Change Auditor for Active Directory vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor comparison

Change Auditor for Active Directory vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

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Helped 894,738 peers since 2012

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

Change Auditor for Active D...

Ranking in Active Directory Management

7th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Ranking in Active Directory Management

8th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (17th), Server Monitoring (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Change Auditor for Active Directory is 5.8%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 2.6%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Active Directory Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Change Auditor for Active Directory	5.8%
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor	2.6%
Other	91.6%

Active Directory Management

Featured Reviews

reviewer2794194

Sr Mgr Cyber Defense at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Auditing changes has become faster and now uncovers misconfigurations within minutes

The best features Change Auditor for Active Directory offers are that it's lightweight and easy to understand. You don't have to memorize event IDs since it's in English. What makes Change Auditor for Active Directory lightweight and easy to understand in my experience is that it doesn't require the events to record to the domain controllers. Therefore, I can focus just on the event types without having to turn up detailed logging on my DCs. Change Auditor for Active Directory has positively impacted my organization by helping us respond to audits very quickly to show that we had evidence of who was making the changes and match them up to the ticket request and who approved it. After implementing Change Auditor for Active Directory, it has allowed us to answer questions literally in minutes, whereas it would have taken us half a day to a day before.

Read full review

NikhilKalwint

Technical Specialist at ServiceIO

Monitoring over a thousand systems has improved decision making and operational visibility

From an advantage perspective, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is comparatively cheaper from a commercial point of view. It is easy to install and configure, very user-friendly, and quick to get up and running, allowing you to see the early value adds in your organization. It is compatible with most technologies for monitoring with very few chances of incompatibility. Configuration also allows us to monitor all the technical parameters we are looking for, making it a very good experience for us. The alerting feature in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is a main advantage, as it alerts based on threshold breaches and can raise tickets to the ticketing system, send SMS, and email notifications, allowing engineers to work on those tickets to resolve issues and avoid further impact. The visibility into server health is a beneficial feature that I am utilizing. We widely use various application performance metrics in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor such as database monitoring and server monitoring, which are quite good enough for any monitoring solution. We utilize the customizable dashboards in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor.

Read full review

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 features are the ability to protect Active Directory accounts and groups, and the real-time notifications that help manage Active Directory more effectively."

"Change Auditor for Active Directory has positively impacted my organization by helping us respond to audits very quickly to show that we had evidence of who was making the changes and match them up to the ticket request and who approved it."

"There are many valuable features, including the network configuration manager, and the network performance manager."

"Having used various other vendors for monitoring over my career, the SolarWinds products give outstanding value for the price."

"I find it to be a strong product suite, particularly when you need a comprehensive monitoring tool."

"SAM has altered the way monitoring is being looked at - from just being able to monitor CPU, Mem, Disk and network utilization levels we have moved to the next levels of finding out process related issues, service related issues and specific application related issues to identify root cause of performance issues."

"The recommendations are a life saver."

"SSL Certificate Monitoring and Expiry Alerting"

"Solarwinds has an open database that allows you to do serious integrations. It doesn't matter which service desk you have, you can implement and integrate it with SolarWinds."

"I am impressed with the tool's AppStack feature which mainly helps us in the identification process. This feature can give an overview of the fault and help us identify the issues for performance degradation. Instead of looking at multiple places, we can look at a single place to identify the issues."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pros

Cons

"Areas that could be improved include having more management capabilities with command-line scripts and more flexibility in general."

"Change Auditor for Active Directory could be improved if the client were more flexible when installed, so if I upgrade the server, I wouldn't have to replace the clients at the same time."

"I think they need to make reporting easier and more simple & dynamic."

"They should incorporate more artificial intelligence. There should also be more predictive features."

"SolarWinds' interface is slow, and this is a global concern."

"The tool’s report feature created issues for us. We needed to gain skills to use that feature. The tool’s customization is not easy since you have to reconfigure the whole system."

"The stability, flexibility, and ease of use could be improved."

"For each poller, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor can only monitor up to ten thousand components, which restricts scalability."

"The product does not explain why a problem occurred."

"It lacks a user experience for measuring things like the end-to-end time for which a user waits for a specific response in the system. In the application layer, it has some very basic stuff. You have to build your own with manuscripts and things like that."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"When planning for the number of licenses to purchase, make sure you understand all of the elements within an application required to really understand performance well. In our case, we quickly came to the conclusion that an unlimited license for SAM was the way to go."

"The licenses start from USD 3000.00 and go up to USD 20,000.00 for the year. It's a perpetual license. Nothing is free in SolarWinds, anything that you need is an additional cost."

