Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Rapid7 AppSpider comparison

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs. Rapid7 AppSpider

Download the complete report

Helped 886,932 peers since 2012

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 Web Application Scan...

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

12th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (15th)

Rapid7 AppSpider

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

30th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 AppSpider is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qualys Web Application Scanning	1.9%
Rapid7 AppSpider	0.8%
Other	97.3%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

AnkitSharma13

Security Officer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Web scanning needs improvement but offers good vulnerability detection

The downside of Qualys Web Application Scanning is that it cannot crawl automatically. If I provide an IP address and a login form, it does basic testing, but it doesn't go deep as IBM AppScan does. If Qualys Web Application Scanning could improve its crawling capability, it would be more user-friendly. Qualys Web Application Scanning does IP-level testing, requiring direct input of credentials, and can only scan a few pages to provide known generic vulnerabilities, which isn't as beneficial from my point of view. The Vulnerability Management also relies heavily on version numbers and will flag vulnerabilities based on the component version, but it doesn't check if a real fix exists, leading to flags on components that actually have workarounds available.

Read full review

Hiroshi Watanabe

Marketing Expert at J's communication

Clients benefit from broad authentication and effective crawling but need localization improvements

Our clients use AppSpider to address security concerns for their websites. It is particularly used by customers who require security assessments One of the most valuable features of AppSpider is its broad range of authentication identification, which is a key reason for its utilization.…

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

"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."

"The most valuable feature is that we are able to scan the services and put credentials like a user ID password. We can verify the vulnerability level."

"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."

"It is a very stable solution."

"Its most valuable features are patch management, vulnerability management, and PCI compliance."

"With our vulnerabilities under control, it puts our services in compliance and minimizes our risk for exposure."

"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."

"Qualys' process of updating signatures is something we really appreciate, and it's way ahead of its industry peers."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning pros

"I would say that it is stable, as I am not aware of any major issues."

"What I like most about AppSpider is that it's easy to use and its automated scan gives me all the details I need to know when it comes to vulnerabilities and their solutions."

"The initial deployment is very straightforward and simple. The product is stable if configured properly."

"I would say that it is stable, as I am not aware of any major issues."

"When it is set up properly, it can do scanning on web apps with multiple engines automatically."

"The setup is usually straightforward."

"Customer service has been quite good."

"The most valuable feature is the reporting, which is compliant with international standards."

More Rapid7 AppSpider pros

Cons

"The product's pricing could be better."

"There could be better management and faster scanning."

"There should be better visibility into the application."

"We have many websites. We don't force scanning on all of them at once because it's taking some time."

"We procured around 110 licenses for Web Application Scanning, but we have issues running concurrent scans. I don't currently have the option to trigger scans for all 100-plus websites. The default limit is around 10 conference scans. It's not very scalable, to be honest, because of the limitation that they put on concurrent scans."

"The GUI could be a little less complicated as it opens a lot of new windows for creating search lists, templates, reports, or for scanning purposes."

"The organization of the assets was a little confusing and overwhelming."

"They should improve the performance of the security scanning. It should have better performance."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning cons

"Support response times are slow and can be improved."

"AppSpider has some problems with the RAM needed while scanning."

"Implementing Rapid7 AppSpider requires scanning and self-identification mechanisms. You can add different types of authentication to each scan."

"The product should offer a GUI in Japanese and provide Japanese reports for end-users."

"Support response times are slow and can be improved."

"There are some glitches with stability, and it is an area for improvement."

"Integration could be better. For example, while doing the scanning, using the recording username and passwords, there are issues."

"It needs better integration with mobile applications."

More Rapid7 AppSpider cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys has an IT-based licensing based on a yearly license, which is a good way of handling it. However, in some cases, when we do the PCI scanning, the host will not like the scanning and we lose the IT license. So, this could be improved."

"Licensing was based on the number of assets that you want to scan on your network. You can also do licensing on subscription. On subscription, it is easier and more flexible. You tell Qualys that you want to move from the 1000 to 2000 band or the 3000 or 5000 band, then they will give you the quotation for it. Once you pay for it, applying the licensing is quite easy and effective."

"Qualys WAS' pricing is competitive."

"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."

"There are different options available with respect to licensing."

"From my perspective, it is a budget-friendly option."

"I rate the software’s pricing a six out of ten."

"The product pricing is fair and reasonably priced."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning pricing and cost advice

"The price of Rapid7 AppSpider cost 9,000 annually but there is limited usage. Large companies are able to negotiate a better price or a better deal for the usage with the vendor."

"AppSpider is closed-source software and you need to acquire a license in order to use it."

"It is expensive if you want to buy the Enterprise version that is able to scan multiple applications at once."

