Atera vs. ConnectWise Automate

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Atera
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Atera is a platform that enables IT professionals to gain access, visibility, and control over all their networks and devices from anywhere. Users can manage their IT operation from patch management, IT automations, advanced reporting, alerts, helpdesk, ticketing, and it features dozens of integrations with familiar tools. Its pay-per-technician model enables IT teams and MSPs to pay a fixed price and scale operations across unlimited devices, all while reducing menial tasks so they…
$99
per month per user
ConnectWise Automate
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
ConnectWise Automate, formerly LabTech, is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. It provides powerful automation to discover and manage devices, monitor for problems, and scripts repetitive action.
$700
Pricing
AteraConnectWise Automate
Editions & Modules
MSP - Pro
$99
per month per user
MSP - Growth
$129
per month per user
IT Department - Professional
$149
per month per user
MSP - Power
$169
per month per user
IT Department - Expert
$169
per month per user
IT Department - Master
$199
per month per user
Agents
$1.00-$6.00
per month/per agent
Implementation Fee
$700
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AteraConnectWise Automate
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsUnlimited devices. Prices per user, per month, billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AteraConnectWise Automate
Considered Both Products
Atera
Chose Atera
LabTech is a more comprehensive remote monitoring and management tool but costs considerably more. We switched to Atera from LabTech for a number of reasons. First and foremost, cost. Atera's per user licensing structure is much better suited for startups than LabTech. The …
Chose Atera
We ran into significant issues with the support from Connectwise. Their documentation was not correct, an issue they admitted after several weeks of reviewing the problem, which cause a very serious server issue for us. Unfortunately, they were unwilling or unable to help us. …
Chose Atera
We looked at NinjaOne and ConnectWise Automate which are both fantastic tools. Those options definitely have their strengths over Atera, but Atera was the one we chose in the end. The thing that drew us to Atera was the lack of complicated contracts and simple tech based …
Chose Atera
Atera pulls the best features from the above systems I have previous experience in and unites them in an All-in-one solution that simplifies and improves everyone's experience.
Chose Atera
The pricing and features were laid out in a simple and straightforward layout. They have not price gouged while adding features.
Chose Atera
Connectwise is great, no question. But for smaller companies like us, having a technician cost vs a per device cost was the tipping point. We can add as many devices as we want without having to pay for each one. Sometimes when onboarding a new client this can be a huge perk, …
Chose Atera
Atera has many of the same features as the other products we've tested. The selling point for us was the pricing model for Atera. Most other providers charged a fee per endpoint which could quickly add up. With Atera's pricing model, we have a fixed annual cost which is …
Chose Atera
Atera is able to do everything ConnectWise can do for a Windows/Mac environment. Atera's unlimited seats for one price is a game-changer for startup MSPs. ConnectWise is unaffordable for startups looking to grow their customer base. Constantly having to shore up pricing for …
Chose Atera
Having used multiple system for RMM and support, we found that Atera checked the boxes for our needs in both the simplicity/ease of use, and a good tool set. While ConnectWise has more features and integrations currently, it is also very hard to manage and with each iteration …
Chose Atera
Atera is a lightweight cloud application that handles most every need of small and large IT Firms alike. It closely resembles Ninja, N-Able, and Syncro in performance and scale. The biggest difference is the pricing models as Atera and Syncro charge per user as opposed by …
Chose Atera
Basically the billing model by technician instead of agent.
The all included solution for remote moniroting, remote access, automation, ticketing system and reporting.
Chose Atera
Compared to Connectwise and Kaseya I would say the cost is much better from Atera, much easier to use, the agent footprint is much better and uses less resources on any given agent. Setup was so much easier overall and the couple of times I did need to use Atera support they …
Chose Atera
Atera pricing is per technician and not per device which can literally save thousands of dollars annually. Atera is not as complicated and time-consuming to learn and use. Atera does not have a bunch of features that a small MSP business would not use and yet has to pay for.
ConnectWise Automate
Chose ConnectWise Automate
If we have to do it again, we would not choose to Automate due to the number of efforts and monetary investment (3rd party consultants) to implement it as well on going managing it. But, in comparison to the other RMM products we used in the past, Automate offers more …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
Automate is one of the best when it comes to RMM-applications in terms of features and ability to execute, however, where it is weak is in the necessity for an SME to run and maintain it and while it is quick and gets the job done, it is difficult to stack it up to a full …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
AteraConnectWise Automate
Application Performance Management
Comparison of Application Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Atera
10.0
1 Ratings
0% above category average
ConnectWise Automate
-
Ratings
Virtualization monitoring10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
IT Asset Discovery10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring Tasks
Comparison of Monitoring Tasks features of Product A and Product B
Atera
9.4
86 Ratings
25% above category average
ConnectWise Automate
6.1
21 Ratings
18% below category average
Remote monitoring9.385 Ratings7.221 Ratings
Network device monitoring8.674 Ratings5.120 Ratings
Activity Monitoring10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Management Tasks
Comparison of Management Tasks features of Product A and Product B
Atera
9.1
85 Ratings
24% above category average
ConnectWise Automate
6.3
21 Ratings
13% below category average
Patch Management8.784 Ratings5.920 Ratings
Policy-based automation8.872 Ratings6.921 Ratings
Remote Access
Comparison of Remote Access features of Product A and Product B
Atera
7.8
1 Ratings
8% below category average
ConnectWise Automate
-
Ratings
Attended device access10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Unattended device access10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile device access1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Virtual device access10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple-display support7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple concurrent sessions9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AteraConnectWise Automate
Small Businesses
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.2 out of 10
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.2 out of 10
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AteraConnectWise Automate
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(88 ratings)
7.5
(58 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(4 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
9.5
(35 ratings)
7.0
(4 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(5 ratings)
7.0
(14 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
AteraConnectWise Automate
Likelihood to Recommend
Atera
As a one-person IT department, Atera is almost like having another person to help, especially as we integrate the AIT functionalities. We have several locations spread over nearly 200 miles, and Atera has enabled me to remote in and fix something that before would have had to wait until we could justify an all-day or overnight 300 mile round trip.
Read full review
ConnectWise
I recommend it to all IT colleagues; regardless of the size of the PCs with which you work most of the time, the application allows connection stability between computers that make it possible to continue working or taking care of the infrastructure from afar.
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Pros
Atera
  • Support, if you need them they are there and they always have the answers you need.
  • The AI scripting features allow you to really hit the ground running. You can give it a prompt and it will give you a script that will be very close to what you need. All you have to do is polish it up and test it out.
  • I love having the ability to use multiple remote access tools, in the event a machine has an issue with one of them, or if a cloud service goes down, you have a fallback.
  • The shared script library is an amazing resource for troubleshooting and streamlining.
  • The development teams are open to adding features and have done so frequently based on user requests.
Read full review
ConnectWise
  • Desktop sharing / view with chat to the operator, file sharing and pass-through for keyboard strokes
  • Computer/server monitoring with thresholds and warning
  • Search - tracking down computers when you have many by name, logged in user, IP
  • End user ticket raising is built into the tray icon which make access really easy
Read full review
Cons
Atera
  • Some basic functions need some extra work
  • Some basic things are behind paywalls
  • Feature board is not credible. Ideas taking very, very long to implement
  • Atera has no clear road map
  • SNMP monitoring needs a make over and needs more options
Read full review
ConnectWise
  • They have conflicting scheduling paradigms. When scheduling patching for clients, the 1st Friday is interpreted as the very first Friday of the month, even if this is the 1st of the month. For scripting, the 1st Friday of the month is interpreted as the 1st Friday of the 1st FULL WEEK of the month. This makes no sense to have two different interpretations, and makes it unreliable to schedule recurring scripts to fall when recurring maintenance does. The scripts need to be done manually because of this.
  • There is no way to dictate reboot orders for patch policies. This tied directly in with my first point. We have some clients that require reboot orders. This is not possible without having different patch policies for each server and specifying a time this way. But, there aren't small enough increments of time to make this reliable, plus patching duration might vary. Excluding reboots with patching and scheduling reboot scripts fixes this. However, this can't be done once on a recurring schedule due to the different scheduling paradigms already discussed. We have to schedule these manually each month.
