HailBytes ASM vs Qualys CSAM
A self-hosted EASM alternative for teams that want active external recon ownership without committing to the Qualys Cloud Platform.
TL;DR
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management (CSAM) with the EASM add-on layers external discovery onto Qualys’s mature internal asset and vulnerability management platform. HailBytes ASM is a self-hosted alternative that runs the recon pipeline inside your own AWS or Azure account, priced on infrastructure rather than per-asset Qualys subscription.
- Pick HailBytes ASM if you don’t want a Qualys Cloud Platform commitment, need white-label client deliverables, or want unlimited scans at flat VM cost.
- Stay with Qualys CSAM if you’re already standardized on Qualys VMDR and want EASM correlated with internal asset and vulnerability data inside the same console.
Pricing & Cost Model
| Dimension | HailBytes ASM | Qualys CSAM + EASM |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing axis | Infrastructure ($0.24/vCPU/hour) | Per asset (CSAM) + per external asset (EASM add-on) |
| Annual cost (small surface) | $11,760 (8 vCPU; $16,800 list) — all-in ($15,120 committed, $20,160 at list) we are at or above the ~$15,000 Qualys floor on either basis; this band is not a price win | ~$15,000+ (Qualys floor) |
| Annual cost (mid surface) | $11,760–$23,520 (8–16 vCPU; $16,800–$33,600 list) — a win at 8 vCPU; at 16 vCPU all-in ($40,320 at list) it only just meets the bottom of the Qualys range | $40,000–$120,000 |
| Standalone purchase | ✅ | 🟡 Requires Qualys Cloud Platform |
| Free trial | 30 days via AWS / Azure Marketplace | 30-day Qualys trial |
| Procurement path | Cloud marketplace (counts toward EDP / MACC) | Direct Qualys contract |
HailBytes figures are the 1-year commitment price — delivered as an AWS or Azure private offer, not a discount on the published meter — with list alongside, so the comparison sits on the same annual-contract basis as the competitor column. 8 vCPU ($16,800 list) is the entry size. The meter covers software only; the VM, storage, and networking run in your own cloud account and are billed separately at roughly $35/vCPU/month — $280/month at 8 vCPU, $560 at 16, $1,120 at 32 — so scale that line to the size on the row you are reading, not to 8 vCPU. All-in at 8 vCPU that is about $20,160/year at list or $15,120 on a 1-year commitment, and every break-even quoted on this page is calculated on that all-in basis. Full pricing.
Sizing above 8 vCPU: ASM sizes its scan worker from the host, so a larger instance scans proportionally faster — a 16 vCPU deployment gives the scan engine twice the cores an 8 vCPU one does. Instances deployed before August 2026 pick this up on the next update, when the installer rewrites the worker limits to match the machine.
Architecture & Control
| Dimension | HailBytes ASM | Qualys CSAM |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Self-hosted in your AWS / Azure account | SaaS (Qualys-hosted) + on-prem scanner appliances |
| Source code access | Ships with the deployment; auditable under NDA | Closed source |
| Data residency | Whatever cloud region you pick | Qualys-controlled regions (multiple) |
| Custom scan logic / wordlists | ✅ Full control | ❌ |
| Per-tenant isolation | One VM per tenant | Multi-tenant SaaS |
Capability Comparison
| Capability | HailBytes ASM | Qualys CSAM + EASM |
|---|---|---|
| External asset discovery | ✅ Active recon pipeline | ✅ |
| Internal asset inventory | ❌ External-only | ✅ CSAM’s core differentiator |
| Active port & service scanning | ✅ Built-in | ✅ (VMDR engine) |
| CVE matching / vuln depth | 🟡 OSS toolchain | ✅ Mature VMDR engine |
| Unlimited scans | ✅ | 🟡 Tier-based (per-asset license) |
| Custom wordlists | ✅ Unlimited | ❌ |
| AI-powered analysis | ✅ OpenAI + Ollama (local GPU) | 🟡 TruRisk Insights |
| MCP server / AI-agent tooling | ✅ Built-in (Claude / Cursor / Windsurf) | ❌ |
| SIEM integration | ✅ Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic, Chronicle | ✅ Qualys connectors |
| Government cloud (GovCloud / Azure Gov) | ✅ Both | 🟡 Qualys for Government |
| White-label for client deliverables | ✅ Built-in | 🟡 Consulting edition |
When HailBytes ASM Wins
- You don’t want a Qualys Cloud Platform commitment. CSAM’s value is unifying internal and external assets inside Qualys; standalone external discovery doesn’t justify the platform tax.
- MSSPs and pen-test firms. White-label deliverables and per-instance cost make resold continuous monitoring viable.
- Government and regulated industries. AWS GovCloud and Azure Government deployments, with data never leaving your tenancy.
- AI-agent recon workflows. The built-in MCP server lets Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf drive scans and triage findings.
When Qualys CSAM Wins
- Heavy Qualys VMDR shops. CSAM’s unified view of internal and external assets is a genuine differentiator inside the Qualys ecosystem.
- Vulnerability-management depth is the priority. The VMDR engine has years of detection coverage that pure recon-tooling won’t match.
- Existing Qualys contract spend that absorbs the EASM add-on at marginal cost.
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