ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor comparison

ManageEngine and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Active Directory Management category. ManageEngine is ranked #2 with an average rating of 9.4, while SolarWinds is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.6. ManageEngine holds a 10.4% mindshare in ADM, compared to SolarWinds’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of ManageEngine users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

Read 15 ManageEngine ADAudit Plus reviews

1,326 Views
1,087 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Read 44 SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor reviews

3,717 Views
112 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 9, 2024

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and ManageEngine ADAudit Plus are leading solutions in their respective fields. While users appreciate the extensive features of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor, many find ManageEngine ADAudit Plus more feature-rich and worth its price.

What features are offered by SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor in comparison to ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor provides comprehensive monitoring capabilities, custom alert settings, and infrastructure management. ManageEngine ADAudit Plus offers detailed audit reports, real-time alerts, and thorough compliance tracking.

What areas of improvement can be found in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor in comparison to ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?

Users suggest SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor could enhance its reporting functionalities, streamline the setup process, and improve its user interface. ManageEngine ADAudit Plus requires improvement in integration capabilities, reducing occasional system lags, and optimizing its user interface.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor in comparison to ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?

Deployment for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is straightforward with good customer support. ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is noted for its quick setup process and responsive support team, though it requires more initial configuration than SolarWinds.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor in comparison to ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is appreciated for its reasonable setup costs and good return on investment. ManageEngine ADAudit Plus, while slightly more expensive upfront, delivers significant ROI due to its extensive feature set.

To learn more, read our detailed ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 872,922 peers since 2012

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

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

Ranking in Active Directory Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Ranking in Active Directory Management

10th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (18th), Server Monitoring (10th)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is 10.4%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 1.5%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Active Directory Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
ManageEngine ADAudit Plus	10.4%
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor	1.5%
Other	88.1%

Active Directory Management

Featured Reviews

Md Abdul Hakim

System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited

Advanced monitoring enhances user tracking that's cost-effective

I have been involved with this product for the last three years, participating in service and support within our company. We are currently supporting over 30 companies. This month, we deployed the solution for three companies, including two RMGs and one private bank in Bangladesh. The popularity of this product is due to its active directory monitoring abilities. Engineers can receive reports and log details within one to five seconds, which is essential for monitoring user activity swiftly and effectively. This product is very well-liked in Bangladesh due to user tracking, failed logins, and Jar reports for any Barna activity or execution. This solution's popularity extends through comprehensive auditing capabilities.

Read full review

NikhilKalwint

Technical Specialist at ServiceIO

Monitoring over a thousand systems has improved decision making and operational visibility

From an advantage perspective, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is comparatively cheaper from a commercial point of view. It is easy to install and configure, very user-friendly, and quick to get up and running, allowing you to see the early value adds in your organization. It is compatible with most technologies for monitoring with very few chances of incompatibility. Configuration also allows us to monitor all the technical parameters we are looking for, making it a very good experience for us. The alerting feature in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is a main advantage, as it alerts based on threshold breaches and can raise tickets to the ticketing system, send SMS, and email notifications, allowing engineers to work on those tickets to resolve issues and avoid further impact. The visibility into server health is a beneficial feature that I am utilizing. We widely use various application performance metrics in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor such as database monitoring and server monitoring, which are quite good enough for any monitoring solution. We utilize the customizable dashboards in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The Account Lockout Analyzer and the Inactive Users reports are particularly valuable."

"The most valuable feature of ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is its reports."

"Real-time monitoring of AD changes and logons is valuable."

"I rate this ten out of ten."

"ManageEngine ADAudit Plus provides real-time tracking capabilities through agent installation, which works in real-time to collect information and immediately alerts if anything matches the defined conditions in the application."

"Some of the most valuable features of ADAudit Plus are the granular parts of the reports fetched from Active Directory."

"The documentation for this solution is good."

"The product's initial setup phase is very easy."

More ManageEngine ADAudit Plus pros

"Features like monitoring and infrastructure dependency mapping are valuable to us."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its interface, which is used for monitoring."

"Management Console - Managing service to each server enrolled in the Solarwinds is much easier. Using a web base console, you can control your service much convenient way. There is no need to login remotely. It save a lot of time and effort."

"The application dependency feature identifies issues between applications and servers or within the network where the application is hosted. It highlights related problems, whether related to packet processing or other issues, enabling the creation of alerts and reports accordingly."

"The solution can be deployed quickly."

"Identifying the problem statement is easy."

"The solution is end-to-end from the network and the application to the processes. Everything about the enterprise infrastructure is being covered by the solution. It's easy to use and easy to navigate and one of the leaders among monitoring solutions."

"AppInsight for SQL: Enables us to see the relevant error log entries on the same page as performance parameters."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pros

Cons

"Some features require more external integration."

"Sometimes the developers in technical support take time."

"I consider the pricing for ADAudit Plus a bit high compared to other software solutions, so I would rate it around two or three on the pricing scale."

