AWS Config vs AWS Systems Manager comparison

AWS Config and AWS Systems Manager are both solutions in the Configuration Management category. AWS Config is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.0, while AWS Systems Manager is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3. AWS Config holds a 2.3% mindshare in CM, compared to AWS Systems Manager’s 6.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of AWS Config users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of AWS Systems Manager users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

AWS Config and AWS Systems Manager compete in the AWS resource management category. AWS Config seems to have an upper hand in terms of compliance and ease of deployment, while AWS Systems Manager stands out in versatility and functionality.

Features: AWS Config offers continuous monitoring, evaluation of AWS resource configurations, and compliance checking. AWS Systems Manager provides operational data management, automation capabilities, and versatile functionalities.

Room for Improvement: AWS Config users suggest the need for more integrations, finer granularity in monitoring capabilities, and performance improvements. AWS Systems Manager could improve its documentation, user guidance, and interface usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Config is praised for straightforward setup and effective customer support. AWS Systems Manager offers intuitive setup but faces criticism regarding complex configurations. AWS Config is simpler to deploy with better customer support.

Pricing and ROI: AWS Config's pricing is competitive, deriving quick ROI through compliance features. AWS Systems Manager, despite higher perceived costs, balances its value with extensive functionalities. Both products are valuable, but AWS Systems Manager's capabilities justify its cost.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Config vs. AWS Systems Manager Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Config vs. AWS Systems Manager

March 2026

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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

Microsoft Intune

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 6.9%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Config is 2.3%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Systems Manager is 6.3%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune	6.9%
AWS Systems Manager	6.3%
AWS Config	2.3%
Other	84.5%

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble

Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24

Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license

The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.

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Dineshkumar Thulasiraman

Cloud Engineer at cloudifyops

Useful for vulnerability scanning and data encryption

AWS Config's dashboard improved our company's security as it helps with the vulnerability scanning of resources. AWS Config integrates with the existing security infrastructure of our company, and it is an easy process that is not at all complicated. AWS Config is a security product. The tool protects its users' resources and data from unauthorized access, security breaches, and threats. The product helps with data encryption. You can have your data on AWS KMS, which helps with data encryption. For areas like SSL/TLS encryption, the tool offers data protection between AWS services and endpoints. As I need to learn the components of the product, I rate the overall tool a seven out of ten.

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Garima Chauhan

Senior Cloud Engineer at Prabhav Services

Efficient value synchronization across multiple accounts with good reliability

AWS Systems Manager's most valuable feature is its ability to dynamically export and import values in various AWS accounts. When you update the value, it's directly reflected across the system without needing manual editing. This is particularly effective for setting policies securely. The parameter store features are among the best aspects.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Once it is well integrated with the rest of the environment, it makes everything easy."

"Our bank's most valuable Intune features are centered around the dedicated device concept."

"It is a very stable and scalable cloud-only solution."

"Since implementing this solution, our company has grown substantially, and our talent pool has significantly expanded."

"The security-related tools are excellent; these features allow us to secure devices, lock them down, and ensure compliance."

"Overall, the best features of Microsoft Intune are its ease of management and robust security protocols, which are what I value most about it and how it stands out."

"Microsoft Intune brings all endpoint and security management tools into one place, and for app discovery, deployment, and automatic updating, it's reliable."

"The best features of Microsoft Intune include helping to know if computers are configured correctly and if users have access to apps or the platform."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"The initial setup is super easy, it takes like two minutes. Literally a one-click deployment."

"The scalability is a ten out of ten."

"AWS Config's dashboard improved our company's security as it helps with the vulnerability scanning of resources."

"The tool protects its users' resources and data from unauthorized access, security breaches, and threats."

"Installing the instances and performing upgrades is smooth and clean."

"The solution is scalable and provides over 100 rules."

"The store organizes parameters hierarchically, making it easier to configure and control versions. It also ensures scalability and high availability, automatically scaling to handle increasing workloads and providing reliable access to configuration data across multiple AWS availability zones."

"The solution's ability to scale is good."

"AWS Systems Manager's most valuable feature is its ability to dynamically export and import values in various AWS accounts"

"With AWS Systems Manager, our company can patch our systems directly from it, so we don't need to patch our systems manually."

"AWS provides Auto Scaling groups."

"The solution is user-friendly"

"Systems Manager has a feature where it analyzes the logs and gives us a performance overview in the form of a graph. We know when it's taking up more resources and when there are spikes, so we can predict the usability."

