SIDE BY SIDE · FACTS ONLY

Defender EASM vs Qualys: asset inventory facts side by side

SHORT ANSWER

Defender EASM describes 2 of the five approaches on the pages we read and Qualys describes 4; they differ on Agent-based inventory, External attack surface management and CMDB-centred inventory. On collection, Defender EASM 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: Microsoft Defender EASM
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	Microsoft Defender EASM	Qualys CSAM
Positioning	Microsoft's external attack surface management service, run as an Azure resource, with a prebuilt inventory, recursive discovery from seeds and billing on the Azure bill.	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	An Azure resource. Cross-tenant resource access, including Azure Lighthouse, is not supported. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 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 aggregation	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Agent-based inventoryDiffers	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	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	Described A prebuilt inventory for many organisations plus recursive discovery from seeds you supply. Source: Microsoft Learn: what is discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026	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 inventoryDiffers	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	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 management	With a condition Dashboards for vulnerabilities, compliance and hygiene on external assets; remediation happens downstream through Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · 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 devices	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Cloud workloads	Not in our sources	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 devices	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Internet-facing discoveryDiffers	Matches Prebuilt inventory and recursive discovery from seeds. Source: Microsoft Learn: what is discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026	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 An Azure service that discovers from seeds and a prebuilt inventory. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Merges records from several sources	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Feeds or updates a CMDBDiffers	Not in our sources	Matches Syncs with ServiceNow and BMC ITSM tools. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Cross-source queries and reportsDiffers	Partly Dashboards for vulnerabilities, compliance and hygiene. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Workflows, tickets or actionsDiffers	Partly Data connections to Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer trigger remediation actions downstream. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Price or pricing basis publishedDiffers	Partly Billable assets are defined (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) and charged on the Azure bill; Microsoft's pricing page showed no rate when we read it. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Free tier or trial	Matches A 30-day free trial, then Azure billing. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026	Matches Free trial offered. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Platform it is part of	Microsoft: Native to Azure, billed on the Azure bill, with a Security Copilot integration in preview. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM documentation · Read 27 Sep 2026	None
Integrations	Data connections to Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer, and a Security Copilot integration in preview. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · 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	Billed through Azure on billable assets (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) after a 30-day free trial. Microsoft's pricing page did not show a rate when we read it; check it for the current figure. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not published Not published. A free trial is offered. Source: Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management · Read 11 Oct 2026

Where do they differ?

Agent-based inventory: Defender EASM is not in our sources; Qualys describes it.
External attack surface management: Defender EASM describes it; Qualys describes it with a condition.
CMDB-centred inventory: Defender EASM is not in our sources; Qualys describes it with a condition.
Internet-facing discovery: Defender EASM matches; Qualys partly matches.
Offers its own agent: Defender EASM is not in our sources; Qualys matches.
Works without new agents: Defender EASM matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Feeds or updates a CMDB: Defender EASM is not in our sources; Qualys matches.
Cross-source queries and reports: Defender EASM partly matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Workflows, tickets or actions: Defender EASM partly matches; Qualys is not in our sources.
Price or pricing basis published: Defender EASM partly matches; Qualys is not in our sources.

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 Defender EASM if

You are on Azure and want an external inventory without a sales call
You want an outside-in baseline before choosing an inventory platform

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?

Defender EASM

External assets only: internal devices, SaaS apps and identities are not covered.
No built-in remediation workflow, and no cross-tenant resource access for groups with several Azure tenants.

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 Defender EASM and Qualys in the asset census with others Run the finder

Questions people ask

Is Defender EASM or Qualys better?

Neither is scored on this site. Defender EASM describes 2 of five approaches and Qualys 4 on the pages we read, and they differ on 10 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 Defender EASM and Qualys work with a CMDB?

Defender EASM: Not in our sources. Qualys: Matches. Syncs with ServiceNow and BMC ITSM tools.

Do Defender EASM or Qualys publish prices?

Defender EASM: Billed through Azure on billable assets (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) after a 30-day free trial. Microsoft's pricing page did not show a rate when we read it; check it for the current figure. Qualys: Not published. A free trial is offered.