Two vulnerability platforms with very different philosophies. Qualys sells a broad enterprise suite; MetricTower keeps it modular and transparent.
Last updated April 2026. Competitor details reflect publicly documented features; check Qualys Inc.'s site for the latest.
| Dimension | Metric Tower | Qualys |
|---|---|---|
| Product shape | One modular platform, 74 scanner modules | Multi-product suite (VMDR, WAS, PC, FIM, EDR, and more) |
| Pricing model | Credit-based with a free tier, published per-module cost | Enterprise sales, quote required |
| Time to first scan | Minutes after registering | Typically days to weeks after procurement |
| AI finding correlation | Yes, built into every scan | Available in some offerings / add-ons |
| Free public tools (no signup) | 12+ free developer-focused tools | None |
The honest case for both tools. Pick the one that matches your team, not the one with the bigger sales team.
Specifics where the two platforms differ.
| Feature | Metric Tower | Qualys |
|---|---|---|
| Scanner breadth | 74 modules: recon, DAST, SSL, DNS, email security, credential intel, monitoring, phishing. | Vulnerability detection across network, web, container, and cloud, split across multiple products. |
| Onboarding | Self-serve, free tier, free trial of Pro. No sales call to start. | Typically enterprise sales cycle with proof-of-concept and procurement. |
| Web app scanning (DAST) | ZAP, Wapiti, Nuclei, Dalfox, Sqlmap, and more, built into the main platform. | Available via Qualys Web Application Scanning (WAS), licensed separately. |
| Uptime / DNS / SSL monitoring | Built into the platform with alerting to 12 channels. | Partial overlap via Qualys Certificate Inventory and related products. |
| Public status pages | Included. Publish branded status pages tied to your monitors. | Not a core feature of the VM platform. |
| Phishing simulation | Built in: campaigns, templates, tracking, merge tags. | Not part of the vulnerability management product. |
| Pricing transparency | Per-module credit cost published on the website. | Enterprise pricing disclosed on request. |
| Team-scoped multi-tenant | Native team_id on every record. Team invitations and RBAC built in. | Multi-user with roles and business units, designed for enterprise hierarchies. |
| CI/CD exports | PDF, JSON, CSV, SARIF, Markdown. API + OpenAPI spec. | Multiple export formats and a mature API. |
Teams moving from Qualys to MetricTower often start by running MetricTower alongside VMDR for attack-surface coverage (DAST, SSL, email security, phishing) while keeping Qualys for internal host scanning and compliance reporting. If your Qualys renewal is approaching and you mostly use it for external-facing scans, a focused MetricTower deployment can replace most of that workflow at a fraction of the cost. Register for free to run the comparison yourself.
Free plan, no credit card, no sales call. Point Metric Tower at a domain and see what it finds.