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GoLand vs Qualys VMDR

GoLand logo

GoLand

Developer Tools

JetBrains IDE for developing applications in Go

From
$24/month
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: GoLand requires a paid subscription with no permanently free tier for commercial use.; 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: GoLand covers Smart code completion, Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where GoLand and Qualys VMDR differ
AttributeGoLandQualys VMDR
Starting price$24/month$3/month
Platformswindows, mac, linuxWeb, Cloud, Api
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded20001999

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 GoLand

  • Smart code completion
  • Integrated debugger
  • Refactoring tools
  • Version control integration
  • Docker and Kubernetes support
  • Built-in terminal and database tools

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.

GoLand

  • Developing Go microservices and backend systemsnot Qualys VMDR
  • Debugging and profiling Go applicationsnot Qualys VMDR
  • Working with Docker and Kubernetes deploymentsnot Qualys VMDR
  • Refactoring large Go codebasesnot 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 GoLand
  • PCI DSS external scanning where an approved scanning vendor report is a contractual requirementnot GoLand
  • An estate spanning datacentre, multiple public clouds and endpoints that needs one vulnerability view rather than three toolsnot GoLand
  • Organisations replacing a manual patch-verification process with agent-reported evidence that a fix actually landednot GoLand

Where each one falls short

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

GoLand

  • Requires a paid subscription with no permanently free tier for commercial use.
  • Heavier resource usage than lightweight text editors like Vim or Sublime Text.
  • Primarily optimized for Go, so multi-language teams may prefer a broader IDE like VS Code or IntelliJ Ultimate.
  • License renewal pricing increases after the first year if a subscription lapses.

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

GoLand

$24/month
  • Individual$24/month
    • Personal use license
    • Access to GoLand
    • Free for students and open-source maintainers
  • Organization$34/month
    • Business use license
    • Access to GoLand
    • Volume and renewal discounts

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 GoLand if

  • You need smart code completion.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux.
  • You also want integrated debugger.
GoLand 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 GoLand or Qualys VMDR better?
Neither clearly leads. GoLand starts at $24/month and Qualys VMDR at $3/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GoLand or Qualys VMDR?
GoLand starts at $24/month and Qualys VMDR at $3/month.
Does GoLand or Qualys VMDR run on more platforms?
GoLand runs on windows, mac, linux. Qualys VMDR runs on Web, Cloud, Api.
What is GoLand best used for?
GoLand is most often used for developing go microservices and backend systems, debugging and profiling go applications, working with docker and kubernetes deployments, refactoring large go codebases. Of those, developing go microservices and backend systems and debugging and profiling go applications are not what Qualys VMDR is typically brought in for.
What can GoLand do that Qualys VMDR cannot?
GoLand covers Smart code completion, Integrated debugger, Refactoring tools, Version control integration. Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent, Scanner appliances, Authenticated scanning, TruRisk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GoLand: How much does GoLand cost?

GoLand is sold as a JetBrains Toolbox subscription starting around $24/month for individuals and $34/month for organizations, with discounts for longer commitments and free licenses for students and open-source maintainers.

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.

GoLand: Is there a free trial?

JetBrains offers a free trial period for GoLand before requiring purchase of a Toolbox subscription license.

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.

GoLand: What platforms does GoLand run on?

GoLand runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux as a desktop application distributed through JetBrains Toolbox.

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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