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Microsoft Windows Server Update Services vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 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
3.3
Windows Server Update Services automates updates, reducing costs and crashes, while requiring minimal management due to its cloud-native design.
Sentiment score
7.3
Quest KACE SMA boosts ROI by enhancing productivity, reducing manual work, and simplifying IT management for rapid adaptation.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.5
Windows Server Update Services support varies, with some praising it and others citing delays and complex processes.
Sentiment score
6.6
Quest KACE provides excellent, responsive customer support with quick solutions, appreciated for multilingual assistance including Spanish, and professional service.
When you pay for the support, you are guaranteed resolution, and I don't think anybody else does that.
Premium support does not have any benefits.
There was a time when contacting the support agency was more straightforward.
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
5.6
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is scalable and integrates well, but faces performance issues in large deployments.
Sentiment score
7.2
Quest KACE SMA efficiently scales across organizational sizes, supporting various networks and expansion needs without sacrificing performance.
To go beyond this, shifting to SCCM is advisable.
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
4.5
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is highly stable and reliable, with occasional minor issues but generally trusted by users.
Sentiment score
8.1
Quest KACE SMA is stable and reliable, offering quick recovery, responsive support, and effective updates with minimal downtime.
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek enhancements in WSUS's GUI, reporting, patch management, integration, stability, automation, documentation, and performance for better usability.
KACE struggles with scalability, automation, user interface, integration, and support, affecting imaging, patch management, and asset management.
The inventory tool and the entire backend of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is poorly coded. It's not very reliable, so you can tell when dealing with bad code, and it may work one day but may not work another.
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

Windows Server Update Services is free but additional server licensing and deployment costs may impact budgeting for smaller enterprises.
Quest KACE SMA offers cost-effective per-device pricing, ideal for large enterprises, though potentially costly for smaller businesses.
It's a free service.
It's free.
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

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services simplifies update management with AD integration, centralized deployment, policy control, automation, and scalability.
Quest KACE SMA simplifies IT management with efficient deployment, inventory, automation, and integration, boosting productivity and resource allocation.
The ease of use and efficient reporting contribute significantly to my overall productivity.
Patch management is indeed valuable, however, the process to achieve it could be improved.
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

Microsoft Windows Server Up...
Ranking in Patch Management
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
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) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is 5.5%, down from 11.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 4.4%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

Chuck Colby - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient patch management, potentially scalable, and free is using Microsoft servers
Whether to use the solution or not is going to be context-sensitive. If you have a strong Microsoft team, you can probably handle this. If, like my team, you also have a dozen other vendors to consider, it's not just the operating system. The pattern I've seen over time with WSUS is that it has the potential to be a fantastic product, yet it doesn't feel finished. People try to implement WSUS, and context is important. In my context, we're a small business without teams of Microsoft-certified people. We are just trying to use what's available to achieve a goal, and WSUS is fine, however, not the best product out there. The business in America often tries to do more with less. I would not recommend it to a team of my size. If a company had half a dozen or a dozen Microsoft-certified people, I'd say, run with it. For a team of my size, no, absolutely not. I would rate the overall solution a solid eight out of ten.
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
14%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?
It's a free service. You just buy the Windows Server operating system, and it is an internal feature.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?
Sometimes, I encounter issues with the Windows internal database, which occasionally does not load, leading to the Pandit console stopping. I have to repair the database and perform export and impo...
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

Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft WSUS, WSUS, Microsoft Software Update Services, Software Update Services, Microsoft SUS, SUS, MS Windows Server Update Services
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Windows Server Update Services vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
861,390 professionals have used our research since 2012.