Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Atera vs BigFix comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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

Atera
Ranking in Patch Management
12th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
IT Service Management (ITSM) (13th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (5th)
BigFix
Ranking in Patch Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (6th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (23rd), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Atera is 4.5%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BigFix is 7.9%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

EC
An AI-powered IT management platform that force multiplies IT teams’ brainpower & enables relentless operational excellence for customers
There should be enhancements in network monitoring capabilities beyond just physical devices like computers and servers. It would be beneficial to include better tools for monitoring networking infrastructure such as routers. Additionally, while Atera excels in ticket management, I believe there's room for improvement in user authentication and security features, especially when accessing and managing remote equipment. These updates would contribute to a more robust and secure user experience overall. Atera should include a monitoring tool integrated with Azure or similar cloud platforms. It would be beneficial to have capabilities for monitoring network growth and automatically generating statistics based on system stability and performance metrics. This feature would help us better manage and optimize our equipment and network resources, especially for strategic customer planning and resource allocation.
Bella Yakoby - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers third-party patching feature, good scalability, and enhance endpoint management capabilities
From the perspective of the team that's handling the environment, it's not so user-friendly compared to other solutions, the competitors. We hire new teams from time to time, and they are complaining, look, although BigFix is very robust and cross-platform, it's not so fun to work with. The user interface for the technical teams is not so advanced. It's not so intuitive compared to SCCM, compared to ManageEngine. And this is the fact that they have, with the teams, because they have the rejection. The look and feel of the system are old-fashioned. For new employees, it's less easy to find someone I don't need to educate on how to work with BigFix. Although it's easy, it's not as intuitive as the other solutions, and the functionality of the other solutions is less advanced. Let's summarize: The user interface has to be changed from the perspective of the teams that are managing the product. It's old school.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Atera's Remote Access feature has been invaluable for our monitoring needs. It allows us to use FlashOps in Azure to control equipment remotely and supervise real-time details like server and computer statuses for our clients. This access is crucial as it enables us to handle network issues and manage server administration efficiently. Regarding automation, Atera's tools have significantly boosted our service efficiency. They streamline tasks like installing tools and provide quick insights into critical issues with our servers. This saves us time and enhances our ability to deliver valuable services, especially for large-scale projects requiring precise and swift actions."
"There are a lot fewer hardware replacements. Once people migrated from old style hard disks over to SSDs, you have things like hard disks filling up faster. So, I run a script to clear out all the waste, e.g., all the temporary files and downloads. A lot of our business runs through a custom web application that we built. This involves people downloading a lot of PDFs and Excel files, and not just having them sitting in folders. With Atera, I can just go through and clean the temporary files out."
"It's very easy to use, not just for me, but even for people who have claimed, "I'm not very good at IT." Once you have it installed and you have it set up, it pretty much works by itself. It really helps you do what you need to do. It's easy to use for a beginner, compared to some of the other larger RMMs that are a little bit more complicated."
"All of the features of Atera are valuable because they allow the customers to achieve their goals. It is easy to use, has good collaboration, and has zero maintenance."
"Atera has saved our organization money. We look at Atera as an extra employee that we only pay about $300 a month. This is incredible savings over having to hire somebody to do all the tasks that Atera performs for us."
"The most valuable features of this solution are automatic batch matching and unattended support access."
"I really like the Shared Script Library and automation tasks which they have implemented... because all the Atera users in the community can share their scripts and their automation tasks knowledge. The same goes for the Shared SNMP Template Library."
"I have better access when I go to look for something regarding either a specific user or software. It is easier to locate. When I am troubleshooting with my clients on the phone, I am not fiddling around looking through a bunch of ticket notes trying to locate something. It makes me a lot more efficient."
"It is pretty secure, and it gives extensive vulnerability features as compared to other applications. It supports multiple languages, and the security checks are pretty high as compared to other tools in the market."
"It's enabled us to have a highly successful endpoint patching program for the past decade. It's been enormously successful there. It's also become a core part of many of our business processes, from compliance monitoring of endpoints, encryption management, key escrow, and local administrator password escrow. It's built into our inventory. It's very much everywhere."
"The most valuable aspect of BigFix is its ability to patch desktops. While we have complete control over servers and can easily push patches to them, desktops pose a greater risk for leaks and vulnerabilities if patches are not installed in a timely manner. By using BigFix, we have significantly improved our ability to patch desktops, whether they are laptops, desktops, or other mobile devices used by end-users."
"The most valuable feature of BigFix is the reporting tool and patching Windows."
"I recommend BigFix to others."
"Ability to run custom reports and custom relevance."
"The most valuable features are patch management, software installation, and asset management."
"Before we had BigFix, we had problems with some malware. BigFix allows us to immediately patch all instances of endpoints that were vulnerable to antivirus and initiate scans. That's key."
 

