Qualys Exposure Management vs Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Qualys and Red Hat are both solutions in the Container Security category. Qualys is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.5, while Red Hat is ranked #30. Qualys holds a 2.3% mindshare in Container Security, compared to Red Hat’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Qualys users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Red Hat users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 13, 2026

Qualys VMDR and Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes compete in the security sector, each excelling in specific domains. While Qualys focuses on robust vulnerability management and asset discovery, Red Hat excels in Kubernetes container security.

Features: Qualys VMDR excels in real-time asset discovery, vulnerability prioritization, and comprehensive patch management. It offers a risk-based approach to handling vulnerabilities, making it suitable for thorough security assessments. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security integrates seamlessly with Kubernetes, providing visibility into container communications and node interactions. It benefits from advanced cluster security frameworks that strengthen its container security position.

Room for Improvement: Qualys VMDR could enhance its accuracy by minimizing false positives and improving asset tagging, alongside integrating more AI features. Simplifying agent deployment for large volumes of assets is also suggested. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security would gain from better documentation and more streamlined command-line configurations. Additional visibility enhancements and implementing zero-trust models would further benefit the platform.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys VMDR provides flexibility with deployment options spanning on-premises, public, and hybrid clouds, although customer service feedback varies from responsive to occasionally slow. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security primarily focuses on on-premises and hybrid cloud environments, with noted excellent global support and minimal language barriers, though some users mention reliance on scripted responses.

Pricing and ROI: Qualys VMDR is recognized for its significant pricing, possibly surpassing $100,000 for mid-sized programs, offering strong ROI by reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing compliance, supported by various pricing models. Red Hat, while also viewed as costly, presents a bundled pricing option with its OpenShift Platform Plus, potentially offering more economical solutions depending on specific needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Qualys Exposure Management vs. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Qualys Exposure Management vs. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes

September 2026

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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

Qualys TotalCloud

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Container Security category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.8%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Exposure Management is 2.3%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes is 1.4%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Container Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qualys Exposure Management	2.3%
Qualys TotalCloud	1.8%
Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes	1.4%
Other	94.5%

Container Security

Featured Reviews

reviewer2859021

Sr Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

Risk-based triage has transformed container security and now prioritizes high-impact threats

The best features Qualys TotalCloud offers currently include managing cloud infrastructure and container security while facing major challenges such as alert fatigue. Traditional vulnerability scanners flag hundreds of CVEs on short-lived Kubernetes containers, some of which have no internet exposure or are gone before we can even triage them. I leverage Qualys TotalCloud to move beyond static CVSS. I use it to implement runtime exposure, correlation risk reprioritization, and shift-left integration. This notifies developers to fix a base image upstream rather than patching live ephemeral instances. In my work with cloud and container security, the biggest operational hurdle was alert fatigue. I use Qualys to shift left from static CVSS severity to context-aware risk prioritization. I correlated raw vulnerability data with real-time risk factors such as public network exposure, active runtime execution, or overly permissive IAM roles. This allows us to immediately drop the priority of isolated containers and escalate lower-severity CVEs that sit on an exposed, high-risk path. We can map these findings directly back to our CI/CD pipelines so developers can patch the root base images upstream. We have drastically cut down the signal-to-noise ratio, saved a lot of manual hours doing triage work, and ensured engineering effort goes directly towards high-impact risk reduction.

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Ajay Paul

System Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees

Vulnerability management has prioritized high‑risk patching and simplified bulk system reporting

The primary issue is with the reporting functionality. Even though we fix vulnerabilities, the reports do not reflect the changes immediately. Sometimes we need to manually run a script to scan the systems before Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management will update the scan results. The main issue is the reporting delay, and sometimes the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management agent will not scan the system, which means we do not receive accurate reports in a timely manner. Additionally, there are many metrics for calculating vulnerabilities, such as the Qualys ID, severity scores, CVSS scores, and other metrics. The abundance of information can be confusing. These two aspects are the most significant negatives I have experienced with this tool.

