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Automox vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 2025

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
1.0
Automox delivers significant ROI by streamlining operations, reducing costs, improving compliance, and enhancing efficiency through automated patch management.
Sentiment score
7.3
KACE SMA increases efficiency and productivity, offering rapid ROI by streamlining operations and reducing time, costs, and staffing needs.
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
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
1.0
Automox's technical support is praised for quick, expert issue resolution and superior, attentive service compared to larger companies.
Sentiment score
6.6
KACE SMA support is praised for its expertise and 24/7 availability, with occasional room for flexibility improvement.
They are really good because they don't take five days to get back to me; they respond within 24 hours with really good information.
Network & Security Administrator at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
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
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
1.0
Automox offers effective scalability for managing thousands of devices, though some experience console load time issues.
Sentiment score
7.2
KACE Systems Management Appliance efficiently supports various organization sizes, excelling in integration, scalability, and comprehensive network management.
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
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
1.0
Automox is stable and reliable, with improved uptime and proactive incident response, ensuring minimal downtime and consistent system health.
Sentiment score
8.1
KACE Systems Management Appliance is praised for its stability, reliability, and efficient performance, with swift recovery during incidents.
 

Room For Improvement

Automox users desire improved multi-organization management with profile sync, detailed reporting, enhanced automation, and reduced bandwidth for updates.
KACE Systems Management Appliance struggles with scalability, usability, customization, integration, image deployment, and technical support responsiveness.
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 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
 

Setup Cost

Automox offers competitive, cost-effective pricing with a $2 per-endpoint fee and a free trial for evaluation.
KACE Systems Management Appliance offers cost-effective enterprise solutions, although potentially expensive for small businesses, with no additional feature costs.
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
 

Valuable Features

Automox is a cloud-based platform offering cross-platform patching, task automation, intuitive interface, and scalable remote management.
KACE SMA offers integrated, centralized IT management for efficient software deployment, asset management, and security with customizable inventories.
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
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
 

Categories and Ranking

Automox
Ranking in Patch Management
12th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
2.4
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (33rd), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (39th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (12th)
KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Patch Management
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (10th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Automox is 2.5%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 3.8%, down from 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)3.8%
Automox2.5%
Other93.7%
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

RA
Network & Security Administrator at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
Provides real-time application updates with exceptional support
Some of the better features with Automox include its nice GUI, which looks intuitive, and it doesn't have a huge learning curve. Automox's real-time visibility and control through its intuitive dashboard is important for our response to emerging threats because it tells us which applications need to be updated on a real-time basis.
MH
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reliability and adaptability enable efficient application deployment and security management
The best features Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) offers include the scripting function, which stands out to me because I can find specific needs and deploy the applications based on those needs. There was a time when scripting really saved me time by allowing me to find specific registry entries and modify them to patch security vulnerabilities. Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before. I really enjoy the security features that are enabled to deploy Microsoft and other vendor patches, which stand out to me as key functionalities.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
12%
Government
10%
Non Profit
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Automox?
I wouldn't be able to tell you how Automox can be improved; it seems to work very nicely already.
What is your primary use case for Automox?
We use Automox to maintain the software on all our computers. We were using Qualys before and we're still using it, but we found Qualys to be a little bit lacking since it wasn't really eliminating...
What advice do you have for others considering Automox?
Since switching over from Qualys, we have seen no positive impacts for our organization other than being able to update the applications on an endpoint. We haven't used Automox's reporting capabili...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
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.
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
I wish Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) would have a top-down approach since we use orgs; currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My main use case for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is to deploy applications and maintain security, and we use it day-to-day to handle those tasks. With Quest KACE Systems Managemen...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Automox vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.