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ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.5
Organizations saved on costs and resources with ManageEngine Endpoint Central's automation, although implementation results varied across users.
Sentiment score
7.1
Quest KACE streamlines operations, saving time and resources, offering quick ROI and enhancing productivity through efficient patch management and automation.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.0
ManageEngine Endpoint Central's support is generally helpful but faces issues with response speed, communication challenges, and inconsistent quality.
Sentiment score
7.8
Quest KACE support is praised for responsiveness, knowledgeable staff, and effective problem-solving, with minor ticket resolution time issues.
The support team is available via chat and will create a ticket if they're not available, providing assistance even for small issues.
While they are generally good, there could be improvements in their response times to align with our SLAs.
The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is praised for scalability and compatibility, with cloud deployment aiding limitations in on-premises models.
Sentiment score
7.2
Quest KACE scales efficiently, managing up to 10,000 endpoints, and adapts to expansions with simple resource additions and licensing.
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is praised for stability and reliability, with minor issues occasionally noted and swiftly resolved.
Sentiment score
7.9
Quest KACE SMA is reliable with minimal downtime, regular updates improve functionality, but frequent updates may need attention.
We haven't encountered issues very frequently.
The product is very stable, especially with the cloud version.
 

Room For Improvement

ManageEngine Endpoint Central needs software QA, UI improvements, better macOS/MDM integration, enhanced remote access, and streamlined pricing.
Quest KACE struggles with scalability, automation, usability, imaging, customization, and support, while needing improved licensing, reporting, and integration.
It would be great if there was a smarter solution to address this issue.
Endpoint Central does not support Linux, which makes it challenging to patch Linux machines using commands.
The patch management module could be simplified as it is currently a bit complicated.
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.
 

Setup Cost

ManageEngine Endpoint Central is generally affordable with variable licensing costs, offering a cost-effective ROI and minimal setup fees.
Quest KACE SMA offers competitive pricing with per-device licensing, valued for comprehensive features and ROI for large organizations.
ManageEngine products offer reasonable prices for their product quality.
The pricing of ManageEngine Endpoint Central is quite decent.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
 

Valuable Features

ManageEngine Endpoint Central excels in centralized management, offering patching, software deployment, and integration for efficient cross-platform control.
Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance streamlines asset management, deployment, and IT tracking, enhancing productivity with automation and integration tools.
The system misconfiguration part of vulnerability management is quite good, providing detailed insights into endpoint misconfigurations.
The GUI of Endpoint Central is very user-friendly, which simplifies the process of training new users.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is straightforward to use and implement.
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
 

Categories and Ranking

ManageEngine Endpoint Central
Ranking in Client Desktop Management
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (4th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (3rd)
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
Ranking in Client Desktop Management
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (15th), Patch Management (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Client Desktop Management category, the mindshare of ManageEngine Endpoint Central is 42.4%, up from 38.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Client Desktop Management
 

Featured Reviews

Gabriel Clement - PeerSpot reviewer
Good for patch server management
For Endpoint Central, as an end-user system, we set automatic deployment from Friday. If, for any reason, there are instances that are missed, we check every day from 07:00 AM to 05:00 PM. We don't need to submit automatic deployment, so it's still part of my deployment process. We set up a test server. Once we are okay with the patch that they need to test, they approve it, and then it applies to production. We used Microsoft. So, for asset processing reports and things like that, we had to move to ManageEngine. They changed the name to Endpoint Central. So, it's like that in terms of being much better and having more functionality as a product.
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
45%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
12%
University
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 do you like most about ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
Well, what we like is that it catch actually a lot of features constantly upgrading. So all the three maybe there there were some features as the tenant on the earliest version. Now it's it's almos...
What do you like most about Quest KACE Systems Management?
My company had bought some new machines. We used the tool to do some basic settings to ship every machine the same way and undertake the Windows deployment. We did the scripted installation. The to...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface and lacks a manual configuration option.
 

Also Known As

ManageEngine Desktop Central, Desktop Central, ManageEngine Desktop Management MSP
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Strathallan School, BMI Healthcare, Comercial Kywi, First Priority Federal Credit Union, Gerab National Enterprises
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.