CATAAM vs Qualys
Qualys leads in agent-based vulnerability scanning. CATAAM is the agentless alternative that adds GRC compliance automation and Breach & Attack Simulation — at 50–90% less cost, with no deployment project required.
- Entry price
- ~$99/mo
- ~$2K–5K/mo
- Agent deployment
- Not required
- Required
- GRC / compliance
- Built-in
- Not available
- BAS simulation
- Built-in
- Not available
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Supported Partial Not available
| Feature | CATAAM | Qualys |
|---|---|---|
| GRC & Compliance | ||
| SOC 2 compliance automation | ||
| ISO 27001 ISMS management | ||
| HIPAA Security Rule evidence | ||
| PCI-DSS v4.0 control mapping | ||
| Automated evidence harvesting | ||
| Cross-framework control mapping | ||
| Audit-ready compliance reports | ||
| CPA / auditor access portal | ||
| Attack Surface Management | ||
| External subdomain discovery (crt.sh) | ||
| Cloud asset discovery (AWS/Azure/GCP) | ||
| Network port & service fingerprinting | ||
| Attack path graph visualization | ||
| IAM privilege escalation path analysis | ||
| MITRE ATT&CK technique mapping | ||
| DNS health (SPF, DMARC, DNSSEC) | ||
| Free exploration tier | ||
| Vulnerability & Security Testing | ||
| Vulnerability scanning (agent-based) | ||
| Breach & Attack Simulation (BAS) | ||
| AWS IAM privilege escalation simulation | ||
| S3 ACL bypass testing | ||
| CloudTrail evasion simulation | ||
| Continuous pen testing evidence | ||
| CIS Benchmark hardening checks | ||
| CVE detection & mapping | ||
| Pricing & Commercial | ||
| Transparent public pricing | ||
| Monthly billing (no annual contract) | ||
| Pay-as-you-go credit model | ||
| 14-day free trial, no credit card | ||
| Entry price | $99/framework/mo | ~$2K–$5K/mo |
| GRC included in platform | ||
| Multi-client partner dashboard | ||
Qualys features based on publicly available documentation as of 2026. Pricing estimates sourced from G2, Gartner Peer Insights, and published customer reports.
Why teams choose CATAAM over Qualys
Qualys does vulnerability scanning. CATAAM does compliance and BAS together.
Qualys is a leading vulnerability management and CSPM platform — mature, agent-based, and deeply integrated with enterprise IT asset inventory. What it does not do: GRC compliance automation (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA), automated evidence harvesting for audits, or Breach & Attack Simulation that maps findings to compliance controls. CATAAM's BAS runs attack scenarios (IAM escalation, S3 bypass, CloudTrail evasion) and feeds results directly into your SOC 2 and PCI-DSS evidence library — closing the gap between security testing and compliance reporting.
iASM attack path graphs that Qualys CSPM does not build.
Qualys CSPM checks cloud resource configurations against benchmarks — a necessary but insufficient view of cloud risk. CATAAM's iASM maps the relationships between misconfigured resources to identify attack paths: "this over-permissioned Lambda can assume this role, which has write access to this S3 bucket containing ePHI." The force-directed attack graph makes complex cloud blast radius immediately understandable. These paths feed directly into ISO 27001 risk assessments and PCI-DSS CDE scope validation.
50–90% lower cost with no agent deployment.
Qualys enterprise pricing is not publicly listed but is widely reported at $2,000–$5,000+ per month for cloud and ASM coverage, requiring annual contracts and significant professional services for deployment. CATAAM's iASM uses read-only cloud API connectors — no agents, no deployment project, no per-agent licensing. A full monthly iASM run (discovery, audit, and BAS) costs CA$1,999 on the Standard credit pack. GRC for any framework adds $99/month. Total cost for GRC + iASM + BAS is a fraction of Qualys' ASM-only price.
Qualys requires a security team. CATAAM is built for CISOs, CPA firms, and SMBs.
Qualys is an enterprise-grade platform that assumes a dedicated security operations team for deployment, tuning, and ongoing management. CATAAM is designed to be operated by a CISO, a security-conscious engineering team, or a CPA audit firm with no dedicated SOC. The partner dashboard lets CPA firms manage unlimited client organizations from a single pane — something Qualys has no equivalent offering for.
CATAAM vs Qualys — Common Questions
- How does CATAAM compare to Qualys for Attack Surface Management?
- Both CATAAM and Qualys offer external attack surface discovery — subdomain enumeration, port scanning, and cloud asset inventory. Qualys has deeper agent-based vulnerability scanning for on-premises and hybrid environments. CATAAM adds two things Qualys does not: an iASM attack path graph showing how cloud misconfigurations chain together into compromise paths, and GRC compliance automation that maps ASM findings directly to SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS controls as evidence. If you need traditional vulnerability scanning with agents, Qualys is stronger. If you need cloud attack surface visibility plus compliance automation in one platform, CATAAM is the better fit.
- Does Qualys offer GRC or compliance automation?
- Qualys offers policy compliance scanning (checking system configurations against CIS Benchmarks and regulatory baselines) and some PCI-DSS and HIPAA reporting. It does not offer full GRC workflow automation — SOC 2 control libraries, evidence harvesting, auditor portals, cross-framework mapping, or audit-ready export packages. Organizations using Qualys for security typically need a separate GRC platform for compliance. CATAAM combines both in a single platform at a lower total cost.
- How does CATAAM pricing compare to Qualys?
- Qualys does not publish pricing. Enterprise customers report costs of $2,000–$5,000+ per month for cloud security and ASM coverage, with annual contracts and professional services costs for deployment. CATAAM's iASM uses a credit model: a standard monthly run (cloud discovery, security audit, and BAS) costs CA$1,999 on the Standard pack. GRC compliance for any framework costs $99/month additional. There is no agent deployment, no professional services requirement, and no annual contract. Cloud asset discovery and attack graph browsing are free.
- Can CATAAM replace Qualys for PCI-DSS requirement 11 penetration testing?
- CATAAM's BAS covers a significant portion of PCI-DSS Requirement 11 — continuous internal and external security testing, network segmentation validation, and vulnerability detection — all with timestamped, audit-grade evidence. However, PCI-DSS Level 1 merchants still require an annual assessment by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and may need agent-based vulnerability scanning across their full Cardholder Data Environment. CATAAM works best as a continuous complement to periodic QSA engagements, providing the quarterly scan evidence (Req 11.3.2) and penetration testing documentation (Req 11.4) year-round.
- Does CATAAM require agents like Qualys?
- No. CATAAM's iASM and ASM capabilities are entirely agentless — they connect to AWS, Azure, and GCP via read-only IAM roles using OAuth-based connectors. No software is deployed to your instances. External ASM uses API-based subdomain discovery (certificate transparency logs) and network probes. BAS simulations are API-driven and non-destructive. This means setup takes minutes rather than weeks, and there are no per-agent licensing costs as your infrastructure scales.
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