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.
Information Technology System Engineer at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Feb 13, 2023
Coming from a small business standpoint, they're really expensive for the number of users. But that's not necessarily a knock against them. They're producing a piece of software for a particular segment. I just do not think they necessarily designed their virtual appliance and their support for a ten-person company. They are expensive, but are they unjustifiably expensive? I can't say that.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Mar 30, 2022
As with many platforms, the more you can put in, the better the solution will function. The time taken to deploy complex packages can be time-consuming, but this is outside of the KACE environment directly. Licencing has been quite simple throughout. We have successfully expanded our support numerous times, including additional features and devices.
Learn what your peers think about KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
Licensing is very straightforward. They don't overcomplicate it. This is not a Cisco product where you have to have 30 different licenses just to open the box. It's pretty much set-and-forget. You pay an annual license. Licensing is based, in part, on number of seats, but they're very flexible and they're willing to work with you. The cost is in the mid to upper range, but the ROI exceeds the outside cost, especially once you've had the system for a while. And that's all the more true since they now offer it as a cloud-based solution. You can either buy their cloud-based solution or you can host it on your own cloud solution, which is what we've chosen to do because we already own the license for it. If you already own the license for it, it doesn't matter if you're using their old hardware or if you want to migrate your stuff up to the cloud—you own the license. If you want to migrate up to the cloud, they say, "Yeah, no problem. Here's a preconfigured image with all the software installed on it already. All you have to do is create the environment for it in Azure, move this in there and then move your backups, your data, from your old system to this one." Provided you don't mess yourself up like we did a few times, it just flows right in.
Network systems Administrator at Azura Credit Union
User
Nov 5, 2021
If your team is small like ours, I highly recommend working with an install vendor. For us, it wasn't as much a technically challenging thing to implement as much as what the vendor showed us during setup and installation that was just so helpful. With their help, we were able to hit the ground running and had much less of a learning curve.
Their pricing is per end-point device. There is an initial cost for the license for the server, which is pretty low, and then there is a per end-point device license, which is also fairly low. So, the pricing is still reasonable.
Help Desk Technician at a hospitality company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Sep 22, 2021
In terms of pricing and licensing, my advice is that you need to assess what you need and then look at what they offer. It's easy to get caught up in the things that you want, but don't really need. You really want to assess what's best for your environment and to plan it very well. Ideally, if there is a project manager available then they should help with the planning because you want your end goal to be in line with what you are trying to do. A reseller will try to sell you everything under the sun, so it's important that you plan well and know what is required in your environment.
IT Systems Administrator at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jun 1, 2021
The pricing and licensing are absolutely fair. As far as I know there are no other costs that come with using it. It's just the licenses for the KACE based on the number of computers. Our VMware servers already existed, so there were no other costs for us.
Database Administrator at Department of National Defence - Canada
Real User
May 18, 2021
Based on other solutions that we had implemented, its pricing seems to be quite competitive. It is not inexpensive, but it is also not more expensive than any other solution. They have the standard licensing fees and support fees.
We are a university. So, we have a very good price for the system. I think the price for the system is worth it because of the security patch management. The security patch management is very important for us. The price is very good for KACE SMA, the functionality you get, and the patch management. The technical support you get from KACE is sometimes priceless. Sometimes, you don't need very much support. However, if you need support, it is good for me to know that there are people who have very good knowledge about the system. I am willing to pay for that.
Assistant Unit Head, IT Systems Support at a security firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Apr 5, 2021
Its pricing model is good for what it offers. Nobody here gives me a hard time about renewing the contract every year. It might be a little cost prohibitive for a smaller company who has to stand up a virtual environment as well as have virtual environment licensing and the hardware. If you have a smaller environment, it might be cost prohibitive. If you only have a couple of hundred computers, you might be more willing to do those manually. In our environment, the cost savings of having KACE far outweigh the licensing costs. We are okay with its pricing model.
Enterprise Service Desk Systems Manager at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Feb 17, 2021
Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed. When we looked at it, KACE was competitively priced versus other agent-based asset and inventory management solutions. Where we really get a lot of value is that the product licensing is only based on that. It means that if we implement another IT service, we can use it with no problem and it doesn't cost anything more to put that in there. We can just keep adding to it, so we're basically getting more use for no extra costs. An example is that we have other departments and other kinds of entities within our business, and they are utilizing the service desk functionality for things outside of plain IT support.
Systems Administrator at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Feb 12, 2021
The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it. It's a core software on our system. Every single person uses KACE. Even for asset management, we have KACE Endpoint Management on each one of our devices as well. People use the help desk and we use it to track and deploy things. It's integral. There are no costs in addition to their standard licensing fees.
Security Systems Integrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Feb 10, 2021
We need it, so we have to pay the price. It is what it is. If you need a gallon of milk, then you have to pay the price for it. You don't want to buy the cheap stuff. You want to buy the stuff that is organic and good for your body, which doesn't have all this other junk in it. You want it clean for your body. Quest has done that for our deployment and management systems.
Associate Director -Head of ICT with 51-200 employees
Real User
Nov 6, 2018
It was a very attractive price. This is a huge feature of this product. If you would "credit score" this product versus others out there on the market, this one has a very attractive price.