"Understanding the counts of objects to monitor will determine the licensing need. In terms of pricing, it’s not cheap but it’s not expensive as larger vendors whose products don’t have all the features or integrations."

"We are on an annual license to use the solution. The price of the solution is expensive. The price is based on a bunch of factors, such as the number of engines and elements."

"Pricing and licensing is fair for what you get. It does have a great bang-for-the-buck appeal."

"The solution's price is reasonable. Though it's on the higher side, the tool is worth the money."

"When compared to other licensed models in the market, it stands out as one of the more cost-effective options."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It is just the standard price, but it can vary depending on the current rate of the dollar."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

13%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest Change Auditor for Active Directory?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was pretty straightforward. Actually, we bundled it with some other services offered from Quest to get a volume discount.

What needs improvement with Quest Change Auditor for Active Directory?

Change Auditor for Active Directory could be improved if the client were more flexible when installed, so if I upgrade the server, I wouldn't have to replace the clients at the same time. I think g...

What is your primary use case for Quest Change Auditor for Active Directory?

My main use case for Change Auditor for Active Directory is auditing changes, finding changes to undo, and break-fix solving issues. For example, I could give you a quick specific example of how I'...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

The initial cost is quite high, but the renewal cost is reasonable.

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

There is definitely room for improvement besides simplifying its setup. As a non-technical person, I believe the dashboards could be improved. Everything we use appears on video walls, and we need ...

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

I am doing research as we currently have both solutions, and I am looking to see if we need both or can manage with one. Currently, the outcome indicates that we need both. The focus point is diffe...

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Product Reports

Active Directory Management

Download Change Auditor for Active Directory product report

Change Auditor for Active Directory report

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Download SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product report

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report

Also Known As

No data available

SolarWinds SAM

Overview

Change Auditor for Active Directory provides advanced monitoring for modifications in Active Directory, offering real-time insights to enhance security and compliance without impacting system performance.

Integrating seamlessly with existing IT infrastructure, Change Auditor allows organizations to monitor, analyze, and report on changes within Active Directory. It provides detailed visibility into user activities and configuration modifications, enabling IT professionals to quickly identify potential security threats and unusual activity patterns. This tool aids in ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, minimizing downtime, and improving operational efficiency through precise tracking and alerting capabilities.

What are its most important features?

Real-Time Alerts: Provides instant notifications for critical changes, allowing timely response to potential threats.
Comprehensive Auditing: Tracks all modifications in Active Directory, offering detailed reports for analysis and compliance.
User Activity Monitoring: Observes user behaviors and correlates activities for better security management.
Automated Reports: Generates scheduled reports to assist in compliance and audits easily.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Enhanced Security: Quickly identify and respond to unauthorized changes, reducing security risks.
Regulatory Compliance: Simplifies adherence to compliance standards with detailed auditing and reporting tools.
Operational Efficiency: Saves time through automation of auditing processes and reduces manual tracking efforts.
Reduced Downtime: Swift identification of issues enables faster resolution, minimizing disruptions in service.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Change Auditor significantly impacts risk management by safeguarding sensitive information and aligning with audit requirements. Its robust monitoring capabilities are essential for maintaining the integrity and security of critical data within heavily regulated sectors.

Quest Software

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor provides comprehensive server, application, and infrastructure monitoring, focusing on integration, application dependency, and network insights through user-friendly interfaces and detailed dashboards.

With AppStack and AppInsight support, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor offers service management, detailed resource dashboards, and integration capabilities. It monitors hardware metrics and performance parameters, facilitating database and network insights for cloud and virtual environments. Robust alerting, predictive analytics, and capacity planning ensure efficient management of server health and application performance.

What are the key features?

Integration: Seamlessly connects with existing tools.
AppStack: Provides a holistic view of applications.
AppInsight: Supports widely-used applications.
SNMP Polling: Efficient network data collection.
Diagnostics: Real-time troubleshooting.
Customizable Dashboards: Tailored monitoring views.

What benefits should users expect?

Comprehensive Monitoring: Extends from servers to databases.
Transparent Control: Enhances visibility into performance metrics.
User-Friendly: Simplifies proactive monitoring with alerts.
Predictive Features: Supports capacity and trend planning.

Industries implement SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor to enhance server utilization reporting, network configuration, and AV equipment performance tracking. They benefit from monitoring critical services across diverse deployment models, improving management efficiency and decision-making.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

American Airlines, Bank of America, BARCLAYS, ebay, Ford, intel, MARS, MERCK, Microsoft, UBER, VISA

Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite

Change Auditor for Active Directory vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor