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AWS Directory Service vs ManageEngine ADManager Plus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AWS Directory Service
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (16th)
ManageEngine ADManager Plus
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

AWS Directory Service and ManageEngine ADManager Plus aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. AWS Directory Service is designed for Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) and holds a mindshare of 1.5%, down 2.3% compared to last year.
ManageEngine ADManager Plus, on the other hand, focuses on Active Directory Management, holds 15.2% mindshare, up 13.2% since last year.
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

MassimilianoCollavo - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates well with other tools, particularly through single sign-on
I've been working with AWS Directory Service as part of a broader solution for moving our infrastructure to a hybrid cloud model. Initially, the goal was to replicate our on-premises server to the cloud and then eventually shut down the on-premises server entirely. My work with AWS Directory Service is focused on migrating to the cloud and finding a suitable document management system that allows for online editing, document sharing, and workflow management. I rate it an eight out of ten.
MUBDIUL ISLAM - PeerSpot reviewer
User management becomes efficient and installation is straightforward
My primary use case for ADManager is to manage users and groups, perform group policy without logging into Active Directory, and provide easy and secure management and monitoring capabilities. One of my clients uses ADManager for these purposes With ADManager, I can easily complete any Active…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I would rate AWS Directory Service nine out of ten."
"Provides good performance and availability."
"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."
"Two-step authentication is very useful and important."
"AWS Directory Service is secure."
"AWS has eliminated the downtime we waste when our on-premises resources go down."
"AWS handles everything on the backend requiring minimal legwork from our team. We only require a dedicated database administrator while depending on Amazon for RDS."
"We can provide specific access to people based on what they need from our accounts."
"Technical support from ManageEngine is very satisfactory."
"The product helps to validate every activity."
"The most valuable feature for me is automation."
"The scalability is also good. ADManager Plus is being used by seven to eight system administrators right now, and it has been working fine."
"The solution provides oversight, reports, and logs that are easy to understand."
"The most valuable feature was conducting the automation of our cloud and all services of the Active Directory."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use, the ability for us to customize the access privileges for the users, and integration with ServiceDesk Plus."
"With ADManager, I can easily complete any Active Directory tasks from anywhere, making it an excellent solution."
 

Cons

"Can be improved by including on-premises access for services through Identity Access Management."
"Accessing the data needs improvement."
"I would like to see better integration with other business solutions."
"The solution lacks certain features."
"I would like to grant partial access to a table contained in a database without having to provide full access to the whole database."
"Currently, there is no option to integrate our on-premises Cisco AWS Directory Service, requiring some manual configuration. If AWS Active Directory Service provided additional domain controller functionalities, like other on-premises Active Directory, it would be very helpful."
"Some of the security protocols are difficult to understand."
"Currently, there is no option to integrate our on-premises Cisco AWS Directory Service, requiring some manual configuration."
"API integrations are not supported for all HR tools."
"It would be nice if the solution offered some sort of brochure with some high-level information that would help sell it to management. If they had details around how much time it saves an engineer, for example, to show the ROI, it would be helpful."
"The solution is very complex, especially when there's an active directory of more than 1,000 users, which makes it hard to administrate. They need to improve the management of the administrative process."
"With the number of available integrations these days, it would be beneficial to have more ready-to-integrate technologies in other products as well."
"This solution is not stable, it wasted my time."
"The solution should be made tablet friendly because it works well on iPhones and Android phones, but does not work on tablets."
"Some of my clients experience issues with the GPO results, which do not always generate the real outcomes. This needs to be resolved by technicians."
"The product's price is an area of concern where improvements can be introduced by making it available at a cheaper rate."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay an annual subscription fee."
"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."
"The pricing depends because with AWS there are two types of directory objects: 30,000 and 500,000. It varies. AWS provides the pricing calculators so we can get an estimate from there as per the company requirement of how many users and objects that we need to create. So we can go to that portal, put in the data, and get the quotation. There are no extra licensing fees. It's all included."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It is not expensive."
"The pricing depends on scope and makes sense for use cases with multiple domains."
"The tool's pricing is good."
"I need to pay for the license, and I believe that it could be made cheaper."
"I downloaded the trial version, only."
"I am satisfied with the solution’s pricing."
"The cost of this product is a little higher than I would expect for a tool like this."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Healthcare Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Directory Service?
The most valuable feature of AWS Directory Service is cost-cutting features.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Directory Service?
The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost. You do not need to hire any system administrator to manage your Active Directory.
What needs improvement with AWS Directory Service?
Accessing the data needs improvement. Additionally, integration and compatibility with other AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) services, network open LDAP, support for on-premise and cloud envir...
What needs improvement with ManageEngine ADManager Plus?
Some of my clients experience issues with the GPO results, which do not always generate the real outcomes. This needs to be resolved by technicians. Additionally, upgrading from recent to the lates...
 

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, SailPoint, Okta and others in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS). Updated: June 2025.
857,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.