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GitHub vs Qualys Web Application Scanning comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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

GitHub
Ranking in Application Security Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Version Control (3rd)
Qualys Web Application Scan...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of GitHub is 0.8%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 2.0%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Pervez Roy - PeerSpot reviewer
Very good for collaboration on software projects
We use GitHub for code repository alongside Bitbucket GitHub is very good for collaboration on software projects. We prefer Bitbucket for commercial use, while GitHub is used for open source. You can get the differences, history of changes, and version control for various pull requests. You can…
SubhajitAich - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution that can be used for infrastructure vulnerability scanning and web application scanning
Qualys Web Application Scanning is very complex to use, and its graphical interface is not very user-friendly. Compared to other solutions like Tenable and Rapid7, you need to navigate a lot to get the actual results out of Qualys Web Application Scanning. If I have to search for one thing within the entire console, I have to look for it randomly. It's not very easy and very comfortable to find something. Overall, it's a very good solution, but it will be very good if the tool is more user-friendly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technical support of the solution is good, and our company has used it for GitHub upgrades."
"GitHub's version control is valuable."
"We use GitHub instead of our regular shared drive. It offers instant access to shared folders as well as good security."
"The product helps our team collaborate across different locations."
"Our code is secure."
"I like the CI/CD features."
"This product is very good for storing and versioning code."
"All the features are valuable, but the most important feature is that GitHub has advanced security. The second important feature is the capability to create custom GitHub actions and the capability to deploy in different types of architectural infrastructures, such as hybrid, private, or public."
"It is a good product for website penetration testing to detect vulnerabilities."
"By using QualysGuard, we are able to finish external scans with assured results in half the time.​"
"Licensing is the most valuable. Qualys provides the best licensing for companies. It is the best product for the development purposes of web applications. The product has a lot of integrations."
"It works with many different products."
"The Qualys Web Application Scanning solution offers a single comprehensive console and consolidated reporting, covering all aspects from on-prem to cloud and compliance, etcetera."
"It combines both web application vulnerability management and internal vulnerability management on one platform and dashboard. Usually, you have to purchase separate tools."
"The most valuable features are the scheduled scanning, detailed reports, asset management, the knowledge database, and the overall product framework."
"We can do scanning and submit reports straight to the customers when there are new vulnerabilities, then tell them whether they are affected or not."
 

Cons

"There could be some improvements related to the automation of certain processes, especially with the integration of artificial intelligence."
"The development team pushes the code into a repository, and the CI/CD pipeline will perform the build. We need open-source libraries to perform the builds. It would be helpful to have the ability to link to open-source libraries like npm libraries. I don't know if GitHub Actions provides this. I would like to see that in GitHub Actions if they don't."
"GitHub's issue management could be improved a little from an organization standpoint. It would be helpful to have the ability to organize a work board or a backlog more comprehensively. For organizations migrating to GitHub from arbitrary systems, it's a little bit of a headache to move on to that system."
"The descriptions within Github could be more user-friendly to show the trees of Gitflow."
"The user interface on GitLab is better."
"As of now, if I would like to learn about GitHub or its features, I would have to look on YouTube. It would be nice if they were able to send out a newsletter with explanations of new features that they are offering and what features are available."
"One thing GitHub could do is probably the same thing as what Sourcetree does. When solving merge conflicts, it would be helpful to have tooltips within the actions to know what changes could happen next when resolving a conflict."
"The support team needs to have a well-defined SLA model since it is an area where the tool currently has some shortcomings."
"When comparing this solution to Veracode, Veracode has good interactive features and gives a clear understanding of what the vulnerabilities are, which error line of the vulnerability is on and what can be done. It gives interactive features, whereas this solution does not give a clear understanding of where or how to fix the problem."
"It is unclear how to build automation on Qualys. We do some automation, but not fully, because working is difficult."
"The area of false positives could be improved. There are quite a number of false positives as compared to other solutions. They could probably fine tune the algorithm to be able to reduce the number of false positives being detected."
"I would like it to be cheaper because it is a bit expensive compared to competitors like Tenable Nessus."
"The pricing does not seem to be competitive."
"One area for improvement is the user interface. The new UI, which was recently upgraded, feels more complex and less user-friendly than the old version."
"In terms of the Policy Compliance model which they currently have, not all the platforms are being covered. If they could improve on the Policy Compliance model, since there are policies which are benchmarked against it, this will be helpful for us."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is very complex to use, and its graphical interface is not very user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is open-source. There is no license for GitHub."
"The licensing model for GitHub is user-based. Whenever the new developer joins we have to get a new license and register their ID. The overall price of the solution is reasonable."
"My company purchased it. Before, we used to receive the free version, but then they purchased some of the features."
"The basic licensing model is free, and if you need to have technical support and such things, then it does cost something. You only need to pay extra if you need technical support."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"It's cheaper than Bitbucket."
"The private repositories are free, which is very good."
"We pay a subscription-based yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"We are on an annual license for the solution and the pricing could be more affordable."
"There are different options available with respect to licensing."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning's pricing is a bit expensive compared to other solutions available in the market."
"I rate the software’s pricing a six out of ten."
"Qualys WAS' pricing is competitive."
"We normally purchase an annual license."
"The product has a very good licensing model."
"Try the free trial of the product to understand the basic working mechanisms.​"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about GitHub?
The control is the most valuable feature as developers can work on a single code.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitHub?
The pricing of GitHub depends on the choice of solutions, such as building one's own GitHub Runners to save money or using GitHub's Runners with extra costs. The pricing is considered reasonable an...
What needs improvement with GitHub?
There are still areas for improvement with GitHub Actions and their deployment workflows, as they have made significant progress but are not yet polished. Occasionally, stability can be an issue, t...
What do you like most about Qualys Web Application Scanning?
The vulnerability management feature is a strong one. And also the patch management feature.
What needs improvement with Qualys Web Application Scanning?
I would like it to be cheaper because it is a bit expensive compared to competitors like Tenable Nessus ( /products/tenable-nessus-reviews ). After using the product for a year, I might have more s...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Qualys WAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dominion Enterprises, NASA, Braintree, SAP, CyberAgent
BskyB, Cartagena, ClearPoint Learning Systems, Connect Group, du, Fortrex Technologies, HBOR, HDI, Highlights for Children, The Lithuanian State Enterprise Centre of Registers, City of Miami Beach, Microsoft, MidlandHR, MSCI Inc., Northern Arizona University, Ofgem, Olympus Europa, PhoneFactor, RTL Nederland, ThousandEyes, VGZ Organisatie B.V.
Find out what your peers are saying about GitHub vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.