Qualys alternatives: which scanner to pick, and how to switch without a coverage gap
Seven destinations, one per reason to leave, and a seven-step cutover plan.
The short answer: Tenable if you want a like-for-like replacement with a public price ($3,500 a year for 100 assets), Rapid7 if you want an enterprise platform your remediation teams find easier to read, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management if your fleet already runs Defender for Endpoint, Intruder if you have no security team, ManageEngine if you want to find and patch in one console, and Greenbone if you want open source or a European vendor. One thing before you choose: nothing migrates on its own between scanners. Agents get reinstalled, tags and dashboards get rebuilt, and history only survives as an export. We compared all seven options in this guide and checked their public pricing in 2026.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored placement is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why teams leave Qualys, and why it takes a while
Qualys has a solid reputation for detection and reporting, and some reviewers rate its reports above Tenable's and Rapid7's. Departures usually come from somewhere else: the bill, the learning curve, and modules you discover are extra after signing. Five reasons, checked against Qualys's own pages and user reviews.
You only learn the price after a quote
Qualys publishes no price for VMDR. Its subscriptions page says pricing depends on the Cloud Platform apps you pick, the number of IP addresses, web apps and user licenses. Meanwhile Tenable sells 100 assets for $3,500 a year with a checkout button, and ManageEngine lists 100 endpoints at $695. When renewal comes around, that comparison is usually the first one procurement makes.
IPs in scope count, even empty ones
A complaint that keeps coming up in reviews: licensing is based on the IP addresses in your declared scope, not just live hosts. On a /24 where only 40 addresses are in use, that gap adds up. Before you leave, check this in your contract. Tightening the scope alone can bring the bill down.
Modules sold separately
The platform is split into apps. Automated patching, for example, requires the patch management module, sold on top of VMDR. Reviewers like the idea of paying only for what you use, but many hit those boundaries after signing. If you want detection and patching in one place, ManageEngine includes both from its first edition.
A steep learning curve
Reviewers describe a dense interface for newcomers, with a lot of modules and options. One admin points out that the query syntax isn't consistent across modules, between VMDR and Cloud Agent. For a small team with one person part-time on security, that ramp-up costs more than the license.
False positives and slow support
Reviews mention false positives you triage by hand and support that can be slow to answer. Fair caveat: other users say documentation and onboarding help were solid. Still, if your team spends more time disputing findings than fixing them, that's a real reason to leave, and a question to put to every vendor on your shortlist.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right Qualys alternative depends on what's pushing you out. Usually only one row applies. Each card links to the full profile below.
100 assets for $3,500 a year, bought online.
You want an enterprise platform that's easier to readRapid7 InsightVMLive dashboards, quote-based pricing on your assets.
Your fleet already runs Microsoft DefenderDefender Vulnerability ManagementThe agent is already there: $2 per user per month as an add-on.
You don't have a security teamIntruderNothing to install for external scans, findings sorted for non-specialists.
You want to find and patch in one consoleManageEngineScanning and patching included, $695 a year for 100 endpoints.
You want open source or a European vendorGreenbone (OpenVAS)Free community edition, €2,524 a year under 150 assets.
Qualys alternatives, tool by tool
For each tool: why move to it, who it's for, its limit, how to cut over from Qualys, and what it costs. Prices are what each vendor lists in 2026, excluding tax.
Tenable: the like-for-like replacement, with a price tag
Closest to QualysWhy move to Tenable. It's Qualys's long-time rival with the same scope: network, endpoints, cloud and web apps from one platform. The difference that matters to you: Tenable Vulnerability Management is sold online at $3,500 a year for 100 assets ($6,825 for two years, $9,975 for three). You know the number before you talk to sales. Its engine, Nessus, is the scanner most admins have already used.
Who it's for. Teams leaving Qualys over price or the sales relationship who still want broad coverage and compliance reporting.
Who it's not for. A small shop with nobody to read the results. It's powerful, but it won't triage for you.
Its limit. The public price covers vulnerability management; adjacent modules (web apps, cloud, exposure) cost extra, just like at Qualys. If all you need is a scanner you install yourself, Nessus Professional is $4,790 a year with unlimited assessments. The free tier, Nessus Essentials, caps at 5 IPs and is strictly non-commercial.
How to cut over. Tenable ships its own agent: remove the Qualys Cloud Agent and push Tenable's in the same deployment wave. Run a discovery scan on your known ranges first, then compare the asset count with your Qualys inventory. A gap of more than a few percent usually means a forgotten subnet.
- Free
- Nessus Essentials, 5 IPs, non-commercial
- Paid
- $3,500/yr for 100 assets
- Scanner only
- Nessus Pro $4,790/yr
- Limit
- adjacent modules extra
Rapid7 InsightVM: the enterprise platform that's easier to read
EnterpriseWhy move to Rapid7. InsightVM targets the same organizations as Qualys, and teams often point to one thing: live dashboards you build yourself, which make sense to the people doing the fixing. Rapid7 now packages InsightVM inside a broader offer, Exposure Command, sold in two tiers, Essentials and Ultimate.
