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Developer Tools · head to head

CodeSandbox vs Qualys VMDR

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CodeSandbox

Developer Tools

Cloud platform for instant, isolated development sandboxes and code execution

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CodeSandbox has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CodeSandbox detailed paid plan pricing was not published on the accessible pages, making cost comparison difficult.; 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: CodeSandbox covers Instant sandboxes, Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CodeSandbox and Qualys VMDR actually diverge.

Attributes where CodeSandbox and Qualys VMDR differ
AttributeCodeSandboxQualys VMDR
Starting priceFree$3/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiWeb, Cloud, Api
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown1999

Identical on both: 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 CodeSandbox

  • Instant sandboxes
  • Programmatic sandbox API
  • Secure isolated execution
  • Browser-based editor
  • CI/CD sandbox support
  • Scalable VM infrastructure

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.

CodeSandbox

  • Running AI agent-generated code safely in isolationnot Qualys VMDR
  • Prototyping and sharing web projects in-browsernot Qualys VMDR
  • Executing untrusted code for a code playground productnot Qualys VMDR
  • Using sandboxes as ephemeral CI/CD build environmentsnot 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 CodeSandbox
  • PCI DSS external scanning where an approved scanning vendor report is a contractual requirementnot CodeSandbox
  • An estate spanning datacentre, multiple public clouds and endpoints that needs one vulnerability view rather than three toolsnot CodeSandbox
  • Organisations replacing a manual patch-verification process with agent-reported evidence that a fix actually landednot CodeSandbox

Where each one falls short

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

CodeSandbox

  • Detailed paid plan pricing was not published on the accessible pages, making cost comparison difficult.
  • Focus has shifted toward programmatic sandbox infrastructure, which may be less approachable for casual users just wanting a quick online editor.
  • Public sandboxes are visible to others by default, which is not ideal for proprietary code.

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

CodeSandbox

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Public sandboxes
    • Basic sandbox usage

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 CodeSandbox if

  • You need instant sandboxes.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want programmatic sandbox api.
CodeSandbox 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 CodeSandbox or Qualys VMDR better?
Neither clearly leads. CodeSandbox starts at Free and Qualys VMDR at $3/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CodeSandbox or Qualys VMDR?
CodeSandbox has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CodeSandbox and $3/month for Qualys VMDR.
Does CodeSandbox or Qualys VMDR run on more platforms?
CodeSandbox runs on web, api. Qualys VMDR runs on Web, Cloud, Api.
Can I use CodeSandbox for free?
Yes. CodeSandbox has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Qualys VMDR starts at $3/month.
What is CodeSandbox best used for?
CodeSandbox is most often used for running ai agent-generated code safely in isolation, prototyping and sharing web projects in-browser, executing untrusted code for a code playground product, using sandboxes as ephemeral ci/cd build environments. Of those, running ai agent-generated code safely in isolation and prototyping and sharing web projects in-browser are not what Qualys VMDR is typically brought in for.
What can CodeSandbox do that Qualys VMDR cannot?
CodeSandbox covers Instant sandboxes, Programmatic sandbox API, Secure isolated execution, Browser-based editor. Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent, Scanner appliances, Authenticated scanning, TruRisk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CodeSandbox: Does CodeSandbox offer a free tier?

Yes, CodeSandbox offers a free option available on the platform. Users can start for free.

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.

CodeSandbox: Where can I find CodeSandbox's pricing details?

CodeSandbox maintains a dedicated pricing page, but specific tier names, feature breakdowns, and costs are not displayed on the landing 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.

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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