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Cybersecurity · head to head

NordPass vs Qualys VMDR

NordPass logo

NordPass

Cybersecurity

Securely store, manage and autofill passwords

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 NordPass has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: NordPass business plan pricing is rendered client-side per user per month rather than published as a static figure on the page; 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 NordPass and Qualys VMDR actually diverge.

Attributes where NordPass and Qualys VMDR differ
AttributeNordPassQualys VMDR
Starting priceFree$3/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, 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 NordPass

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.

NordPass

  • Securely storing and managing employee passwords and passkeysnot Qualys VMDR
  • Streamlining employee onboarding with instant account accessnot Qualys VMDR
  • Monitoring credential breaches on the dark webnot Qualys VMDR
  • Enforcing company-wide password security standardsnot Qualys VMDR
  • Tracking user access and supporting audit compliancenot 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 NordPass
  • PCI DSS external scanning where an approved scanning vendor report is a contractual requirementnot NordPass
  • An estate spanning datacentre, multiple public clouds and endpoints that needs one vulnerability view rather than three toolsnot NordPass
  • Organisations replacing a manual patch-verification process with agent-reported evidence that a fix actually landednot NordPass

Where each one falls short

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

NordPass

  • Business plan pricing is rendered client-side per user per month rather than published as a static figure on the page
  • Breach monitoring and full credential oversight features are marketed specifically toward business plans rather than confirmed as included in the free individual tier

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

NordPass

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the NordPass 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 NordPass if

  • You want to start without paying.
NordPass 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 NordPass or Qualys VMDR better?
Neither clearly leads. NordPass 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, NordPass or Qualys VMDR?
NordPass has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for NordPass and $3/month for Qualys VMDR.
Does NordPass or Qualys VMDR run on more platforms?
NordPass runs on Web. Qualys VMDR runs on Web, Cloud, Api.
Can I use NordPass for free?
Yes. NordPass has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Qualys VMDR starts at $3/month.
What is NordPass best used for?
NordPass is most often used for securely storing and managing employee passwords and passkeys, streamlining employee onboarding with instant account access, monitoring credential breaches on the dark web, enforcing company-wide password security standards. Of those, securely storing and managing employee passwords and passkeys and streamlining employee onboarding with instant account access are not what Qualys VMDR is typically brought in for.
What can NordPass do that Qualys VMDR cannot?
Qualys VMDR covers Cloud Agent, Scanner appliances, Authenticated scanning, TruRisk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

NordPass: Will I be charged when signing up for the free trial?

No credit card is required to start the trial. Payment details are only needed when you purchase a plan, and NordPass will only charge you once your payment process is completed.

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.

NordPass: What is the refund policy for NordPass?

NordPass offers refunds within 14 calendar days of your initial purchase if you are unsatisfied with the service.

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.

NordPass: Can I upgrade or downgrade between NordPass plans?

Yes, you can switch between Teams and Business plans at any time. The system charges the difference between the plans based on the number of users and the remaining duration.

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.

NordPass: Why do different NordPass plans cost different amounts?

NordPass provides tiered pricing so customers only pay for the features they need, and can upgrade at any time as their needs change.

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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