Who it's for. Mid-market and enterprise teams with a security function that want vulnerability data tied to detection and response from the same vendor (our SIEM ranking covers that layer).
Who it's not for. Anyone leaving Qualys specifically to get a public price. Rapid7 doesn't publish one either.
Its limit. Pricing reflects the asset types and use cases in scope and goes through sales. You end up in the same renewal negotiation you had with Qualys. Ask for a three-year quote with the per-asset price in writing.
How to cut over. Rapid7 has its own agent and scan engines to deploy on your network. Run both tools side by side on the same 50-machine sample for one scan cycle. You'll see right away whether both catch the same critical findings, and you'll have numbers for leadership.
- Free
- no, demo on request
- Paid
- quote, based on assets and use cases
- Package
- Exposure Command Essentials or Ultimate
- Limit
- no public price
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management: if Defender is already on your endpoints
Microsoft shopsWhy move to Defender. If your endpoints already have Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, you already have device inventory, vulnerability assessment, risk-based prioritization and remediation tracking, with nothing extra to install. The Defender Vulnerability Management add-on lists at $2.00 per user per month and adds security baselines, blocking vulnerable apps, browser extension and certificate assessment. One fewer agent on every machine is a real win.
Who it's for. Microsoft 365 shops whose fleet is mostly Windows and managed through Intune (Defender for Endpoint sits in our business EDR ranking).
Who it's not for. Environments heavy on network gear, printers or IoT. Without an agent, Defender sees them poorly. And the offer isn't available to Defender for Business customers, Microsoft's small-business tier.
Its limit. Microsoft retired Windows authenticated scanning, so everything goes through the agent. To scan a firewall or an agentless server you'll need a second tool, such as Greenbone. The trial lasts one month and then auto-converts to a paid 12-month subscription, so put the date in your calendar.
How to cut over. First confirm every device reports into the Defender portal. Compare that list with your Qualys inventory: whatever's missing is agentless and needs other coverage. Then remove the Qualys agent in batches.
- Included
- in Defender for Endpoint Plan 2
- Paid
- add-on at $2/user/month
- Trial
- one month
- Limit
- no agentless Windows scans
Intruder: for companies without a security team
SimplestWhy move to Intruder. Qualys assumes someone is there to tune scans and sort results. Intruder, a UK vendor, takes the opposite approach: you add your domains, IPs and cloud accounts and it runs scans on its own, in an interface built for non-specialists. Under the hood it runs well-known engines: Nuclei and OpenVAS, plus Tenable on the paid plans.
Who it's for. Small and mid-sized companies that want to know every week what an attacker sees of their servers, sites and cloud accounts.
Who it's not for. Large enterprises that need detailed compliance reporting across thousands of internal endpoints.
Its limit. Cloud and Pro prices aren't shown as numbers: it's a base fee plus a per-target fee, on request. Agent-based scanning of internal servers and laptops only comes with Pro. And a target license can only be swapped once every 4 weeks, so don't license short-lived machines.
How to cut over. Start with the free plan, which never expires: 5 external infrastructure targets, weekly external scans, monitoring on ports 80 and 443, 1 cloud account and 3 users (authenticated web app scanning is not included). The 14-day trial then unlocks Cloud features on 5 targets. Point it at your 5 most exposed servers and compare with your last Qualys report.
- Free
- yes, 5 external targets, 3 users
- Paid
- base fee plus per target, on request
- Trial
- 14 days, 5 targets
- Limit
- internal agents on Pro
ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus: find and patch in one place
Cheapest per endpointWhy move to ManageEngine. Where Qualys sells patching as a separate module, Vulnerability Manager Plus links each finding to the patch that fixes it, in the same console. And the price is public: Professional is $695 a year for 100 computers on-premises, $895 in the cloud. Enterprise starts at $1,195 for 100 computers.
Who it's for. IT teams running a Windows-heavy fleet who want to close vulnerabilities without juggling two tools.
Who it's not for. Companies whose risk sits mostly in web apps and public cloud. That's not this tool's home turf.
Its limit. Servers are priced on a separate grid: $1,145 a year for 100 servers in Professional on-premises. One technician is included; each extra one costs more. Count your servers before you compare with your Qualys quote.
How to cut over. It uses its own agents. Deploy them through Group Policy to a pilot OU, check the findings, then widen. Use the switch to turn on automatic patching for office workstations, and keep servers on manual approval.
- Free
- trial, then paid edition
- Paid
- $695/yr for 100 computers
- Servers
- $1,145/yr for 100
- Limit
- light on web apps
Greenbone (OpenVAS): open source from a European vendor
Open sourceWhy move to Greenbone. Greenbone is the German company behind OpenVAS, the best-known open source scanner. There are two tracks: a free community edition and paid offers with a professional detection feed. The entry price is public: OPENVAS BASIC is €2,524 a year for networks under 150 assets, with a 14-day free trial. If data residency or an EU vendor matters to you, it's the easiest case to make.
Who it's for. Technical teams comfortable with Linux, or organizations that want an on-prem scanner with a known price.
Who it's not for. Teams that want a cloud platform to prioritize and track fixes for them. With Greenbone, that work stays with you.
Its limit. Free has a hidden cost: your time. Install, feed updates and scan tuning are all on you. Above 150 assets, OPENVAS SCAN is quote-only.
How to cut over. No agents to push: Greenbone scans over the network. Bring over your IP ranges and authenticated-scan credentials from Qualys, create one target per range, and run a first full scan overnight. A busy range can take hours.
- Free
- open source community edition
- Paid
- €2,524/yr under 150 assets
- Trial
- 14 days
- Limit
- admin time
Staying on Qualys for free: Community Edition
Plan BWhy consider it. If price is the reason and your environment is small, look at Qualys Community Edition first. It's free, cloud-based, with nothing to install on a server, and covers asset discovery, vulnerability scanning and web app scanning. Your team keeps the interface it knows.
Who it's for. Small teams that want a second opinion on a narrow scope, or that keep Qualys while they decide.
Who it's not for. Anyone who has to prove coverage to an auditor: the official page doesn't state asset limits or commercial-use terms.
Its limit. With no published caps, get the answer from Qualys in writing before you build on it. It's a bridge, not a destination.
How to do it. Open the free account before your paid contract ends, keep the scope tight (your internet-facing servers), and export your VMDR history separately. Community Edition won't carry it over.
- Free
- yes, cloud
- Paid
- VMDR by quote
- Limit
- not audit-grade
The 7 options side by side
Our default pick: Tenable if you want the same caliber at a known price, ManageEngine if your fleet is mostly Windows endpoints. For a sense of scale on 100 endpoints: Tenable Vulnerability Management is $3,500 a year, ManageEngine Professional $695 on-prem, Defender Vulnerability Management $2,400 a year for 100 users already on Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 ($2 × 100 × 12), and Greenbone €2,524 under 150 assets. One row per tool: free tier or trial on the left, first paid price and cutover path on the right.
| Free tier or trial | First paid price and cutover | |
|---|---|---|
| QualysWhere you start | Community Edition, free and cloud-based | VMDR by quote (apps, IPs, web apps, users) |
| TenableSame caliber | Nessus Essentials, 5 IPs, non-commercial | $3,500/yr for 100 assets; new agent to deploy |
| Rapid7Enterprise | Demo on request | Exposure Command by quote; agent and scan engines to deploy |
| Microsoft DefenderMicrosoft shops | One-month trial | Add-on at $2/user/month; Defender agent already in place |
| IntruderNo security team | Free plan, 5 external targets, 3 users | Base fee plus per target, on request; 14-day trial on 5 targets |
| ManageEnginePatching included | Trial | $695/yr for 100 computers on-prem; agents via Group Policy |
| GreenboneOpen source, EU | Free community edition | €2,524/yr under 150 assets; network scans, no agent |
Entry prices excluding tax, subject to change. Always check against your real asset count.
Leaving Qualys in seven steps
Order matters. Each step protects something: coverage, history, audit evidence, and the trust of the teams who do the patching.
Export your full Qualys inventory
Week 1Export your asset list with tags, IP ranges, asset groups and owners. Also write down every scheduled scan, option profile, authenticated-scan record and every scanner appliance on your network.
That's your checklist. On the day the new tool goes live, its inventory should land within a few percent of the same asset count.
- Time
- half a day
- If rushed
- an unscanned subnet
Save your vulnerability history before the contract ends
CriticalNo scanner imports another one's history. Export your vulnerability reports as CSV and PDF, with detection and fix dates, for at least the last 12 months. Keep your latest compliance reports too.
Why? An auditor or a cyber insurer will ask you to prove a critical finding was fixed within your SLA. Without the export, that evidence dies with the account.
- Range
- 12 months minimum
- Formats
- CSV and PDF
Run both tools in parallel
One scan cyclePick a representative sample: a few servers, some workstations, a network device, a web app. Scan it with Qualys and the new tool during the same cycle. Compare the critical findings each one reports.
A difference doesn't mean a tool is wrong: engines rate severity differently. Log each gap and its explanation. Leadership will ask.
- Sample
- about 50 machines
- If skipped
- surprises in the first report
Swap agents in batches
Longest stepPush the new agent and remove the Qualys one in the same wave, through your deployment tool (Group Policy, Intune, or other). Go in batches: office workstations, then servers, then sensitive systems.
Don't leave two agents running on a production box for long. With Defender there's nothing to add: you just remove the Qualys agent.
- Method
- in batches
- If rushed
- endpoints left without an agent
Rebuild tags, groups and priority rules
Recreate tags and asset groups with the same names so remediation teams keep their bearings. Carry over your priority rules: which assets are critical and what fix deadlines you hold yourself to by severity.
Good time to clean house: a tag that feeds no report doesn't need to come along.
- If rushed
- wrong priorities
Reconnect integrations and reports
List everything that reads from Qualys today: ticketing, SIEM, the leadership dashboard, scripts hitting the API. Each one has to read from the new tool on cutover day. Rebuild the monthly report in the same format, so leadership can compare month over month.
- Check
- ticketing, SIEM, API
Shut Qualys down after one complete report
Last stepWait until the new tool has run a full scan cycle and produced a signed-off monthly report. Then pull the Qualys scanner appliances off your network, revoke the scan credentials they used, and make sure no firewall rule stays open for them.
Send your cancellation within the contract's notice period. An auto-renewal costs you another year.
- Condition
- one full cycle signed off
- Revoke
- scan credentials
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a scanner switch go wrong
The same mistakes show up in switch after switch. None of them are technical, strictly speaking. They're things people forget, and each one costs more than the time it would have taken to avoid it.
Cancelling before you export
A closed account means lost history. Export reports and fix dates before you sign with the new vendor, and store them outside Qualys.
Comparing prices without comparing units
Qualys counts IPs, Tenable and Greenbone count assets, ManageEngine prices computers and servers separately, Microsoft counts users. Map every quote to your real environment: endpoints, servers, web apps, internet-facing addresses.
Forgetting what has no agent
Printers, firewalls, cameras, OT gear: only network scans see them. With a mostly agent-based tool like Defender, plan a network scanner alongside it.
Leaving a window with no scanning
Between Qualys going dark and the new tool's first full cycle, a critical CVE can drop without anyone noticing. Keep at least one scan cycle of overlap.
Leaving appliances and access in place
A forgotten scanner appliance holding privileged credentials is an entry point. Remove it and revoke its access on shutdown day.
Choosing without thinking about what's next
A scanner finds vulnerabilities; it doesn't train your people. Our vulnerability scanner ranking compares eight tools on a reference environment, and our security awareness training guide covers the other half of the risk. If you're also changing your EDR, read our guide to switching from CrowdStrike.
- Assets, tags, ranges and scan schedules exported
- Vulnerability history exported for at least 12 months
- Parallel pilot on a sample, gaps explained
- Agents swapped in batches, no endpoint left uncovered
- Tags, groups and fix deadlines rebuilt
- Ticketing, SIEM, API and monthly report reconnected
- Agentless devices covered by a network scan
- Appliances removed and credentials revoked
- Cancellation sent within the notice period
Qualys alternatives: frequently asked questions
What's the best free alternative to Qualys?
For business use, Greenbone's community edition (OpenVAS): open source, no asset cap, but you install and maintain it. Intruder's free plan covers 5 internet-facing targets, scanned weekly with nothing to install. Nessus Essentials stops at 5 IPs and is non-commercial only. Our scanner ranking compares them all.
Tenable or Rapid7 to replace Qualys?
Tenable if you want your price before talking to sales: $3,500 a year for 100 assets, online. Rapid7 if your teams mainly want dashboards they build themselves and a tie-in with detection and response. Both can replace VMDR; run a parallel pilot before you decide.
Can I import my Qualys history into another scanner?
Not directly. Each tool builds its own history from its own scans. Export your reports as CSV and PDF with detection and fix dates, and keep them as audit evidence.
Can Microsoft Defender replace Qualys?
Yes, for Windows endpoints and servers already on Defender for Endpoint Plan 2: vulnerability assessment is included, and the full add-on is $2 per user per month. No, for agentless devices: Microsoft retired Windows authenticated scanning, so you'll need a network scanner too.
How long does a scanner migration take?
A few weeks for a fleet of a few hundred machines: a week of inventory and export, one scan cycle in parallel, then agent swaps in batches. The real timeline depends mostly on your deployment tooling.
Is Qualys or Tenable cheaper?
Tenable is the one you can price without a call: $3,500 a year for 100 assets. Qualys quotes on apps, IPs, web apps and users, so the answer depends on your scope. Ask Qualys for a quote on a tightened scope to compare fairly.
Is Qualys too expensive for a small business?
Often, because the license counts every IP in scope and modules stack up. For 100 computers, ManageEngine lists $695 a year and Tenable $3,500. Intruder's free plan is a reasonable starting point if you mostly care about what's exposed to the internet.
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