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ConnectWise Automate vs ManageEngine Endpoint Central comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

ConnectWise Automate
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (10th)
ManageEngine Endpoint Central
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (3rd), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Systems Management solutions, they serve different purposes. ConnectWise Automate is designed for Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) and holds a mindshare of 6.4%, up 6.2% compared to last year.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central, on the other hand, focuses on Client Desktop Management, holds 18.9% mindshare, down 40.2% since last year.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ConnectWise Automate6.4%
Kaseya VSA13.8%
NinjaOne10.7%
Other69.1%
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
Client Desktop Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ManageEngine Endpoint Central18.9%
Symantec Client Management Suite13.1%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)12.2%
Other55.8%
Client Desktop Management
 

Featured Reviews

Sean Saeb - PeerSpot reviewer
Partner and CIO at Caspian IT Group
Responsive, integrates well with other applications, and the technical support is helpful
There is always room for improvement. I haven't had any problems, and they're doing a great job, in my opinion. They're doing quite well. In most cases, when we discover an issue, we report it to their engineers, who then schedule a fix. Normally, when we request something, I can see it happening within three to four months. This is a raw system. Of course, it has some flaws that could be improved. But, it's something that we will have to work with to get to the point where we need this, we request it and they do their best to make it happen. There is a lot of integration with other applications through Automate, and I believe they are working with all of the industry leaders to get the integration going. I am very pleased to be working with them.
MS
Solutions Consultant at Team Computers
Experience improves with intuitive setup and comprehensive features but needs enhancements for Apple integration
From a ManageEngine perspective, there is room for improvement regarding the Platform SSO technology introduced by Apple, which allows you to integrate your hardware with your identity providers. It used to be only a few selected ones via OIDC protocols or some other protocols, which are not necessary anymore. If a customer is already using Microsoft 365, they can integrate with any MDM for Platform SSO, which essentially hardens their device identity with the person logging in for the first time. It also helps automate enrollment and provide a zero-touch experience. Currently, while some MDM tools InTune and Jamf support this feature, ManageEngine still does not fully support Platform SSO via Microsoft or Google. I have customers using ManageEngine who are looking forward to this solution, and if ManageEngine can provide it, it would enhance the overall product value. For enterprise users, the solution needs improvement. For SMB, it is straightforward; if it is a small company of 100 to 500 users, anything below 1,000, they do not have much of a compliance or security requirement—they just want to manage their devices and push applications. Simple tasks are easier to accomplish. However, when it comes to enterprise-grade deployment, many complex configurations need to be considered, such as Wi-Fi configurations, network configurations, VPN configurations, and advanced certification deployment, such as ACME certification deployment practice introduced by Apple. These are a few things that can be improved on that side, but from a basic user perspective, if someone is in the SMB market or a company just starting off pre-IPO, without going into compliance, they typically find Zoho and ManageEngine to fit their needs. For enterprise-grade deployments, it is more than enough for Windows, but for Apple, it is still in development and not up to the mark.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Because of the system's capabilities, my team is able to significantly reduce the work that they were previously doing, more than 40%, in my opinion."
"The most value we get from this solution is that everything is on a patch cycle."
"We use monitors to keep track of our machines. We use a pretty good portion of information from Automate."
"This product saves us a lot of time and increases our efficiency."
"The most value we get from this solution is that everything is on a patch cycle, so all my team has to do is go through patches, whereas previously, they were doing all the patches manually."
"I was very happy with how they handled me as a client and am quite satisfied with the level of support we get."
"One of the greatest benefits of LabTech is less client downtime, because LabTech lets you proactively monitor and fix issues before they interrupt your clients’ business, so you can virtually eliminate system outages."
"The implementation is nice and easy."
"We've looked at a lot of solutions and, value for money, this product can't be beat."
"ManageEngine has improved my organization because right now we can actually monitor and find out which software products are installed on each desktop. We can then figure out which ones have to get patched and so forth."
"It is a very stable solution, there are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze."
"The solution is definitely scalable."
"ManageEngine allows us to manage these endpoints at a fraction of the cost."
"The most valuable feature to me is the vulnerability management."
"The mobile functionality is very easy."
"DC9 is a simple, cheap and complete software distribution tool, also to configure all necessary options to control all kinds of OS options on the workstations like in Microsoft Group Policy Editor."
 

