Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Clarity SM vs ConnectWise PSA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 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

Clarity SM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
24th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
IT Service Management (ITSM) (26th)
ConnectWise PSA
Ranking in Help Desk Software
20th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Business Management Software (1st), Professional Services Automation (PSA) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of Clarity SM is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ConnectWise PSA is 2.4%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

Türker Kara - PeerSpot reviewer
Quite good back-end architecture for end users but the API is very, very bad
Our company uses the solution for system, program, service request, change, and knowledge-based management.  We perform CMD authorizations and use a lot of integrations for our in-house or third-party applications. We also use Salesforce automations and Microsoft orchestrations.  We have about…
JonMcWilliams - PeerSpot reviewer
Very useful for ticketing and billing purposes
In this case, we have the ability to fire on tasks. An email can be sent, and it is being received into the Kaseya tool or Autotask. Autotask then can parse the email appropriately and route it based on the rules that we set up. In that sense, it's very dynamic, and I can immediately identify which client is making a support request. It can route it to the appropriate queue and then send out the appropriate notifications. As work is done on the ticket, you can also notify the person requesting support or other pre-designated contacts so that they're kept in the loop. ConnectWise PSA is making its updates, and its integration with Office 365 has been really good. I like the fact that the solution integrates with IT Glue. ConnectWise PSA is making improvements, and it's a little bit more dynamic. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Being able to specify event rules and SLAs that can help to automate some of the processes that people are doing manually is valuable."
"The UI is very user-friendly."
"Logging every action in Service Desk Manager (SDM)."
"It has given us the ability to automate a lot of tasks, things we couldn't do before."
"Self-service interface means people can check their own tickets."
"It has a good GUI interface."
"Ability to write macros, which can in turn trigger some condition or could be conditioned to basically trigger notifications, the workflow desk, or web calls. It is huge benefit to customize it."
"The most valuable features of this solution are reporting, configuration monitoring, and the Request and Incidents workflow."
"The most valuable feature is the management of projects from start to finish."
"The initial setup isn't too difficult."
"It's a pretty simple web interface. The rules engine was really easy to set up, and it ingests emails very well."
"The product has been pretty stable so far."
"The search function is really good. To have a single place where we have the account information stored is probably most valuable."
"The ease of reporting is valuable. We have a weekly management meeting, and we gather numbers from ConnectWise in preparation for that. It is helpful for measuring how we're doing in our performance."
"All the features of ConnectWise Manage are valuable. However, ticketing, customer management, customer communication, technician efficiency, calendars, coding, billing, invoicing, and contract management are available. It's a complete solution. Additionally, the company is responsive with the ability to progress or make necessary changes happen."
"We like the way that ConnectWise is completely integrated. So you when you identify an opportunity, you can save it, and ConnectWise pushes it through to the whole invoicing process."
 

Cons

"I am not able to see tickets on a bigger scale. I can't see the overall bigger picture."
"They should enhance the service desk manager's service point function to be more customizable."
"When I am reviewing an incident, sometimes there is too much information on the same screen and it is difficult to discern what is of value."
"Nowadays every person is used to an interface that is more user-friendly and this one is not so user-friendly maybe due to the fact that, if you need to let people customize everything, sometimes you lose out on a clean user experience."
"They really want user names in the document owner and subject expert fields, and that is just not practical."
"The CA products integrate well together but I would like to see better integration with third-party solutions."
"Ease of support and upgrades need much improvement."
"The SDM administration and customisation needS deep information about architecture and vendor support continuously."
"There should be some improvements to the interface. It is not completely intuitive. When you click in a blank area of a screen, you'll find some options."
"A lot of times, it'll take a couple of moments for things to go through. If you're not patient about it, it may seem like things aren't working."
"The custom reporting needs to be improved."
"Their reporting options aren't great. BrightGauge was something that we added on, and that enhanced the experience."
"The tracking inventory or the way it tracks the products is not very good."
"It needs to be easier to share tickets between users who need to work together."
"The speed could be better, and the reporting could be a lot better."
"The technical support of ConnectWise PSA is not very good."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is quite reasonable compared to other solutions in the market."
"The pricing is based on a subscription model."
"I don't see anyone other than large companies being able to afford this system."
"Pricing is simple, as it’s per concurrent analysts."
"Clarity offers a perpetual license. Customers purchase the license once and then pay for maintenance. CA provides a subscription model as well. Both models are available for our customers."
"I think pricing of this model is suitable for growing corporations."
"There is a subscripted needed to use Clarity SM. The price of the solution could be less expensive. ServiceNow is less expensive and BMC Helix is priced similar to Clarity SM."
"It is a bit expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for. It is worth it!"
"The pricing of ConnectWise Manage is reasonable."
"There are some different add-ons and benefits that are optional and come at an additional cost."
"The pricing is not based on my clients so much as it is on how many people I have accessing the system, and I think it's pretty good."
"I have one monthly license for all of the ConnectWise products I use, and it's $85 per user."
"The cost can be the main barrier. It's not a solution for a three person company. It just isn't going to be cost effective. Because ConnectWise Manage does have everything there, the licensing is a little bit restrictive as far as how they want to granularly assign licenses rather than having more of an all-inclusive package."
"We're paying $940 a month for 14 users."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Help Desk Software solutions are best for your needs.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Computer Software Company
36%
Performing Arts
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ConnectWise Manage?
In our case, the solution is priced out by the user we have in the system. The pricing is not based on my clients so much as it is on how many people I have accessing the system, and I think it's p...
What needs improvement with ConnectWise Manage?
The technical support of ConnectWise PSA is not very good.
 

Also Known As

CA Service Desk Manager, Clarity Service Management, CA Service Management, Unicenter Service Desk, CA SDM, CA Service Catalog, CA Business Service Insight
ConnectWise Manage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Banco G&T Continental City of Perth, FEMSA, Fujitsu, Manpower, Muslim Commercial Bank - MCB, Punjab National Bank, Santa Clara County Social Services, Stefanini
IT Connexx, High Standards Technology Inc, Solvere One, MyIT, ConnectWise, Simpatico Systems, Fred IT Group, ECS, OneStop, K2 Technologies, Clark Integrated Technologies, Jmark, Geek on Wheels
Find out what your peers are saying about Clarity SM vs. ConnectWise PSA and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.