastructure should be implemented in the next release for better orchestration."
"The database is not always updated with the latest vulnerabilities or zero-day exploits."
"Rapid7 Metasploit could be made easier for new users to learn."
"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."
 

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."
"The pricing and licensing for Qualys could be improved."
"It's very expensive, especially if you want to use multiple modules of Qualys."
"Qualys VM is better suited for medium to large companies because the price can be too much for smaller customers."
"The pricing is very competitive."
"The solution is expensive."
"We have an annual contract for Qualys VMDR. I believe it's for either two years or five years."
"The price is very reasonable."
"An annual license for a single scanner costs around $3,000."
"I use the open-source version of this product. Pricing is not relevant."
"The cost is approximately $15 per device."
"It is expensive. Our license expired, and our company is not thinking to renew because of our budget."
"We pay monthly. The pricing is reasonable."
"I have used the free version of Rapid7 Metasploit."
"It is a reasonably priced solution. I would rate it from five out of ten."
"The great advantage with Rapid7 Metasploit, of course, is that it's free."
"Rapid7 Metasploit is cheaper than Tenable.io Vulnerability Management."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Non Profit
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
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.
883,448 professionals have used our research since 2012.