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APIs · head to head

3scale vs Qualys VMDR

3scale logo

3scale

APIs

API management platform for designing, securing, and monetizing APIs

From
$300/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Qualys VMDR logo

Qualys VMDR

Cybersecurity

Cloud-delivered vulnerability management licensed per asset, using scanner appliances and a lightweight agent.

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 3scale red Hat's managed 3scale services end on 30 June 2027, so anyone adopting the hosted option now is choosing a product with a published end date; Qualys VMDR licensing is per asset and each capability is its own subscription, so patch management, endpoint detection, web application scanning, container security and policy compliance are separate line items, and the platform demonstrated in a proof of concept is rarely the platform in the quote.
  • They diverge on capability: 3scale covers API Gateway, Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 3scale and Qualys VMDR actually diverge.

Attributes where 3scale and Qualys VMDR differ
Attribute3scaleQualys VMDR
Starting price$300/monthly$3/month
PlatformsCloud, On-premises, HybridWeb, Cloud, Api
CategoryAPIsCybersecurity
Founded19931999

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 3scale

  • API Gateway
  • Developer Portal
  • API Monetization
  • Red Hat OpenShift
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud support

Only in Qualys VMDR

  • Cloud Agent
  • Scanner appliances
  • Authenticated scanning
  • TruRisk scoring
  • Asset inventory
  • Patch Management
  • Cloud connectors
  • Container sensor

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

3scale

  • API gateway and lifecycle managementnot Qualys VMDR
  • Rate limiting and traffic control across API consumersnot Qualys VMDR
  • Developer portal and access key managementnot Qualys VMDR
  • Monetising APIs with usage-based plansnot Qualys VMDR
  • Hybrid deployment across on-premises and cloudnot Qualys VMDR

Qualys VMDR

  • A hybrid workforce where scheduled network scans miss most laptops and continuous agent-based assessment is the only way to get real coveragenot 3scale
  • PCI DSS external scanning where an approved scanning vendor report is a contractual requirementnot 3scale
  • An estate spanning datacentre, multiple public clouds and endpoints that needs one vulnerability view rather than three toolsnot 3scale
  • Organisations replacing a manual patch-verification process with agent-reported evidence that a fix actually landednot 3scale

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

3scale

  • Red Hat's managed 3scale services end on 30 June 2027, so anyone adopting the hosted option now is choosing a product with a published end date
  • Sold as part of Red Hat middleware rather than standalone, and 3scale.net redirects into redhat.com
  • Pricing is not published and a subscription is required for some services

Qualys VMDR

  • Licensing is per asset and each capability is its own subscription, so patch management, endpoint detection, web application scanning, container security and policy compliance are separate line items, and the platform demonstrated in a proof of concept is rarely the platform in the quote.
  • Ephemeral cloud instances consume asset entitlement until they age out of inventory, so an autoscaling group that creates and destroys hosts hourly can burn licence capacity on machines that existed for minutes, and controlling that means tuning purge policies rather than tuning the cloud.
  • Authenticated scanning produces materially better results than unauthenticated, but it requires storing and rotating privileged credentials for every target platform, which is a security project in its own right, and teams that skip it receive reports full of unconfirmed potential findings that nobody trusts.
  • The console is a set of modules with separate interfaces, search syntaxes and report engines, so an analyst moving between vulnerability management, policy compliance and web application scanning learns each one, and cross-module reporting usually ends in a spreadsheet or a script against the API.
  • The tool surfaces findings far faster than any organisation can remediate them, and it does not solve the ownership problem: without an agreed prioritisation policy and a named owner in IT operations, a first scan producing tens of thousands of findings becomes a dashboard that everyone learns to ignore.

Pricing, plan by plan

3scale

$300/monthly
  • Starter$300/monthly
    • API gateway
    • Developer portal
    • Basic analytics
  • Professional$750/monthly
    • Advanced features
    • API monetization
    • Enhanced support
  • Enterprise$undefined/monthly
    • Custom deployment
    • Dedicated support
    • Premium SLA

Qualys VMDR

$3/month
  • VMDR$3/month
    • Per asset
    • Vulnerability scanning
    • Detection
  • VMDR+$5/month
    • All VMDR features
    • Advanced analytics
    • Cloud integration
  • VMDR Complete$7/month
    • All VMDR+ features
    • Threat intel
    • Response automation

Which should you pick?

Choose 3scale if

  • You need api gateway.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid.
  • You also want developer portal.
3scale review

Choose Qualys VMDR if

  • You need cloud agent.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, Api.
  • You also want scanner appliances.
Qualys VMDR review

Questions people ask

Is 3scale or Qualys VMDR better?
Neither clearly leads. 3scale starts at $300/monthly and Qualys VMDR at $3/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 3scale or Qualys VMDR?
3scale starts at $300/monthly and Qualys VMDR at $3/month.
Does 3scale or Qualys VMDR run on more platforms?
3scale runs on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid. Qualys VMDR runs on Web, Cloud, Api.
What is 3scale best used for?
3scale is most often used for api gateway and lifecycle management, rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers, developer portal and access key management, monetising apis with usage-based plans. Of those, api gateway and lifecycle management and rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers are not what Qualys VMDR is typically brought in for.
What can 3scale do that Qualys VMDR cannot?
3scale covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, API Monetization, Red Hat OpenShift. Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent, Scanner appliances, Authenticated scanning, TruRisk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

3scale: Does Red Hat 3scale require a subscription?

Yes. The page states a subscription may be required for some services, though specific subscription details and costs are not published on this page.

Source
Qualys VMDR: Agent or scanner: which do I need?

Usually both. The agent covers endpoints and servers you control and gives continuous data; scanners cover devices you cannot install an agent on, such as network gear, printers and appliances, and provide the external perimeter view.

3scale: Is a trial available for 3scale?

A 'Start a trial' link is mentioned in navigation, but trial duration, included features, and limitations are not specified on this page.

Source
Qualys VMDR: Does it patch as well as detect?

Yes, through the Patch Management module, which is a separate subscription using the same agent. Core VMDR detects and prioritises but does not deploy fixes.

3scale: When will Red Hat 3scale end support?

Red Hat 3scale API Management maintenance and managed services will end on June 30, 2027. Customers should plan migrations accordingly.

Source
Qualys VMDR: How are assets counted for licensing?

By the number of assets in inventory, which includes cloud instances and containers depending on the modules in use. Short-lived cloud assets count until they are purged, so purge settings directly affect what you consume.

Qualys VMDR: Can I keep the data in a specific region?

Yes. Qualys operates several regional platform instances and you choose which one your subscription lives on. Moving between them later is not trivial, so decide before onboarding.

Qualys VMDR: Does it scan web applications?

Web Application Scanning is a separate module licensed per application, not part of core VMDR, and it is a dynamic scanner with the usual limits around authenticated flows in single-page applications.

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