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BigFix vs GFI LanGuard 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

BigFix
Ranking in Patch Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (6th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (26th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (4th)
GFI LanGuard
Ranking in Patch Management
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of BigFix is 7.5%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GFI LanGuard is 2.2%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
BigFix7.5%
GFI LanGuard2.2%
Other90.3%
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

Bella Yakoby - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers third-party patching feature, good scalability, and enhance endpoint management capabilities
From the perspective of the team that's handling the environment, it's not so user-friendly compared to other solutions, the competitors. We hire new teams from time to time, and they are complaining, look, although BigFix is very robust and cross-platform, it's not so fun to work with. The user interface for the technical teams is not so advanced. It's not so intuitive compared to SCCM, compared to ManageEngine. And this is the fact that they have, with the teams, because they have the rejection. The look and feel of the system are old-fashioned. For new employees, it's less easy to find someone I don't need to educate on how to work with BigFix. Although it's easy, it's not as intuitive as the other solutions, and the functionality of the other solutions is less advanced. Let's summarize: The user interface has to be changed from the perspective of the teams that are managing the product. It's old school.
Ashish-Gautam - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable and reasonably priced but has some technical limitations
I use GFI LanGuard to save bandwidth and provide protection from attacks GFI LanGuard has some technical limitations with machines. I've been using GFI LanGuard for six months. GFI LanGuard is stable. GFI LanGuard is scalable. GFI's technical support is good. The initial setup was easy. GFI…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature for us is the ability to manage TWS, the relevance is really what sets it apart. Also, using it as a software deployment tool is the key for us."
"It has plugins development options, which are great."
"The most valuable and essential features of BigFix are all of them, they are needed when serving the purpose of the desktop operation framework. We cannot run operations without patching or without having an appropriate mechanism for deploying software, et cetera. The features all serve their purpose for our use case."
"It's good for reporting hardware and software."
"All the vendor patches are synchronized automatically."
"The product is less costly when compared to other solutions, and this is a good solid solution for what we have paid."
"The tool's most valuable features are patching and integration with vulnerability scanners."
"Having higher visibility on patching level, on patching successful, and non-successful has been a way that BigFix has improved my organization. Also, the ability to customize the content to do what we need it to do is very powerful and very flexible for us. Finally, in the area of custom interfaces like REST API really gives us the ability to provide for our external customers."
"This product is a great solution at a great price as long as it is only going to be used for a local area network."
"It is helpful to patch and scan vulnerabilities."
"The most useful features of GFI LanGuard are vulnerability assessment and patching solutions."
"The most valuable features in GFI LanGuard are patch management and vulnerability assessment."
"The most valuable feature is that I am able to patch third-party solutions."
"The most valuable feature of GFI LanGuard is its email spam feature."
"The solution is easy to use and integrates well with other operating systems."
"The most valuable features of GFI LanGuard are the vulnerability assessment, it provides us with substantial insight into what applications are running on the endpoint systems and what vulnerabilities are there in the running applications. The second would be the assets tracking. I'm able to see in the network whether my endpoint server is operating and if all the other IT equipment is running in the environment. Additionally, GFI LanGuard is not heavy on system resources. It gives a competitive advantage over others."
 

Cons

"In-place and OS upgrades can be improved."
"While performing integration, we face many issues with IBM solution. We need detailed information about those issues that can help users to mitigate them."
"Relay selection and availability needs improvement as an incorrect relay selected can cause network chokes."
"I would like to see for it to be a little easier for new users to be able to learn and create relevant statements. In my opinion, that's the hardest part for bringing on new people that haven't had BigFix experience. Being able to have easier ways to build relevance in ActionScript would be the biggest improvement I'd like to see."
"Maybe the online help could be improved. It'd be nice if you would have a lot more phrases and keywords that you could search for and find answers with the help."
"For improvements, it would be good if BigFix supported more databases. Currently, it only supports DB2 and Microsoft SQL. Adding support for other databases like Oracle would be beneficial."
"Sometimes the workstations communicate back to the BigFix server two or three days in a week or something similar. Sometimes there can be a delay reporting back to the server for a variety of reasons, such as users turning their computer off when they go home. When the user comes back and turns the computer back on BigFix needs to synchronize and sometimes it can take some time, approximately one week. The communication between the agent and the server should be faster, there is room for improvement in this area."
"I'd like to see better integration, with the different applications within BigFix. Instead of sometimes feeling like four or five different applications, they need to be integrated a little better within themselves."
"This solution is limited to the local area network only and cannot manage remote devices."
"The only drawback with GFI LanGuard is that you cannot directly integrate it from the Outlook email; instead, you have to first log in to the site to make changes."
"GFI LanGuard could improve the rollback feature. If we have installed the wrong we have had some issues with the rollback function. Additionally, more input from GFI LanGuard for the custom software push install."
"GFI LanGuard can improve by adding more modules, such as asset control or asset inventory."
"GFI LanGuard has some technical limitations with machines."
"GFI LanGuard can improve by adding asset tracking."
"When you want to uninstall software from an endpoint, sometimes it becomes very problematic."
"The version we are using only allows one person to use it at a time and does not allow multi-users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's price continues to go up. The cost per endpoint can vary, ranging from approximately 30 to 80 dollars per year. Compared to other products, pricing is in the middle. You need to buy an additional database license, but most users already have it."
"You are charged per server and per workstation when using BigFix. ManageEngine is a lot cheaper than BigFix. There are some additional costs, such as support."
"We have a subscription-based contract with BigFix."
"When purchasing, buying with other IBM tools provided us with a very good discount in pricing."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing one out of ten."
"The price of BigFix could be lower. However, I am always seeking a lower price."
"The cost is slightly high."
"Its price is very reasonable."
"I rate the pricing of GFI LanGuard a four out of five."
"On a scale of one to five, with one being expensive and five being competitive, I would rate the price as a four."
"GFI LanGuard isn't expensive."
"GFI LanGuard has very fair pricing compared to other similar solutions out there."
"GFI LanGuard cost approximately $1,000 annually to use the solution."
"We are a gold partner and we receive favorable discounts. The price of GFI LanGuard is competitive. When you evaluate other solutions, such as ManageEngine."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Computer Software Company
16%
Photography Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise66
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BigFix?
The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BigFix?
The pricing is competitive, but not the most competitive.
What needs improvement with BigFix?
While performing integration, we face many issues with IBM solution. We need detailed information about those issues that can help users to mitigate them. The problem was related to the hardware co...
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Also Known As

Tivoli Endpoint Manager
LanGuard
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

US Foods, Penn State, St Vincent's Health US Foods, Sabadell Bank, SunTrust, Australia Sydney, Stemac, Capgemini, WNS Global Services, Jebsen & Jessen, CenterBeam, Strauss, Christian Hospital Centre, Brit Insurance, Career Education Corporation
BayView Medical Clinic, FrugalBrothers Software, Zaw, National Theatre, American Red Cross
Find out what your peers are saying about BigFix vs. GFI LanGuard and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,286 professionals have used our research since 2012.