Rapid7: Solution Overview, Pricing, Limitations and Alternatives

What Is Rapid7? 

Rapid7 is a cybersecurity company that provides both commercial solutions and open source tools, most notably the Metasploit penetration testing platform. The company was founded in 2000 by Alan Matthews, Tas Giakouminakis, and Chad Loderand, and is traded in NASDAQ (stock symbol RPD).

Rapid7 provides a suite of products that cater to various aspects of cybersecurity, including vulnerability management, threat detection, cloud security, and automation. Like others in the category, the company’s solutions leverage analytics, threat intelligence, and machine learning to help organizations identify vulnerabilities, detect threats, and automate incident response. 

This is part of a series of articles about information security.

Key Features of Rapid7 Solutions 

Rapid7’s solutions offer the following security capabilities:

• Vulnerability management: Its InsightVM product offers continuous scanning to discover vulnerabilities in on-premises and cloud environments. This solution helps security teams prioritize risks based on known threats and remediation costs, making vulnerability management more efficient and actionable.
• Threat detection and incident response: InsightIDR intends to enable organizations to detect breaches by collecting and analyzing data from across the network by identifying malicious or unusual activities indicative of an attack. 
• Cloud security: Rapid7 offers solutions that provide visibility and protection across cloud infrastructures. Insights, analytics, and automated compliance checks intend that cloud setups adhere to best practices and security standards. InsightCloudSec provides visibility and potentially mitigates risks associated with cloud services and applications.
• Application security: InsightAppSec can potentially aid in identifying and mitigating security weaknesses in application development. This solution provides “dynamic application security testing” (DAST) to find vulnerabilities during development and production phases. Automated scans intend to simulate attacker behavior, uncovering potential entry points that need to be secured.
• Security automation and orchestration: The InsightConnect platform automates repetitive tasks and workflows, allowing security teams to focus on higher-level initiatives like similar solutions in the category. By integrating with various tools and platforms, InsightConnect intends to assist different security teams by improving efficiency and reducing response times.
• Threat intelligence and analytics: By leveraging a set of data sources, Rapid7 delivers intelligence for security strategies and decisions. InsightIDR incorporates threat intelligence to aid in the detection and analysis of threats, providing context and guidance for actionable responses. 

Notable Rapid7 Products 

The Rapid7 Command Platform

The Rapid7 Command Platform provides a unified interface for managing security operations. This platform consolidates various functions such as vulnerability management, incident detection, and response. 

Through its integration of multiple security tools, the Command Platform adds visibility and control over security practices with support for remediation measures.

Rapid7 InsightIDR

This tool leverages user behavior analytics and built-in threat intelligence to provide threat detection. InsightIDR offers an approach to threat management by integrating endpoint detection, log management, and user insight capabilities.

It intends to recognize and responding to attacks as well as provide consolidated incident data and automated investigation workflows for incident response.

Rapid7 InsightVM

Rapid7 InsightVM focuses on vulnerability management by providing visibility into security threats across an organization’s network. The platform combines asset visibility, dynamic risk assessment, and remediation tools into the solution. It intends to aid security teams in prioritizing vulnerabilities based on risk context and potential exploitability like other solutions.

Reporting and visualization tools help communicate vulnerability status and progress. Integrating InsightVM with other security tools enables automated workflows for the remediation process.

Rapid7 Nexpose

Rapid7 Nexpose provides vulnerability management and risk assessment. By scanning networks and systems, Nexpose identifies and evaluates vulnerabilities, providing insights on threats. It leverages vulnerability libraries to prioritize critical issues, to hopefully minimize potential risks and exposures as well as address security gaps.

Rapid7 InsightConnect

InsightConnect from Rapid7 adds to security workflows through automation and orchestration. It integrates with numerous security tools and systems, enabling simplified responses to incidents and threats. By automating routine tasks, InsightConnect can potentially help security teams focus on strategic priorities, reducing incident resolution times and human error.

The platform’s scalability helps meet the needs of both small teams and large enterprises. InsightConnect’s intends to enable organizations to manage processes and their security posture.

Rapid7 Managed XDR

Rapid7 Managed XDR (Extended Detection and Response) offers threat detection and response services. Managed XDR brings together endpoint detection, network analysis, and user behavior monitoring together. This service extends an organization’s security team by providing monitoring and threat hunting.

By offering managed services, Rapid7 ensures expert oversight and rapid response capability. Organizations benefit from the threat intelligence and expertise.