Cons

"Having more freedom to perform identity access management would be great."
"There is definitely room for improvement with its automation capabilities."
"The chat solutions need improvement because we first need to connect to the customer. This needs to improve so that there is a particular feature that can provide support to customers even if they are not connected to a computer."
"Atera could be improved by adding more granular control over technician roles. We need more specific controls on what technicians can access, like limiting their ability to view certain sections or access devices and share files. This feature request has already been made. The IP asset management capabilities need improvement to better manage assets beyond just devices."
"It should improve its processes."
"It will be interesting if Atera can integrate all kinds of products. In North America, there are a lot of resellers, like Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Arrow Electronics, etc. It would be amazing if Atera could integrate with these products. If they could integrate with these products for MSPs, it would be much easier. Then, if you are buying something, and need to add something, you don't need to jump from place to place because this is a very quick sales instrument for use on a daily basis."
"Customization could be improved."
"I also use Apple Zoho, which does not require you to download anything. You can get help from Zoho. Atera, on the other hand, requires you to download an applet."
"The product lacks AI, ML, and IIT."
"The reporting structure could be a little more simplistic. Currently, it throws too many vulnerabilities. Some of them are not needed because they are only informational and limitations, and they are not of much help. It doesn't need to show us these things."
"It can be improved speed-wise. They can make it a little bit light. If you do any query for servers in bulk, it can take some time. Similarly, creating a job can take some time."
"Maybe the online help could be improved. It'd be nice if you would have a lot more phrases and keywords that you could search for and find answers with the help."
"Implementing a business solution with BigFix has some issues, primarily concerning the time required for distribution to clients if there are too many."
"BigFix could improve its asset management capabilities to discover assets, including hardware."
"I would like to see SDK for Web UI included in the next release."
"I'm looking for them to make big web UI improvements."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of cost, it's not very expensive. I’d rate it around three or four out of ten, considering its value for money."
"We pay per user. I am the only user. It is $150 per user. If I need to add one, it is not as costly as expanding with other providers."
"The solution cost approximately $200 Canadian per month."
"It comes with unlimited devices, so the fixed price cost is taken out of my budget. So, I'm all good."
"With Atera, the more you add, the cheaper the cost of the additional endpoints will be."
"Pricing is my favorite part of it. It was per user, not per client."
"Atera's pricing stays fixed and predictable, enabling us to add more customers and unlimited monitored devices. We still have a number of clients who fit a break/fix IT model. This is something where clients are complaining more about having to pay extra month-by-month for technology services. With Atera's model, we don't have to be going out and asking for more from clients each month. Right now, with where we are at in terms of scale, this is very important to us."
"The value of the product is perfect, neither cheap nor expensive. I think it is the right rate. It would be awesome if it continued to be the same price because it is a great solution that I like. I like it because I'm not paying per device. I have some customers on monthly contracts and some of them are on break'n fix. If I have a client who is on break'n fix, and they need to pay per agent, then I am losing money. If they were ever to change structures, going to pay-per-device model, then I would need to think about changing to something else."
"You get what we call the Platform Edition, which you get for free. The patch service is maybe $0.50 per workstation per month. Then there's the basic server cost, which is about $1.50 per server per month. You also get into Lifecycle which does power management, OSD remote control, and those types of things, and that might be about 10 times the price - which works out to about $13 per server and, maybe $5 per workstation per month."
"The price of the solution is high. There are not any additional fees from the standard license."
"You are charged per server and per workstation when using BigFix. ManageEngine is a lot cheaper than BigFix. There are some additional costs, such as support."
"We have a subscription-based contract with BigFix."
"It might be about $23 a client."
"The price of BigFix is better than the solutions. You are able to pay monthly or annually. There are not any hidden costs with BigFix. There is an additional cost for the SQL database."
"It is too costly. It is one of the best tools, but because of pricing, not all clients support it. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"The tool's price continues to go up. The cost per endpoint can vary, ranging from approximately 30 to 80 dollars per year. Compared to other products, pricing is in the middle. You need to buy an additional database license, but most users already have it."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Patch Management solutions are best for your needs.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Retailer
7%
Educational Organization
23%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Atera?
Pricing is low. It costs around 149 bucks per month.
What needs improvement with Atera?
It should improve its processes.
What is your primary use case for Atera?
Atera is integral to our daily operations. We use it for RMM, PSA, our ticket system, and contact with people. We also integrate it with different products.
What do you like most about BigFix?
The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BigFix?
The pricing is competitive, but not the most competitive.
What needs improvement with BigFix?
While performing integration, we face many issues with IBM solution. We need detailed information about those issues that can help users to mitigate them. The problem was related to the hardware co...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Tivoli Endpoint Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MSPs, IT consultants, and IT departments worldwide trust and use Atera. 
US Foods, Penn State, St Vincent's Health US Foods, Sabadell Bank, SunTrust, Australia Sydney, Stemac, Capgemini, WNS Global Services, Jebsen & Jessen, CenterBeam, Strauss, Christian Hospital Centre, Brit Insurance, Career Education Corporation
Find out what your peers are saying about Atera vs. BigFix and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.