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Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Tenable Nessus comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 16, 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

Zafran Security
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
27th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (6th)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
10th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Patch Management (7th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (2nd), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (4th), Software Supply Chain Security (5th)
Tenable Nessus
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 0.4%. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Nessus is 10.2%, down from 13.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

Israel Cavazos Landini - PeerSpot reviewer
Weekly insights and risk analysis facilitate informed security decisions
I appreciate the weekly insights Zafran provides, which include critical topics for networks and IT security, allowing us to evaluate which insights apply to our environment. The organization score feature is valuable to keep the leadership team updated on how our infrastructure fares security-wise. The applicable risk level versus base risk level feature is beneficial because prior to Zafran, we only used the base risk level, but now understand that risk depends on the asset itself. Zafran is an excellent tool.
Revathi VeeraRaghavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides comprehensive visibility and covers the complete attack surface
For some of the software, there was no life cycle or general information. We wanted them to give details in the database as and when the software comes. I raised a ticket for that, and after that, they updated the details for more than one million software. They should address the false positives generated in EASM. It is fetching assets that have Infosys as the keyword. They should fix that. When we click on the web application, it only shows potential web assets. The application details are not there. Overall, CSAM has matured a lot. These are the few enhancements that need to be done.
HarshBhardiya - PeerSpot reviewer
Provided increased visibility across the organization's servers
The user interface of Tenable Nessus feels outdated and could be more user-friendly. Additionally, the documentation is not well-organized, which can be confusing when searching for solutions or specific information related to Tenable Nessus Professional. The reporting feature could be improved by allowing users to create their own templates instead of relying on predefined ones.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Zafran is an excellent tool."
"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."
"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."
"The most valuable features of Qualys CSAM include the ability to manage authorized and unauthorized applications efficiently. This feature helps in validating applications and maintaining a secure environment."
"When you implement a dynamic tag using a query, you do not need to manually tag all the servers. It categorizes all the servers that come under that query. The tagging part is automatically done within a few minutes. It reduces the effort."
"We have had zero attacks since we enabled all the features in Qualys CSAM."
"I would rate the Qualys CSAM a ten out of ten for its overall performance."
"We have a diverse organization with a robust infrastructure of more than 300,000 assets. By creating unauthorized lists and rules in the Qualys CSAM module, I can block certain software from being used in the organization."
"I like the EASM part because it provides visibility into unmanaged assets that are public-facing."
"The end-of-life and end-of-service software and hardware are some of my favorite features."
"The scanning results are pretty good, and some of the insights are quite valuable."
"Nessus is good at finding out what nodes you have in place. It will then provide you a report, by node, of what the vulnerabilities are. It does it quickly and stealthfully."
"Scanners and reports using CIS templates ("de-facto" standard, easy to fix and to locate correction tips at documentation), tests against cloud providers, database profiles, several types of telecom devices, and others highly customizable scans."
"Out of the box, the product works well for us, so it's not a tool that we need to customize very much."
"I like this solution because it is complete. It can scan and check many types of vulnerabilities. It can also check for compliance."
"It gives you an unlimited IP scan."
"The vulnerability scanner is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature of Tenable Nessus is real-time monitoring."
"It notifies us of vulnerabilities as they arise, allowing us to respond quickly without manual intervention."
 

Cons

"Initially, we were somewhat concerned about the scalability of Zafran due to our large asset count and the substantial amount of information we needed to process."
"There can be further simplification to reduce the overall noise and provide ESAM-related data."
"In our reporting, we faced a challenge syncing with cloud devices."
"There can be further simplification to reduce the overall noise and provide ESAM-related data."
"The UI needs improvement as it can become overwhelming after prolonged use."
"One improvement that they can make in the EASM module is the scan frequency. After EASM is configured the first time, it allows you to do the complete configuration, but if you want to reconfigure it, it will not ask or provide any option for scan frequency. For that, you need to raise a case with Qualys and talk to the Qualys team."
"They should address the false positives generated in EASM. It is fetching assets that have Infosys as the keyword. They should fix that."
"They should address the false positives generated in EASM. It is fetching assets that have Infosys as the keyword."
"It is automatically exporting the vulnerabilities and the assets. However, it would be useful to have the ability to select or to filter which we would like to export."
"From my point of view the solution basically is not for the big enterprise."
"The solution should be able to support more devices."
"Some things in the user interface could be better. The user interface could allow more adjustments to plugins. The price could also be better."
"They have added a new Tenable Nessus Expert. That is their new product, which caters to the cloud and everything else. I am assuming that the new features and product enhancements are based on that tool set, but we haven't reviewed it yet."
"The scalability of Tenable Nessus is good. However, it could be more flexible."
"The reporting is a bit cumbersome."
"The report for counters is too simple and would be improved by a dashboard."
"We use credentialed scans. They need more permissions and more changes or settings on Windows and Linux."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Though the solution is considered expensive, if bundled with other services such as VMDR or cloud agents, its value would significantly increase. It is currently a bit costly, but with bundling, it could become attractive to more customers."
"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can be expensive, especially if we already have VMDR."
"The Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management pricing is well-aligned with our usage."
"The pricing is market-competitive."
"The pricing is reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, centralized inventory, making it a cost-effective solution."
"Qualys is competitively priced for its features. Its pricing is suitable for large organizations with more than 4,000 assets, but for smaller organizations with few assets, such as banks, the costs might be high. They should come up with packages that are suitable for small organizations."
"The cost for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is high."
"The pricing for Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management is reasonable, with an annual subscription costing around $1,000 per year or a monthly subscription starting at approximately $72 per month, depending on the specific package and features included."
"We have a subscription, the licensing fees are paid yearly, and I am using the latest version."
"The price is reasonable."
"Nessus is affordable, but its licensing model could be improved with more flexibility for adding assets."
"Cost-wise, it's an affordable tool."
"I rate the product's price seven or eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"The solution is expensive."
"We incurred a single cost for a perpetual license, although I cannot comment on the price as this is above my management level."
"The product is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
6%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
9%
Retailer
6%
Educational Organization
39%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
 

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 Zafran Security?
I find that the pricing for Zafran aligns well with the comprehensive features it offers. The asset and user-based li...
What needs improvement with Zafran Security?
While Zafran Security is already a powerful tool, there are areas where it could be further improved to provide even ...
What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?
Our primary use case for Zafran involves leveraging it to enhance our vulnerability risk scoring methodology. In toda...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
The pricing is reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, c...
What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
The deployment is somewhat complicated and could be made more user-friendly for most users. It is currently not user-...
What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
We use it to identify all our assets, including those on our premises, cloud, and remote environments. It continuousl...
How would you choose between Rapid7 InsightVM and Tenable Nessus?
You have full visibility across cloud, network, virtual, and containerized infrastructures with Rapid7 Insight VM. Yo...
What's the difference between Tenable Nessus and Tenable.io Vulnerability Management?
Tenable Nessus is a vulnerability assessment solution that is both easy to deploy and easy to manage. The design of ...
What do you like most about Tenable Nessus?
We have around 500 virtual machines. Therefore, we conduct monthly scans and open tickets for our developers to addre...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Information Not Available
Bitbrains, Tesla, Just Eat, Crosskey Banking Solutions, Covenant Health, Youngstown State University
Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs. Tenable Nessus and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,646 professionals have used our research since 2012.