Rapid7 InsightCloudSec

Rapid7 InsightCloudSec supports cloud security teams with monitoring and governance over cloud resources. This platform identifies risks across cloud environments, ensuring compliance with security standards. By providing visibility into cloud infrastructure, it intends to aid in both threat prevention and response efforts.

InsightCloudSec emphasizes automation to hopefully aid security teams in executing tasks across multi-cloud environments. Its capabilities are useful for governance and compliance, with goal that misconfigurations and vulnerabilities are addressed.

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Rapid7 InsightAppSec is an application security tool that for identifying and fixing potential vulnerabilities in web applications. It uses scanning techniques to mimic real-world attack scenarios and discover security weaknesses during both development and deployment phases.

The solution identifies vulnerabilities and also intends to provide insights for remediation with the goal of having security embedded within the development pipeline.

Rapid7 Open Source Solutions

Rapid7 offers an open source project called Metasploit – a penetration testing framework for security professionals to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in various systems. Metasploit provides tools for testing defenses, simulating real-world attacks, and conducting red-team exercises. It includes a library of exploits and payloads for ethical hackers and security analysts.

Another notable open source project is Recog, a fingerprinting tool that intends to identify software, services, and protocols running on remote hosts. Recog uses a database of signatures to provide detailed information on the detected services, which assists in vulnerability assessment and asset inventory management.

Rapid7 Pricing

Pricing for Rapid7 products varies based on the solution and the requirements of an organization, including factors such as asset count or instances monitored. Here is an overview of starting prices for key Rapid7 products:

1. Vulnerability risk management (InsightVM): Priced at $1.93 per asset per month, InsightVM focuses on identifying and managing vulnerabilities across on-premises and cloud environments. The entry-level pricing applies to 500 assets and allows organizations to scale as needed.
2. Detection & response (InsightIDR): Starting at $5.89 per asset per month, InsightIDR provides capabilities for detecting and responding to threats. By utilizing machine learning and behavioral analytics, it helps organizations quickly identify and respond to suspicious activities across the network.
3. Web application security (InsightAppSec): With a starting price of $175 per app per month, InsightAppSec offers dynamic application security testing (DAST) to help secure web applications against vulnerabilities. This tool is essential for organizations that prioritize application security in their development pipelines.
4. Cloud security (InsightCloudSec): Starting at $5,775 per month for up to 500 instances, InsightCloudSec provides cloud security by monitoring and securing cloud resources across various platforms. It ensures compliance and mitigates risks in multi-cloud environments.

Rapid7 Limitations

Despite Rapid7’s extensive offering, there are some limitations that users may encounter. These limitations often impact smaller organizations or those with limited cybersecurity expertise. Key limitations reported by users on the G2 platform include:

• High pricing: Rapid7’s solutions can be costly, which may be prohibitive for smaller organizations or those on a limited budget.
• Steep learning curve: For less experienced users, navigating the range of tools and features can be challenging, requiring significant training to use the platform effectively.
• Support response times: Users have reported that support response times can be slower than expected, impacting the ability to resolve issues quickly.
• Generic remediation suggestions: Some remediation recommendations may not be tailored to all applications, requiring additional effort to adapt them for different environments.

Rapid7 Alternatives and Competitors

Exabeam

Exabeam is a leading provider of security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, combining UEBA, SIEM, SOAR, and TDIR to accelerate security operations. Its Security Operations platforms enables security teams to quickly detect, investigate, and respond to threats while enhancing operational efficiency.

Key Features:

• Scalable log collection and management: The open platform accelerates log onboarding by 70%, eliminating the need for advanced engineering skills while ensuring seamless log aggregation across hybrid environments.
• Behavioral analytics: Uses advanced analytics to baseline normal vs. abnormal behavior, detecting insider threats, lateral movement, and advanced attacks missed by signature-based systems. Customers report that Exabeam helps detect and respond to 90% of attacks before other vendors can catch them.
• Automated threat response: Simplifies security operations by automating incident timelines, reducing manual effort by 30%, and accelerating investigation times by 80%.
• Contextual incident investigation: Since Exabeam automates timeline creation and reduces time spent on menial tasks, it cuts the time to detect and respond to threats by over 50%. Pre-built correlation rules, anomaly detection models, and vendor integrations reduce alerts by 60%, minimizing false positives.
• SaaS and cloud-native options: Flexible deployment options provide scalability for cloud-first and hybrid environments, ensuring rapid time to value for customers. For organizations who can’t, or won’t move their SIEM to the cloud, Exabeam provides a market-leading, full featured, and self-hosted SIEM.
• Network visibility with NetMon: Delivers deep insight beyond firewalls and IDS/IPS, detecting threats like data theft and botnet activity while making investigation easier with flexible searching. Deep Packet Analytics (DPA) also builds on the NetMon Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) engine to interpret key indicators of compromise (IOCs).

