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ManageEngine Password Manager Pro vs Microsoft Active Directory comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 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
2.1
ManageEngine Password Manager Pro improved security, productivity, and cost-efficiency by automating password tasks and centralizing access management.
Sentiment score
5.0
Microsoft Active Directory enhances productivity by streamlining user management and access control, providing significant time and cost savings.
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
7.0
ManageEngine Password Manager Pro's support is responsive with knowledgeable staff, but PAM cases may experience delays.
Sentiment score
5.7
Microsoft Active Directory support quality varies; users experience mixed results influenced by representatives' skills and response times.
The support for PAM is not very prompt as it requires logging a case first and responses can take a day or two.
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
6.7
Users report varied experiences with ManageEngine Password Manager Pro's scalability, noting both challenges and effective use in expanding data centers.
Sentiment score
6.0
Microsoft Active Directory is scalable, adaptable for diverse users, and effective for organizations of all sizes with Azure integration.
Microsoft Active Directory scales effectively; I don't foresee any issues with that at all.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
Users find ManageEngine Password Manager Pro stable, reliable, easy to recover, and praise its performance and dependability.
Sentiment score
6.2
Microsoft Active Directory is stable and reliable, with high ratings, minor issues, praised scalability, and requires proactive growth planning.
I've been working with Microsoft Active Directory for over 3 years, and we've had no problems.
With multiple domain controllers, stability is ensured.
 

Room For Improvement

ManageEngine Password Manager Pro needs user interface improvements and affordable pricing, catering mainly to tech-savvy users with limited support.
Microsoft Active Directory requires improved integration, security, synchronization, usability, scalability, and support to better serve organizational needs.
Unlike other Manager products that provide remote assistance or support, for PAM, users have to log a case first and may receive a reply in one or two days.
Exporting and verifying group memberships require command line scripts, which isn't simple.
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.
Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services is very difficult for on-premises solutions, while for the cloud solution, it's very easy.
 

Setup Cost

ManageEngine Password Manager Pro is cost-effective for enterprises, with a 25,000 rands fee, compared favorably to competitors.
Active Directory costs differ by organization, often moderate to high, with cloud solutions like Azure reducing expenses for some.
ManageEngine Password Manager Pro is cheaper than other products, such as BeyondTrust, and is more than 50% cheaper compared to the Boomer solution we used before.
For the cloud solution in our region, the pricing of Microsoft Active Directory is very high.
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.
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 Password Manager Pro provides secure, user-friendly password management with strong features, direct machine login, and auditing capabilities.
Microsoft Active Directory provides integration, scalability, access control, and security, making it vital for large organizations seeking efficient management.
The auditing feature is particularly valuable as it makes privileged account usage auditable.
One valuable feature is the centralized creation of IDs.
I can control all the devices in my domain by just changing the group policies in one place.
Having active deployment and well-configured systems helps me manage tasks and easily oversee thousands of users.
 

Categories and Ranking

ManageEngine Password Manag...
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Password Managers (14th)
Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Management (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category, the mindshare of ManageEngine Password Manager Pro is 1.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 3.2%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Single Sign-On (SSO) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Active Directory3.2%
ManageEngine Password Manager Pro1.3%
Other95.5%
Single Sign-On (SSO)
 

Featured Reviews

StephanBotha - PeerSpot reviewer
Secure, safe, reliable, and easy to use
As the infrastructure team, we utilize it to store all our service accounts and web account passwords. We use it for every password we require to access as a tool The tool is secure, safe, reliable, and easy to use. The update might get a bit easier. I have been using ManageEngine Password…
Giovanni Baruzzi - PeerSpot reviewer
Mature technology delivers consistent capability and enhances centralized user management
I think Microsoft Active Directory could be more intuitive. My impression of the integration of Microsoft Active Directory with third-party applications is that it can be made better. It's not the tendency of Microsoft to use a standard, but to modify it to their needs. This is catastrophic if you have to integrate other applications that use the same standard. This creates a major problem, so you have to be very careful and implement step by step, knowing that the partner is Microsoft. I would leave Microsoft Active Directory as it is and build possibly interfaces. For example, there is a provisioning protocol standard named SCIM. It seems that Microsoft Active Directory does not yet have a SCIM interface, which is a problem.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Legal Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ManageEngine Password Manager Pro?
The support for the PAM product is not very prompt. Unlike other Manager products that provide remote assistance or support, for PAM, users have to log a case first and may receive a reply in one o...
What is your primary use case for ManageEngine Password Manager Pro?
We use ManageEngine Password Manager Pro to control privileged accounts. It is specifically meant to randomize passwords for privileged and service accounts. Additionally, we use the auditing featu...
What advice do you have for others considering ManageEngine Password Manager Pro?
Please keep my name anonymous because I have a code of conduct with the company. Without proper approval, I cannot disclose my identity. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
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?
I think Microsoft Active Directory could be more intuitive. My impression of the integration of Microsoft Active Directory with third-party applications is that it can be made better. It's not the ...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
My usual use case for Microsoft Active Directory is to share groups of authorization among many different applications. The other use case for Microsoft Active Directory is the authentication of us...
 

Also Known As

Password Manager Pro
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Australian Catholic University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine Password Manager Pro vs. Microsoft Active Directory and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,836 professionals have used our research since 2012.