"The licensing cost depends on the number of users."

"The price is pretty fair."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Static Application Security Testing (SAST) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

886,932 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

10%

University

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	27

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys Web Application Scanning?

Regarding pricing, I think for personal use, it is costly, but if organizations are ready to pay, then it is fine as they are using it.

What needs improvement with Qualys Web Application Scanning?

What is your primary use case for Qualys Web Application Scanning?

I use Qualys Web Application Scanning, and we are using Vulnerability Management. By Vulnerability Management, I mean not TotalCloud; they have some on-premises solutions also. Patch Management and...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 AppSpider?

The price is not high, but for Japanese customers, localization may incur additional costs.

What needs improvement with Rapid7 AppSpider?

For Japanese customers, localization is needed. The product should offer a GUI in Japanese and provide Japanese reports for end-users.

What is your primary use case for Rapid7 AppSpider?

Our clients use AppSpider to address security concerns for their websites. It is particularly used by customers who require security assessments.

OWASP Zap vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Comparisons

Compared 7% of the time

Checkmarx SAST vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 7% of the time

SonarQube vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 6% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 6% of the time

Veracode vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 5% of the time

More Qualys Web Application Scanning Competitors

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 11% of the time

SonarQube vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 10% of the time

Checkmarx One vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 9% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 8% of the time

GitLab vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 3% of the time

More Rapid7 AppSpider Competitors

Product Reports

Qualys Web Application Scanning

Download Qualys Web Application Scanning product report

Rapid7 AppSpider

Download Rapid7 AppSpider product report

Also Known As

Qualys WAS

AppSpider

Overview

Qualys Web Application Scanning (WAS) is a fully cloud-based web application security scanner. The scanner will automatically crawl periodically and test web applications to discover potential vulnerabilities, including cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection. The consistent testing equips the automated service to generate consistent results, lessen false positives, and offer the ability to scale to protect thousands of websites effortlessly.

Qualys Web Application Scanning is bundled with different scanning technology to carefully scan websites for malware infections and will send notifications to website owners to assist in preventing blacklisting and brand reputation damage. As digital transformation takes place in various organizations, Qualys WAS gives organizations the ability to track and document their web app security status through its interactive reporting capabilities.

Qualys WAS empowers organizations to remediate any web application vulnerabilities quickly. Some of the key tools offered are:

Deep Scanning: All apps and APIs on your internal network and public cloud are covered by Qualys WAS deep scanning to show you any visible vulnerabilities.
DevSec Ops Tool: Detect security issues in your code while still in app development stages and generate comprehensive reports.
Comprehensive Discovery: Discover and catalog new and unknown web apps in your network.
Malware Detection: Scan a website, identify vulnerabilities, and receive alerts to any infections.

Benefits of Qualys Web Application Scanning

Qualys Web Application Scanning offers many benefits, including:

Quick Deployment: Requires no infrastructure or software to upkeep.
Effortless Scalability: Effortlessly launch a deep scan and protect thousands of websites.
Centralized Management: Manage and mend all web app vulnerabilities through a single interface.
Excellent Integration Capabilities: Integrates with Qualys Web App Firewall (WAF) for a single-click virtual patching of found vulnerabilities.
Respond to Threats Immediately: Qualys Continuous Monitoring offers the user a hands-free service by automatically launching scanning and sending notifications of a potential threat.
Cost-effective Solution: Data is analyzed in real time as Qualys WAS is an end-to-end solution; this helps avoid costs associated with managing multiple security vendors.

Reviews from Real Users

Qualys Web Application Scanning stands out among its competitors for a variety of reasons. Two of those reasons are its progressive scan and quick detection of vulnerabilities.

P.K., a senior software developer at a tech vendor, writes, "The feature that I have found most valuable is the progressive scan. It is good. It's done in 24 hours."

Nagaraj S., lead cybersecurity engineer at a tech service company, notes, "I have found the detection of vulnerabilities tool thorough with good results and the graphical display output to be wonderful and full of colors. It allows many types of outputs, such as bar and chart previews."

Qualys

SPAs, APIs, mobile—the evolution of application technology is measured in months, not years. Is your web application security testing tool designed to keep up? AppSpider lets you collect all the information needed to test all the apps so that you aren’t left with gaping application risks.

Our dynamic application security testing (DAST) solution crawls to the deepest, darkest corners of even the most modern and complex apps to effectively test for risk and get you the insight you need to remediate faster. With AppSpider on your side (or, rather, all of your sides), you’ll be able to scan all the apps today and always be ready for whatever comes next.

Rapid7

Sample Customers

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.

Microsoft

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs. Rapid7 AppSpider