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Cybersecurity · head to head

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Qualys VMDR

CrowdStrike Falcon logo

CrowdStrike Falcon

Cybersecurity

Stop breaches with AI-native cybersecurity

From
Free
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

  • Only CrowdStrike Falcon has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CrowdStrike Falcon falcon Go device limit: capped at 100 devices maximum, forcing mid-market/enterprise customers to upgrade despite lower cost; 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: CrowdStrike Falcon covers Next-gen antivirus, Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 2 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CrowdStrike Falcon and Qualys VMDR actually diverge.

Attributes where CrowdStrike Falcon and Qualys VMDR differ
AttributeCrowdStrike FalconQualys VMDR
Starting priceFree$3/month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb, Cloud, Api
Founded20111999

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 CrowdStrike Falcon

  • Next-gen antivirus
  • Endpoint detection and response
  • Threat intelligence
  • IT hygiene
  • USB device control
  • Firewall management
  • Threat graph
  • Real-time response

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.

CrowdStrike Falcon

  • Endpoint detection and response for enterprise cybersecuritynot Qualys VMDR
  • Malware prevention and threat huntingnot Qualys VMDR
  • Managed detection and response (MDR) servicesnot 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 CrowdStrike Falcon
  • PCI DSS external scanning where an approved scanning vendor report is a contractual requirementnot CrowdStrike Falcon
  • An estate spanning datacentre, multiple public clouds and endpoints that needs one vulnerability view rather than three toolsnot CrowdStrike Falcon
  • Organisations replacing a manual patch-verification process with agent-reported evidence that a fix actually landednot CrowdStrike Falcon

Where each one falls short

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

CrowdStrike Falcon

  • Falcon Go device limit: capped at 100 devices maximum, forcing mid-market/enterprise customers to upgrade despite lower cost
  • EDR locked behind Enterprise tier: endpoint detection and response available only at $19.99/device/month tier; not available in Pro
  • Managed service pricing opaque: Falcon Complete Next-Gen MDR requires contacting sales; no pricing range for 24/7 MDR services published
  • Annual discount modest: 17-24% savings on annual vs. monthly create minimal incentive to prepay

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

CrowdStrike Falcon

Free
  • Falcon Go$undefined/mo
  • Falcon Pro$undefined/mo
  • Falcon Enterprise$undefined/mo
  • Falcon Complete Next-Gen MDR$undefined/mo

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 CrowdStrike Falcon if

  • You need next-gen antivirus.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want endpoint detection and response.
CrowdStrike Falcon 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 CrowdStrike Falcon or Qualys VMDR better?
Neither clearly leads. CrowdStrike Falcon 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, CrowdStrike Falcon or Qualys VMDR?
CrowdStrike Falcon has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CrowdStrike Falcon and $3/month for Qualys VMDR.
Does CrowdStrike Falcon or Qualys VMDR run on more platforms?
CrowdStrike Falcon runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Qualys VMDR runs on Web, Cloud, Api.
Can I use CrowdStrike Falcon for free?
Yes. CrowdStrike Falcon has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Qualys VMDR starts at $3/month.
What is CrowdStrike Falcon best used for?
CrowdStrike Falcon is most often used for endpoint detection and response for enterprise cybersecurity, malware prevention and threat hunting, managed detection and response (mdr) services. Of those, endpoint detection and response for enterprise cybersecurity and malware prevention and threat hunting are not what Qualys VMDR is typically brought in for.
What can CrowdStrike Falcon do that Qualys VMDR cannot?
CrowdStrike Falcon covers Next-gen antivirus, Endpoint detection and response, Threat intelligence, IT hygiene. Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent, Scanner appliances, Authenticated scanning, TruRisk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CrowdStrike Falcon: How much does CrowdStrike Falcon cost per device?

Falcon Go costs $7.99/device/month ($59.99/year), Falcon Pro costs $14.99/device/month ($99.99/year), and Falcon Enterprise costs $19.99/device/month ($184.99/year).

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.

CrowdStrike Falcon: What is the device limit for Falcon Go?

Falcon Go is limited to a maximum of 100 devices. Organizations with more than 100 devices must upgrade to Pro or Enterprise tiers.

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.

CrowdStrike Falcon: What is the difference between Falcon Pro and Enterprise?

Falcon Pro ($14.99/device/month) includes firewall management and advanced device control. Falcon Enterprise ($19.99/device/month) adds endpoint detection and response (EDR), threat hunting services, and expert threat intelligence.

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.

CrowdStrike Falcon: How much does the managed detection and response service cost?

Falcon Complete Next-Gen MDR pricing is custom. It provides 24/7 expert-led detection and response with AI acceleration and continuous investigations by expert threat teams. Contact CrowdStrike sales for a quote.

Source
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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