Automox vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Automox
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Automox is an endpoint management platform built for the era of autonomous operations. It provides a cloud-native foundation that unifies automation, speed, visibility, and trust.
$1
per month per endpoint
KACE Systems Management Appliance
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Quest now offers the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as an IT Asset tracking and management appliance (also available as a virtual deployment if hardware requirements are met). Beyond discovery, inventory tracking and license management, KACE emphasizes automating software upgrade distribution with minimal end-user disruption, featuring remote replication for multi-site upgrades and rollouts. KACE SMA may be bundled with KACE Cloud Mobile Device Management (MDM) to form a complete UEM…N/A
Pricing
AutomoxKACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AutomoxKACE Systems Management Appliance
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAutomox can patch macOS, Windows, and Linux endpoints with PatchOS, an offering at $1 per endpoint/ month with an annual commitment. The Automate Essentials or Automate Enterprise packages are for scaling IT automation, endpoint configuration, and software updates. Modules are available with Automox Assist, a one-on-one remote endpoint control and assistance for helpdesk technicians.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AutomoxKACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
Features
AutomoxKACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
IT Asset Management
Comparison of IT Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Automox
-
Ratings
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
8.6
12 Ratings
11% above category average
Software and hardware inventory tracking00 Ratings10.012 Ratings
License management00 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Asset lifecycle monitoring00 Ratings8.010 Ratings
Contract management00 Ratings6.06 Ratings
Asset relationship management00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
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AutomoxKACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
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KACE Systems Management Appliance
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Score 8.7 out of 10
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
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Score 8.7 out of 10
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User Ratings
AutomoxKACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(150 ratings)
10.0
(12 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.2
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(116 ratings)
8.6
(3 ratings)
Availability
5.5
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
1.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.7
(9 ratings)
9.5
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AutomoxKACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
Likelihood to Recommend
Automox
Smaller organisations such as ourselves, who have outgrown their MSP but still need to retain control of their system and have visibility of the estate. The tool enables us to have real-time visibility and deploy or remediate as needed. We have also purchased Rapid7, which integrates natively into the product, making it a more powerful tool moving forward.
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Quest Software
I think it has added value for any organization. It reduced our Tech Support cost by: -Supporting users anywhere -Reducing users downtime as well keep them informed with the status of their tickets -Managing software and hardware actively -Processing automation -deploy mass software installs, patching or updates - Provide approved software's to users to install without IT help
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Pros
Automox
  • Shows applications installed on a specific asset
  • Able to push policies and updates remotely , creating policies is easy.
  • Keep track of compliant devices and when is the last time they have connected to the servers
  • All the great information provided within one single device
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Quest Software
  • Inventory: KACE provides a ton of hardware and software inventory information that is easy to search, filter, and export. This is critical when we need to find the answers to questions about how many of such and such we have in our fleet.
  • Patch Management: We were using WSUS before and it was altogether too cumbersome. KACE has given us the power, flexibility, and verification we need to feel comfortable our patches are up-to-date.
  • Service Queue: We made KACE our help desk system and it does everything we need it to do. Great improvement over our old system.
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Cons
Automox
  • Server patching orchestration. There is no way to patch and reboot systems in order of importance, such as database servers before application servers.
  • Worklets for patching .net core and similar.
  • Worklets for removing unwanted Java installs or other unwanted software.
  • Integration with Tenable Vulnerability Management.
  • AI script development should be included at no additional cost; GPT or Gemini can be used instead for free and pasted into Automox. Why charge when others are free?
  • Official worklets are slow to be added or updated.
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Quest Software
  • The KACE SMA needs a better way to handle different roles in the software so certain users can access or administrate certain parts of the software, but not the entire software installation.
  • The KACE SMA could improve the ticketing process of projects. The aspects of the title and some information do not always flow down from the parent ticket to its child tickets.
  • The KACE SMA could improve the UI of the software with the addition of different CSS color schemes.
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Likelihood to Renew
Automox
This is a software that just works. Once configured its a set and forget kind of tool that keeps things up to date and alerts me if something is wrong. I was able to work through an expansion project to deploy an additional 500 devices in almost no time and create a robust self-patching environment.
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Quest Software
No answers on this topic
Usability
Automox
It truly functions like a single pane of glass. While our use case is for EC2 instances in AWS, it can manage endpoints across all clouds, or even deployed hardware (laptops). We do manage instances in multiple AWS accounts and there is no set up required between orgs. This accomplishes our needs for real time tracking, and historical reporting for all of our in scope resources.
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Quest Software
Overall, the software is simple to understand and use. That said, most vendors have been slowly updating their user interfaces to HTML5 so that they have a clean updated look and feel. This is where KACE falls short in that the UI is great for a packaged software 10 years ago. This isn't a major limitation as the software is really meant primarily for technology users.
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Support Rating
Automox
1. Simplicity and Ease of Use 2. Cross-Platform Support 3. Powerful Automation with Worklets 4. Real-Time Visibility and Control 5. Fast and Reliable Cloud-Based Updates 6. Strong Security Focus
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Quest Software
KACE does exactly what you need it to do, it maintains your computer environment. You can set patch schedules, inventory computers, setup software catalogs; basically everything you need to ensure the computers on your network are being actively managed. This is all with little need for constant configuration or updating the setup.
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Implementation Rating
Automox
Implementing Automox successfully starts with a clear strategy for organizing and grouping devices based on operating systems, environments, or business criticality. This ensures that patching and configuration policies can be applied with precision. A phased rollout approach is essential—beginning with a pilot group allows teams to test patching schedules, reboot behaviors, and custom Worklets before scaling across the organization. Leveraging Worklets from the start can significantly boost automation by enforcing security baselines and performing routine system tasks. Integration with existing SOC tools, such as SIEMs, enhances visibility and response time by correlating patch compliance with threat intelligence. Additionally, aligning patching schedules with operational downtimes minimizes disruptions, and consistent monitoring and reporting helps maintain compliance and prepare for audits. Overall, Automox offers a streamlined and effective solution, but its true value is unlocked through thoughtful planning, testing, and integration with existing IT and security workflows.
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Quest Software
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Automox
All of these other products are overly complicated with user interfaces that are not very friendly.. too technical, even for IT pros. They are also expensive for smaller companies or those with limited IT budgets. I've found that these other solutions are really geared for larger enterprises more than small to midsized companies, which is fine... but then they tend to market themselves as good for everyone, when they are really not.
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Quest Software
We have selected this software because it rolls several different systems into one. We have a helpdesk system with this and an asset and inventory management system as well. We pay one price for the whole system instead of paying multiple companies different amounts that would have totaled more than we pay for the single system.
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Return on Investment
Automox
  • Patches are now fully up to date and we have no longer been dinged for it from our pen testing partners.
  • Reduced man hours spent on maintaining an update server and the hours spent looking at each machine to ensure it patched all software both windows and third party.
  • Allows for us to provide a vendor with a means to connect to our systems without the use of a VPN.
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Quest Software
  • KACE has saved us from having to spend several days of employee hours in crafting DVDs and duplicating them (100+ DVDs)
  • KACE has saved us on the postage required to send out those DVDs for every update (monthly) to all of our customers electronically
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ScreenShots