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Cybersecurity · head to head

Descope vs Qualys VMDR

Descope logo

Descope

Cybersecurity

No-code drag-and-drop authentication platform.

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 Descope has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Descope free tier capped at 7,500 MAU; Pro tier at 10,000 MAU, Growth tier at 25,000 MAU, forcing migration to Enterprise for larger organisations; 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.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Descope and Qualys VMDR differ
AttributeDescopeQualys VMDR
Starting priceFree$3/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APIWeb, Cloud, Api
FoundedUnknown1999

Identical on both: 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 Descope

Nothing recorded that Qualys VMDR does not also cover.

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.

Descope

  • Organisations seeking rapid identity implementation without custom developmentnot Qualys VMDR
  • Companies supporting multiple user types (consumers, partners, AI agents) in single platformnot Qualys VMDR
  • Multi-tenant B2B2C SaaS applications requiring per-organisation identity policiesnot Qualys VMDR
  • Teams building passwordless-first authentication experiencesnot Qualys VMDR
  • Healthcare and regulated industries requiring HIPAA-compliant identity managementnot 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 Descope
  • PCI DSS external scanning where an approved scanning vendor report is a contractual requirementnot Descope
  • An estate spanning datacentre, multiple public clouds and endpoints that needs one vulnerability view rather than three toolsnot Descope
  • Organisations replacing a manual patch-verification process with agent-reported evidence that a fix actually landednot Descope

Where each one falls short

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

Descope

  • Free tier capped at 7,500 MAU; Pro tier at 10,000 MAU, Growth tier at 25,000 MAU, forcing migration to Enterprise for larger organisations
  • HIPAA compliance only available in Growth tier ($799/mo) and above; not included in lower-priced plans
  • No-code UI builder provides pre-built flows but still requires custom frontend development for fully-branded authentication experiences
  • All paid tiers billed annually; no monthly billing option for commitment-free flexibility
  • Bot protection features available only in Growth tier and above

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

Descope

Free
  • Free ForeverFree
    • 7,500 monthly active users
    • Basic authentication
    • Community support
  • Pro$249/month
    • 10,000 monthly active users
    • Custom domains
    • CI/CD integration
  • Growth$799/month
    • 25,000 monthly active users
    • Bot protection
    • Fine-grained authorisation
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited monthly active users
    • Tiered discounts
    • Premium support with dedicated CS engineer

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 Descope if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Descope 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 Descope or Qualys VMDR better?
Neither clearly leads. Descope 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, Descope or Qualys VMDR?
Descope has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Descope and $3/month for Qualys VMDR.
Does Descope or Qualys VMDR run on more platforms?
Descope runs on Web, iOS, Android, API. Qualys VMDR runs on Web, Cloud, Api.
Can I use Descope for free?
Yes. Descope has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Qualys VMDR starts at $3/month.
What is Descope best used for?
Descope is most often used for organisations seeking rapid identity implementation without custom development, companies supporting multiple user types (consumers, partners, ai agents) in single platform, multi-tenant b2b2c saas applications requiring per-organisation identity policies, teams building passwordless-first authentication experiences. Of those, organisations seeking rapid identity implementation without custom development and companies supporting multiple user types (consumers, partners, ai agents) in single platform are not what Qualys VMDR is typically brought in for.
What can Descope do that Qualys VMDR cannot?
Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent, Scanner appliances, Authenticated scanning, TruRisk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Descope: Can I build custom authentication flows without code?

Yes. Descope's drag-and-drop workflow interface allows you to construct and modify signup, login, MFA and SSO flows without code changes.

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.

Descope: Does Descope support AI agent authentication?

Yes. Descope supports building identity journeys for AI agents and MCP servers, including scoped OAuth tokens and delegation chains.

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.

Descope: Is Descope HIPAA compliant?

HIPAA compliance is available in Growth tier and above, starting at $799/month.

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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