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Daniel Stevens

Software Engineer at Galley

Offers easy management and container connection with HTTPS, but the support needs to improve

I have experience with the solution's setup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and our company has assisted in the development of a cluster in a research department, but we didn't start from scratch because we have IT professionals who have installed Kubernetes across 12 nodes of a cluster and a new environment can be created for a new platform. I also had another setup experience of Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes in Portugal where I had to implement the solution in a cluster of 22 computer servers, which was completed with assistance from the IT department of the company. The initial setup process of the solution can be considered as difficult. The setup process involves using the permissions, subnets and range of IPs, which makes it complex. Deploying Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes takes around eight to ten hours for new clusters. The solution's deployment can be divided into three parts. The first part involves OpenStack, where the cluster's resources need to be identified. The second part involves virtualizing assets and identifying other physical assets, for which OpenStack, Kubernetes, or OpenShift are used. The third part of the deployment involves dividing the networks into subnetworks and implementing automation to deploy the microservices using Helm. The number of professionals required for the solution's deployment depends upon the presence of automated scripts. Ideally, two or three professionals are required to set up Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable features are its security capabilities that help identify and mitigate risk factors."

"The best part I like is the on-demand scans."

"Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution."

"While automatic inventory detection upon connection is a helpful feature, a truly valuable capability would be assessing an environment's security posture against Azure and CIS best practices."

"Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable feature is its agent versatility."

"It is a cloud-native app that integrates with both IaaS and SaaS. It seamlessly integrates with other platforms."

"Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our organization by helping us save time and manage all assets and remediation, allowing us to achieve quarterly and half-yearly goals."

"Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable features are its cloud security posture management, Kubernetes, and container security capabilities."

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

"I find the solution's dashboard interesting...The response time is fine. You can pull up reports without dragging or consuming bandwidth."

"It is quite easy to implement."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to run different capabilities with the same agent, and with only one agent, we can have EDR, vulnerability management, compliance and some basic SaaS security capabilities."

"The reporting functionality is great."

"The most valuable features of Qualys VMDR include patch management and the use of virtual scanners to scan appliances and devices, especially those provided by vendors where we cannot manage them ourselves."

"It is a stable solution."

"Qualys VM's best features are vulnerability management and customizable scoring."

"It gives a very good overview of the inventory assessment process, and it can be accessed across our company because it's a global tool."

More Qualys Exposure Management pros

"I like virtualization and all those tools that come with OpenShift. I also like Advanced Cluster Management and the built-in security."

"Segmentation is the most powerful feature."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to share resources."

"The technical support is good."

"One of the most valuable features I found was the ability of this solution to map the network and show you the communication between your containers and your different nodes."

"Offers easy management with authentication and authorization features"

"The benefit of working with the solution is the fact that it's very straightforward...It is a perfectly stable product since the details are very accurate."

"The most beneficial security feature of the product revolves around the areas of vulnerability and configuration."

More Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes pros

Cons

"In terms of improvement, remediation still belongs to the cloud team, which is one of the issues we faced with Qualys TotalCloud."

"I chose a rating of nine out of ten because there is a complex interface that sometimes overwhelms new engineers."

"The cost of Qualys TotalCloud is high and could be more competitive."

"In my opinion, the combination of detection and protection features in Qualys TotalCloud cannot protect but can only detect."

"The main area needing improvement is integration. Although the team is strengthening TotalCloud, integration can be enhanced with SIEM, SOAR, ITSM, and other sources."

"Qualys TotalCloud needs to enhance its scanning capabilities in the IP domain, as it currently lacks the functionality to resolve IPs to their corresponding domain names."

"The downside is only in container security, but it has not been a long time since they introduced these models."

"Qualys' customer service provides quality answers, but the response time is long, even though it is within the SLA."

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

"There were some issues later with Qualys VMDR regarding security, specifically with numerous false positive reports."

"Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management is a big platform, and the initial deployment is tedious."

"The IoT scan is not great."

"For a beginning, the initial setup is complex. You have to have some knowledge for setting it up and using it."

"However, I am not satisfied with Qualys support. The response time is slower than needed."

"Qualys could improve the inbuilt dashboards."

"I'd like to see additional security for the app."

"While Qualys VMDR is comprehensive, improvements in asset management functionality would be beneficial."

