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Developer Tools · head to head

GNAT Pro vs Qualys VMDR

GNAT Pro logo

GNAT Pro

Developer Tools

Software development environments and toolchains for Ada, C/C++ and Rust

From
On request
Free plan
No
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

  • Each has a real cost: GNAT Pro no pricing published on website; requires contacting AdaCore directly for quotes; 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 GNAT Pro and Qualys VMDR actually diverge.

Attributes where GNAT Pro and Qualys VMDR differ
AttributeGNAT ProQualys VMDR
Starting priceOn request$3/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Cloud, Api
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown1999

Identical on both: 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 GNAT Pro

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.

GNAT Pro

  • Building certified avionics software meeting DO-178B/C standardsnot Qualys VMDR
  • Developing automotive embedded systems with ISO-26262 compliancenot Qualys VMDR
  • Integrating Ada, C/C++, and Rust components in single codebasenot Qualys VMDR
  • Managing software supply chain vulnerabilities and SBOMsnot Qualys VMDR
  • Supporting long-lived software systems spanning decadesnot 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 GNAT Pro
  • PCI DSS external scanning where an approved scanning vendor report is a contractual requirementnot GNAT Pro
  • An estate spanning datacentre, multiple public clouds and endpoints that needs one vulnerability view rather than three toolsnot GNAT Pro
  • Organisations replacing a manual patch-verification process with agent-reported evidence that a fix actually landednot GNAT Pro

Where each one falls short

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

GNAT Pro

  • No pricing published on website; requires contacting AdaCore directly for quotes
  • Vendor indicates per-user, per-year subscription model but does not disclose specific costs

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

GNAT Pro

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the GNAT Pro review.

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 GNAT Pro if

Nothing in the data separates GNAT Pro from Qualys VMDR on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

GNAT Pro 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 GNAT Pro or Qualys VMDR better?
Neither clearly leads. GNAT Pro starts at On request and Qualys VMDR at $3/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GNAT Pro or Qualys VMDR?
GNAT Pro starts at On request and Qualys VMDR at $3/month.
Does GNAT Pro or Qualys VMDR run on more platforms?
GNAT Pro runs on Web. Qualys VMDR runs on Web, Cloud, Api.
What is GNAT Pro best used for?
GNAT Pro is most often used for building certified avionics software meeting do-178b/c standards, developing automotive embedded systems with iso-26262 compliance, integrating ada, c/c++, and rust components in single codebase, managing software supply chain vulnerabilities and sboms. Of those, building certified avionics software meeting do-178b/c standards and developing automotive embedded systems with iso-26262 compliance are not what Qualys VMDR is typically brought in for.
What can GNAT Pro do that Qualys VMDR cannot?
Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent, Scanner appliances, Authenticated scanning, TruRisk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GNAT Pro: How much does GNAT Pro cost?

GNAT Pro pricing is not published on the website. Customers must request a pricing quote by contacting AdaCore directly or speaking with a GNAT Pro expert.

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.

GNAT Pro: What is GNAT Pro licensing model?

GNAT Pro is sold on a per-user, per-year basis with no license locks. Customers can request pricing for their specific needs.

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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