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ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs Microsoft Active Directory comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 9, 2024

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
6.5
ManageEngine ADAudit Plus reduces costs and boosts business value by enhancing compliance, risk management, and preventing security incidents.
Sentiment score
4.4
Microsoft Active Directory enhances efficiency and access control, providing value through centralized management despite lacking direct ROI calculation.
Feedback from clients indicates their keen interest in the product, as it allows for easy budget approval without needing an advisory board meeting.
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
The solution is really time-saving since I don't need to create users in each server or system manually, and user access control is streamlined.
Senior Consutant at HCLSoftware
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.7
Customers appreciate ManageEngine ADAudit Plus support for its prompt response and effective assistance, despite occasional developer delays.
Sentiment score
5.5
Microsoft Active Directory support is inconsistent, with varying response quality, reliance on online resources, and better service via premium options.
Customer service is effective, even for new users who need guidance on complex issues.
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
I would give their support a nine out of ten, where one is bad and ten is very good.
Senior Engineer - Network & Security at Altria Consulting
Support documents are available on the internet in every language.
Owner at a computer software company with 1-10 employees
If you purchase retail, the support will be more difficult because they will assess the priority or rating from the customer.
IT Operations & Security at veris
Sometimes support takes long to engage and resolve, extending over weeks or even months.
Senior Consutant at HCLSoftware
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
ADAudit Plus is highly scalable, handling extensive file servers and Active Directory, with successful migration and adaptability reports.
Sentiment score
6.2
Microsoft Active Directory is scalable and integrates well, but faces challenges at larger scales, suggesting hybrid solutions.
This product is highly scalable and supports easy migration.
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
I rate the scalability as eight out of ten.
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Microsoft Active Directory scales effectively; I don't foresee any issues with that at all.
Network Security Administrator at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is stable, quickly resolves issues, excels in identity management, and receives high user satisfaction ratings.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Active Directory is praised for its stability and reliability, with minor issues not significantly affecting performance.
When compared to similar products like Accenture Plus or Reminder Plus, this solution excels in identity access management.
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
I am totally satisfied with the functionality of ManageEngine ADAudit Plus, and my clients are totally satisfied as well.
Enterprise Pre-sales Specialist at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
If you meet the installation requirements from Microsoft, it will be very stable.
IT Operations & Security at veris
With multiple domain controllers, stability is ensured.
Senior Consutant at HCLSoftware
I've been working with Microsoft Active Directory for over 3 years, and we've had no problems.
Network Security Administrator at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus requires improved custom reports, interfaces, integration, and documentation for better usability and diverse environment support.
Microsoft Active Directory needs improvements in usability, integration, security updates, synchronization, setup, reporting, support, scalability, and email group sync.
Activity monitoring is cost-effective, workstation monitoring can be challenging without additional training.
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
Having more interactive reports with a better graphical user interface would be beneficial.
Enterprise Pre-sales Specialist at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
I would like to generate reports on users who have not logged into the Active Directory for a specific period, but this feature is not available.
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Exporting and verifying group memberships require command line scripts, which isn't simple.
Senior Consutant at HCLSoftware
There are some features that need improvements in terms of ease of use and frequency of updates.
Information Technology Specialist at stelios@biolandenergy.com
Sometimes, it can be overly complicated, and when you apply Group Policy in an Active Directory environment, sometimes those settings apply and sometimes they don't.
Network Security Administrator at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is cost-effective with flexible perpetual or subscription licensing, offering significant value and affordability.
Microsoft Active Directory pricing varies by region and model; Azure offers cost-effective solutions for large enterprises despite perceived expense.
It is cost-effective.
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
I consider the pricing for ADAudit Plus a bit high compared to other software solutions, so I would rate it around two or three on the pricing scale.
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
For the cloud solution in our region, the pricing of Microsoft Active Directory is very high.
Network & Security Section Head/Digital Transformation at City Edge
I consider Microsoft Active Directory expensive because if you buy this thing bundled with the Windows Directory Server, you get five user licenses for about a thousand euros, or a little bit less than this.
Owner at Syntlogo GmbH
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing with Microsoft Active Directory is straightforward; you just buy the server and then have to buy the user CALs.
Network Security Administrator at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus provides real-time AD monitoring with user analytics, detailed reports, and security enhancements for anomaly detection.
Microsoft Active Directory simplifies management with integration, group policies, and scalable operations across on-premises and cloud environments.
All changes are recorded immediately in real-time and reported for forensic analysis of incidents including who created them, what exactly changed, and what were the old and new values for the attributes.
Enterprise Pre-sales Specialist at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Engineers can receive reports and log details within one to five seconds, which is essential for monitoring user activity swiftly and effectively.
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
The audit functionality and the ability to share user-based reports with management are significant advantages.
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
To assess the impact of Microsoft Active Directory's centralized domain management on security protocols and access permissions, Microsoft Active Directory itself has constraints with security because when we have a solution such as SSO or Single Sign-On, which makes it easier for users to log in, some parts have security openings.
IT Operations & Security at veris
One valuable feature is the centralized creation of IDs.
Senior Consutant at HCLSoftware
I can control all the devices in my domain by just changing the group policies in one place.
Information Technology Specialist at stelios@biolandenergy.com
 

