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

Why PeerSpot?

Quest Software and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Active Directory Management category. Quest Software is ranked #7 with an average rating of 9.0, while SolarWinds is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.0. Quest Software holds a 4.9% mindshare in ADM, compared to SolarWinds’s 3.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Quest Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Change Auditor for Active D...

Read 2 Change Auditor for Active Directory reviews

1,275 Views
1,186 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Read 44 SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor reviews

8,842 Views
619 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Change Auditor for Active D...

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and Change Auditor for Active Directory provide distinct IT infrastructure management solutions. SolarWinds offers cost-effectiveness and support availability advantages, while Change Auditor is preferred for its robust feature set.

Features: SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor includes comprehensive monitoring capabilities, extensive alerting features, and performance metrics for optimizing server and application health. Change Auditor for Active Directory offers auditing and compliance functionalities, detailed security insights, and real-time change tracking, focusing on security and regulatory compliance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Change Auditor for Active Directory facilitates seamless integration with existing systems and provides responsive support. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor also offers an easy deployment process, although with more initial setup steps. Both prioritize customer support, with SolarWinds noted for quicker response times, while Change Auditor excels in integration ease.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is cost-efficient, appealing to budget-conscious organizations with adaptable pricing models. Change Auditor for Active Directory, although potentially more costly initially, delivers substantial ROI by enhancing security and compliance, preferred by those valuing comprehensive auditing.

To learn more, read our detailed Change Auditor for Active Directory vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

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

September 2026

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Helped 915,341 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 (22nd), Server Monitoring (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Change Auditor for Active Directory is 4.9%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 3.4%, up from 1.3% 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	4.9%
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor	3.4%
Other	91.7%

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.

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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.

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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

"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."

"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."

"I have found the visibility into server health with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor very beneficial, which we use on a daily basis."

"The solution can be deployed quickly."

"The solution is great for monitoring. If something is going wrong, we can immediately find the root cause."

"The more valuable feature of this solution is the Exchange feature."

"Identifying the problem statement is easy."

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

"One of the most valuable features are the reports. They're pretty good. Also, the ease of installation and customization for the client is another feature that we value. SolarWinds has a lot of features but these are the ones I like the most. We also like that the KPIs have the ability to be preset."

"The solution has good alerts; notifications are sent via email to technicians, and you can filter the kinds of alerts you want to receive as well, which is excellent."

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."

"SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor could improve by having a cloud version. They have an observability platform but it still needs to be maintained by us."

"MS Azure Service and user experience monitoring is an area in which the SolarWinds tools are lacking; without a doubt, this is the Achilles heel of the Orion monitoring tools, and I am currently reviewing other vendors for Azure service monitoring tools."

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

"I believe that some of the trends, environmental maps, and items like those found in Orion would be very beneficial."

"Nodes in Azure are able to be monitored with the use of agents, but this does not apply to cloud service offerings that are not node based."

"It would be helpful if the solution could integrate more with the security compliances, like this IDSS, etc."

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

"AppInsight needs to include more applications, the current list is very limited."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"I like the pricing for this SolarWinds product."

"SAM is not per server so the pricing model can be deceiving. If you have an enterprise environment, you will quickly exceed your licensing quickly. You should know this before going in."

"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."

"I have always said SolarWinds is very “proud” of their products, meaning they are expensive. I cannot afford to purchase all the licenses I need for all the SolarWinds products."

"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."

"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."

"Price can always be lower. It is neither on the expensive side nor on the cheap side. We have worked with them for a lot of years, so we get a discount due to the size of the installation."

"I would rate the pricing for this solution a three out of five."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

13%

University

Financial Services Firm

Outsourcing 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.

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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...

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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'...

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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.

See all answers

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 ...

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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...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Active Directory Management

October 2026

Change Auditor for Active Directory report

Download Change Auditor for Active Directory product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

September 2026

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product 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

Buyer's Guide

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

September 2026

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

Find out what your peers are saying about Change Auditor for Active Directory vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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