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KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

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
7.3
KACE Appliance boosts productivity and reduces costs by streamlining system management, cutting labor needs, and simplifying processes.
Sentiment score
3.3
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus enhanced efficiency, security, and productivity with centralized management, automation, and an intuitive interface for users.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
Compared to other products, ManageEngine provides good return on investment within five years.
Technology Lead at GMG
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
KACE Systems Management Appliance users praise the responsive, professional support and ITNinja for high satisfaction despite mixed experiences.
Sentiment score
5.8
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus offers highly rated, efficient customer support through phone, chat, and email with quick response times.
I would rate the customer support for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as a 10.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
You do not have to raise a ticket and wait for them to respond.
Founder/Director at Augesys Solutions Pvt Ltd
Customer service and support are excellent, with a perfect score of ten out of ten.
Technology Lead at GMG
The technical support from ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus is helpful.
Information Security Specialist at Arab Open University
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
KACE SMA efficiently manages endpoints, easily scales, integrates well with virtual environments, and accommodates growth with minimal setbacks.
Sentiment score
5.0
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus is highly scalable, supports various OS, and suits enterprises, scoring 8-10 in scalability ratings.
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
We have outgrown the size of one KACE appliance and are now running two.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Scalability requires downtime for performance adjustments.
Technology Lead at GMG
The default instance, which most customers run, can take up to 5,000 endpoints.
Founder/Director at Augesys Solutions Pvt Ltd
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
KACE SMA is stable and reliable, with quick support for issues and minimal downtime, appreciated for its resilience.
Sentiment score
7.3
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus is highly stable, with users praising its minimal downtime, efficient operation, and reliable performance.
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is stable and secure;
Security Administrator at EbixCash
I have not had any downtime in six years.
Founder/Director at Augesys Solutions Pvt Ltd
The solution is very stable.
Technology Lead at GMG
 

Room For Improvement

KACE SMA users seek enhanced scalability, reporting, UI design, easier remote management, and better integration with reduced resource consumption.
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus requires enhancements in usability, communication, integration, and pricing for better functionality and broader appeal.
Currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the university.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The dashboard could be more interactive; for example, it should provide alerts if an endpoint is vulnerable to viruses.
Security Administrator at EbixCash
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
When the patch testing works well, there is no need for patch management rollbacks.
System Administrator at SKN Caribecafe Ltda
Instead of separate technician licenses for each product, there should be a single bundled license to simplify licensing requirements.
Technology Lead at GMG
You cannot create multiple tasks, which is another significant issue.
Founder/Director at Augesys Solutions Pvt Ltd
 

Setup Cost

KACE SMA's per-device licensing offers cost-effective scalability and comprehensive management, providing value across various organization sizes.
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus is cost-effective, with fees around $3 per agent monthly, though exchange rates may affect affordability.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
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.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
In terms of cost-effectiveness, considering a situation where I want to deploy KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) for just pushing updates, it is completely fine.
Security Administrator at EbixCash
Currently, I am paying around three dollars per agent per month.
Founder/Director at Augesys Solutions Pvt Ltd
There is a concern regarding the exchange rate as one dollar equals six reais today, making everything expensive in dollars for us.
Advisor at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
ManageEngine's licensing model recently changed from being endpoint-based to server-based, which might affect costs during the next renewal.
Technology Lead at GMG
 

Valuable Features

KACE SMA enhances productivity with off-hours deployment, automation, and streamlined asset and license management through a single interface.
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus provides comprehensive, automated patch management with robust security features and seamless integration for multiple platforms.
Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Overall, KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) helps streamline my processes by allowing me to check the uptime and downtime of machines, whether they are connected to the internet or not, and how long a machine has been switched off.
Security Administrator at EbixCash
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
The software covers platform security and application security, ensuring everything is updated at the endpoint level.
Technology Lead at GMG
Second, you get remote access capabilities, meaning you can take the device remotely and provide support, with the session recorded for playback if needed.
Founder/Director at Augesys Solutions Pvt Ltd
The vulnerability scanning highlights outdated PCs and users breaching policies.
System Administrator at SKN Caribecafe Ltda
 

Categories and Ranking

KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Patch Management
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (13th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (10th)
ManageEngine Patch Manager ...
Ranking in Patch Management
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 3.4%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus is 4.2%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus4.2%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)3.4%
Other92.4%
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

AdityaJain - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Administrator at EbixCash
Centralized software deployment has simplified endpoint control but needs stronger security alerts
What I like best about KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that it allows pushing custom-made applications to all computers that have KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) endpoint installed. This makes it easier for the organization to push patches and updates. If I need to push EDR updates, I can use KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), as it automatically updates the EDR on that endpoint, and that is a great feature. Overall, KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) helps streamline my processes by allowing me to check the uptime and downtime of machines, whether they are connected to the internet or not, and how long a machine has been switched off. I can also gather hardware details and software inventory from it. I can show a live demonstration if a video conference can be arranged. Incident resolution capabilities with KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) have improved operational efficiency for system administrators, as it makes it easier to track machines with KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), gather their IP addresses, and push several updates, patches, or software deployments at once. I can design compliances as per my requirements, such as ensuring passwords are reset after 45 days.
ManojNair2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder/Director at Augesys Solutions Pvt Ltd
Centralized patching has unified multi‑OS management and delivers detailed security reporting
Based on my experience, a better function would be to address the problem that the product only scans a machine once a day. It has a central scanning activity that scans every laptop for changes in assets, meaning both hardware and software, as well as installed software for patches. However, this activity works only once per day and does not work on local time. If you are a global organization with the UK office and a colleague in the US, for example, and you set the task at 11:00 AM UK time, that translates to 6:00 AM in the US East Coast. If that colleague's laptop is on, the task completes; otherwise, it fails. This represents a major drawback because the task does not run on the local time of the system. Regarding the ability to create multiple tasks, you cannot create them, which is another significant issue. Only one task exists for these two activities. That one task performs both the hardware and software scanning for any changes and also conducts a patch scan. Both activities occur through the same task, but the problem is that if you have a global user base, this becomes a bottleneck.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
11%
Non Profit
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
In terms of cost-effectiveness, considering a situation where I want to deploy KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) for just pushing updates, it is completely fine. However, apart from that, I d...
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
For improvements in KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), I would want to see it become a standalone software agent. I am curious about why it does not offer EDR functionality. Additionally, the...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
I have deployed KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) around 230 plus PCs, and I use it to push Windows updates and scripts. I have designed various scripts for tasks such as password resets afte...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus?
Pricing for ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus is pretty reasonable. Currently, I am paying around three dollars per agent per month.
What needs improvement with ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus?
Based on my experience, a better function would be to address the problem that the product only scans a machine once a day. It has a central scanning activity that scans every laptop for changes in...
What is your primary use case for ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus?
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus was the first solution on the cloud six years ago when I started using this product. Although other competitors existed in the market, they were either behind in ter...
 

Also Known As

Dell KACE Systems Management
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
IKEA Honda UNICEF The University of Georgia Evander
Find out what your peers are saying about KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
890,124 professionals have used our research since 2012.