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GFI LanGuard vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 19, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
GFI LanGuard enhances security, compliance, and ROI by streamlining patch management, identifying vulnerabilities, and providing actionable insights.
Sentiment score
7.3
KACE SMA increases efficiency and productivity, offering rapid ROI by streamlining operations and reducing time, costs, and staffing needs.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.0
GFI LanGuard's customer service is responsive and helpful, though some regions experience inconsistent technical support quality.
Sentiment score
6.6
KACE SMA support is praised for its expertise and 24/7 availability, with occasional room for flexibility improvement.
I would rate the customer support for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as a 10.
The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
GFI LanGuard offers scalable flexibility for diverse setups, integrating seamlessly and effectively supporting environments up to 400 users.
Sentiment score
7.2
KACE Systems Management Appliance efficiently supports various organization sizes, excelling in integration, scalability, and comprehensive network management.
We have outgrown the size of one KACE appliance and are now running two.
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
GFI LanGuard is stable and insightful, though remote client challenges on MPLS networks can arise but are manageable.
Sentiment score
8.1
KACE Systems Management Appliance is praised for its stability, reliability, and efficient performance, with swift recovery during incidents.
 

Room For Improvement

GFI LanGuard needs improved network management, better Linux documentation, remote work support, cloud options, and enhanced third-party integrations.
KACE Systems Management Appliance struggles with scalability, usability, customization, integration, image deployment, and technical support responsiveness.
Currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the university.
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers find GFI LanGuard pricing competitive, with annual costs between $1,000-$2,500 and initial licenses at $21,000.
KACE Systems Management Appliance offers cost-effective enterprise solutions, although potentially expensive for small businesses, with no additional feature costs.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.
 

Valuable Features

GFI LanGuard provides comprehensive vulnerability assessment, patch management, and reporting, with user-friendly interface and resource efficiency, improving network security.
KACE SMA offers integrated, centralized IT management for efficient software deployment, asset management, and security with customizable inventories.
Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before.
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
 

Categories and Ranking

GFI LanGuard
Ranking in Patch Management
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Patch Management
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (8th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (12th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of GFI LanGuard is 2.2%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 4.1%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)4.1%
GFI LanGuard2.2%
Other93.7%
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

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…
Scott Tweed - PeerSpot reviewer
Low maintenance, reliable, and easy to create packages
I like how when you click on the device, it shows you everything that has changed as well as the software versioning. I am really enjoying the inventory aspect of it. The deployment process for both deploying and creating a package is straightforward. I believe the inventory in KACE is superior to SCCM's. I know with SCCM I could do things like remote console into machines via the agent's remote console, but that is not a feature that is provided in KACE. I know that at least in the Systems Management Appliance, I can't get to it. I'm not sure how distribution works, with distribution points. I'm not sure if KACE has that feature. You could use an SCCM to set up distribution points at remote sites so that they don't have to download patches or software from across the country. If you have a DP or something similar, they could pull it down.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Photography Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
12%
Government
10%
Non Profit
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GFI LanGuard?
I have not encountered the pricing aspect since I am from the technical side; only the sales team handles the pricing part.
What needs improvement with GFI LanGuard?
The product is currently on-premise, and I think the cloud option is still yet to come. If a customer has their own cloud, we can host it there, but the SaaS model is not available, and most compan...
What is your primary use case for GFI LanGuard?
My experience with GFI LanGuard involves patch management where, whenever we visit customers, they request patches for both third-party applications and OS systems. When it is on-premise, we can pr...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
I wish Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) would have a top-down approach since we use orgs; currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My main use case for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is to deploy applications and maintain security, and we use it day-to-day to handle those tasks. With Quest KACE Systems Managemen...
 

Also Known As

LanGuard
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

BayView Medical Clinic, FrugalBrothers Software, Zaw, National Theatre, American Red Cross
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about GFI LanGuard vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.