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Atera vs ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Atera
Average Rating
9.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
IT Service Management (ITSM) (14th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (3rd), Patch Management (8th)
ManageEngine Desktop Centra...
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

CB
Mar 18, 2021
Pay just one price for unlimited devices and remote features enable easy access to all end points regardless of their location
When it comes to ease of use and the user interface I would give Atera a nine out of 10. The platform responsiveness to everything is solid. The updates Atera has put out have been second to none. Moreover, I find that if it wasn't for Atera, I wouldn't be gaining the number of clients I have and growing my business as I do. Atera provides ease of access to all devices no matter where they're located. It makes no difference if the client is in a work group or if he is on a certain domain. Atera enables me to access our clients' devices with ease and to provide them with feedback across the board. It benefits both me and my clients. When it comes to pushing out anything, such as antivirus features, it's second to none. As I'm more of a hands-on person, I visit many of my clients. Often, while visiting a client site, another client will call. With Atera, I am able to remotely handle whatever needs to be done to his machine, be it installing a printer or helping with a password. When a client calls and needs something handled quickly, Atera is a big help. On a daily basis, it saves me time and approximately seven to 10 hours per week. Were I not always going around to all my clients, it would save me even more time.
Donathon Ong - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 14, 2022
Responsive support, a straightforward setup, and great endpoint management
We are one of the first users of the cloud base. Mainly it's to manage Windows 10 endpoints. The main challenge for us back then was we had Intune. However, it's not granular enough to some extent, and it doesn't do third-party application updates.  We use Desktop Central to do the third-party…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable features of this solution are automatic batch matching and unattended support access."
"I would say it's the number one tool for all ITMS."
"We value the alerts that come with the product which allow me to reach out to my clients. Overall, Atera generates additional revenue streams for work done on their machines."
"I have better access when I go to look for something regarding either a specific user or software. It is easier to locate. When I am troubleshooting with my clients on the phone, I am not fiddling around looking through a bunch of ticket notes trying to locate something. It makes me a lot more efficient."
"All of the features of Atera are valuable because they allow the customers to achieve their goals. It is easy to use, has good collaboration, and has zero maintenance."
"Atera has saved our organization money. We look at Atera as an extra employee that we only pay about $300 a month. This is incredible savings over having to hire somebody to do all the tasks that Atera performs for us."
"Atera has helped me to provide more accurate solutions based on a given problem. For example, we base our solutions on event scenarios, like the alerts. We identify that there's a series of problems occurring in a particular area from the information provided by the alerts."
"I really like the Shared Script Library and automation tasks which they have implemented... because all the Atera users in the community can share their scripts and their automation tasks knowledge. The same goes for the Shared SNMP Template Library."
"Easy to manage and it looks good."
"The endpoint management is great."
"The most valuable feature was the patching system to apply Windows or other programs and the ability to install operating systems in computers using the network. Additionally, it is easy to use."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP has different features and it uses one agent to execute the features of the application. In this case, the remote control, distribution software, deployment, patch management, and configuration in different systems. ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP has multi-platforms. They have recently implemented new features, such as endpoint security that incorporates vulnerability management and browser security."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the threats and patches element of it. We have done quite a lot of testing compared to other vendors with identifying the vulnerabilities. This means a lot more accuracy in terms of the patches and making sure it's all up to date."
"The solution is easy to understand. For example, when you remoting to the user's system, you don't have that option to only log in. On this product, you are connecting to the user's computer, it prompts you for what you want to do. You can select that you want to assist the user. The user on the other side will receive a prompt stating that there is someone trying to connect to your system, they can accept or decline the connection. Overall, the solution is easy to connect to the user's system."
"The interface is intuitive, easy to use, and has a low learning curve."
 

