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Forescout Platform vs Qualys VMDR 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Forescout Platform is valued for enhancing security, automating remediation, saving costs, and improving network reliability and privacy.
Sentiment score
7.2
Qualys VMDR enhances security, risk reduction, and compliance, improving asset management and operational efficiency with substantial benefits.
We saw a return on investment through significant savings in time, money, and resources.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Forescout Platform's customer service is responsive and helpful, but varies in response time, knowledge, and consistency.
Sentiment score
6.7
Qualys VMDR's customer service is praised for expertise but faces occasional delays and generic responses, needing faster resolutions.
We usually get on calls with tech support, and they are very helpful.
The technical support provided by Qualys is pretty good.
The response time takes a while.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Forescout Platform scales efficiently with seamless appliance additions, despite potential cost concerns, proving reliable in large deployments.
Sentiment score
8.0
Qualys VMDR offers high scalability for large networks, efficiently managing resources and adapting to diverse requirements seamlessly.
Scalability can be costly since a physical box needs to be installed for every site.
Scalability depends on the license and the number of assets being monitored.
Qualys VMDR can handle scalability, although increasing the inventory can raise the licensing costs.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Forescout Platform is praised for its stability and reliability, with minor issues that do not overshadow its performance.
Sentiment score
8.0
Qualys VMDR is praised for its stability, with users rating it highly, despite minor bugs and occasional connectivity issues.
I would rate its stability as 9.5 out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

Forescout Platform struggles with usability, integration, false positives, high costs, needing improved analytics, support, scalability, and simplified licensing.
Qualys VMDR needs better reporting, UI, integration, and support to improve usability, manage vulnerabilities, and reduce costs.
The console is a fat client, and a web interface would be preferable.
If AI features were integrated, it could enhance the capabilities significantly.
It does not automate patching unless the patch management module is purchased separately.
They can tweak their UI since the new version seems a bit jumbled up.
 

Setup Cost

Forescout Platform is costly but offers flexible licensing and comprehensive features, competing well with Cisco ISE.
Qualys VMDR offers competitive pricing and comprehensive features, justifying its cost for medium to large enterprises with flexible options.
Installing a physical box on each site can be expensive.
I have a notion that Qualys might be more expensive than Rapid7.
Qualys offers better pricing and is feature-packed compared to other tools.
I would rate the pricing between seven to eight out of ten.
 

Valuable Features

Forescout Platform offers excellent device visibility, network control, and integration, praised for agentless operation, flexibility, and real-time alerts.
Qualys VMDR offers comprehensive vulnerability management with strong cloud capabilities, automated detection, and user-friendly dashboards for efficient threat remediation.
One of the most valuable features of Forescout Platform is its automation, particularly the ability to automate remediation of rogue devices on the network.
The prioritization of vulnerabilities has improved our remediation efforts by around thirty to thirty-five percent.
We use it daily to fix vulnerabilities by connecting with infrastructure to remediate.
Qualys VMDR offers a one-stop solution for monitoring and reporting.
 

Categories and Ranking

Forescout Platform
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (4th), IoT Security (2nd), Endpoint Compliance (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (16th)
Qualys VMDR
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (5th), Vulnerability Management (2nd), Configuration Management Databases (2nd), Container Security (12th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Security Software solutions, they serve different purposes. Forescout Platform is designed for Network Access Control (NAC) and holds a mindshare of 13.2%, up 13.1% compared to last year.
Qualys VMDR, on the other hand, focuses on Vulnerability Management, holds 9.0% mindshare, down 13.3% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

Odai Halawani - PeerSpot reviewer
It's an easy and effective solution, especially for device profiling without agents
Forescout Platform's most valuable aspect is its excellent device profiling for devices without agents, which is crucial for our work due to challenges with agent-based devices. Its isolation and blocking actions are particularly effective for network security. The device compliance feature helps us ensure device compliance through immediate actions like updating antivirus software. We have already integrated Forescout with antivirus and vulnerability assessment tools, allowing it to monitor vulnerability scores and automatically isolate devices if critical vulnerabilities are detected.
Harold Jensen - PeerSpot reviewer
Good visibility but expensive and needs better support
Support: It's often overseas and often following a script, basically asking us to redo what we opened the case with. Multiple APIs: There seems to be a lack of easy onboarding into Qualys. We had to use manual inputs and some API calls to get items in place. Dashboard: It is very rudimentary with very little customization. The Qualys Scripting Language (QSL) works differently in different Qualys modules, so when you get it working in one area you have to modify the syntax in others. User account management: We often have to give users more rights than needed just to give them what they need. Integration with the various Qualys Modules: You can tell the UI is different based on of the different teams that created them. QSL syntax same in all modules Responsiveness of some of the components: They time out, you get a blank screen, etc. Backend updates between the various modules: You update connectors and information takes a few minutes to show in VMDR or Global Asset View Connectors: Connectors have a throttling issue with AWS which causes them to frequently fail unless you manually run them again.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
33%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
36%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
Forescout is a very powerful NAC product that does not rely on port level configuration. It can detect and block unauthorized devices very quickly. But it has a lot of capabilities and really would...
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I would rate the Forescout Device and Visibility Control Platform at a six out of ten.
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will...
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 tagging system is good for tagging. We can still use QualysAgent task ID tools even ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?
Qualys offers better pricing and is feature-packed compared to other tools.
What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?
They can tweak their UI since the new version seems a bit jumbled up, and the old UI was more user-friendly.
 

Also Known As

Forescout Platform, CounterACT for Endpoint Compliance, ForeScout CounterACT
Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NHS Sussex, SAP, SEGA, Vistaprint, Miami Children's Hospital, Pioneer Investments, New York Law School, OmnicomGroup, Meritrust
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.