"We use the Parameter Store feature to store parameters in all our applications and configurations because it provides a very secure storage solution."

More AWS Systems Manager pros

Cons

"It would be interesting to integrate the server side of Intune. Some group policy updates we have on the Windows Server side and possibly some on the client side could also be included."

"Lacks the ability to deploy more ways of management, managing devices and processing the policies."

"Historically, Group Policy has simplified the management of various items, such as printer and drive mappings and while Intune offers workarounds, it lacks native support for these functionalities. This is an area I believe needs improvement."

"Intune could be improved by organizing different solutions, like Defender and Sentinel, into a single package. This would allow us to focus on security while Microsoft manages other areas. Having a unified solution would drive better management of various sectors. Although the Intune user experience is good, we should continue enhancing it."

"A new Intune feature allows application packaging, but it incurs additional licensing costs for a significant number of applications."

"Sometimes, it takes time to synchronize the policies between the portal and the devices, you don't have a way to estimate how long it will take to deploy. You have some kind of gray area, where it can deploy in 30 minutes or three days."

"It needs incorporation of Knox, ZeroTouch, etc."

"In Microsoft Intune, there is significant slowness, and there needs to be more logs when we deploy software, parameters, or scripts to troubleshoot problems and errors in the interface, workstations, and Android devices."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"The solution is missing a configuration that can assist us when writing our programming languages."

"The reboot process for AWS instances could be improved. Microsoft Azure does not have this problem, so AWS could consider making their instances more robust. You would not need to reboot your instances frequently to replace the hardware and stuff. They can look for a better approach or mechanism to improve in the future. The concern is that you need to plan for the outage when you reboot an instance. You need to have a maintenance window where you can properly reboot the instance without affecting your application. When Amazon announces that you need to reboot an instance and are not ready, this becomes a problem."

"There is room for improvement in built-in tools, they are not up to the mark."

"Improvements are needed as per customer requirements."

"The AWS UIs are not the most intuitive. Also, the usability needs room for improvement."

"We formerly used third-party products to analyze the log, give us information, and find bottlenecks. Systems Manager could provide more tools that conduct this analysis, so we don't have to do it ourselves."

"The fact that AWS Systems Manager takes time to complete the patching process, makes it an area where improvements are required."

"The current challenge is that we can't pull any incidents from other accounts."

"AWS does not have EKS cluster backup."

"It could be agentless if there's room for improvement in the AWS Systems Manager. Currently, you have to install agents, although, for most of the latest EC2 images, the agents come preinstalled. If it could be at the level of Ansible, which is agentless, that would be fantastic. When you compare the solution to Ansible, one of the most widely accepted tools, the agentless feature stands out. So, if the AWS Systems Manager could become agentless, that would be a significant improvement."

"I'd like to see more automation for monitoring and managing things like AWS CloudWatch and AWS Config. It would be a significant improvement if it could automatically handle these tasks and address issues as they arise."

"The cost is a very important factor to keep in mind because the cost of cloud services, not just AWS cloud, can be substantial if not controlled."

More AWS Systems Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Previously the price was $4 per month per user. Now it's $2.25 per user per month."

"It's reasonable. They're not giving it away, but it's reasonable."

"Its price is in the medium range. It is acceptable because you're paying for the features. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"I recently got to know that the AD P1 license is compulsory to use Intune Autopilot, which was surprising for me. Earlier, this was not the case. It is the wrong thing to do. We now need to purchase AD P1 licenses for us and for our customers. I would rate it a seven out of ten for pricing."

"We work in the charity sector, so a lot of our clients get Microsoft Premium licenses or Business Premium for free. They get ten licenses free, and a lot of our clients do not have more than ten staff members. They are getting the tool for free, so its cost is not an issue."

"Microsoft Intune is expensive."

"The price for Intune is fair."

"It's a bit expensive from a licensing perspective, especially as we look to have organizations with tenants across the globe."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"The solution charges us per hour. There's no license."

"It is a very expensive tool. AWS pricing for Config is not fixed and depends on your organization's size and complexity."

"An AWS cloud engineer can bring down the costs."

"As we were doing a government project so the government got the project at a very nominal cost."

"The platform provides excellent value for the capabilities it offers when compared to third-party tools for similar tasks."

"Most of the features are free. I'm not entirely certain, but I believe the pricing is generally very low. Some services that are part of Ops Manager might have associated costs."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Financial Services Firm

20%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Photography Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	124
Midsize Enterprise	53
Large Enterprise	167

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?

Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...

See all answers

What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...

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How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...

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What needs improvement with AWS Config?

Improvements are needed as per customer requirements.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AWS Config?

I use the solution in my company to check the vulnerabilities for all the resources, including tools like S3, EC2 Ins...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering AWS Config?

AWS Config's dashboard improved our company's security as it helps with the vulnerability scanning of resources. AWS ...

See all answers

What do you like most about AWS Systems Manager?

With AWS Systems Manager, our company can patch our systems directly from it, so we don't need to patch our systems m...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Systems Manager?

Every AWS service comes with some associated costs. While using AWS Systems Manager, we continually monitor to optimi...

See all answers

What needs improvement with AWS Systems Manager?

I do not use the automation feature in this product.

See all answers

Comparisons

Jamf Pro vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 10% of the time

IBM MaaS360 vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 8% of the time

Workspace ONE UEM vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 7% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos Mobile vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 2% of the time

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HashiCorp Terraform vs AWS Config

Compared 9% of the time

Spring Cloud vs AWS Config

Compared 9% of the time

SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor vs AWS Config

Compared 9% of the time

CloudBees vs AWS Config

Compared 7% of the time

Perforce Puppet vs AWS Config

Compared 6% of the time

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat Satellite vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 8% of the time

Perforce Puppet vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 7% of the time

AWS CloudFormation vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 6% of the time

More AWS Systems Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Intune

March 2026

Download Microsoft Intune product report

Buyer's Guide

Configuration Management

March 2026

Download AWS Config product report

Buyer's Guide

Configuration Management

March 2026

Download AWS Systems Manager product report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

No data available

Amazon Elastic Container Registry

Overview

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service designed for device management, security, and compliance. It supports automation and facilitates endpoint management for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring data protection and efficient policy enforcement.

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration with tools like Windows Autopilot to automate device setup and deployment. Integrated with Azure Active Directory, it enhances policy management while providing robust reporting and analytics tools for compliance tracking. Despite its intuitive interface aimed at simplifying navigation and device security management, there are challenges such as compatibility issues with Linux and Mac, limited policy support for Android, and demands for better third-party integration. It's widely used for both corporate-owned devices and BYOD scenarios in dynamic IT environments.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Windows Autopilot: Automates device setup for rapid deployment.
Azure Active Directory Integration: Enhances user policy management.
Reporting and Analytics: Improves compliance visibility.
Mobile Application Management: Ensures app security without compromising personal data.
Cloud-Based Management: Allows management from any location.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Time Efficiency: Automation reduces time in policy enforcement and configuration updates.
Enhanced Security: Ensures data protection across corporate-owned and BYOD devices.
Improved Compliance: Advanced reporting tools enhance compliance visibility.
Flexible Management: Cloud-based nature supports management from any location.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure data protection and compliance with regulatory standards. Manufacturing sectors utilize Intune for managing a distributed workforce across global locations, while educational institutions employ it to secure and manage devices in learning environments supporting both students and faculty.

Microsoft

AWS Config is a service that enables you to assess, audit, and evaluate the configurations of your AWS resources. Config continuously monitors and records your AWS resource configurations and allows you to automate the evaluation of recorded configurations against desired configurations. With Config, you can review changes in configurations and relationships between AWS resources, dive into detailed resource configuration histories, and determine your overall compliance against the configurations specified in your internal guidelines. This enables you to simplify compliance auditing, security analysis, change management, and operational troubleshooting.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS Systems Manager is a management service that helps you automatically collect software inventory, apply OS patches, create system images, and configure Windows and Linux operating systems. These capabilities help you define and track system configurations, prevent drift, and maintain software compliance of your EC2 and on-premises configurations. By providing a management approach that is designed for the scale and agility of the cloud but extends into your on-premises data center, Systems Manager makes it easier for you to seamlessly bridge your existing infrastructure with AWS.

Systems Manager is easy to use. Simply access Systems Manager from the EC2 Management Console, select the instances you want to manage, and define the management tasks you want to perform. Systems Manager is available now at no cost to manage both your EC2 and on-premises resources.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Flatiron, Prezi, iZettle, British Gas, Burt, Autodesk, FanDuel

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Buyer's Guide

AWS Config vs. AWS Systems Manager

March 2026

Free Report: AWS Config vs. AWS Systems Manager

Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Config vs. AWS Systems Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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