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KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs N-able N-sight Remote Monitoring & Management 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
7.3
KACE SMA increases efficiency and productivity, offering rapid ROI by streamlining operations and reducing time, costs, and staffing needs.
Sentiment score
6.3
N-able N-sight boosts ROI by streamlining remote access and server monitoring, reducing costs and improving client management efficiency.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
KACE SMA support is praised for its expertise and 24/7 availability, with occasional room for flexibility improvement.
Sentiment score
6.3
N-able N-sight RMM support is praised for responsiveness and efficiency, with most users reporting high satisfaction and prompt service.
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.
I am happy with the technical support from SolarWinds regarding the product.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
KACE Systems Management Appliance efficiently supports various organization sizes, excelling in integration, scalability, and comprehensive network management.
Sentiment score
7.9
N-able N-sight RMM scales efficiently for SMEs, allowing expansion and integration without issues, benefiting IT departments.
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.
It's affordable, and I have no problem with the cost; the top tiers are affordable for managing about 500 to 1,000 devices.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
KACE Systems Management Appliance is praised for its stability, reliability, and efficient performance, with swift recovery during incidents.
Sentiment score
7.2
Users consider N-able N-sight reliable and efficient, with minor network issues resolved through updates, enhancing time-saving features.
 

Room For Improvement

KACE Systems Management Appliance struggles with scalability, usability, customization, integration, image deployment, and technical support responsiveness.
N-able N-sight requires improved reporting, patch management, user interface, mobile features, consistent support, and Android device management.
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.
AI could be applicable in the product to check server issues, find solutions, log tickets, fix problems, and close tickets automatically, which would be great.
 

Setup Cost

KACE Systems Management Appliance offers cost-effective enterprise solutions, although potentially expensive for small businesses, with no additional feature costs.
N-able N-sight pricing is perceived high, with costs varying by nodes and features, impacting adoption but valued for scalability.
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

KACE SMA offers integrated, centralized IT management for efficient software deployment, asset management, and security with customizable inventories.
N-able N-sight provides real-time monitoring, remote access, and multi-platform support, optimizing efficiency for MSPs with its user-friendly interface.
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

KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
12th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (8th), Patch Management (10th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (8th)
N-able N-sight Remote Monit...
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) category, the mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of N-able N-sight Remote Monitoring & Management is 4.5%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Daniel Gombe - PeerSpot reviewer
Remote management and incident handling have improved with customizable alerts and efficient patch management
The best feature in N-able N-sight Remote Monitoring & Management is the ease of use because I can remote into any machine that's under management without having to drive out to the customer all the time. It helps to reduce workflows because I can create scripts that I can automate, so I don't have to have many people working for me. It helps to reduce incident response times because it's a combination of tools that logs incidents to the PSA, creates tickets, and allows us to manage incidents all in one for an MSP. It does improve service delivery because we can see what's wrong with certain devices before even the customer has a problem, allowing us to remedy it with the necessary tools.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
12%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Performing Arts
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for N-able Remote Monitoring & Management?
The pricing is straightforward: it is based on a per-node basis. A node is a device that you would like to monitor to install the agent. The pricing is neither cheap nor expensive; it falls within ...
What is your primary use case for N-able Remote Monitoring & Management?
I offer remote support for customers through both remote and on-site services. It's a hybrid approach, and the tools that I use to monitor their systems are all included within the RMM application.
What needs improvement with N-able Remote Monitoring & Management?
I haven't seen any areas for improvement yet. I'm not sure if they've added AI to their system, which could be beneficial. AI could be applicable in the product to check server issues, find solutio...
 

Also Known As

Dell KACE Systems Management
N-able Remote Monitoring & Management, SolarWinds MSP Remote Monitoring & Management, MSP RMM, SolarWinds RMM, SolarWinds Remote Monitoring and Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
NetSys Network Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. N-able N-sight Remote Monitoring & Management and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,484 professionals have used our research since 2012.