Cons

"I have found the solution to be not very scalable."
"There could be better linkages between ConnectWise Automate and Manage from a ticketing perspective. Automate and Manage each has its own ticketing system. We use the one in Manage, but it'd be nice if they were linked directly to the one in Automate."
"In Patch Manager, there should be more reportability so that it is easier to see the updates that I have applied to a machine and when the next update will happen. A lot of times, it seems like all the information is kind of thrown all over the place, and you can't really see it all at the same time. There should be a simplified patch data view that allows us to quickly confirm that our various clients are getting patched as they should be."
"The solution needs to improve Event ID monitoring big time. They're behind the game on the other RMMs, and we support multiple RMMs."
"I would say that it really needs to improve on it. They need better visibility and reporting and alerts and different things."
"They could use some automated alerts particularly when we're talking about an MSP that might shoot over."
"Their support needs to be better."
"I have a problem with the reports available on the solution. I don't understand how to work with the reporting functionality."
"Management of Mac OS X, Linux OS, and encryption. We would like this to be on par with how Windows OS is managed."
"The product's remote access manager needs improvement."
"The tool's security can be better."
"The only problem with it is that the setup isn't very intuitive. I know that they just upgraded the product to make it a little bit easier to use, but compared to some of the other platforms, it is not easy to configure it, set it up, and get it running. However, once you have set it up and got it running, it runs great."
"Improvement of the chats on the web communication through the WAN would be helpful."
"I'd like to see Patch Management for Linux Systems, which it doesn't have right now and which we could really use."
"I really feel like asset explorer should be a component of desktop central."
"Compared to the solution we use to manage our Mac products, this solution lacks the ability to create dynamic groups. We would like the ability, for example, for machines which have been upgraded to form part of a grouping based on this upgrade."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From what I've overheard, it is pretty comparable to other solutions in terms of price."
"I pay $85 a month per user for a ConnectWise package that contains multiple solutions."
"I believe Automate is available for around $2."
"Pricing and licensing are reasonable."
"The pricing is average."
"The price could be cheaper."
"We had perpetual licenses. The cost was around 36,000, and then you'd have the yearly maintenance fee of 2,000 or 3,000."
"The product is not expensive."
"I have been using the free version and am in the stage where I have to decide if I will proceed with the paid license, or instead choose another product."
"The product is cheap."
"The solution is very affordable."
"Affordable for any customer."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise35
 

Questions from the Community

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How to choose between ManageEngine Desktop Central and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM)?
ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. What I like most about ManageEngine is that I can log on to every PC very easily a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
I would rate the pricing as seven; it is quite expensive from my point of view for ManageEngine Endpoint Central.
What needs improvement with ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
It would be great to see some additional options within ManageEngine Endpoint Central. A better monitoring tool to analyze network traffic related to patch management would be something good to see...
 

Also Known As

LabTech for IT Service Providers, ConnectWise Automate for Corporate IT Departments, ConnectWise Automate for IT Service Providers
ManageEngine Desktop Central, Desktop Central, ManageEngine Desktop Management MSP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

I-M Technology, Mainstay Technologies, PC Works Plus, Integrity IT, Kerkhoff Technologies Inc., Marathon Consulting, Christenberry Sales Company, EDTS, Secom Technology, Ready to View, ARRC Technology, DaVinci Digital, JNR Networks, Quinn Technology Solutions, PCIT, Liberty Technology, Capital Computers & Networks, Atlanta Technology Force, Doberman Technologies, First Column Enterprises, CisCom Solutions
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Strathallan School, BMI Healthcare, Comercial Kywi, First Priority Federal Credit Union, Gerab National Enterprises
Find out what your peers are saying about NinjaOne, Kaseya, TeamViewer and others in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM). Updated: May 2026.
892,611 professionals have used our research since 2012.