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BigFix vs Microsoft Windows Server Update Services comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

BigFix
Ranking in Patch Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (6th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (22nd), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (4th)
Microsoft Windows Server Up...
Ranking in Patch Management
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of BigFix is 10.4%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is 6.8%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

Bella Yakoby - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers third-party patching feature, good scalability, and enhance endpoint management capabilities
From the perspective of the team that's handling the environment, it's not so user-friendly compared to other solutions, the competitors. We hire new teams from time to time, and they are complaining, look, although BigFix is very robust and cross-platform, it's not so fun to work with. The user interface for the technical teams is not so advanced. It's not so intuitive compared to SCCM, compared to ManageEngine. And this is the fact that they have, with the teams, because they have the rejection. The look and feel of the system are old-fashioned. For new employees, it's less easy to find someone I don't need to educate on how to work with BigFix. Although it's easy, it's not as intuitive as the other solutions, and the functionality of the other solutions is less advanced. Let's summarize: The user interface has to be changed from the perspective of the teams that are managing the product. It's old school.
Chuck Colby - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient patch management, potentially scalable, and free is using Microsoft servers
Whether to use the solution or not is going to be context-sensitive. If you have a strong Microsoft team, you can probably handle this. If, like my team, you also have a dozen other vendors to consider, it's not just the operating system. The pattern I've seen over time with WSUS is that it has the potential to be a fantastic product, yet it doesn't feel finished. People try to implement WSUS, and context is important. In my context, we're a small business without teams of Microsoft-certified people. We are just trying to use what's available to achieve a goal, and WSUS is fine, however, not the best product out there. The business in America often tries to do more with less. I would not recommend it to a team of my size. If a company had half a dozen or a dozen Microsoft-certified people, I'd say, run with it. For a team of my size, no, absolutely not. I would rate the overall solution a solid eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Almost every feature is wonderful in BigFix. It is very stable, and we can rely on it. It is an awesome tool."
"Pre-packaged support for many third-party applications such as Adobe, Google, Mozilla, Sun (Java), WinZip, and others."
"BigFix is incredibly fast and accurate in patching, reporting, and remediation."
"Prior to BigFix we used Altiris, which was distributed. We had to manage multiple servers, and duplicate the tasks that we did on each server. BigFix tremendously reduced the amount of work that we had to do on each server in a centralized manner. We could minimize the work that we had to do, and we had a lot more control over the tasks and what machines they ran on."
"The solution is unbelievably scalable."
"We rely on BigFix as part of our consulting engagements. It's more efficient from a visibility and discovery standpoint on the initial phase, the consulting engagement. It also increases our efficiencies on the remediation phase of our engagements."
"The tool's most valuable features are patching and integration with vulnerability scanners."
"This has very much improved our organization by saving time to deploy thousands of endpoints to our customers."
"Once we configure it and it keeps updating the patches, all I need to do is filter out which patches are required or not."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the ability to set logical rules. These rules allow us to automatically apply updates based on their criticality or assign them to specific computer groups. It allows for automatic deployment to specific groups based on predefined logic, eliminating the need for manual intervention in deployment creation."
"The central points of managing product updates have been the tool's most valuable features."
"Downloads critical reports separately."
"Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is highly stable. It is one of the most stable solutions from Microsoft."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to use."
"The platform provides good value in terms of time and effort by eliminating the need for manual patch management."
"The solution performs well."
 

Cons

"Maybe the online help could be improved. It'd be nice if you would have a lot more phrases and keywords that you could search for and find answers with the help."
"The main shortcoming of BigFix was integration with vulnerability management. If you had a vulnerability in your software and BigFix on the endpoint, you needed integration with Qualys, Tenable, or another vulnerability management solution to fix that. It was like, "Okay, we can identify issues, and get that information back from the endpoint, but what are we doing about it?""
"I would like better support on the backend."
"IBM has not focused on the Web Reports capabilities."
"The look and feel of the system are old-fashioned."
"The reporting structure could be a little more simplistic. Currently, it throws too many vulnerabilities. Some of them are not needed because they are only informational and limitations, and they are not of much help. It doesn't need to show us these things."
"I would like to see for it to be a little easier for new users to be able to learn and create relevant statements. In my opinion, that's the hardest part for bringing on new people that haven't had BigFix experience. Being able to have easier ways to build relevance in ActionScript would be the biggest improvement I'd like to see."
"I would like to see more custom content."
"The old backup files created by this solution use up a lot of storage, and this needs to be improved."
"This solution's deployment could be improved. When I was the admin, there were some problems when deploying to clients. Sometimes the policy is not effective. I guess, more on the reliability side, more reliable means working more often with the clients. It could be easier to deploy."
"The main problem with WSUS is that the management console doesn't allow you to do a lot of operations. It's actually quite a primitive console, and has been since day one. In order to be more effective, you need to use another tool from Microsoft that can take advantage of WSUS and also offer you the extra features you need."
"Typically, they are hesitant to provide good service when a competitor has a better service."
"In the next release, I would like to see additional tools added to fix the engine issues on the client's side."
"We have some problems when we update the servers."
"Microsoft Windows Server Update Services needs to improve its reporting feature. The tool's competitor has better reporting capabilities."
"The product must improve its support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would stay with the Managed Virtual Server license model, which is a 1-to-1 license per OS whether it is virtual or physical."
"You get what we call the Platform Edition, which you get for free. The patch service is maybe $0.50 per workstation per month. Then there's the basic server cost, which is about $1.50 per server per month. You also get into Lifecycle which does power management, OSD remote control, and those types of things, and that might be about 10 times the price - which works out to about $13 per server and, maybe $5 per workstation per month."
"The license is subscription-based."
"The price of BigFix is better than the solutions. You are able to pay monthly or annually. There are not any hidden costs with BigFix. There is an additional cost for the SQL database."
"It might be about $23 a client."
"The price of BigFix could be lower. However, I am always seeking a lower price."
"You are charged per server and per workstation when using BigFix. ManageEngine is a lot cheaper than BigFix. There are some additional costs, such as support."
"The price of the solution is high. There are not any additional fees from the standard license."
"The licensing of WSUS is free of charge because it comes with the Windows Server operating system, included as a feature of the operating system itself. It's simply a role that you enable within Windows Server."
"This product comes included with Windows and can be used free of charge."
"It doesn't need a license. It's offered for free with Microsoft."
"Microsoft's operating model determines the solution's pricing, and we use it based on our enterprise agreement, which incurs an annual cost."
"The WSUS cost is included in Microsoft Windows, and there are no licensing fees."
"The product is not expensive."
"The tool could be cheaper."
"I rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
52%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
5%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BigFix?
The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BigFix?
The pricing is competitive, but not the most competitive.
What needs improvement with BigFix?
Implementing a business solution with BigFix has some issues, primarily concerning the time required for distribution to clients if there are too many. Building a management console is quick and si...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?
It's a free service. You just buy the Windows Server operating system, and it is an internal feature.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?
Sometimes, I encounter issues with the Windows internal database, which occasionally does not load, leading to the Pandit console stopping. I have to repair the database and perform export and impo...
 

Also Known As

Tivoli Endpoint Manager
Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft WSUS, WSUS, Microsoft Software Update Services, Software Update Services, Microsoft SUS, SUS, MS Windows Server Update Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

US Foods, Penn State, St Vincent's Health US Foods, Sabadell Bank, SunTrust, Australia Sydney, Stemac, Capgemini, WNS Global Services, Jebsen & Jessen, CenterBeam, Strauss, Christian Hospital Centre, Brit Insurance, Career Education Corporation
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Find out what your peers are saying about BigFix vs. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.