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BigFix vs GFI LanGuard 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

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) (22nd), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (4th)
GFI LanGuard
Ranking in Patch Management
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of BigFix is 10.1%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GFI LanGuard is 3.0%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Ted Mbugua - PeerSpot reviewer
Improves network visibility and keeps our products up to date with the latest patches
This is a solution that I recommend. In fact, those without it are at a disadvantage when it comes to managing their network. The biggest lesson that I have learned is in terms of visibility. GFI LanGuard has given me a wakeup call in terms of what is happening on endpoint machines. However, it is more than just having visibility. It is about having control in terms of what you want to block and what you're able to block. It keeps our network stable in that there are no running applications that you don't even know you have. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Desktop patching is the most valuable feature, because with servers, we have complete control over them, and we can simply push patches to the servers."
"The solution has many useful features. Its main advantage is simplicity - you can do everything from one console, regardless of the task. It supports many operating systems and is scalable to up to 250,000 clients."
"Vulnerability scanning and patch automation."
"The most valuable feature of BigFix is the software deployment."
"Prior to BigFix we used Altiris, which was distributed. We had to manage multiple servers, and duplicate the tasks that we did on each server. BigFix tremendously reduced the amount of work that we had to do on each server in a centralized manner. We could minimize the work that we had to do, and we had a lot more control over the tasks and what machines they ran on."
"BigFix has drastically reduced the maintenance window period to patch and reboot servers."
"This has very much improved our organization by saving time to deploy thousands of endpoints to our customers."
"Patch Management for a variety of operating systems makes it valuable as we can rely on a single tool for obtaining patch compliance of the entire compute infrastructure."
"The solution is easy to use and integrates well with other operating systems."
"The most valuable feature of GFI LanGuard is its email spam feature."
"The most valuable feature is that I am able to patch third-party solutions."
"This product is a great solution at a great price as long as it is only going to be used for a local area network."
"I like that the solution can block users from unnecessarily putting devices on the network."
"The initial setup was easy."
"The most valuable features in GFI LanGuard are patch management and vulnerability assessment."
"The most valuable features of GFI LanGuard are the vulnerability assessment, it provides us with substantial insight into what applications are running on the endpoint systems and what vulnerabilities are there in the running applications. The second would be the assets tracking. I'm able to see in the network whether my endpoint server is operating and if all the other IT equipment is running in the environment. Additionally, GFI LanGuard is not heavy on system resources. It gives a competitive advantage over others."
 

Cons

"The console interface is not friendly, and requires training before using it in production."
"They need better integration."
"The relevant language takes a little getting used to since it's not used anywhere else in the industry. It's just in the BigFix environment."
"There is no support for patch management on SLES on IBM pSeries (only the Intel platform is supported)."
"I would like to see more integration with external data."
"The product is quite buggy and complicated to use."
"I would like to see much better web reporting because as it is now, it's convoluted, basic, it's not modern, and there are limitations to it."
"I would like to see more emphasis on using the web console, to have the same power as the full fat client console that they do they now. It's a lighter way to log in and it would be faster for our operators to do their work. The console tends to take a long time for a large number of clients."
"GFI LanGuard has some technical limitations with machines."
"GFI LanGuard can improve by adding more modules, such as asset control or asset inventory."
"This solution is limited to the local area network only and cannot manage remote devices."
"GFI LanGuard could improve the rollback feature. If we have installed the wrong we have had some issues with the rollback function. Additionally, more input from GFI LanGuard for the custom software push install."
"The only drawback with GFI LanGuard is that you cannot directly integrate it from the Outlook email; instead, you have to first log in to the site to make changes."
"GFI LanGuard can improve by adding asset tracking."
"When you want to uninstall software from an endpoint, sometimes it becomes very problematic."
"The documentation on how to use this solution in a Linux environment is not clear, which is something that should be improved because it is complicated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compliance, inventory, and licensing are really pricey. They should lower the price. It discourages users from getting onboard."
"There's not much big cost. We only have to pay the agents' cost for the server, and for the systems."
"The price of BigFix could be lower. However, I am always seeking a lower price."
"The license is subscription-based."
"The cost is slightly high."
"It might be about $23 a client."
"The product is less costly when compared to other solutions, and this is a good solid solution for what we have paid."
"The price of the solution is high. There are not any additional fees from the standard license."
"We are a gold partner and we receive favorable discounts. The price of GFI LanGuard is competitive. When you evaluate other solutions, such as ManageEngine."
"GFI LanGuard isn't expensive."
"I rate the pricing of GFI LanGuard a four out of five."
"On a scale of one to five, with one being expensive and five being competitive, I would rate the price as a four."
"GFI LanGuard cost approximately $1,000 annually to use the solution."
"GFI LanGuard has very fair pricing compared to other similar solutions out there."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
43%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Photography Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
Implementing a business solution with BigFix has some issues, primarily concerning the time required for distribution to clients if there are too many. Building a management console is quick and si...
What do you like most about GFI LanGuard?
The most valuable feature of GFI LanGuard is its email spam feature.
What needs improvement with GFI LanGuard?
The only drawback with GFI LanGuard is that you cannot directly integrate it from the Outlook email; instead, you have to first log in to the site to make changes. Instead of directly white listing...
What is your primary use case for GFI LanGuard?
Internally, as a user, I use GFI LanGuard for email and web monitoring.
 

Also Known As

Tivoli Endpoint Manager
LanGuard
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
BayView Medical Clinic, FrugalBrothers Software, Zaw, National Theatre, American Red Cross
Find out what your peers are saying about BigFix vs. GFI LanGuard and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.