Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Kaseya VSA vs ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP [EOL] 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

Kaseya VSA
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.4
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (2nd), Patch Management (10th)
ManageEngine Desktop Centra...
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

FN
Senior Manager at dinCloud, Inc.
Lightweight tool aids in remote management but needs better support
Primarily, we are using it for remote monitoring and management as an MSP. We are basically a reseller; we are a service provider, so Kaseya VSA is one of our tools which we use for our managed services The best features of Kaseya VSA are that it's lightweight over the machine and does not create…
Donathon Ong - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Responsive support, a straightforward setup, and great endpoint management
There have been a few bugs. I would hope there would be a direct integration to the various cloud solutions, like Intune. Right now, ManageEngine is a separate solution. It doesn't integrate with Intune, AirWatch, or MobileIron in the cloud. It doesn't have this integration with the respective cloud solutions, and if it could have this kind of integration, it would be better. I wouldn't deploy ManageEngine as a standalone since it works better as a compliment rather than an entire solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Provides efficient automation."
"As a small IT shop, the weird feature that the VSA has that I have not found anywhere else is they have these little colored dots that tell you the status of the machine. Is it offline and powered up? Is it actively being used? Is it idle? A lot of our clients ask us to do things for them, but, of course, they don't really want us to be underfoot. So we always look for, "Hey, there's an idle machine. We can work on that one now." And to say it makes it easy, we can do that at a glance. In any other tool we've looked at, you have to go several layers deep to see if the machine is in use, and you could spend your entire day just trying to find a machine that was idle, whereas, with Kaseya VSA, you can tell at a glance."
"Being able to connect to client computers without them necessarily needing to be there and being able to put in the patches and manage different information systems is valuable."
"When compared to what we were previously using, one of the most appealing features is that it combines remote control, patch management, and software management into a single portal."
"The unique thing I like most about Kaseya VSA is the quick indicators that tell us if a machine is idle, in use, powered off, etc. This allows us to handle client tasks when their machine is idle."
"The best features of Kaseya VSA are that it's lightweight over the machine and does not create any overhead over the machine resources, which we really appreciate."
"VSA installs an agent on every computer that allows users to create a help desk ticket with one click. That's why I chose VSA. Many users never create tickets when they have a problem. Sometimes I won't know about an issue until they run into me and say, "Hey, this has been broken for two months.""
"The training that we received was quite good."
"Easy to manage and it looks good."
"The solution is easy to understand. For example, when you remoting to the user's system, you don't have that option to only log in. On this product, you are connecting to the user's computer, it prompts you for what you want to do. You can select that you want to assist the user. The user on the other side will receive a prompt stating that there is someone trying to connect to your system, they can accept or decline the connection. Overall, the solution is easy to connect to the user's system."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP has different features and it uses one agent to execute the features of the application. In this case, the remote control, distribution software, deployment, patch management, and configuration in different systems. ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP has multi-platforms. They have recently implemented new features, such as endpoint security that incorporates vulnerability management and browser security."
"The most valuable feature was the patching system to apply Windows or other programs and the ability to install operating systems in computers using the network. Additionally, it is easy to use."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the threats and patches element of it. We have done quite a lot of testing compared to other vendors with identifying the vulnerabilities. This means a lot more accuracy in terms of the patches and making sure it's all up to date."
"The interface is intuitive, easy to use, and has a low learning curve."
"The endpoint management is great."
 