More Qualys Exposure Management cons

"The initial setup is pretty complex. There's a learning curve, and its cost varies across different environments. It's difficult."

"The solution's price could be better."

"They're trying to convert it to the platform as a source. They are moving in the direction of Cloud Foundry so it can be easier for a developer to deploy it."

"The testing process could be improved."

"Red Hat is somewhat expensive."

"The deprecation of APIs is a concern since the deprecation of APIs will cause issues for us every time we upgrade."

"The solution lacks features when compared to some of the competitors such as Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks and has room for improvement."

"The solution's visibility and vulnerability prevention should be improved."

More Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be."

"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."

"The pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."

"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."

"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."

"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."

"Its price seems higher compared to other tools, but it is worth it. If they could adjust the pricing and make it comparable with other tools, that would be great."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is very competitive."

"It is more expensive than other products on the market."

"Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance isn't expensive right now. But the price for their product bundles could be better."

"The solution is reasonably priced for the value it provides."

"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."

"The price is very reasonable."

"They have recently changed the pricing model, which is now better than it was before."

"The pricing and licensing for Qualys could be improved."

More Qualys Exposure Management pricing and cost advice

"It's a costly solution"

"We purchase a yearly basis license for the solution."

"The price of Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes is better than Palo Alto Prisma."

"Red Hat offers two pricing options for their solution: a separate price, and a bundled price under the OpenShift Platform Plus."

"The pricing model is moderate, meaning it is not very expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

18%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

26%

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	38

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	75

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys TotalCloud?

I was not involved in pricing, setup cost, and licensing, but I can say that the setup was fast, within a quarter, an...

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What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?

In terms of improvements, the features we are using in Qualys TotalCloud are working in the best optimal way, and I d...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?

I have been using Qualys TotalCloud for the last eight months to scan the hardware and the virtual devices in our inf...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that we can consider both time and money saved.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?

I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries la...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Qualys VMDR?

I have some understanding about PeerSpot, and I have visited the website. PeerSpot is similar to TrustRadius. It take...

See all answers

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Compared 9% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys TotalCloud

October 2026

Download Qualys TotalCloud product report

Buyer's Guide

Qualys Exposure Management

October 2026

Download Qualys Exposure Management product report

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes

October 2026

Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes report

Download Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes product report

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security

StackRox

Overview

Qualys TotalCloud enhances security posture across cloud environments with continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, and risk visualization, ensuring efficient threat assessment and automated remediation for improved cyber risk reduction.

Qualys TotalCloud offers a robust suite of security tools essential for organizations managing multi-cloud infrastructures. By integrating cloud accounts and automating workflows, it supports AWS, Azure, and GCP, offering comprehensive vulnerability management and zero-day detection. The platform's user-friendly design, combined with its extensive risk management and unified threat assessment capabilities, enables organizations to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities effectively. TruRisk Insights provides clear insights on cyber risks, while the automation options streamline patch management and scanning processes. API integration across IaaS and SaaS environments further enhances resource allocation efficiency and saves time, addressing misconfigurations across cloud environments.

What are the most important features of Qualys TotalCloud?

Accurate Vulnerability Reports: Delivers precise and actionable insights for risk mitigation.
Zero-Day Detection: Identifies and addresses zero-day vulnerabilities proactively.
Unified Threat Assessment: Offers comprehensive evaluation of threats across the environment.
Extensive Risk Management: Manages risks effectively with advanced insights and prioritization.
Continuous Monitoring: Provides non-stop surveillance for vulnerabilities and threats.
Cloud-Native Automation: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts using automation.
FlexScan for Internet-Facing VMs: Scans external VMs efficiently to detect vulnerabilities.
Dashboard Risk Visualization: Clear visualization helps prioritize vulnerabilities.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Security Posture: Enhances threat detection and response across clouds.
Time Savings: Automation reduces time spent on manual vulnerability management.
Resource Efficiency: Better allocation of resources through streamlined workflows.
Enhanced Risk Prioritization: Focus on critical vulnerabilities for effective mitigation.
Integrated Cloud Accounts: Facilitates seamless cloud management and security.

