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ConnectWise Automate vs ManageEngine Endpoint Central comparison

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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) (5th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (4th)
 

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 5.5%, down 7.2% compared to last year.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central, on the other hand, focuses on Client Desktop Management, holds 17.3% mindshare, down 26.6% since last year.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ConnectWise Automate5.5%
Kaseya VSA9.7%
NinjaOne9.4%
Other75.4%
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
Client Desktop Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ManageEngine Endpoint Central17.3%
Symantec Client Management Suite14.2%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)12.1%
Other56.4%
Client Desktop Management
 

Featured Reviews

MikeChacker - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager Global Service Delivery at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Facilitates valuable patch cycles, but the web client is not very intuitive and needs updating, and the scripting has room for improvement
The fixed client for Automate is slow. The web client is not very intuitive. It could use some updating and some thought around the UX. Also, with the scripting, I would like to see something where it could have third-party scripts already pre-built, and all you have to do is say, "Hey, I need this," and go load it. It's not as automated as I'd like it to be.
reviewer1908987 - PeerSpot reviewer
Ict Manager at a transportation company with 201-500 employees
Centralized endpoint management has improved patching, software deployment, and asset control
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is what I am personally working with and using, along with the Service Desk, which is another tool we use. We have been working with ManageEngine Endpoint Central for four years or more. The customizable packages in software deployment are very positive; you can apply different policies for the package that you are going to deploy. This is something we are still using and working with. ManageEngine has a very large portfolio of products. There is some functionality that is not managed from ManageEngine Endpoint Central, but you can find that functionality in another module of ManageEngine's portfolio.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Remote access and detailed monitoring help us support our equipment."
"I was very happy with how they handled me as a client and am quite satisfied with the level of support we get."
"ConnectWise Automate's interface is pretty easy to use; it's pretty intuitive to get around and navigate it, and it does what I need, which is usually connecting to the client and customers systems so I can just help them from home or from work."
"Technical support is really good; they are helpful and responsive."
"The initial setup is easy and the deployment is quick."
"It's a very good IT tool for a company that provides IT services. It is very helpful for technicians to work with the tool to see all of the customers in one place and then manage all of the computers in one place."
"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."
"This product saves us a lot of time and increases our efficiency."
"The most valuable features of ManageEngine Endpoint Central are patch management and remote access and management."
"The solution's most valuable features are its patch management capabilities, especially for third-party applications, along with quick and easy configuration and deployment processes."
"In terms of technical capability, it is doing very well, it is doing better than other industry products, it is at a place where we can compare it with Microsoft products, and its scalability is also good."
"The dashboard has been very useful."
"Everything is easily centralized and managed under this one product."
"ManageEngine Endpoint Central has its own database to check patches without needing to go to the vendor."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central's most valuable features are remote desktop control and image management; we can send things out from the desk here, and it is a very good tool for us."
"It's a complete product that allows you to remote troubleshoot, has an inventory of systems."
 

Cons

"Their support needs to be better."
"Reliability: Open a computer window new screen and it's slow."
"We would love to get feature updates and cumulative updates fixed. I know they aren't really supposed to be pushed with Patch Manager. We've got recommendations from ConnectWise to use the scripted feature update installs, scripted KB updates, etc. Having these in Patch Manager itself would be great."
"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."
"I have a problem with the reports available on the solution. I don't understand how to work with the reporting functionality. For example, when I want to give a report for a specific machine, ConnectWise doesn't seem to have this as an option. I'm not sure if I'm missing something, or if the reporting functionality is just poorly conceived."
"They always change the GUI to some dumb-down version of tiles which are more "user-friendly", but slows my team down in the end."
"The solution needs to improve Event ID monitoring big time. They're behind the game on the other RMMs, and we support multiple RMMs."
"The fixed client for Automate is slow. The web client is not very intuitive."
"I would like to see them come out with a SaaS version of the product in the future."
"Customer service: 4/10. Symantec, for instance, has better business support as you can log in for follow ups."
"The technical support could improve response times, especially when immediate assistance is needed."
"Some times, when adding new programs to Desktop Central, it can be somewhat costly."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central is very limited. When you scan your system, it will only recognize Microsoft Windows Defender and BitLocker."
"Many features in Desktop Central are licensed separately. It would be more convenient if they could organize these tools into a single package."
"Computer imaging is powerful but breaks frequently. The reason for this breaking is not clear and requires heavy amounts of attention to keep operational. There is a lot of room for this tool to do more but the reliability of this process should be focused on first to ensure core competencies are being fixed before more features are added."
"Don't use it with Internet Explorer, as it's glitchy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From what I've overheard, it is pretty comparable to other solutions in terms of price."
"I believe Automate is available for around $2."
"I pay $85 a month per user for a ConnectWise package that contains multiple solutions."
"Pricing and licensing are reasonable."
"There are multiple flavors of the app. They have a distributed version for enterprises. It depends on your size. They price it on a per machine basis. 250 or 500 is probably their least amount."
"The price could be cheaper."
"There is a freeware version of the solution available as long as you do not breach the number of licenses and users that are dictated."
"The solution is very affordable."
"The pricing is very low, compared to other products. Compared to Intune or SCCM, it's much less. I can say it's a good product for less of a price."
"The product is cheap."
"The pricing of the product is not bad compared to the other similar solutions in the market."
"The initial purchase was around $6,000 or $7,000. We most probably are not on an annual subscription. We bought it, and then we pay for the maintenance. I'm not 100% sure how that's working out."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
11%
Construction Company
8%
Performing Arts
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
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, datto and others in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM). Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.