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ManageEngine ADManager 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
5.5
ManageEngine ADManager Plus reduced costs, increased ROI by 90%, enhanced efficiency, and empowered IT admins, saving 10-15% financially.
Sentiment score
4.4
Microsoft Active Directory enhances efficiency and access control, providing value through centralized management despite lacking direct ROI calculation.
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.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Users generally find ManageEngine ADManager Plus support satisfactory, highlighting responsive service, though some desire faster, chat-based assistance.
Sentiment score
5.5
Microsoft Active Directory support is inconsistent, with varying response quality, reliance on online resources, and better service via premium options.
Technical support from ManageEngine is very satisfactory.
If you purchase retail, the support will be more difficult because they will assess the priority or rating from the customer.
Support documents are available on the internet in every language.
Sometimes support takes long to engage and resolve, extending over weeks or even months.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
ManageEngine ADManager Plus scales well with Active Directory but faces challenges with non-Microsoft environments, rated 7-10/10 by users.
Sentiment score
6.2
Microsoft Active Directory is scalable and integrates well, but faces challenges at larger scales, suggesting hybrid solutions.
Microsoft Active Directory scales effectively; I don't foresee any issues with that at all.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
ADManager Plus is praised for stability and user-friendliness, although minor issues arise with bulk user deployment.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Active Directory is praised for its stability and reliability, with minor issues not significantly affecting performance.
If you meet the installation requirements from Microsoft, it will be very stable.
With multiple domain controllers, stability is ensured.
I've been working with Microsoft Active Directory for over 3 years, and we've had no problems.
 

Room For Improvement

The software's complexity, limited integrations, and high cost hinder user experience, support, and functionality enhancements.
Microsoft Active Directory needs improvements in usability, integration, security updates, synchronization, setup, reporting, support, scalability, and email group sync.
There are always possibilities for improvements in the initial setup of ManageEngine ADManager Plus.
Upgrading from recent to the latest versions is quite complex and time-consuming.
Microsoft should work on the support and ability to solve problems more efficiently.
The current Active Directory UI is limited in report generation, necessitating script knowledge to generate various reports.
There are some features that need improvements in terms of ease of use and frequency of updates.
 

Setup Cost

ManageEngine ADManager Plus offers flexible, competitive pricing with positive value, despite some users expecting lower costs and suggesting discounts.
Microsoft Active Directory pricing varies by region and model; Azure offers cost-effective solutions for large enterprises despite perceived expense.
The solution is perceived as cheap, and the licensing is annual.
So it is 200 euros per user.
For the cloud solution in our region, the pricing of Microsoft Active Directory is very high.
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.
 

Valuable Features

ManageEngine ADManager Plus provides automation, integration, secure management, and customization for efficient Active Directory administration and user management.
Microsoft Active Directory simplifies management with integration, group policies, and scalable operations across on-premises and cloud environments.
The software is fast, secure, and enables me to manage everything in one place.
Reporting is the most valuable feature of ManageEngine ADManager Plus and is highly usable.
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.
These Group Policies provide enhancement, helping to reduce administrative overhead and enhance productivity.
The features and capabilities of Microsoft Active Directory that I have found the most valuable over the years are that it is a mature technology, it's stable, and it delivers what it promises.
 

Categories and Ranking

ManageEngine ADManager Plus
Ranking in Active Directory Management
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Active Directory Management
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of ManageEngine ADManager Plus is 14.5%, up from 13.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 6.2%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Active Directory Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ManageEngine ADManager Plus14.5%
Microsoft Active Directory6.2%
Other79.3%
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

MUBDIUL ISLAM - PeerSpot reviewer
User management becomes efficient and installation is straightforward
My primary use case for ADManager is to manage users and groups, perform group policy without logging into Active Directory, and provide easy and secure management and monitoring capabilities. One of my clients uses ADManager for these purposes With ADManager, I can easily complete any Active…
Eko Kurniawan - PeerSpot reviewer
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
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ManageEngine ADManager Plus?
Some of my clients experience issues with the GPO results, which do not always generate the real outcomes. This needs to be resolved by technicians. Additionally, upgrading from recent to the lates...
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

Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine ADManager Plus vs. Microsoft Active Directory and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.