Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Nessus VS Qualys

Compare Nessus VS Qualys and see what are their differences

Nessus logo Nessus

Nessus Professional is a security platform designed for businesses who want to protect the security of themselves, their clients, and their customers.

Qualys logo Qualys

Qualys helps your business automate the full spectrum of auditing, compliance and protection of your IT systems and web applications.
  • Nessus Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21
  • Qualys Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-23

Nessus features and specs

  • Comprehensive Vulnerability Coverage
    Nessus offers an extensive database of vulnerabilities, allowing it to identify a wide array of security issues across different environments, including networks, operating systems, applications, and devices.
  • Regular Updates
    Nessus regularly updates its plugin library to include the latest vulnerabilities, ensuring that it can detect new threats as they emerge.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The Nessus interface is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it accessible for users of varying technical expertise.
  • Customizable Scans
    Nessus allows users to customize scans to focus on specific areas, devices, or types of vulnerabilities, providing greater flexibility and precision.
  • Extensive Reporting and Analytics
    Nessus offers detailed reporting and analytics capabilities, helping users understand the state of their security posture and prioritize remediation efforts.
  • Automation Capabilities
    Nessus supports the automation of scanning and reporting processes, which helps maintain ongoing security assessments without requiring constant manual intervention.
  • Integration with Other Tools
    Nessus integrates well with other security tools and systems, such as SIEMs, making it a versatile component of a broader security ecosystem.

Possible disadvantages of Nessus

  • Cost
    Nessus can be expensive, particularly for smaller organizations or those with limited budgets, as licensing fees can add up based on the number of assets being scanned.
  • Resource Intensive
    Nessus scans can be resource-intensive, potentially impacting network performance and requiring significant computational resources to conduct thorough assessments.
  • False Positives
    Like many vulnerability scanners, Nessus may sometimes produce false positives, which can lead to unnecessary remediation efforts and wasted resources.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, fully leveraging all of Nessus's advanced features and capabilities can require a significant learning curve.
  • Limited Free Version
    The free version of Nessus, Nessus Essentials, is limited in its capabilities and is intended for individual use or small networks, which may not be sufficient for larger organizations.
  • Potential Over-Reliance
    Organizations might become overly reliant on Nessus for vulnerability management, potentially neglecting other important aspects of a comprehensive security strategy.

Qualys features and specs

  • Comprehensive Security
    Qualys offers a wide array of tools and functionalities, including vulnerability management, policy compliance, and web application scanning, providing comprehensive security coverage.
  • Cloud-based Platform
    Being a cloud-based solution, Qualys is easily accessible from any location, reducing the need for heavy, on-premise infrastructure.
  • Automated Scanning
    Automated, continuous scanning helps keep security measures up to date without requiring constant manual intervention.
  • Detailed Reporting
    Qualys provides detailed and customizable reports that help in understanding the security posture and in complying with regulatory requirements.
  • Integration Capabilities
    The platform easily integrates with other tools and systems, allowing for a streamlined workflow and enhanced security ecosystem.
  • Scalability
    Qualys scales easily from small businesses to large enterprises, providing flexible solutions that can grow with the organization.

Possible disadvantages of Qualys

  • Cost
    While offering comprehensive features, the cost can be high, which may not be feasible for smaller organizations or those with limited budgets.
  • Complex Setup and Configuration
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex and time-consuming, often requiring expert knowledge to get the most out of the platform.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Given its extensive feature set, the platform may have a steep learning curve for new users, necessitating substantial training and familiarization.
  • Performance Impact
    In some instances, on-premise scanners and agents can cause performance degradation of the systems they are monitoring.
  • Support Response Time
    Some users have reported slower response times from Qualys support, which can be an issue during critical situations.
  • Limited Customizations
    While Qualys provides many features, some users have found limitations in the ability to customize certain tools and workflows to fit specific needs.