Qualys TotalCloud is deployed in sectors needing rigorous vulnerability management, such as finance and healthcare. Companies utilize it to secure multi-cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and GCP, focus on compliance, and integrate security into CI/CD pipelines to detect and remedy threats pre-deployment.

Qualys

Qualys VMDR is a comprehensive cybersecurity tool offering vulnerability management, patch management, and continuous monitoring with real-time asset discovery. It delivers scalable, cloud-based solutions that enhance security operations without additional infrastructure.

Qualys VMDR provides a robust platform for enterprise security, integrating vulnerability management, compliance, and asset inventory for full visibility across cloud and on-premises environments. It features a comprehensive dashboard with threat intelligence-driven prioritization and remediation capabilities. Users benefit from accurate assessments via agent-based scanning and appreciate the intuitive, customizable scanning and reporting interface. However, there's room for improvement in false positive reduction, UI simplification, and integration capabilities, along with enhancements in asset management for large-scale deployments and the vulnerability database. Enhancing technical support speed, patch management, compliance standards, and inter-module navigation would further enrich user experience.

What are the key features of Qualys VMDR?

Vulnerability Management: Identifies and manages security vulnerabilities across environments.
Patch Management: Ensures systems are updated with the latest patches.
Continuous Monitoring: Offers real-time insights into security posture.
Asset Discovery: Provides up-to-date asset inventory and visibility.
Threat Intelligence: Enhances prioritization and remediation processes.
Customizable Dashboard: Facilitates easier scanning and reporting through an intuitive interface.

What benefits can users expect when evaluating Qualys VMDR?

Scalability: Cloud-based deployment offers easy, cost-effective expansion.
Accurate Assessment: Agent-based scanning keeps security data current.
Enhanced Security Operations: Comprehensive features streamline vulnerability management.
Advanced Reporting: Facilitates detailed insights for better security decision-making.

Qualys VMDR is widely used in industries needing stringent security and compliance measures, offering comprehensive vulnerability and compliance management. It is deployed to secure web applications, servers, and crucial assets, supporting a wide range of sectors by ensuring policy adherence and vulnerability tracking through its powerful cloud platform.

Qualys

Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes empowers organizations with robust capabilities in container security, vulnerability management, and workload transition, seamlessly integrated with OpenShift for optimal orchestration.

Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes stands out with its comprehensive features like authentication, authorization, and API integration. Users appreciate resource sharing, segmentation, and virtualization capabilities, all facilitated by a user-friendly Cockpit web interface and command administration. The system's strengths are visible through effective security protocols, such as secure UPI images, container networking, and built-in security features. Its advanced cluster management and monitoring ensure efficiency, while focus on vulnerability and configuration management addresses key concerns. However, improvements in documentation, web UI, and API flexibility are needed, with challenges in command line configuration and deployment also noted. Stability issues due to API deprecation and the need for enhanced zero trust, access control, and database connectivity present room for growth.

What are the key features of Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes?

API Integration: Seamless integration capabilities with APIs for enhanced automation.
Resource Sharing: Effective resource distribution within clustered environments.
Secure UPI Images: Encrypted images for heightened security and safety.
Container Networking: Modern networking protocols for efficient container communication.
Communication Mapping: Detailed network traffic visualization and analysis.

What benefits and ROI can users expect from Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes?

Vulnerability Management: In-depth identification and mitigation of security threats.
Compliance Management: Ensures adherence to regulatory standards and practices.
Integration with OpenShift: Streamlined orchestration for enhanced deployment flexibility.
Threat Detection: Advanced capabilities for monitoring and responding to potential security breaches.

Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes is implemented across various industries to facilitate the transition from traditional monolithic applications to dynamic containerized environments. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and technology benefit from its robust segmentation, monitoring abilities, and behavior analysis. With the integration of Istio and GRPC, industries achieve secure microservices communication and improved visibility for comprehensive threat monitoring.

Red Hat

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

City National Bank, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Buyer's Guide

Qualys Exposure Management vs. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes

September 2026

Free Report: Qualys Exposure Management vs. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes

Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys Exposure Management vs. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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