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Microsoft Windows Server Update Services vs Vicarius vRx comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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
8.0
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services automates updates, reduces downtime, minimizes costs, and simplifies management without additional purchase or effort.
Sentiment score
8.1
Vicarius vRx significantly cuts remediation and patching times, achieving 40% ROI and enhancing efficiency with widespread client adoption.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.5
Users find Windows Server Update Services user-friendly, but opinions on support quality and speed are mixed, with documentation helpful.
Sentiment score
8.0
Vicarius vRx offers responsive, professional customer service with high satisfaction, efficient support, and quick feature implementations, prioritizing customer needs.
Microsoft Update provides one of the worst support experiences among all tech companies that I have experienced.
There was a time when contacting the support agency was more straightforward.
Their support is very good, and they respond quickly.
During the POC and the implementation, they were very available and made their best efforts to help us.
Whenever I've contacted them, they respond promptly with a callback or by email.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services effectively supports scalable enterprise needs but may face challenges in very large organizations.
Sentiment score
7.8
Vicarius vRx is praised for its scalability and adaptability, supporting multi-region deployment and effortless management of numerous endpoints.
Though there are options to use Microsoft MS SQL, it does not support more than 3,000 clients.
It is very simple; you just script it, and then the computers connect themselves.
When we attempted to scale this and update 200 systems, that just locked it.
We have some clients with up to a thousand agents.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is generally stable with strong performance but may face minor issues with specific versions or hardware.
Sentiment score
7.3
Vicarius vRx is stable, with high ratings for low resource demands and quick resolution of rare outages.
There are some issues that they do not even know how to fix at this point.
I would rate the stability of Vicarius vRx ten out of ten.
There are some issues like high CPU usage during updates, but these were fixed.
 

Room For Improvement

Windows Server Update Services needs improvements in user interface, integration, stability, security, automation, and update efficiency.
Vicarius vRx users seek improvements in patch deployment, login processes, reporting, network scanning, cloud integration, and mobile management.
I am pretty sure that the tool works great when it comes to Windows, but when you are in an environment that has different flavors of Linux at different version levels, that may pose an issue.
We have the ability to search across the network for all switches, routers, and printers, but some devices might be outdated and have vulnerabilities.
Enhancing Vicarius vRx with improved third-party integrations, like notifications for external systems, and increased cloud integration for richer instance information, would be valuable improvements.
 

Setup Cost

WSUS is included with Windows Server licenses, but costs differ based on deployment complexity and Microsoft's enterprise agreements.
Vicarius vRx offers adaptable per-asset pricing, competitive value, appreciated single pricing, but costly for smaller clients and education.
It's a free service.
It's free.
It was very cheap.
In the past, Vicarius vRx was cheap, but now they have adjusted their pricing policy, resulting in higher renewal costs.
From a pricing perspective, Vicarius was cheaper compared to other competitors.
 

Valuable Features

Effective Group Policy integration ensures stable performance, centralized management, efficient updates, scalability, enhanced security, and cost-effective deployment.
Vicarius vRx streamlines vulnerability management by automating patching, prioritizing threats, and offering user-friendly dashboards with patchless protection.
The ease of use and efficient reporting contribute significantly to my overall productivity.
Patch management is indeed valuable, however, the process to achieve it could be improved.
It's a valuable tool that reduces tension between IT and security teams by providing time to properly install patches.
The system prioritizes vulnerabilities, identifying high, medium, and low risks, allowing us to focus on high-risk applications.
The most valuable feature is the system's ability to provide information about open CVEs and how it compares the local version with available updates.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Windows Server Up...
Ranking in Patch Management
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Vicarius vRx
Ranking in Patch Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (14th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is 7.1%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Vicarius vRx is 2.5%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

Chuck Colby - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient patch management, potentially scalable, and free is using Microsoft servers
Whether to use the solution or not is going to be context-sensitive. If you have a strong Microsoft team, you can probably handle this. If, like my team, you also have a dozen other vendors to consider, it's not just the operating system. The pattern I've seen over time with WSUS is that it has the potential to be a fantastic product, yet it doesn't feel finished. People try to implement WSUS, and context is important. In my context, we're a small business without teams of Microsoft-certified people. We are just trying to use what's available to achieve a goal, and WSUS is fine, however, not the best product out there. The business in America often tries to do more with less. I would not recommend it to a team of my size. If a company had half a dozen or a dozen Microsoft-certified people, I'd say, run with it. For a team of my size, no, absolutely not. I would rate the overall solution a solid eight out of ten.
OrenBen Shalom - PeerSpot reviewer
Consolidates vulnerability discovery, prioritization, and remediation in a single platform
Vicarius vRx offers several advantages, especially for organizations with diverse operating systems and applications requiring frequent patching. The platform helps prioritize patch installation by identifying high-risk vulnerabilities, allowing IT teams to focus on critical threats first. This prioritization is crucial because it prevents IT teams from being overwhelmed by the constant influx of patches, enabling them to create a manageable plan and allocate resources effectively. By distinguishing between critical, high-risk, and medium-risk vulnerabilities, Vicarius vRx empowers IT teams to address the most urgent threats promptly and schedule less critical patches for later. Both native operating system updates and Vicarius vRx offer vulnerability remediation. Native OS updates allow for the patching of system vulnerabilities on Windows, macOS, and Linux. However, Vicarius vRx provides a single solution for installing both operating system and application updates by also discovering application vulnerabilities. Another valuable feature is virtual patching, which allows us to protect an asset from a specific vulnerability without installing a patch. Sometimes, installing a patch alone is insufficient and requires restarting the asset. However, production servers often cannot be restarted during the day, restricting restarts to specific timeslots. Virtual patching creates a network-based protection layer that prevents exploitation of a vulnerability, offering a temporary safeguard. While not a foolproof solution for long-term use, it's a valuable tool that reduces tension between IT and security teams by providing time to properly install patches.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Media Company
13%
Non Profit
12%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?
It's a free service. You just buy the Windows Server operating system, and it is an internal feature.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?
Sometimes, I encounter issues with the Windows internal database, which occasionally does not load, leading to the Pandit console stopping. I have to repair the database and perform export and impo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Vicarius vRx?
I do not use other solutions, so I cannot compare its pricing to others, but its price seems okay.
What needs improvement with Vicarius vRx?
I would be happy if the patch update could be downloaded to the Vicarius server and then implemented on the client. Currently, they just send a link to the software. For example, if I want to updat...
What is your primary use case for Vicarius vRx?
We use Vicarius vRx to manage all third-party software updates. Previously, we could manage Windows updates, but third-party updates were an issue. It was difficult for us to manage the updates of ...
 

Also Known As

Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft WSUS, WSUS, Microsoft Software Update Services, Software Update Services, Microsoft SUS, SUS, MS Windows Server Update Services
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Windows Server Update Services vs. Vicarius vRx and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.