"An area of improvement for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus could be in graphical reporting, as currently, it's limited with old school bar charts, and having more interactive reports with a better graphical user interface would be beneficial."

"ADAudit could have a more sophisticated interface design. They are using a plain UI, which is decent. However, customers have said that it looks a little flat compared to other vendors. It's not fancy."

"The solution's managing file server activity could be improved."

"There are so many reports that it sometimes makes it difficult to navigate to what you need."

"The interface could be improved, and the log collecting feature should have additional functionalities."

More ManageEngine ADAudit Plus cons

"The product does not explain why a problem occurred."

"I think they need to make reporting easier and more simple & dynamic."

"The major concern in the product revolves around application performance monitoring since end-to-end application monitoring is not possible with the tool."

"I would like to see support for non-Windows or non-Microsoft domains, especially Apache and other non-Windows servers."

"The stability, flexibility, and ease of use could be improved."

"This product has no real downside unless they fail to continue development of its capabilities."

"Nodes in Azure are able to be monitored with the use of agents, but this does not apply to cloud service offerings that are not node based."

"The current script monitoring feature has limitations, especially when dealing with custom scripts."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is affordable, and our company is very happy with it. If ten is the most expensive and one is the least expensive, I rate the tool a three or four."

"ADAudit Plus's pricing is affordable and flexible, with very low prices in the market."

"My guess is that it was around $4,000 or $5,000 a year, and we bought a license, and then we have maintenance fees. I'm not 100% sure how that worked out."

"Adding features and other functionality it costs you more. Also, the first installation costs an additional amount."

"It's a medium-priced solution."

"The solution's pricing is acceptable."

"I think SolarWinds' pricing is very decent compared to other competitors in the market."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It is just the standard price, but it can vary depending on the current rate of the dollar."

"When compared to other licensed models in the market, it stands out as one of the more cost-effective options."

"Pricing is inexpensive, starting at 2440 euros. For that, you get the ability to monitor a couple of nodes and one year of maintenance and support."

"We are on an annual license to use the solution. The price of the solution is expensive. The price is based on a bunch of factors, such as the number of engines and elements."

"I would advise potential buyers to wait until the end of the quarter, end of year, or other time to place orders. There are actually great deals to be had at those times if your budget cycle can match up."

"The solution is overpriced in terms of application management."

"Nagios XI, WhatsUpGold, Uptime Software, PRTG, Manage Engine, and SpiceWorks are the other tools that have lower pricing and licensing costs. However, they can't compete with SolarWinds when it comes to the features and functionality that SolarWinds can provide."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Active Directory Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

872,922 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?

The most valuable feature of ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is its reports.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?

The price is normal for this type of solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?

An area of improvement for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus could be in graphical reporting, as currently, it's limited with old school bar charts, and having more interactive reports with a better graphi...

See all answers

What do you like most about SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

Identifying the problem statement is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

The initial cost is quite high, but the renewal cost is reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

There is definitely room for improvement besides simplifying its setup. As a non-technical person, I believe the dashboards could be improved. Everything we use appears on video walls, and we need ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Netwrix Auditor vs ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

Compared 18% of the time

ManageEngine ADManager Plus vs ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

Compared 16% of the time

Change Auditor for Active Directory vs ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

Compared 14% of the time

Lepide vs ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

Compared 10% of the time

More ManageEngine ADAudit Plus Competitors

Dynatrace vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 15% of the time

Azure Monitor vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 13% of the time

Splunk AppDynamics vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

Zabbix vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 5% of the time

Prometheus-AI Platform vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 5% of the time

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

October 2025

Download ManageEngine ADAudit Plus product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

October 2025

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product report

Also Known As

No data available

SolarWinds SAM

Overview

In real-time, ensure critical resources in the network like the Domain Controllers are audited, monitored and reported with the entire information on AD objects - Users, Groups, GPO, Computer, OU, DNS, AD Schema and Configuration changes with 200+ detailed event specific GUI reports and email alerts.

ManageEngine

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) delivers powerful application and server monitoring capabilities for IT pros, enabling them to diagnose and troubleshoot performance issues faster. Do not let slow applications and downtime impact your end-users and business services. Pinpoint the root cause of application issues across various layers of the IT stack. SolarWinds SAM is affordable and easy to deploy, use, and customize. You can automatically discover your system's environment and start monitoring in about an hour. No professional services or consultation needed.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Warsaw City Hall, Acument Global Technologies, Inc., Cosma International, Bank of South Pacific, Life Management Center, Central Bank, UncleBob's Self Storage, Leeds Building Society, California Transplant Donor Network, First Response, Blessing Hospital, Northern Land Council, RMK Marine

Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite

Buyer's Guide

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

September 2025

Free Report: ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

872,922 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report.

See our list of best Active Directory Management vendors.

We monitor all Active Directory Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.