BlueCat Gateway vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager comparison

BlueCat and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Automation category. BlueCat is ranked #18, while SolarWinds is ranked #14. BlueCat holds a 2.0% mindshare in NA, compared to SolarWinds’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of BlueCat users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

BlueCat Gateway

Read 2 BlueCat Gateway reviews

289 Views
289 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Read 2 SolarWinds Network Automation Manager reviews

890 Views
401 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

BlueCat Gateway

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 2025

BlueCat Gateway and SolarWinds Network Automation Manager are network automation products. BlueCat Gateway offers favorable pricing, while SolarWinds stands out with a more comprehensive feature set, adding value through its extensive capabilities.

Features: BlueCat Gateway integrates DNS, DHCP, and IP address management, enhancing network policy enforcement and security. SolarWinds offers performance monitoring, configuration management, and network path visualization, providing deeper network performance insights.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: BlueCat Gateway provides a streamlined deployment with proactive customer support. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager, although more complex due to its functionality, has well-regarded customer service for complex networks.

Pricing and ROI: BlueCat Gateway has competitive setup costs and significant ROI for network operations and policy management. SolarWinds may have higher initial costs, promising strong ROI with its comprehensive network monitoring suite.

To learn more, read our detailed BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

January 2026

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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

BlueCat Gateway

Ranking in Network Automation

18th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Ranking in Network Automation

14th

Average Rating

5.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (95th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of BlueCat Gateway is 2.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Automation Manager is 3.6%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Automation Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SolarWinds Network Automation Manager	3.6%
BlueCat Gateway	2.0%
Other	94.4%

Network Automation

Featured Reviews

Frederic Girard

Developer for DDI Team at Cgi Deutschland KG

Simple to use, straightforward to deploy, and provides good support and documentation

One area for improvement in BlueCat Gateway is the time it takes to fill in the dropdown in the UI of the solution because the speed with which the data loads isn't that fast. It would be better if you didn't have to wait for old items to load before seeing the first data. Another area for improvement in BlueCat Gateway is the discovery probe, as it doesn't allow you to see all the setup parameters after you've set it up. This may not be a big issue, but it's something my team noticed that may not be good in the solution.

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Giulio Valeri

Owner at SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS SRL

Threat detection failures, poor technical support, and expensive

We use the solution to manage all of our customer's systems. We monitor and decide if everything is okay and if not, we do changes when needed. For example, if there is a need to change the antivirus software we can automate the process and install the new one. There are scripts within the software…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to develop a kiosk-like solution for in-person assistance is crucial."

"We found IP and Network Discovery the most valuable features of BlueCat Gateway. Our team found it very easy to build, verify, and validate APIs in BlueCat Gateway, mainly if the users have a background in development and APIs. Our team found that BlueCat Gateway answers our needs well."

"The solution offers so many great resources, it makes them a powerhouse in the market."

"The installation is easy."

Cons

"My most significant concern is that the documentation has problems."

"One area for improvement in BlueCat Gateway is the time it takes to fill in the dropdown in the UI of the solution because the speed with which the data loads isn't that fast. It would be better if you didn't have to wait for old items to load before seeing the first data."

"We did not like SolarWinds because it was not able to communicate between UPSA and our accounting system. They should have better integration."

"The price could be a bit lower."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is actually quite favorable based on our negotiations."

"The price of SolarWinds Network Automation Manager is fair. However, it is more expensive than ConnectWise."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Government

13%

Performing Arts

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Comparisons

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Compared 100% of the time

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Compared 54% of the time

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 12% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 8% of the time

Nuage Networks vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Network Automation

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Network Automation

January 2026

SolarWinds Network Automation Manager report

Download SolarWinds Network Automation Manager product report

Also Known As

BlueCat Network Automation

SolarWinds NAM

Overview

BlueCat Gateway allows you to automate and transform mission-critical business requirements into DNS, DDI, DHCP, and IPAM workflows, plugins, and applications and enables the rapid development of turn-key integrations with existing technology investments. Using zero-touch automation frees IT teams from time-consuming, error-prone, and repetitive network configuration and provisioning tasks so they can focus on the innovation business needs. BlueCat’s automation platform automates the DNS services necessary to provision and deallocates cloud and on-premises resources, enabling IT to respond faster to user requests.

BlueCat

Scale environments from 1,000 to tens of thousands of nodes with comprehensive performance, traffic, WAN, and switch port monitoring, automated change and configuration management, and IP address management in an integrated network automation software solution.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

US Department of Energy, Swisslos, DXC, Edeka SouthWest

Maalem Financing Company, School City of Hammond

Buyer's Guide

BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

January 2026

Free Report: BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

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