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Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 19, 2025

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

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNI...
Ranking in Patch Management
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Patch Management
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (8th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (11th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 3.9%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)3.9%
Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac0.5%
Other95.6%
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

David-Henderson - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps to ensure that everything is up to date
Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date.  I have been working with the product for 30 years.  The solution is stable.  My company has 12 users.  The tool's deployment is straightforward and can be done in hours.  The tool's deployment can be done…
Scott Tweed - PeerSpot reviewer
Low maintenance, reliable, and easy to create packages
I like how when you click on the device, it shows you everything that has changed as well as the software versioning. I am really enjoying the inventory aspect of it. The deployment process for both deploying and creating a package is straightforward. I believe the inventory in KACE is superior to SCCM's. I know with SCCM I could do things like remote console into machines via the agent's remote console, but that is not a feature that is provided in KACE. I know that at least in the Systems Management Appliance, I can't get to it. I'm not sure how distribution works, with distribution points. I'm not sure if KACE has that feature. You could use an SCCM to set up distribution points at remote sites so that they don't have to download patches or software from across the country. If you have a DP or something similar, they could pull it down.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool is a stable product."
"The solution is easy to implement."
"The website development section is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date."
"When vulnerabilities are exploited so much, it is nice to be able to quickly detect or deploy what is needed within our off-work hours or during work hours without a reboot."
"There is ease of use, and its pricing was a driving factor."
"You don't have to be an advanced user. Rather, in terms of ease of use, this product is right where it needs to be."
"The scripting is a very valuable feature, as it saves us time on pushing certain things out to the users, such as software and patches."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to monitor updates—the software versions—on machines so that we can keep everything compliant."
"Pretty much all of the features are valuable. The inventory is very helpful to be able to keep track of our devices. The deployments make it easy to deploy new software packages or upgrade packages. The help desk is also a great tool for tracking problems and problem tickets."
"We're able to deploy software and push out fixes to endpoints faster than ever."
"The service desk can be configured and customized to better serve our environment."
 

Cons

"The tool needs to improve its visual system."
"The solution can be quite expensive, compared to other options on the market."
"The better way to improve the solution is by working on an area where it lacks, which includes the migration part."
"The KACE Go Mobile App crashes a lot, and it always has. I would love to see that get fixed because it's very convenient when it does work properly, but most of the time it does not."
"My biggest complaint is that almost every time they send out a new version, it fixes something and breaks another. Something that wasn't working in the last version now works, but something else stops; or they'll remove some dashboard that I really found to be nice and replace it with something totally different that I could care less about."
"They could make the booting solution easier for different things, e.g., easier to insert drivers. They could make it easier to create a new image and put it onto the server. Those would be some nice solutions. They could make it so that somebody who has no knowledge at all can do it. That would be really nice. Because every time, until I get it memorized, I still need to go back to the training, the manual, or Google it to figure it out again. If they would make it a lot easier, to where a nine-year-old could do it, that would be really cool. If they made it easier, I could have more people managing the images on the server, instead of just one or two people."
"I would like for there to be improvement when it comes to Microsoft and Windows updates. It has the ability to do it but the control of it is not there like I have in the Windows Server Update Services. The way KACE does it is still very granular. You don't really see the process like it is in the Windows Server Update Services. I think that would be one of the biggest things that I would like to see KACE really put some work into and really make that a big enhancement."
"There is always room for improvement. However, the system does most of what we need at this moment."
"Paying for the product should come with full and extended training anytime it is needed."
"KACE implemented the possibility of reducing the network speed of the KACE agent. You can set it so that it takes whatever network speed you want or you can set it to 5 Mb, to save network speed. You set it for all the computers, but it would be preferable to separate between VPN connections in our home office and the local area. It would be great to be able to set separate speeds for different VLANs."
"I have complaints about smart label adaptation and because of this, I recommend a 24 to 48 hour bake-in period."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open-source, so we do not need any licensing."
"n terms of pricing and licensing, my advice is that you need to assess what you need and then look at what they offer. It's easy to get caught up in the things that you want, but don't really need."
"Their pricing is per end-point device. There is an initial cost for the license for the server, which is pretty low, and then there is a per end-point device license, which is also fairly low. So, the pricing is still reasonable."
"It was a very attractive price. This is a huge feature of this product. If you would "credit score" this product versus others out there on the market, this one has a very attractive price."
"We buy consulting fees from Software Factory, then we pay extra for it."
"Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed."
"The pricing is fair."
"We are a university. So, we have a very good price for the system. I think the price for the system is worth it because of the security patch management. The security patch management is very important for us. The price is very good for KACE SMA, the functionality you get, and the patch management."
"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
University
12%
Government
10%
Non Profit
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac?
Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date.
What is your primary use case for Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac?
Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
I wish Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) would have a top-down approach since we use orgs; currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My main use case for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is to deploy applications and maintain security, and we use it day-to-day to handle those tasks. With Quest KACE Systems Managemen...
 

Also Known As

HEAT Patch, PatchLink
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,019 professionals have used our research since 2012.