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Vulnerability management platforms · November 2026 Edition
Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Qualys VMDR
Four of fourteen models named Tenable Vulnerability Management first on the direct prompt; one named Qualys VMDR. Both were named by all fourteen models and both carry 60 labels, so the shares below are directly comparable.
Named in seven categories this edition.
Named in seven categories this edition.
First-choice share19%9%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate15%18%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#3A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels6060Equal, which is what makes the shares comparable.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Tenable Vulnerability Management reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Rapid7 InsightVM was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Rapid7 InsightVM vs Tenable Vulnerability Management · Rapid7 InsightVM vs Qualys VMDR · Tenable Vulnerability Management vs ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the vulnerability management platforms page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Tenable Vulnerability ManagementFirst choices, of fourteen modelsQualys VMDR
Direct411 against Tenable Vulnerability Management
Paraphrase44
Comparative113
Budget-constrained102 against Tenable Vulnerability Management · 3 against Qualys VMDR
Scale-constrained101 against Tenable Vulnerability Management · 1 against Qualys VMDR
Negative205 against Tenable Vulnerability Management · 7 against Qualys VMDR
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Tenable Vulnerability Management and Qualys VMDR were named in the same answer 163 times, of the 196 answers naming Tenable Vulnerability Management and the 199 naming Qualys VMDR. In those answers Qualys VMDR took the first choice four times and Tenable Vulnerability Management sixty-five.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Tenable Vulnerability Management and Qualys VMDR stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | |||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | ||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | |||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | ||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
Tenable Vulnerability Management Qualys VMDR first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Tenable Vulnerability Management on the left and Qualys VMDR on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Tenable Vulnerability Management and Qualys VMDR stood in it.
Tenable Vulnerability Management first, Qualys VMDR an alternative
4 of 14 modelsQualys VMDR was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniTenable Vulnerability Management alternatives: CrowdStrike, Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM, Wiz
Grok 4.20Tenable Vulnerability Management alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management, ESET Vulnerability & Patch Mgmt, Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM, Syxsense
Mistral SmallTenable Vulnerability Management alternatives: Intruder, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Qualys VMDR
GPT-6 LunaTenable Vulnerability Management alternatives: Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM
Qualys VMDR first, Tenable Vulnerability Management not the choice
1 of 14 modelsTenable Vulnerability Management was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.MiniMax M2.5Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight, Intruder, Tenable Nessus
Neither was the first choice, one was named
8 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Gemini 3.5 FlashRapid7 InsightVM, Wiz alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Orca Security, Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management
Perplexity SonarRapid7 InsightVM alternatives: ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Tenable Vulnerability Management, Vicarius vRx, Wiz
DeepSeek V4 FlashManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Rapid7 InsightVM alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management
Llama 4 MaverickIntruder alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM, Tenable Vulnerability Management
Qwen 3.7 FlashRapid7 InsightVM alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight, Intruder, Tenable Nessus, Tenable Vulnerability Management, Vicarius vRx
Kimi K2Rapid7 InsightVM alternatives: Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Qualys VMDR
GLM 4.7 FlashXRapid7 InsightVM alternatives: Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management, WithSecure Elements
Muse Glimmer 30BRapid7 InsightVM alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management
Neither was named
1 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Tenable Vulnerability Management leads by eight points.
Tenable Vulnerability Management8%#4 of 12Qualys VMDR0%#12 of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
Tenable Vulnerability Management leads by nine points.
Tenable Vulnerability Management19%#2 of 10Qualys VMDR9%#3 of 10Enterprise
Tenable Vulnerability Management leads by forty-four points.
Tenable Vulnerability Management54%#1 of 9Qualys VMDR11%#3 of 9What the models said about Tenable Vulnerability Management
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Avoid: Tenable unless you have specific needs for OT/legacy asset coverage and budget for $10K+ annually.” Kimi K2 · direct prompt · hard negative
“Vendors to watch out for: Traditional tools like Tenable and Qualys historically rely on IP/asset tracking that can become expensive or frustrating to manage” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Tenable or Qualys when remediation automation is a core requirement: Both are strong detection platforms, but remediation may require additional products” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Excellent broad coverage (network, cloud, OT, containers), strong prioritization with threat intel, compliance reporting. Good for hybrid setups; often tops "best overall" lists.” Grok 4.20 · scale prompt · first choice
“Tenable Nessus and Tenable Vulnerability Management rank as the best overall solution due to strong integrations and comprehensive capabilities.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“Tenable Vulnerability Management is the top all-around choice due to its comprehensive coverage and strong market reputation” Mistral Small · paraphrase prompt · first choice
What the models said about Qualys VMDR
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Avoid if support and ease-of-use are priorities; test against Tenable or Rapid7.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · hard negative
“False positive rates: Documented cases of up to 30% false positives... Overkill for SMBs — very complex for newcomers.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“UpGuard's security report for Qualys lists observations such as: "Data leakage" noted under the Qualys security rating” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“Qualys VMDR or Rapid7 InsightVM are the strongest choices. They are purpose-built for this market segment.” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“Qualys VMDR or Rapid7 InsightVM are probably your best bets for a mid-sized B2B company” Claude Haiku 4.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“I'd recommend Qualys VMDR (Vulnerability Management, Detection & Response) as the top pick” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Rapid7 InsightVM vs Tenable Vulnerability ManagementRapid7 InsightVM vs Qualys VMDRTenable Vulnerability Management vs ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager PlusTenable Vulnerability Management vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability ManagementTenable Vulnerability Management vs IntruderTenable Vulnerability Management vs OpenVASTenable Vulnerability Management vs WizQualys VMDR vs ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager PlusQualys VMDR vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability ManagementQualys VMDR vs IntruderQualys VMDR vs OpenVASQualys VMDR vs WizAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full vuln management standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.