Cons

"The initial setup is quite difficult as the allow port, everything is quite difficult, and especially you need to get the SSL to use if you use it for on-premises."
"Some configurations and abilities from the system are not of use. The solution should offer webinars or some sort of training offerings to help users learn what the system can do and how it can be done."
"It never functioned as intended."
"Sometimes, the product misinterprets the functionality of a machine."
"The stability of the solution is good but it can be improved."
"If you compare with other products, Manage Engine has some features that we like but are not present in Kaseya."
"Our main concern is related to security. Kaseya had a ransomware attack a few months ago, and it was a big concern for us because Kaseya was the main RMM tool that we were using. We faced a lot of difficulties accessing our users and systems. So, security is our main concern."
"Its scripting language kind of sucked. They have their own version of PowerShell inside VSA. if you want to reach out and grab endpoint information, for instance, to know how many end devices have a program installed, you actually have to write a script for that. It wasn't like how it is in CrowdStrike where you can just do a search, and it just happened. In VSA, you have to write your own script to do it. In terms of new features, an integrated MDM for mobile devices would be awesome."
"Since this is an on-premise solution we had to update it a couple of times, and because we needed to use a command line to the server, it was not very easy, at least at that time to update the solution. The cloud version of this solution does not have this problem, but on the premise version, it was fairly cumbersome to apply to the Desktop Central server. This process could be made easier. This was the only issue I found with my colleague."
"Stability is sometimes negatively affected by updates."
"Although they say it is an enterprise solution, we don't have 24/seven human support. All we have is only 24/five support available from the vendor."
"Right now, ManageEngine is a separate solution. It doesn't integrate with Intune, AirWatch, or MobileIron in the cloud."
"The partnership models and subscriptions can be improved, as regional master resellers sometimes hog the space."
"I have found ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP has many different network issues. Additionally, they need to incorporate more features, they are lacking add-ons."
"When there is a new user at a store, for example, you have to create it in the ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP AD but the process could be better. They call us with the user's information but if it was possible for them to populate the information when they log the user on IM, and when clicking on ADManager in the system, the information could populate there. We would then only have to add a little more information which would save time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We were looking at a price of $22.50 cents per user."
"Without the managed antivirus, it was about $2,000 a month for the team. It's quite reasonable in that sense. The industry standard is anywhere from $0.90 to $1.10 per endpoint for antivirus, depending on how many you have, so it was fairly priced."
"It is not expensive. Anyone can afford it. Most of the time, we get a discount for licenses. We had about 5,000 agents, and we received a discount on the price. There is only the licensing cost. If you use the on-prem version, you also have the infrastructure cost."
"I find Kaseya VSA's pricing extraordinarily expensive, with very limiting contracts. They discuss being flexible once you're locked in, but I haven't found that true. It is one of the most expensive tools in my arsenal and our highest expense to any company."
"You're going to pay for this solution, but you're going to get so much more out of it in reporting, asset management, and the ability to manage your clients. I would recommend giving Kaseya serious consideration and I would recommend implementing it."
"With the on-prem, you buy the agent license. That's a one-time fee, and it varies depending on how many you have. You also pay annual maintenance on the number that you have. So, there are two fees involved: a one-time fee and a recurring fee."
"Kaseya's come down in pricing when I compare it to TeamViewer or other cheaper RMMs like LogMeIn."
"It is, in my opinion, competitive in the market. It is determined by the number of users and licenses needed. Depending on the license count of users, the price ranges from $10 to $80 USD."
"This product has an easy setup, good support, and a good price."
"When we sold the solution to one customer, we found out the customer found out that one of their requirements was not being solved because the license only applies to five computers. We all thought at the time the current license that the customer bought covers the 600 computers because of this problem, the license model could be explained better and could be further improved."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP is a less expensive solution than competitors in Latin America."
"This product is very cheap compared to others."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) solutions are best for your needs.
881,515 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
11%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Wholesaler/Distributor
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kaseya VSA?
The most valuable feature of Kaseya VSA is the ability to control laptops remotely.
What needs improvement with Kaseya VSA?
So far, everything is good, but regarding automation scripts, I would like to see improved or enhanced scripting capabilities where I can create scripts based on automation by using AI. So far, eve...
What is your primary use case for Kaseya VSA?
I am currently working with remote monitoring and management solutions, primarily for patch management. I could describe a few use cases for it, and I use it for that.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

No data available
Desktop Central MSP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sage UK, MSP, CodeBlue Ltd, Connect Work Place Solutions, All Covered, 501cTech, Chairo Christian School, Green Duck
South Jersey Techies, DCI, Lumen 21, Provendo, Saga, Gyver, AcroTec
Find out what your peers are saying about NinjaOne, Kaseya, datto and others in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM). Updated: January 2026.
881,515 professionals have used our research since 2012.