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Automox vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 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
5.0
Automox enhances time efficiency and security compliance, streamlines operations, reduces manual labor, and improves process visibility.
Sentiment score
7.3
KACE SMA increases efficiency and productivity, offering rapid ROI by streamlining operations and reducing time, costs, and staffing needs.
It's saving about 70% to 80% of time.
Senior Data Reporting Analyst at University of Bradford
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.9
Automox's customer support is praised for responsiveness, expertise, and quick issue resolution, receiving high satisfaction comparable to larger companies.
Sentiment score
6.6
KACE SMA support is praised for its expertise and 24/7 availability, with occasional room for flexibility improvement.
They are really good because they don't take five days to get back to me; they respond within 24 hours with really good information.
Network & Security Administrator at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
They're very knowledgeable and have given us many channels for support, including email, chat, and documentation.
Senior Data Reporting Analyst at University of Bradford
I would rate the customer support for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as a 10.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
4.8
Automox scales well in cloud environments, though manageability challenges and license limits may affect large-scale deployments.
Sentiment score
7.2
KACE Systems Management Appliance efficiently supports various organization sizes, excelling in integration, scalability, and comprehensive network management.
It's pretty easy to scale because it's SaaS, and adding more devices doesn't require any extra server or anything similar.
Senior Data Reporting Analyst at University of Bradford
We have outgrown the size of one KACE appliance and are now running two.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
5.1
Automox offers reliable, fast, and stable cloud-based patching with minimal downtime, effective client connectivity, and continuous improvements.
Sentiment score
8.1
KACE Systems Management Appliance is praised for its stability, reliability, and efficient performance, with swift recovery during incidents.
It patches and updates correctly across all devices, so it is stable.
Senior Data Reporting Analyst at University of Bradford
 

Room For Improvement

Automox should enhance multi-organization management, reporting, automation, user interface, and add asset management and driver updates.
KACE Systems Management Appliance struggles with scalability, usability, customization, integration, image deployment, and technical support responsiveness.
An alert of a security threat could be another type of notification that tells me something is important.
Senior Data Reporting Analyst at University of Bradford
Currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the university.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
 

Setup Cost

Automox is a cost-effective, multi-OS solution with competitive pricing at $2 per endpoint and a free trial option.
KACE Systems Management Appliance offers cost-effective enterprise solutions, although potentially expensive for small businesses, with no additional feature costs.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
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.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Automox enhances security and productivity with automated patching, task automation, real-time control, and user-friendly management features.
KACE SMA offers integrated, centralized IT management for efficient software deployment, asset management, and security with customizable inventories.
Out of all these features, if I had to pick one which I'm relying on the most, I would say the automatic patching.
Senior Data Reporting Analyst at University of Bradford
Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before.
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
 

Categories and Ranking

Automox
Ranking in Patch Management
14th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (36th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (39th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (12th)
KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Patch Management
9th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (11th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Automox is 2.2%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 3.7%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)3.7%
Automox2.2%
Other94.1%
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

Naqash Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data Reporting Analyst at University of Bradford
Automation has saved time and improves secure, centralized patching across all our devices
While Automox has very good features, I think there's still room for improvement. I want the custom reports to be even more detailed, specifically where I can add more details. It would be nice to have more filters in reports based on location and department more easily. Secondly, the notifications could be more customizable. Many times notifications come, but we don't have control over which notification is urgent and which is not. For example, if there's an alert of a critical update or pending approval, it can help me focus better. An alert of a security threat could be another type of notification that tells me something is important. Customized notifications would be much better.I would say the user interface could be improved as well. Some parts of the dashboard are a bit hard to understand. If they could be improved to be more intuitive, for example, if it could be easy to navigate between devices and reports, that would be great. I would say if Automox could also provide automation templates, that would help. I know there are templates, but I want more templates. Having ready-made worklets for common tasks can save a lot of time. Lastly, it should also support the interface for mobile screens.
MH
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reliability and adaptability enable efficient application deployment and security management
The best features Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) offers include the scripting function, which stands out to me because I can find specific needs and deploy the applications based on those needs. There was a time when scripting really saved me time by allowing me to find specific registry entries and modify them to patch security vulnerabilities. Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before. I really enjoy the security features that are enabled to deploy Microsoft and other vendor patches, which stand out to me as key functionalities.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
University
12%
Non Profit
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Automox?
I wouldn't be able to tell you how Automox can be improved; it seems to work very nicely already.
What is your primary use case for Automox?
We use Automox to maintain the software on all our computers. We were using Qualys before and we're still using it, but we found Qualys to be a little bit lacking since it wasn't really eliminating...
What advice do you have for others considering Automox?
Since switching over from Qualys, we have seen no positive impacts for our organization other than being able to update the applications on an endpoint. We haven't used Automox's reporting capabili...
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

No data available
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 Automox vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.