SIDE BY SIDE · FACTS ONLY

Armis vs Qualys: asset inventory facts side by side

SHORT ANSWER

Armis describes 4 of the five approaches on the pages we read and Qualys describes 4; they differ on CAASM aggregation, Agent-based inventory, External attack surface management and Exposure management. On collection, Armis works without new agents and Qualys relies on its own agent. Many estates run two of these approaches together, so the question is often which pair, not which one; we do not score either.

By The Inventory Desk · CAASM Finder · Published 2026-10-11

Desk research from public vendor pages read on 27 September and 11 October 2026. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.

How do their approaches compare?

Top bar: Armis Centrix
Lower bar, lighter: Qualys CSAM

Full bar: described on the vendor's pages we read
Hatched bar: described with a condition (another product, a higher tier, or part of the approach)
Stub: not in our sources (it may exist; we did not find it)

The bars show what each vendor's own pages describe, or how your answers weigh the five approaches. They are not a measure of how well a product works.

What are the facts, side by side?

From each vendor's own pages. Differs marks rows where the recorded status or check value differs.
Fact	Armis Centrix	Qualys CSAM
Positioning	Armis calls Centrix a Cyber Exposure Management Platform. It builds an inventory of IT, OT, IoT and medical devices from agentless, passive discovery and adds modules for prioritization and remediation.	Qualys's Cybersecurity Asset Management product, which Qualys describes as one platform and one view of cyber risk for unknown assets across the attack surface.
Deployment	A cloud platform with no on-premises hardware to install or manage for the asset management module. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	Uses the Qualys agent, which can also act as a passive sensor; deployment options are not detailed on the page we read. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
CAASM aggregationDiffers	With a condition Builds most of its inventory from its own agentless discovery and enriches it through more than 200 pre-built integrations. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Agent-based inventoryDiffers	With a condition Collects its own data without agents: agentless, passive discovery of managed and unmanaged devices. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Described Collects through the Qualys agent, which can also act as a passive sensor. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
External attack surface managementDiffers	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	With a condition The product page links to Qualys EASM; we did not read that page. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
CMDB-centred inventory	With a condition Pushes enriched asset data back to your CMDB rather than replacing it. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	With a condition Syncs with ServiceNow and BMC ITSM tools rather than acting as a CMDB. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Exposure managementDiffers	Described Sold as a Cyber Exposure Management Platform, with VIPR-Pro Prioritization and Remediation, Vulnerability Management Detection and Response, and Early Warning modules. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	With a condition Describes one platform and one view of cyber risk; the detail is not on the page we read. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Servers and network devicesDiffers	Matches IT devices, managed or unmanaged, through agentless passive discovery. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources
Cloud workloadsDiffers	Matches Cloud instances and hybrid VMs are covered. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources
SaaS applications	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Identities as assets	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Off-network laptops	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
OT and IoT devicesDiffers	Matches OT and IoT devices, and medical devices through a separate module. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Internet-facing discoveryDiffers	Not in our sources	Partly Qualys EASM is linked from the product page; not read. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Offers its own agentDiffers	Not in our sources	Matches Qualys agent, usable as a passive sensor. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Works without new agentsDiffers	Matches Agentless and passive. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Merges records from several sourcesDiffers	Partly Identifies assets against a knowledgebase of over 6.5 billion assets; how records from integrations merge is not described in detail. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Feeds or updates a CMDB	Matches Pushes enriched data back to your CMDB. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	Matches Syncs with ServiceNow and BMC ITSM tools. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Cross-source queries and reports	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Workflows, tickets or actionsDiffers	Partly Prioritization and remediation sit in the separate VIPR-Pro module. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Price or pricing basis publishedDiffers	Partly AWS Marketplace listing: Centrix Standard minimum at $3,250 a month on a one-month contract; no price on armis.com. Source: AWS Marketplace: Armis Device Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources
Free tier or trialDiffers	Not in our sources	Matches Free trial offered. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Platform it is part of	None	None
Integrations	More than 200 pre-built integrations. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	ServiceNow and BMC ITSM sync; other integrations are not listed on the page we read. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Price	No price on armis.com. AWS Marketplace listing: Centrix Standard minimum at $3,250 a month on a one-month contract, with private offers. Source: AWS Marketplace: Armis Device Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not published Not published. A free trial is offered. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026

Where do they differ?

CAASM aggregation: Armis describes it with a condition; Qualys is not in our sources.
Agent-based inventory: Armis describes it with a condition; Qualys describes it.
External attack surface management: Armis is not in our sources; Qualys describes it with a condition.
Exposure management: Armis describes it; Qualys describes it with a condition.
Servers and network devices: Armis matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Cloud workloads: Armis matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
OT and IoT devices: Armis matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Internet-facing discovery: Armis is not in our sources; Qualys partly matches.
Offers its own agent: Armis is not in our sources; Qualys matches.
Works without new agents: Armis matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Merges records from several sources: Armis partly matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Workflows, tickets or actions: Armis partly matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Price or pricing basis published: Armis partly matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Free tier or trial: Armis is not in our sources; Qualys matches.

Can they work together?

Neither vendor's pages we read name the other as an integration. That does not mean they cannot work together; ask both vendors.

Choose Armis if

Your estate includes OT, IoT or medical devices that cannot take an agent
You want device discovery and exposure modules from one vendor that is now part of ServiceNow

Choose Qualys if

You already run the Qualys agent and want asset management from the same data
You need sync with ServiceNow or BMC

Which limits should you check?

Armis

No price on armis.com; the only public figure is an AWS Marketplace minimum.
SaaS applications and identities are not described as asset classes on the pages we read.
Prioritization and remediation sit in separately named modules.

Qualys

No price published.
Which third-party sources it reads, and its SaaS, identity and OT coverage, are not described on the page we read.

Put Armis and Qualys in the asset census with others Run the finder

Questions people ask

Is Armis or Qualys better?

Neither is scored on this site. Armis describes 4 of five approaches and Qualys 4 on the pages we read, and they differ on 14 recorded facts. Which fits depends on where your assets live, whether you can install agents, your CMDB and your tools; the finder checks those.

Do Armis and Qualys work with a CMDB?

Armis: Matches. Pushes enriched data back to your CMDB. Qualys: Matches. Syncs with ServiceNow and BMC ITSM tools.

Do Armis or Qualys publish prices?

Armis: No price on armis.com. AWS Marketplace listing: Centrix Standard minimum at $3,250 a month on a one-month contract, with private offers. Qualys: Not published. A free trial is offered.