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Pentera vs Qualys VMDR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 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

Pentera
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
14th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Penetration Testing Services (1st), Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) (1st)
Qualys VMDR
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (4th), Configuration Management Databases (2nd), Container Security (12th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Pentera is 4.3%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys VMDR is 11.1%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

Richard Marlow - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides good features and helps monitor the status of ransomware protection in an organization
The tool is quite scalable. There's a one-to-one relationship between the engine and how many scans we can do. We can only do one scan with one engine. We had some issues around the password assessments because we added a lot of users. It took a long time. I rate the scalability a seven out of ten. We have three users in our organization.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The vulnerability scanner, exploit achievements, and remediation actions are all great."
"What I like the most about Pentera is its solution-oriented approach."
"Pentera has many authentic features."
"Maybe there are some remediation steps on the website, we can mask sensitive information on the website better."
"The solution is SaaS-based. From a cloud perspective, it has Pentera Surface and Pentera Core. The Core is the on-prem deployed solution, while the Surface is the cloud-hosted solution that scans your public infrastructure. From the Surface perspective, the most valuable feature so far has been the attack surface mapping."
"Pentera has many authentic features."
"The tool showed us that our ransomware protection wasn’t working on some machines."
"The platform's most valuable features are credential management and vulnerability management."
"The most recent is VMDR, which provides a comprehensive overview of how to detect, patch, and remediate specific vulnerabilities."
"Continuous monitoring is a crucial feature that we use more frequently."
"The most valuable features of Qualys VM are its ability to do proper vulnerability assessment. It has a lot of updates for all the vulnerability databases from all over the globe. It's an amazing solution when it comes to the versatility of the features it has. Additionally, the reports are very good. It generates very detailed reports about the vulnerabilities inside the environment"
"The solution is easy to use."
"I find Qualys VM very robust, and it's very useful for vulnerability management and patch management. The value that it brings to my environment is economies of scale. There is no limitation on adding any endpoints. You go by the rule, and it's added once another endpoint is added to our environment. It's automatically installed, and it's less work from our end. It frees up my license automatically if I don't need an endpoint or if my machine is decommissioned. I like the dashboard displays because I don't see any duplication. The most important part is vulnerability management and prioritization. Unlike Symantec, it shows the kind of vulnerability I would want to patch first. It provides a holistic view of the kind of vulnerabilities and the ones I should remediate first. I don't have to do a scan; it just brings up those critical kinds of vulnerabilities like zero-day vulnerabilities and tells me to prioritize them. You have to prioritize these vulnerabilities first and go on with the rest. The dashboard shows me the ones that have been fixed, so I don't have to complete an aging report. The user experience and the graphical interface are good. As it's user-friendly and understandable on an executive level, it brings real value. We also use this solution because it's robust and flexibile."
"It's stable and quite reliable."
"We also like the flexibility in their licensing."
"Technical support is great and we've never really had a problem."
 

Cons

"The vulnerability scanner, exploit achievements, and remediation actions are all great."
"The licensing and IP management need improvement."
"There is room for improvement in virtualization compatibility."
"One area for product improvement could be the inclusion of a dashboard to cover multiple branches and subsidiaries, allowing for centralized monitoring."
"Pentera's general dashboards could be improved and made more specific in terms of vulnerabilities that I'm discovering."
"Maybe scalability. I know that the Pentera right now is high level in order to scan big deals over 500 IPs and not less, and not less. That can be more granular. This will be useful."
"One of the big issues we have is that the tool has an additional license for compromised credentials. Suppose compromised credentials for any of your domains appear in leaks, dumps, or are being sold. In that case, they try to aggregate that data and highlight that, for example, ten users appeared in recent dumps as compromised credentials. However, they don't provide much information about where those compromises came from or their source information, probably to protect their sources."
"The price could be improved."
"It's too early for me to say if there is any room for improvement since we're in the first couple of months of using this solution."
"Qualys could be improved in its overall performance compared to other vulnerability management or scanning tools."
"The IoT scan is not great."
"Could use additional security for the app."
"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."
"The only improvement I can think of is on the implementation side. At times it is a bit slow."
"One area of the product that could be improved is the management of vulnerabilities detected on disabled applications."
"It is a struggle to be able to pull our report and to be able to do onboarding using automated tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is relatively cheap."
"We have to pay a yearly licensing cost for Pentera."
"It's not that expensive, but it could be more cost-effective."
"The product's cost is reasonable. I rate the pricing a three out of ten."
"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."
"Qualys VM is reasonably priced."
"It's very expensive, especially if you want to use multiple modules of Qualys."
"Qualys VM is quite expensive. It's a subscription-based license, and it's yearly. Right now, it's open for me, and I don't have any limitations or caps on the licenses. They are seeing if the product is viable for 4500 users. I can add as much as I want, and at the end of the subscription, they'll let me know how many licenses were actually used and bill me accordingly. On a scale from one to five, I would give their pricing a three. It's still expensive."
"It is more expensive than other products on the market."
"The solution is reasonably priced for the value it provides."
"The license is on a yearly basis."
"An annual license for a single scanner costs around $3,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Educational Organization
36%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pentera?
What I like the most about Pentera is its solution-oriented approach.
What needs improvement with Pentera?
One area for product improvement could be the inclusion of a dashboard to cover multiple branches and subsidiaries, allowing for centralized monitoring.
What is your primary use case for Pentera?
Our customers use the product to validate their security environment, ensuring that vulnerabilities within the network are identified and addressed.
What is your primary use case for Qualys VM?
Qualys VM is used for vulnerability scans for the internet and applications using application exchange. There are many applications. We also use the solution for asset management per team, and the ...
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?
For smaller enterprises, the pricing is on the pricier side. However, for larger enterprises, it's considered okay. I would rate the pricing between seven to eight out of ten.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security, Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blackstone Group Caterpillar Apria Healthcare Taylor Vinters Sandler Capital Management Drawbridge BNP Paribas British Red Cross
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 Pentera vs. Qualys VMDR and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.