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HackerOne vs Qualys Web Application Scanning comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 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

HackerOne
Ranking in Application Security Tools
30th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (38th), Bug Bounty Platforms (1st), Penetration Testing Services (1st), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (9th)
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 HackerOne is 0.1%, up from 0.0% 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

Faizan Nehal - PeerSpot reviewer
Platform supports skill development with effective vulnerability reporting
Everything has become slower on HackerOne. I have noticed that older researchers receive all the private invites while newer ones receive fewer. The same goes for real-life events, where the same people are invited repeatedly. There are no clear guidelines for being invited to programs and conferences, and the process for receiving invitations appears arbitrary.
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 most valuable feature of HackerOne is its variety of programs. These programs provide depth into various areas, such as mobile, API, and websites."
"HackerOne is larger than WebCloud and has a better reputation than BugCloud, which results in a smoother process."
"Apart from getting all the bug bounty opportunities, we also get the chance to practice in a safe environment, like a demo setup. These features are great for beginners who want to explore bug bounties in the future."
"HackerOne is larger than WebCloud and has a better reputation than BugCloud, which results in a smoother process."
"It helps me to get new sales, profits, and other benefits."
"Automated scanning has significantly improved our web application security management by reducing manual work."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is robust and mature from industry standards."
"The product prevents possible vulnerabilities in our network."
"​We have experienced quick customer support. They have a complete list of our previous issues along with our history, which makes it faster for them to solve issues.​"
"Qualys WAS' most valuable features are the navigation flow of the UI and the option for a different layer of security (identification and operation through email and mobile)."
"It is a good product for website penetration testing to detect vulnerabilities."
"With our vulnerabilities under control, it's putting our services in compliance and minimizing our risk for exposure."
"It is easy to use."
 

Cons

"Everything has become slower on HackerOne."
"Everything has become slower on HackerOne. I have noticed that older researchers receive all the private invites while newer ones receive fewer."
"Response time can be improved. The HackerOne Trust team can be slow to respond sometimes. They're not using AI, which could help reduce the number of duplicate reports."
"One issue I've experienced is traffic. Many people try to participate when an opportunity with a bounty of around 1,000-15,000 dollars comes up. In this case, the first person to report the vulnerability gets the bounty. If a second person reports the same vulnerability, they are marked as duplicated instead of receiving some recognition. The second person also invested time finding the issue, so I think this can be improved."
"The ability to view the conversation between the triagers and the programs will be really good."
"They should try to include business logic vulnerabilities in the scanner testing."
"The virus code updates are not frequent enough."
"The reporting contains too many false positives."
"The product's pricing could be better."
"Qualys Web Application Scanning is very complex to use, and its graphical interface is not very user-friendly."
"The authenticated scanning feature could be improved by adding support for real-time scanning tokens and authorization tokens."
"In certain cases, this product does have false positives, which the company should work on."
"It is unclear how to build automation on Qualys. We do some automation, but not fully, because working is difficult."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is open-source and free for bug bounty hunters."
"The solution is free."
"There are different options available with respect to licensing."
"I rate the software’s pricing a six out of ten."
"​It is best to be an institutional buyer and directly contact the sales team, as they can provide over-the-top discounts for bulk orders​."
"The product has a very good licensing model."
"We normally purchase an annual license."
"The product is expensive, at least initially, in comparison to other products in this category."
"From my perspective, it is a budget-friendly option."
"The cost is $30,000 USD for one year to cover WAS (Web Application Security) and the VM (Virtual Machine) security in a company with 200 employees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HackerOne?
The cost is rated as one since there is no need to pay anything, not even a fee or commission.
What needs improvement with HackerOne?
Everything has become slower on HackerOne. I have noticed that older researchers receive all the private invites while newer ones receive fewer. The same goes for real-life events, where the same p...
What is your primary use case for HackerOne?
My use case is similar to DuckTron. The processes I use for DuckTron are exactly the same for HackerOne. Therefore, there isn't much of a difference. I use HackerOne for finding vulnerabilities and...
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

HackerOne Assets, HackerOne Pentesting Services, HackerOne Security Assessments, HackerOne Vulnerability Management
Qualys WAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Zenefits, Adobe, Yelp
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 HackerOne vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.