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Likelihood to Renew
Atera
As of right now, we have found nothing that can offer as many features as Atera does along with the affordability. They are doing monthly releases each month and not just making small changes (shared scripting library, chocolatey support, Install packages, Splashtop SOS support, Scheduled tickets to name a few). The uptimes are great and accessibility to the dashboard has yet to be limited. We are a happy customer and bordering on fanboy status now
Read full review
ConnectWise
The primary reason for this rating is that ConnectWise Automate is currently so integral to our operations that moving away would involve more man hours than we would realistically have to invest. However, ConnectWise Automate is also completely capable of meeting all of our business needs and customizable to the point where if something is not meeting those needs out of the box, it can be modified to do what we want. From only installing software on machines if a different software package exists, to push a new version of that software is available, to check if credentials for user/machine have been updated to our new standards and then updating them if they have not, ConnectWise Automate is capable of doing everything we ask of it.
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Usability
Atera
This has been a great platform to handle both service requests and device maintenance. Without it, we would have to do manual ticket creation through another platform that does not link with a RMM making the help desk inefficient and frustrating both Employees and the Executives of the company. The addition of AI makes all of this even easier!
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ConnectWise
Basic use of the product is fairly easy. Information about the machines you manage can be found in customizable dashboards, which can be unique for each user, and, therefore, properly suited to the users' needs/job function. This is not a 10 because some of the interfaces are very clunky (Patch Management), and some features are not intuitive and not well documented (reporting). Scripting and Patch Management have a fairly steep learning curve (For structure in patch management and syntax in scripting), but once learned, they work well.
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Performance
Atera
No answers on this topic
ConnectWise
It used to be great, but then they broke reporting, speed and responsiveness with version 11 and the new Patch Manager. It's really bad and their support people are way behind on fixing so many bugs. They have really gone downhill. If they don't get it together soon, we'll start looking around.
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Support Rating
Atera
Atera support provides answers to my questions lightning fast. They have never left me feeling like I'm out there on my own. I can ask questions by email, or by chat, or by opening a ticket with them and they are always on it quickly. They also have a forum where other Atera users can help you if you need it, and you can also add feature requests via the forum.
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ConnectWise
ConnectWise Automate lets you manage more endpoints, with enhanced productivity and improved service, all without increasing expenses. It can manage patches and updates across thousands of computers. We also use it for customized monitoring and alerting on workstations and servers. Monitoring is really robust and granular. It does a great job of gathering a TON of data about the network, and that data is searchable. There are a bunch of different reports built in. Integrates with Manage, Control, and other applications. It does a ton of stuff out of the box, and has endless customization options.
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Online Training
Atera
No answers on this topic
ConnectWise
The Online training has been re-done and needs a lot more work. When you look at training in different roles, it shows a lot of the same topics but no explanation to what is different about them. Several times that topics are the exact same, but they make you re-take the same information for a different topic, instead of marking that you have already completed that portion of training.
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Implementation Rating
Atera
No answers on this topic
ConnectWise
Start small and learn the in's and out's before making policies and rolling things out company wide. Ask the questions of why if you don't agree with something or your company does things a different way. Usually they are done a certain way for a reason. Start simple with roll out and slowly enable or add on the functionality that is needed.
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Alternatives Considered
Atera
Atera was the clear winner for us. The interface and tools were very easy to learn and setup. Atera's licensing incorporates good feature sets and value levels. Some of the other products were difficult to setup and lacked good flow between tools. The value proposition was also not as good.
Read full review
ConnectWise
I believe the monitoring and alerts in Continuum command is better, but [ConnectWise Automate (formerly LabTech)] does have stronger scripting, and perhaps a better interface. N-Central is inferior on all fronts to both. I did not make the purchasing decision. I would myself likely pick Continuum if I had to make a on the spot choice.
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Return on Investment
Atera
  • We have been able to add new employees/devices without increasing my staff to support them.
  • The value of charging per technician verses per device cannot be stated enough. Without that pricing, I wouldn't be able to budget enough to pay for all of the things I get with Atera.
  • They have a customer portal which allows the end user to check on submitted tickets, open new tickets and recommend any new features.
Read full review
ConnectWise
  • We found we were able to provide good monitoring of our customers sites which was an objective. However, that came at a significant time investment that never seemed to be finished.
  • We were able to negotiate a price that worked for us for an up-front purchase which was nice.
  • We found the pricing to be very competitive.
  • Bottom line for us was despite the pros of the product, we found other RMM solutions to be a better overall "value" due to not having to dedicate technicians to maintaining the product.
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ScreenShots

Atera Screenshots

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ConnectWise Automate Screenshots

Screenshot of Monitor: Find problemsScreenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of