Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Qualys VMDR

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is particularly well-suited for discovering, inventorying, and continuously monitoring the external attack surface, especially in environments with heavy Microsoft adoption. It is less suitable as a standalone solution for internal scanning, real-time attack detection, automated remediation, or advanced application testing. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management es especialmente adecuado para descubrir, inventariar y monitorear continuamente la superficie de ataque externa, sobre todo en entornos con fuerte adopción de Microsoft. Es menos adecuado como solución única para escaneo interno, detección de ataques en tiempo real, remediación automática o pruebas avanzadas de aplicaciones. Parts of this review were originally written in Spanish and have been translated into English using a third-party translation tool. While we strive for accuracy, some nuances or meanings may not be perfectly captured.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

Qualys VMDR is best suited for larger companies with a very large IT asset footprint. Qualys VMDR is not suited for businesses that are small and upcoming as the price for the tool is very expensive and could be a budget sink if not used properly. In our organization we use the Qualys VMDR dashboard and reporting in order to collect any vulnerabilities we miss during our routine audits to ensure that our environment is stable and protected for attacks.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• Lack of visibility of external assets
• Reduction of the risk of external attacks
• Falta de visibilidad de activos externos
• Reducción del riesgo de ataques externos

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• Seamless reporting across the different widgets (i.e. TruRisk)
• DEEP-DIVE into an asset's info/vulns
• Baked-in PCI ASV scans that a Qualys QSA can approve

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• Asset Attribution and Ownership Clarity
• Risk Prioritization and Business Context
• Noise and False Positives

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• Qualys VMDR can definitely improve on its reporting of assets as we have caught devices not captured in the Qualys VMDR scans.
• We would like to see an improvement on the dashboard interface as it is faulty sometimes.
• Qualys VMDR should focus on more competitive pricing as it is very expensive.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

Next to Veeam (which is a tremendous product for backup/DR) this is the best service/software I have used in the past three decades. Should be called the Swiss Army Knife of security.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

We rate Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management’s overall usability as 10 out of 10 because it delivers a strong balance between depth of capability and ease of use, particularly within organizations already operating in the Microsoft security ecosystem.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

infrastructure to identify vulnerabilities

Always available with the exception on maint windows

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

Once in a while it would be slow -

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

This is iron but I am giving it 5 star and I can give more If I can do because they are best in support. So once you own this product they will assign a dedicated support for you and when you are under the weather with anything just connect them with anything call, ping or ticket they will come like Genie.

Not really - the integrations via connectors is not heavy lifting. Any complexity has to do with a service that requires more steps (i.e. AWS/GCP)

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

Because Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is part of the broader Microsoft Defender family (including Defender XDR, Entra ID, Azure Security, Sentinel, etc.), it:
Shares identity, endpoint, and threat context across tools
Reduces the need for custom integrations or connectors
Works in a “single pane of glass” experience for SOC analysts
Why it matters:
Organizations already invested in Microsoft security tools gain greater contextual insight and lower operational overhead.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

It is a very similar tool but Qualys VMDR is much better when it comes to reporting and solutions provided. Asset management is really good in Qualys VMDR. Qualys VMDR support is really quick , you can get a TPM if you run into any issues. Qualys VMDR has wide variety of scanning options which lacks in tenable.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

MOSTLY good - but as noted having all features purchased on portal only - nothing that is not purchased.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

Outside some pretty arcane apps or OS this is painless. The problem - and self-inflicted - is that older stuff is not supported.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• Reduced Business Risk from Unknown External Assets
• Operational Efficiency and Cost Avoidance
• Faster Risk Identification During Change Events

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• Cut down on manual efforts to investigate or remediate vulnerabilities, which can be a big driver of ROI
• Avoidance of potential incidents with upfront risk mitigation
• Patching efficiency gains

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info