KACE Systems Management Appliance offers integration capabilities, efficient image deployment, and comprehensive asset management. It supports centralized management across diverse devices and locations, simplifying IT processes and enhancing security. KACE Systems Management Appliance provides single-pane visibility for endpoint management, mass software deployment, automated patch management, robust scripting, and detailed inventory tracking. It streamlines IT management and improves...
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.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
The product is reasonably priced.
Coming from a small business standpoint, they're really expensive for the number of users. But that's not necessarily a knock against them. They're producing a piece of software for a particular segment. I just do not think they necessarily designed their virtual appliance and their support for a ten-person company. They are expensive, but are they unjustifiably expensive? I can't say that.
As with many platforms, the more you can put in, the better the solution will function. The time taken to deploy complex packages can be time-consuming, but this is outside of the KACE environment directly. Licencing has been quite simple throughout. We have successfully expanded our support numerous times, including additional features and devices.
The pricing is fair.
The cost is reasonable. I would definitely take the JumpStart training that is offered as it helps to get you started.
Licensing is very straightforward. They don't overcomplicate it. This is not a Cisco product where you have to have 30 different licenses just to open the box. It's pretty much set-and-forget. You pay an annual license. Licensing is based, in part, on number of seats, but they're very flexible and they're willing to work with you. The cost is in the mid to upper range, but the ROI exceeds the outside cost, especially once you've had the system for a while. And that's all the more true since they now offer it as a cloud-based solution. You can either buy their cloud-based solution or you can host it on your own cloud solution, which is what we've chosen to do because we already own the license for it. If you already own the license for it, it doesn't matter if you're using their old hardware or if you want to migrate your stuff up to the cloud—you own the license. If you want to migrate up to the cloud, they say, "Yeah, no problem. Here's a preconfigured image with all the software installed on it already. All you have to do is create the environment for it in Azure, move this in there and then move your backups, your data, from your old system to this one." Provided you don't mess yourself up like we did a few times, it just flows right in.
If your team is small like ours, I highly recommend working with an install vendor. For us, it wasn't as much a technically challenging thing to implement as much as what the vendor showed us during setup and installation that was just so helpful. With their help, we were able to hit the ground running and had much less of a learning curve.
Their pricing is per end-point device. There is an initial cost for the license for the server, which is pretty low, and then there is a per end-point device license, which is also fairly low. So, the pricing is still reasonable.
In terms of pricing and licensing, my advice is that you need to assess what you need and then look at what they offer. It's easy to get caught up in the things that you want, but don't really need. You really want to assess what's best for your environment and to plan it very well. Ideally, if there is a project manager available then they should help with the planning because you want your end goal to be in line with what you are trying to do. A reseller will try to sell you everything under the sun, so it's important that you plan well and know what is required in your environment.
The pricing and licensing are absolutely fair. As far as I know there are no other costs that come with using it. It's just the licenses for the KACE based on the number of computers. Our VMware servers already existed, so there were no other costs for us.
We pay annually for technical support.
Based on other solutions that we had implemented, its pricing seems to be quite competitive. It is not inexpensive, but it is also not more expensive than any other solution. They have the standard licensing fees and support fees.
We buy consulting fees from Software Factory, then we pay extra for it.
We are a university. So, we have a very good price for the system. I think the price for the system is worth it because of the security patch management. The security patch management is very important for us. The price is very good for KACE SMA, the functionality you get, and the patch management. The technical support you get from KACE is sometimes priceless. Sometimes, you don't need very much support. However, if you need support, it is good for me to know that there are people who have very good knowledge about the system. I am willing to pay for that.
Its pricing model is good for what it offers. Nobody here gives me a hard time about renewing the contract every year. It might be a little cost prohibitive for a smaller company who has to stand up a virtual environment as well as have virtual environment licensing and the hardware. If you have a smaller environment, it might be cost prohibitive. If you only have a couple of hundred computers, you might be more willing to do those manually. In our environment, the cost savings of having KACE far outweigh the licensing costs. We are okay with its pricing model.
Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed. When we looked at it, KACE was competitively priced versus other agent-based asset and inventory management solutions. Where we really get a lot of value is that the product licensing is only based on that. It means that if we implement another IT service, we can use it with no problem and it doesn't cost anything more to put that in there. We can just keep adding to it, so we're basically getting more use for no extra costs. An example is that we have other departments and other kinds of entities within our business, and they are utilizing the service desk functionality for things outside of plain IT support.
The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it. It's a core software on our system. Every single person uses KACE. Even for asset management, we have KACE Endpoint Management on each one of our devices as well. People use the help desk and we use it to track and deploy things. It's integral. There are no costs in addition to their standard licensing fees.
We need it, so we have to pay the price. It is what it is. If you need a gallon of milk, then you have to pay the price for it. You don't want to buy the cheap stuff. You want to buy the stuff that is organic and good for your body, which doesn't have all this other junk in it. You want it clean for your body. Quest has done that for our deployment and management systems.
It was a very attractive price. This is a huge feature of this product. If you would "credit score" this product versus others out there on the market, this one has a very attractive price.
It may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for.