Exabeam customers consistently highlight how its real-time visibility, automation, and productivity tools powered by AI, uplevel security talent, transforming overwhelmed analysts into proactive defenders while reducing costs and maintaining industry-leading support.

Tenable

Tenable is a cybersecurity firm that focuses on exposure management, providing a view of cyber risks across an organization’s entire attack surface. Their platform, Tenable One, combines AI-driven insights and exposure analysis to attempt helping organizations to identify, prioritize, and address vulnerabilities. 

Key features of Tenable:

• Unified risk visibility: Combines risk data across assets and security domains into one view, exposing vulnerabilities in IT, cloud, OT, IoT, and identity systems.
• ExposureAI: Leverages AI for rapid threat analysis to hopefully discover hidden exposures and critical attack paths across security silos.
• Attack path analysis: Visualizes relationships among assets, identities, and risks hopefully before they can be exploited.
• Asset inventory: Maps and monitors all assets, including unmanaged ones, to ensure no exposure point is overlooked.
• Vulnerability intelligence: Delivers the latest threat and vulnerability data, integrating information from trusted sources for up-to-date risk assessment.

CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity company known for its Falcon platform, which intends to prevent and respond to cyber threats. Focused on extended detection and response (XDR), CrowdStrike’s attempts to unify security with IT operations. 

Key features of CrowdStrike Platform:

• Unified platform and console: Deploys via a single agent, centralizing security management in one console for oversight and response across the organization.
• AI-powered threat detection: Intends to detect and prioritize threats, to hopefully minimize response times and improve threat detection accuracy.
• XDR capabilities: Extends detection and response across endpoints, cloud, and identity systems.
• Open and extensible ecosystem: Allows integration of additional modules and data sources, supporting third-party partner applications and tools for customization.

Qualys

Qualys provides a cybersecurity platform, the Enterprise TruRisk Platform, focused on quantifying, communicating, and minimizing cyber risks across an organization’s entire digital environment. This platform uses the TruRisk metric to assess risks from vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, outdated software, and other risk factors

Key features of the Qualys Platform:

• Risk measurement across attack surfaces: Builds an updated inventory of assets, incorporating cyber risk factors across internal and external environments. Aggregates data from Qualys and non-Qualys sources for a view of TruRisk.
• TruRisk scoring: Quantifies cyber risk with a severity or business impact metric to include vulnerability and configuration data, end-of-support software, and other factors.
• Dynamic CISO dashboard: Provides real-time TruRisk insights, enabling executives to view critical risks at a business unit or compliance level.
• Risk-based patching: Supports remediation by prioritizing patches based on TruRisk scoring.
• Unified cloud agent deployment: Uses a cloud agent for deployment.

Acunetix

Acunetix is a web application and API security platform to automate application security testing. By integrating DAST and IAST techniques, Acunetix offers vulnerability detection and risk assessment. 

Key features of Acunetix:

• Discovery and crawling: Builds an inventory of websites and applications for scanning coverage. 
• Predictive risk scoring: Intends to assess and prioritize risks before scanning begins, with high-risk scores with various external risk factors.
• Vulnerability detection: Detects numerous vulnerabilities for response. 
• Automated remediation guidance: Attempts to reduce false positives by providing insights for developers, with exact code lines to fix.
• Integration with development tools: Integrates with CI/CD pipelines, issue trackers, WAFs, and other development tools.

Conclusion

Rapid7 offers a security platform with a focus on vulnerability management, incident detection, and response capabilities. Its advantages include ease of deployment, extensive integrations with both cloud and on-premises environments, and vulnerability insights. 

However, Rapid7 may present limitations for users seeking a fully cloud-native SIEM or advanced SOAR features, as well as for organizations with highly specific customization needs. When selecting a security management solution, organizations should evaluate their infrastructure, threat landscape, and desired level of automation to find the best fit for their security strategy.