Nessus videos

LABS 17 Vulnerability Analysis Using the Nessus REVIEW

More videos:

  • Review - What is Nessus? | Explaining vulnerabilities in a Web Application
  • Review - Getting Started with Nessus Vulnerability Scanner - 2018

Qualys videos

Qualys Review by SecNetlab

More videos:

  • Review - Introduction to QualysGuard Vulnerability Management
  • Review - Qualys Security Assessment Questionnaire

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Nessus and Qualys)
Security
52 52%
48% 48
Web Application Security
60 60%
40% 40
Monitoring Tools
51 51%
49% 49
Cyber Security
100 100%
0% 0

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Nessus and Qualys

Nessus Reviews

Best Burp Suite Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2023
The main functions of Nessus are asset discovery, web scanning, prioritization, policy management, and vulnerability assessment. It enables organizations to tailor scans based on individual preferences, ensuring compliance with Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks and other top-notch practices. Security teams can generate reports on various vulnerability types,...
Burp suite alternatives
Nessus is the best alternative choice for burp suite. It is a popular vulnerability scanner software. It can scan a wide range of technologies including operating systems, databases, network devices, web servers, hypervisors, and critical infrastructures. The output of the scan can vary in various formats such as plain text, XML, Latex, and HTML. Nessus provides additional...
Source: www.educba.com
10 Best Tenable Nessus Alternatives For 2021 [Updated List]
Answer: Nessus features a wide product line that includes the Nessus Cloud, Nessus Manager which is suitable for vulnerability management on-premises, Nessus Professional runs scans on client devices, such as a laptop. There is also Nessus Essentials, which is a free version of the tool that caters to general consumers.
Best Nessus Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2021
Built for security practitioners by security professionals, Nessus Professional is the de-facto industry standard for vulnerability assessment. It was built by Tenable Network Security. Nessus performs point-in-time assessments to help security professionals quickly and easily identify and fix vulnerabilities, including software flaws, missing patches, malware, and...
16 Tresorit Alternatives
Nessus is a flexible and straightforward remote security scanning tool that effectively scans a computer and gives an alert when it discovers some issues. The software is pro-efficiently discovers vulnerabilities that hackers could access your operating system via a connected network. Nessus is the name of pride in delivering services that are always up to the mark. Nessus...

Qualys Reviews

7 Best Container Security Tools & Solutions 2022
Qualys Container Security is one of 21 applications that fall under the Qualys Cloud Platform umbrella. The Cloud Platform is available for the cloud and on-premises container deployments. Qualys’ Container Runtime Security (CRS) feature is an add-on that allows enterprises to monitor container runtime; administrators set policies that govern container behavior, and CRS...
10 Best Tenable Nessus Alternatives For 2021 [Updated List]
Qualys is a cloud-based application security scanner that is known for its ability to crawl every corner of your IT network’s portfolio to detect all types of web assets. It grants users full 24/7 visibility of their entire network. It can automatically detect and catalog those assets based on how important they are. This helps security teams prioritize their response to...
Best Nessus Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2021
Qualys is a cloud platform that continuously detects and protects against attacks anytime, anywhere. It is next-generation vulnerability management for hybrid IT environments. Qualys’ integrated approach to IT security and compliance enables organizations of all sizes to successfully achieve both vulnerability management and policy compliance initiatives cohesively.
16 Tresorit Alternatives
Qualys’s Guard has also deployed security on-demand platforms in the world, performing more than 150 million IP audits per year with no software to install and maintain. It is a simple yet powerful security solution that comes with a powerful dashboard where you can easily access all features, tracks threats, analyses data, and generates reports, etc. It also has a list of a...

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Nessus and Qualys, you can also consider the following products

Burp Suite - Burp Suite is an integrated platform for performing security testing of web applications.

Tenable.io - Tenable.io Cyber Exposure platform helps to protect any asset on any computing platform and eliminate blind spots.

OpenVAS - The Open Vulnerability Assessment System (OpenVAS) is a framework of several services and tools...

AlienVault USM (from AT&T Cybersecurity) - AlienVault USM Anywhere delivers powerful threat detection, incident response, and compliance management for cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments.

Acunetix - Audit your website security and web applications for SQL injection, Cross site scripting and other...

Cloudfogger - Easy and secure encryption for the cloud. Provides security for all cloud storage services like Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive.