Qualys alternatives: 6 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank All penetration testing tools

Top picks

Best overall
Tenable Nessus
Essentials Plus price: $199/year
Best free option
Intruder
Free plan + paid

Common reasons people leave Qualys: quote-only pricing, with many features sold as separate apps, and console has a steep learning curve. We ranked 6 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Qualys, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Tenable Nessus currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Verified price	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Tenable Nessus	Paid	$199/year	No	Windows, macOS, Linux +1	8 of 8	68.8
2	Rapid7	Paid	—	No	Web, Self-hosted	4 of 4	64.8
3	Intruder	Free plan + paid	—	No	Web	6 of 6	61.8
4	Detectify	Paid	From €2,500 per year (Standard)	No	Web	9 of 9	57.5
5	Acunetix	Paid	$500 max per pentest	No	Web	7 of 7	55.9
6	Invicti	Paid	$500 max per pentest	No	Web, Self-hosted	5 of 5	54.5

1. Tenable NessusTop pick
Best for: Pentesters, consultants and IT teams that need trusted point-in-time vulnerability scans
PaidSelf-hostableWindows, macOS, Linux, Web
68.8
score / 100
Why switch from Qualys
The best-known vulnerability scanner, with a self-hosted option and a large plugin library.
Pros
Large, frequently updated plugin library
Clear severity scoring and remediation guidance
Compliance and configuration audits in Professional
Cons
Free licence lasts 30 days and covers only 5 IPs
Professional costs thousands per year
Cheaper editions are limited to non-commercial use
Visit Tenable Nessus Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Tenable Nessus a good Qualys alternative?
Verified facts
8 of 8 verified
Free licence
30 days, up to 5 IPs
Checked Nov 8, 2026tenable.com(opens source in a new tab)
Essentials Plus price
$199/year
Checked Nov 8, 2026tenable.com(opens source in a new tab)
Nessus Professional price
$4,790
Checked Nov 8, 2026tenable.com(opens source in a new tab)
Commercial use
Professional only
Checked Nov 8, 2026tenable.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes (Nessus Essentials)
Checked Nov 8, 2026tenable.com(opens source in a new tab)
Essentials Plus plan
$199 a year (free for verified students)
Checked Nov 8, 2026tenable.com(opens source in a new tab)
Nessus Professional plan
$4,790 a year
Checked Nov 8, 2026tenable.com(opens source in a new tab)
Nessus Expert plan
$6,790 a year
Checked Nov 8, 2026tenable.com(opens source in a new tab)
2. Rapid7
Best for: Mid-sized and large teams wanting vulnerability management and MDR from one vendor
PaidWeb, Self-hosted
64.8
score / 100
Why switch from Qualys
Vulnerability management with an on-prem scanner option and an MDR service from the same vendor.
Pros
Cloud and on-premises vulnerability scanning options
MDR service with unlimited incident response
Owns Metasploit, the widely used pentest framework
SIEM, exposure and app security on one platform
Cons
Quote-only pricing
Frequent product renames and repackaging make plans hard to compare
Overkill for small teams that only need a scanner
Visit Rapid7 Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Rapid7 a good Qualys alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
Vulnerability management
InsightVM, part of Exposure Command
Checked Nov 8, 2026rapid7.com(opens source in a new tab)
On-premises scanner
Nexpose
Checked Nov 8, 2026rapid7.com(opens source in a new tab)
MDR
24x7, unlimited incident response
Checked Nov 8, 2026rapid7.com(opens source in a new tab)
Metasploit
Rapid7 project
Checked Nov 8, 2026rapid7.com(opens source in a new tab)
3. Intruder
Best for: Small and mid-sized companies that need easy external and cloud scanning for compliance
Free plan + paidWeb
61.8
score / 100
Why switch from Qualys
Much simpler setup with published plans and a free tier, aimed at smaller teams.
Pros
Free plan and 14-day trial with no sales call
Combines several scanning engines with its own checks
Clear reports suited to SOC 2 and ISO 27001 evidence
Monthly or annual billing
Cons
Internal network scanning only on Pro and Enterprise plans
Per-target licences add up for large estates
Lighter on internal enterprise networks than Qualys or Tenable
Visit Intruder Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.377
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Intruder a good Qualys alternative?
Verified facts
6 of 6 verified
Free plan
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026intruder.io(opens source in a new tab)
Free trial
14 days
Checked Nov 8, 2026intruder.io(opens source in a new tab)
AI pentests
From $3,500 per test
Checked Nov 8, 2026intruder.io(opens source in a new tab)
Scanning engines
Nuclei, OpenVAS, Tenable
Checked Nov 8, 2026intruder.io(opens source in a new tab)
Internal scanning
Pro and Enterprise only
Checked Nov 8, 2026intruder.io(opens source in a new tab)
AI pentest
From $3,500 per test
Checked Nov 8, 2026intruder.io(opens source in a new tab)
4. Detectify
Best for: Product security teams with many domains and web apps exposed to the internet
PaidWeb
57.5
score / 100
Why switch from Qualys
Better fit if your main concern is external web apps and attack surface rather than internal hosts.
Pros
Tests sourced from a community of ethical hackers
Strong subdomain takeover and attack surface discovery
No agents needed for external scanning
Published plan prices
Cons
Per-domain and per-target charges on top of the platform fee
PCI ASV scanning costs extra
Focused on external assets rather than internal networks
Visit Detectify Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.363
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Detectify a good Qualys alternative?
Verified facts
9 of 9 verified
Starter platform fee
€0 per year
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Standard plan
From €2,500 per year
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
PCI ASV scanning
€500 per year add-on
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Agents
Not needed for external scanning
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Ethical hacker community
400+
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
From €2,500 per year (Standard)
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, Starter from €0, up to 5 users
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Professional plan
From €5,000 per year
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Enterprise plan
From €15,000 per year
Checked Nov 8, 2026detectify.com(opens source in a new tab)
5. Acunetix
Best for: Security teams that want automated, low-noise scanning of web apps and APIs
PaidWeb
55.9
score / 100
Why switch from Qualys
Focused web application and API vulnerability scanner, a lighter buy if you only need Qualys's WAS side.
Pros
Proof-based scanning confirms many findings automatically
Tests REST, GraphQL and SOAP APIs
CI/CD and issue tracker integrations
Large check library covering the OWASP Top 10
Cons
Quote-only pricing per target
Rebrand to Invicti Web + API makes the product line confusing
Automated scanning only; no manual testing proxy
Visit Acunetix Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.357
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Acunetix a good Qualys alternative?
Verified facts
7 of 7 verified
Current name
Invicti Web + API
Checked Nov 8, 2026acunetix.com(opens source in a new tab)
Checks
7,000+ issues
Checked Nov 8, 2026acunetix.com(opens source in a new tab)
API testing
REST, GraphQL, SOAP
Checked Nov 8, 2026acunetix.com(opens source in a new tab)
Customers
5,000+ companies
Checked Nov 8, 2026acunetix.com(opens source in a new tab)
Agentic Pentest plan
$500 max per pentest
Checked Nov 8, 2026acunetix.com(opens source in a new tab)
Web + API plan
Quote-based
Checked Nov 8, 2026acunetix.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free trial
Proof of Concept licence on request
Checked Nov 8, 2026acunetix.com(opens source in a new tab)
6. Invicti
Best for: AppSec teams in larger companies that want DAST, SAST and SCA results in one place
PaidWeb, Self-hosted
54.5
score / 100
Why switch from Qualys
Enterprise DAST with proof-based scanning that confirms many findings automatically, for teams centred on web app security.
Pros
Proof-based DAST that cuts false positives
Adds SAST, SCA, secrets and container scanning in higher tiers
On-premises and air-gapped deployment available
Agentic pentest option with a published price cap
Cons
Main platform pricing is quote-only
On-premises deployment only in the top package
More platform than small teams need for basic scanning
Visit Invicti Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.353
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Invicti a good Qualys alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Agentic pentest price
$500 max per pentest
Checked Nov 8, 2026invicti.com(opens source in a new tab)
On-premises deployment
AppSec Flex package
Checked Nov 8, 2026invicti.com(opens source in a new tab)
Trial
Proof-of-concept licences
Checked Nov 8, 2026invicti.com(opens source in a new tab)
Capabilities
DAST, SAST, SCA, API security
Checked Nov 8, 2026invicti.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free trial
Proof-of-concept licences
Checked Nov 8, 2026invicti.com(opens source in a new tab)