N-able N-central vs Spiceworks comparison

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N-able N-central

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between N-able N-central and Spiceworks based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about NinjaOne, Kaseya, TeamViewer and others in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM).

To learn more, read our detailed Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Report (Updated: July 2026).

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)

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Helped 908,877 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

N-able N-central

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (6th)

Spiceworks

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Help Desk Software (14th), IT Asset Management (12th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (44th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Systems Management solutions, they serve different purposes. N-able N-central is designed for Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) and holds a mindshare of 5.5%, down 8.9% compared to last year.
Spiceworks, on the other hand, focuses on IT Infrastructure Monitoring, holds 0.7% mindshare, up 0.4% since last year.

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
N-able N-central	5.5%
NinjaOne	10.4%
Kaseya VSA	10.0%
Other	74.1%

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)

IT Infrastructure Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Spiceworks	0.7%
Zabbix	4.9%
Datadog	3.7%
Other	90.7%

IT Infrastructure Monitoring

Q&A Highlights

Stephen Kane

Technical Solutions Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Nov 01, 2017

Solarwinds vs Spiceworks vs Airwatch

Unfortunately pricing is never that simple with each product having a multi-tiered offering. Also with vastly different feature sets between vendor products it can be impossible to make side-by-side comparisons. Before even looking at pricing or referring to the good book of Gartner you should put together a list of: 1. Everyday tasks at a functional level 2. How your team perform them today 3. Issues associated with the processes used 4. Your vision of how it could be done Without having properly defined your requirements will set you up for the typical scenario where the project scope slowly creeps away from what is the vest fit for your use-case and spiral out of control.

Transition has been smooth and integration supports compliance with ease

Featured Reviews

Nyiko Malapane

Senior Operations Specialist at Tagit cc

The transition to N-able N-central was very smooth. We were confident that our migration would not affect any operations. It was easy to migrate our clients into the new solutions. What we have experienced is that only branding has changed along with the way reports are structured. The solution is more advanced and the transition was well thought out. The process is managed properly. Regarding the integration capabilities of N-able N-central, my colleagues who work with this solution recently completed an ISO quality audit. The auditor could understand and manage how we handle our assets and environment because it's quite simple, even for someone who doesn't use the platform daily. This demonstrates that we are using a solution that meets our compliance requirements. N-able N-central is easy to use. Once licenses are provisioned, it's simple for my team to deploy the solution from anywhere remotely, provided there is internet access or remote access to the device.

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Rohit Samel

Account Manager Enterprise Sales at Navdeep Technologies Pvt.Ltd

Cloud storage with no hardware needed and great comprehensive reports

The software is cloud-based, so I do not need to store any data locally. It is a fully software-based solution, eliminating the need for investment in hardware. We have the capability to create reports as needed. It is good software to use, as there were no incidents where I needed to contact technical support. Additionally, it is free software.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"N-able N-central has numerous good features. The asset tracking capability is powerful, allowing you to track hardware and software on devices connected to your network. The remote control is smooth, securely enabling remote access to servers and routers. It can be integrated with ticketing systems and other tools like CrowdStrike and N-able EDR for comprehensive network monitoring and security. The automation feature is handy, allowing you to schedule tasks, respond to system triggers, and automate problem resolution, such as handling disk space issues automatically."

"The transition to N-able N-central was very smooth; we were confident that our migration would not affect any operations, and it was easy to migrate our clients into the new solutions."

"The most valuable feature of N-able N-central is the many options it has."

"I like the remote connectivity, reporting suite, and patch management module."

"N-able N-central is very scalable."

"The support is at a good level. So normally, we can always get to a solution when we are stuck with some monitoring problems that we encounter."

"N-able N-central is an easy tool to implement with customers."

"It's a very robust product. They're continuing to invest and put new enhancements into the product. They're very open about what their roadmap is, which is very good for us because then as a business, we can plan."

More N-able N-central pros

"The customization of the service desk; we set it up for use by different departments that had specific tracking needs and were able to meet those needs."

"The software is cloud-based, so I do not need to store any data locally."

"It's a pretty good product, I like it, and it's given me some fairly valuable information that I've needed on a couple of occasions that no other product would present to me."

