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Developer Tools · head to head

Nixpacks vs Qualys VMDR

Nixpacks logo

Nixpacks

Developer Tools

Build system that turns a source directory into an OCI image, now in maintenance mode

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 Nixpacks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Nixpacks the project is in maintenance mode with no commits on the default branch since May 2026 and no release since October 2025, so support for new language versions arrives only if someone forks it.; 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: Nixpacks covers Automatic language detection, Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Nixpacks and Qualys VMDR differ
AttributeNixpacksQualys VMDR
Starting priceFree$3/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, CLI, DockerWeb, 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 Nixpacks

  • Automatic language detection
  • No Dockerfile required
  • Nix toolchains
  • Configuration escape hatches
  • Docker layer caching

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.

Nixpacks

  • Understanding the build behaviour of a platform that adopted Nixpacks before it was frozennot Qualys VMDR
  • Producing container images from a polyglot monorepo where nobody wants to own several Dockerfilesnot Qualys VMDR
  • Reproducing an existing Railway build locally while planning a migration to Railpacknot Qualys VMDR
  • Comparing what a Nix based builder does differently from a buildpack before choosing a successornot 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 Nixpacks
  • PCI DSS external scanning where an approved scanning vendor report is a contractual requirementnot Nixpacks
  • An estate spanning datacentre, multiple public clouds and endpoints that needs one vulnerability view rather than three toolsnot Nixpacks
  • Organisations replacing a manual patch-verification process with agent-reported evidence that a fix actually landednot Nixpacks

Where each one falls short

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

Nixpacks

  • The project is in maintenance mode with no commits on the default branch since May 2026 and no release since October 2025, so support for new language versions arrives only if someone forks it.
  • Build determinism is softer than it appears, because providers pin a nixpkgs archive commit and bumping that archive silently moves compiler and runtime versions underneath a build that looks unchanged.
  • Caching is limited to Docker layers rather than a content addressed graph, so a small change early in the build invalidates everything after it, which is exactly the limitation Railpack was rewritten to fix.
  • Images carry Nix store layers and come out larger than an equivalent tuned Dockerfile or buildpack output, which costs registry storage and slows cold pulls on scale-out.
  • There is no specification, no vendor neutral governance and no third party provider ecosystem, so a single company was able to redirect strategy and leave every downstream user with a frozen build tool.

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

Nixpacks

Free
  • NixpacksFree
    • MIT licensed, no usage limits
    • No commercial edition and no support contract
    • In maintenance mode, superseded by Railpack

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 Nixpacks if

  • You need automatic language detection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, CLI, Docker.
  • You also want no dockerfile required.
Nixpacks 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 Nixpacks or Qualys VMDR better?
Neither clearly leads. Nixpacks 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, Nixpacks or Qualys VMDR?
Nixpacks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Nixpacks and $3/month for Qualys VMDR.
Does Nixpacks or Qualys VMDR run on more platforms?
Nixpacks runs on Linux, macOS, CLI, Docker. Qualys VMDR runs on Web, Cloud, Api.
Can I use Nixpacks for free?
Yes. Nixpacks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Qualys VMDR starts at $3/month.
What is Nixpacks best used for?
Nixpacks is most often used for understanding the build behaviour of a platform that adopted nixpacks before it was frozen, producing container images from a polyglot monorepo where nobody wants to own several dockerfiles, reproducing an existing railway build locally while planning a migration to railpack, comparing what a nix based builder does differently from a buildpack before choosing a successor. Of those, understanding the build behaviour of a platform that adopted nixpacks before it was frozen and producing container images from a polyglot monorepo where nobody wants to own several dockerfiles are not what Qualys VMDR is typically brought in for.
What can Nixpacks do that Qualys VMDR cannot?
Nixpacks covers Automatic language detection, No Dockerfile required, Nix toolchains, Configuration escape hatches. Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent, Scanner appliances, Authenticated scanning, TruRisk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nixpacks: Should I start a new project on Nixpacks?

No. The documentation and README both say it is in maintenance mode and recommend Railpack. Choose Railpack, Cloud Native Buildpacks or a Dockerfile instead.

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.

Nixpacks: Will my existing Nixpacks builds stop working?

Not immediately. Pinned nixpkgs archives keep resolving, so builds continue. What you lose is support for new runtime major versions and any fix for a provider bug.

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.

Nixpacks: What replaces it?

Railpack, also from Railway and also MIT licensed, rebuilt as a BuildKit custom frontend for finer grained caching and parallel steps.

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.

Nixpacks: Is it still open source?

Yes, MIT, and the repository is not archived. Being open source does not help much when nobody is merging provider updates.

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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