Categories and Ranking

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus
Ranking in Active Directory Management
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Active Directory Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is 8.9%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 6.2%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Active Directory Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Active Directory6.2%
ManageEngine ADAudit Plus8.9%
Other84.9%
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

Md Abdul Hakim - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
Advanced monitoring enhances user tracking that's cost-effective
I have been involved with this product for the last three years, participating in service and support within our company. We are currently supporting over 30 companies. This month, we deployed the solution for three companies, including two RMGs and one private bank in Bangladesh. The popularity of this product is due to its active directory monitoring abilities. Engineers can receive reports and log details within one to five seconds, which is essential for monitoring user activity swiftly and effectively. This product is very well-liked in Bangladesh due to user tracking, failed logins, and Jar reports for any Barna activity or execution. This solution's popularity extends through comprehensive auditing capabilities.
Eko Kurniawan - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Operations & Security at veris
Has simplified credential management and improved secure access control across departments
The features I find most useful in Microsoft Active Directory are especially for the Single Sign-On. This is very useful for users, particularly if they have plenty of applications, such as tablet applications. When they log in to their computer, the application will automatically log in with their credentials. They don't need to remember another user and password to log in to the application because it's already maintained with Microsoft Active Directory using Single Sign-On. To assess the impact of Microsoft Active Directory's centralized domain management on security protocols and access permissions, Microsoft Active Directory itself has constraints with security because when we have a solution such as SSO or Single Sign-On, which makes it easier for users to log in, some parts have security openings. When their computer is compromised with a threat, malware, or other cyber threats, it becomes easier to enter the application without login permission.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?
An area of improvement for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus could be in graphical reporting, as currently, it's limited with old school bar charts, and having more interactive reports with a better graphi...
What is your primary use case for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?
The main use case for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is primarily focused on auditing, so any changes related to Active Directory or Azure Intra ID or even file servers, such as file monitoring, are imm...
What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?
The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
The best way to protect this is to use Microsoft Defender. For Microsoft support for Microsoft Active Directory, I would rate it as eight. If I give it 10, it would be too perfect. Eight is fair. M...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
My main use cases for Microsoft Active Directory are to manage user access and credentials.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Warsaw City Hall, Acument Global Technologies, Inc., Cosma International, Bank of South Pacific, Life Management Center, Central Bank, UncleBob's Self Storage, Leeds Building Society, California Transplant Donor Network, First Response, Blessing Hospital, Northern Land Council, RMK Marine
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine ADAudit Plus vs. Microsoft Active Directory and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.