"The nice thing about Spiceworks is always it's free. Monitoring of printers for low toner. Finding machines that have low memory or low hard disk space."

"As a free solution, it has provided us a huge benefit, with the only expense being a virtual machine off of an existing cluster."

"The solution is very stable. It's reliable and efficient."

"Spiceworks gives you a very good but basic help desk platform that is easy to implement and use."

"Tickets by e-mail, with actions by hastag."

More Spiceworks pros

Cons

"The solution's overall integration should be improved."

"N-central has limited mobile device management (MDM) support, specifically for Android devices. This limitation affected a deal with a client who had numerous Android devices to manage. It would be beneficial if N-central could expand its MDM support to include Android devices."

"The industry has moved towards Redfish for out-of-band and in-band monitoring, yet N-able N-central still relies on older protocols like SNMP."

"It was previously expensive and tedious to manage different licenses."

"At this moment, we encounter stability issues with N-able N-central from time to time."

"Involving AI in the platform could improve it further."

"We have to do the effort ourselves because Enable is not really strategically going there because I assume there's not much money to make to improve that or to convince customers to start with their product."

"The support from our direct team is very good, but the support from their day-to-day ongoing help desk isn't that good. They have still got some work to do on that, but they have been focusing on that a lot over the last number of years. So, it has gotten a lot better than it was."

More N-able N-central cons

"Having an integrated asset management tool, where I can plug in things that are offline, would be good."

"They've also tried to integrate it with social logins, like Twitter and LinkedIn, and that type of login authentication has no place in a corporate application."

"The SNMP sniffer requires a lot of work to get right."

"Only issue was with scalability. After some time, as the back-end DB grew bigger, the solution started to perform slower."

"It would be nice to connect multi Spiceworks servers together to get all of the information across different sites."

"The issue that we had, that caused us to stop using Spiceworks, was that it didn’t seem designed for a help desk of our scale, and we're a company with over 2500 employees."

"I do remember the process for adding an SSL certificate to be a little convoluted."

"I am unable to provide suggestions for improvement at this moment."

More Spiceworks cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing and licensing are average, almost six out of ten."

"N-able N-central is not an expensive solution."

"The tool is cheap."

"Seeing that it is a low-cost solution, I would advise you to go ahead with Spiceworks and experiment with it to see if you can get things working properly, especially if you currently don't have any existing service desk software in place."

"The product is free! Get it now."

"It might be about $300 annually for a bigger company. If you pay annually, it's better and cheaper."

"It's free."

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Comparison Review

it_user174738

IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

May 31, 2015

Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor

I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…

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Answers from the Community

Stephen Kane

Technical Solutions Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Nov 1, 2017

Solarwinds vs Spiceworks vs Airwatch

2 out of 9 answers

it_user719895

Diretor de Sistemas de Informação at a transportation company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Oct 30, 2017

You are comparing 3 different products. Solarwinds play in the major league of NMS. Spiceworks is adware and plays in the minor league. Airwatch is an MDM/MAM product. What is your goal?

Read full answer

it_user357969

Managing Partner at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Oct 30, 2017

Agree with Antonio. Plus, if you’re talking about client desktop management, I think you might be missing better players.

Read full answer

See all 9 answers

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

14%

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

15%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	10

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with N-able N-central?

The MSP part of N-able N-central has evolved over the years. They have been trying to move from professional or network server and desktop licensing to make it more comprehensive. With professional...

What is your primary use case for N-able N-central?

We have been dealing with Enable EDR and N-able N-central, which is a management center. It's the NOC solution that we are currently running our asset management on. We are managing tasks in that e...

What advice do you have for others considering N-able N-central?

There's a new node for N-able N-central which they have addressed. Our outstanding items include reviewing our pricing and partnership level, which can provide additional benefits when we exceed 10...

What needs improvement with Spiceworks?

I am unable to provide suggestions for improvement at this moment, however, I can provide feedback later. Currently, there do not seem to be any issues.

What is your primary use case for Spiceworks?

If our customers need backup support, we can work with them and provide it. Whatever solution the customer requires, we will ensure it is provided.

What advice do you have for others considering Spiceworks?

