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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 6.1%, up 6.0% compared to last year.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central, on the other hand, focuses on Client Desktop Management, holds 19.1% mindshare, down 37.1% since last year.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ConnectWise Automate6.1%
Kaseya VSA13.5%
NinjaOne10.4%
Other70.0%
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
Client Desktop Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ManageEngine Endpoint Central19.1%
Symantec Client Management Suite13.6%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)12.3%
Other55.0%
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

"This product saves us a lot of time and increases our efficiency."
"Maybe they could improve the capability to be multi-tenant."
"We use monitors to keep track of our machines. We use a pretty good portion of information from Automate."
"It's definitely improved the help-desk servicing, et cetera."
"It allows us to manage all client requests, jobs and invoicing."
"I was very happy with how they handled me as a client and am quite satisfied with the level of support we get."
"The solution is very stable; it's reliable, there are no bugs and glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze."
"Remote monitoring allows the organization to react more quickly to emergencies, particularly offline devices/locations."
"With the implementation of Desktop Central's patch management functionality, it is now a more streamlined and automated process with the use of deployment schedules aligned with Patch Tuesday from Microsoft."
"ManageEngine allows us to manage these endpoints at a fraction of the cost."
"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."
"The solution is stable."
"We have almost 2500 computers inside our private network, and managing those computers from a single console meant a dream come true for us."
"The easy application deployment allows you to use the solution directly, the solution works very well, it offers excellent performance, the initial setup is pretty straightforward, we find the solution to be pretty stable, and the product can scale well if you need it to."
"With Desktop Central, we have been able to maintain patch compliance across our entire estate, manage software licensing and deployment, enforce minimum security compliance, and work towards a zero-touch environment with automated deployment and custom scripting."
"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."
 

Cons

"They could use some automated alerts particularly when we're talking about an MSP that might shoot over."
"The project management needs improvement and there's a section of the product called configuration that also needs to be improved."
"The wait time for a support ticket to be addressed needs to be reduced. They take a couple of days to get back."
"I would say that it really needs to improve on it. They need better visibility and reporting and alerts and different things."
"The wait time for a support ticket to be addressed needs to be reduced. They take a couple of days to get back. It is a little frustrating when we have to wait for a couple of days. A lot of times, the issue is critical for us. If we're reaching out to their support team and submitting a ticket, it is because we need it handled quickly."
"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."
"The menu doesn't always load properly."
"Scheduling of automation could be improved and made more simple."
"Some times, when adding new programs to Desktop Central, it can be somewhat costly."
"I really feel like asset explorer should be a component of desktop central. That would make it the ultimate desktop management tool. This would also simplify the asset management role since an agent is already being deployed and assets could be added at the same time."
"Often I had issues with user configurations."
"The main issue that needs improvement is the pricing."
"I would like to see more click to complete actions such as - USB lockdown for Mac, the ability to check AV compliance on servers, bit locker controls, printer tracking or print page tracking, self-help for self-healing like "BMC my IT" and more options in the self-service menu other than just software - maybe add integration in ADSelfService at the self-service menu."
"Computer imaging is powerful but breaks frequently."
"Improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"I'd like to see Patch Management for Linux Systems, which it doesn't have right now and which we could really use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe Automate is available for around $2."
"Pricing and licensing are reasonable."
"I pay $85 a month per user for a ConnectWise package that contains multiple solutions."
"From what I've overheard, it is pretty comparable to other solutions in terms of price."
"The price could be cheaper."
"The pricing is average."
"Compared to other products, ManageEngine Endpoint Central is a very cheap solution."
"The licensing is very easy to understand and pricing is right for what you get."
"Choose wisely between the Professional and Enterprise editions, based on your needs."
"The price is moderate."
"The solution is very affordable."
"The product is cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
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: June 2026.
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