Cons

"The one thing that could do with improvement is the reporting. This is from someone who worked in an MSP, where I would want to run a report and be able to just present that to a client."
"Having more freedom to perform identity access management would be great."
"Customization could be improved."
"There is definitely room for improvement with its automation capabilities."
"It will be interesting if Atera can integrate all kinds of products. In North America, there are a lot of resellers, like Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Arrow Electronics, etc. It would be amazing if Atera could integrate with these products. If they could integrate with these products for MSPs, it would be much easier. Then, if you are buying something, and need to add something, you don't need to jump from place to place because this is a very quick sales instrument for use on a daily basis."
"They are working on an update, and I would like to see more stuff outside of just computers and servers. Increasingly, we need to be able to monitor and manage network devices. Atera is improving on that already, which is one place that it is currently lacking."
"The billing module has a standard layout which is too limited for my needs."
"The solution is scalable. However, in the past, we did have some issues."
"Stability is sometimes negatively affected by updates."
"Right now, ManageEngine is a separate solution. It doesn't integrate with Intune, AirWatch, or MobileIron in the cloud."
"The partnership models and subscriptions can be improved, as regional master resellers sometimes hog the space."
"When there is a new user at a store, for example, you have to create it in the ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP AD but the process could be better. They call us with the user's information but if it was possible for them to populate the information when they log the user on IM, and when clicking on ADManager in the system, the information could populate there. We would then only have to add a little more information which would save time."
"Since this is an on-premise solution we had to update it a couple of times, and because we needed to use a command line to the server, it was not very easy, at least at that time to update the solution. The cloud version of this solution does not have this problem, but on the premise version, it was fairly cumbersome to apply to the Desktop Central server. This process could be made easier. This was the only issue I found with my colleague."
"Although they say it is an enterprise solution, we don't have 24/seven human support. All we have is only 24/five support available from the vendor."
"I have found ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP has many different network issues. Additionally, they need to incorporate more features, they are lacking add-ons."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"One of the biggest issues I face is the need to pay per technician. I've dealt with other platforms that you need to have 250-500 devices. Even though the cost declines as the number of devices a person has increases, they still require you to pay for 250 or 500, respectively. With Atera, the number doesn't matter as you always pay the same amount. I approximate that Atera saves me $100 per week."
"Pricing is my favorite part of it. It was per user, not per client."
"Our company is a startup. The initial reason I looked into Atera was the fact that you pay by the technician, not per-device. That means you are able to jump right in with a service without having a large overhead."
"In terms of cost, it's not very expensive. I’d rate it around three or four out of ten, considering its value for money."
"The value of the product is perfect, neither cheap nor expensive. I think it is the right rate. It would be awesome if it continued to be the same price because it is a great solution that I like. I like it because I'm not paying per device. I have some customers on monthly contracts and some of them are on break'n fix. If I have a client who is on break'n fix, and they need to pay per agent, then I am losing money. If they were ever to change structures, going to pay-per-device model, then I would need to think about changing to something else."
"Atera's pricing stays fixed and predictable, enabling us to add more customers and unlimited monitored devices. We still have a number of clients who fit a break/fix IT model. This is something where clients are complaining more about having to pay extra month-by-month for technology services. With Atera's model, we don't have to be going out and asking for more from clients each month. Right now, with where we are at in terms of scale, this is very important to us."
"It comes with unlimited devices, so the fixed price cost is taken out of my budget. So, I'm all good."
"The price is reasonable for what we require."
"This product has an easy setup, good support, and a good price."
"This product is very cheap compared to others."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP is a less expensive solution than competitors in Latin America."
"When we sold the solution to one customer, we found out the customer found out that one of their requirements was not being solved because the license only applies to five computers. We all thought at the time the current license that the customer bought covers the 600 computers because of this problem, the license model could be explained better and could be further improved."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Retailer
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Atera?
Pricing is low. It costs around 149 bucks per month.
What needs improvement with Atera?
It should improve its processes.
What is your primary use case for Atera?
Atera is integral to our daily operations. We use it for RMM, PSA, our ticket system, and contact with people. We also integrate it with different products.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP?
While I cannot remember the exact cost, we chose the highest license level. We pay monthly per device. I'd rate it three out of five in terms of affordability. They are not the cheapest, however, w...
What needs improvement with ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP?
There have been a few bugs. I would hope there would be a direct integration to the various cloud solutions, like Intune. Right now, ManageEngine is a separate solution. It doesn't integrate with I...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

No data available
Desktop Central MSP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MSPs, IT consultants, and IT departments worldwide trust and use Atera. 
South Jersey Techies, DCI, Lumen 21, Provendo, Saga, Gyver, AcroTec
Find out what your peers are saying about NinjaOne, Kaseya, Atera and others in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM). Updated: October 2024.
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