It performs its intended functions. We may use it, but perhaps not for ourselves, but for our customers, potentially with Channel Partners. Whenever we are posting any query or reply on a ticket, i...

NinjaOne vs N-able N-central

Comparisons

Compared 23% of the time

Kaseya VSA vs N-able N-central

Compared 10% of the time

N-able N-sight Remote Monitoring & Management vs N-able N-central

Compared 9% of the time

Atera vs N-able N-central

Compared 9% of the time

TeamViewer ONE vs N-able N-central

Compared 3% of the time

More N-able N-central Competitors

ServiceNow vs Spiceworks

Compared 6% of the time

Zabbix vs Spiceworks

Compared 6% of the time

Nagios XI vs Spiceworks

Compared 5% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs Spiceworks

Compared 5% of the time

Lansweeper vs Spiceworks

Compared 4% of the time

More Spiceworks Competitors

Product Reports

N-able N-central

Download N-able N-central product report

Download Spiceworks product report

Also Known As

SolarWinds N-central, SolarWinds MSP N-central

No data available

Overview

N-able N-central is an all-encompassing IT management platform geared towards efficient network oversight. It offers comprehensive tools for monitoring and automation, which are crucial for managed services providers managing complex network environments.

N-able N-central provides solutions tailored to IT management, offering remote connectivity, asset tracking, and integration with systems like CrowdStrike. Its single-pane interface supports extensive device monitoring, script execution, and automation for task scheduling. The platform emphasizes robust patch management and reliable support, making it suitable for client integration and compliance audits. However, improvements are needed in remote access, application integration, and mobile device support. Users suggest investing in Redfish and REST API monitoring due to unreliable SNMP and an increased focus on AI to enhance maintenance recommendations.

What are the key features of N-able N-central?

Intuitive Remote Connectivity: Facilitates seamless access and management from anywhere.
Asset Tracking: Offers robust tracking of hardware and software assets within a network.
Automation: Streamlines task scheduling and resolution processes.
Patch Management: Ensures systems are updated and secure efficiently.
Integration Support: Seamlessly works with systems like CrowdStrike for enhanced security.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Comprehensive Monitoring: Helps manage diverse network environments with ease.
Scalability: Supports expansion in IT management capabilities as businesses grow.
Security Enhancement: Strengthens organizational security through integrated patch management and antivirus capabilities.
Efficient IT Management: Simplifies tasks through automation, reducing manual effort and increasing productivity.

N-able N-central is embraced in industries requiring robust IT management solutions, particularly managed services providers. It's widely used for monitoring systems, remote access, and asset tracking. Industries leverage its automation and integration capabilities to maintain system stability and security, addressing threats without heavy IT infrastructure on clients' premises.

N-able

Spiceworks is a freeware IT management tool offering efficient ticketing systems and inventory management with Active Directory integration, making it user-friendly and effective for network monitoring.

Spiceworks supports IT teams with device management and network visibility through strong community backing, ease of use, and comprehensive features like reporting and asset tracking. Its cost-effectiveness is attractive, though users seek improvements such as more customization, better ticketing, enhanced stability, and improved integration capabilities. Security, performance, and scalability are key focuses for enhancement.

What are the key features of Spiceworks?

Ticketing System: Simplifies incident logging and service requests.
Inventory Management: Tracks IT assets efficiently.
Network Monitoring: Offers reliable network oversight.
Active Directory Integration: Seamless integration for user management.
Community Support: Access to troubleshooting and insights.
Reporting: Facilitates in-depth analysis through reports.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Cost-Effectiveness: Lowers expenses for IT management.
Ease of Integration: Fits smoothly into existing systems.
Improved IT Support: Enhances incident response and monitoring.
Global Collaboration: Facilitates network management across locations.
Resource Efficiency: Streamlines operational tasks for IT teams.

In many industries, Spiceworks is utilized for managing infrastructure, facilitating network oversight, and documenting IT services. Teams efficiently manage networks globally, monitor devices like routers and switches, and provide IT support without reliance on managed service vendors, making integration straightforward.

Sample Customers

Premier Technology Solutions

Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Symantec, Webroot, EMC, Pertino

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)