BlueCat Gateway vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

BlueCat and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Automation category. BlueCat is ranked #17, while SolarWinds is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.7. BlueCat holds a 2.3% mindshare in NA, compared to SolarWinds’s 7.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of BlueCat users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

BlueCat Gateway

Read 2 BlueCat Gateway reviews

370 Views
370 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Configur...

Read 27 SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager reviews

2,504 Views
1,252 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

BlueCat Gateway

SolarWinds Network Configur...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 2025

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and BlueCat Gateway are products in the network management and optimization category. Based on data comparisons, SolarWinds leads in ease of use and setup costs, while BlueCat Gateway stands out for its integration capabilities.

Features: SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager offers automated network device configuration, compliance auditing, and change management tools. BlueCat Gateway provides advanced DNS configuration, automation capabilities, and seamless API integrations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds has straightforward deployment with extensive online resources and customer service. BlueCat Gateway has more involved deployment due to its advanced capabilities, complemented by proactive customer support for complex integrations.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager typically has lower setup costs, providing substantial ROI quickly through easy deployment and management. BlueCat Gateway requires higher initial investment but offers strong ROI over time by optimizing DNS and network automation processes.

To learn more, read our detailed BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration 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

BlueCat Gateway

Ranking in Network Automation

17th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Network Configur...

Ranking in Network Automation

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Configuration Management (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of BlueCat Gateway is 2.3%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is 7.1%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Automation Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager	7.1%
BlueCat Gateway	2.3%
Other	90.6%

Network Automation

Featured Reviews

Frederic Girard

Developer for DDI Team at Cgi Deutschland KG

Simple to use, straightforward to deploy, and provides good support and documentation

One area for improvement in BlueCat Gateway is the time it takes to fill in the dropdown in the UI of the solution because the speed with which the data loads isn't that fast. It would be better if you didn't have to wait for old items to load before seeing the first data. Another area for improvement in BlueCat Gateway is the discovery probe, as it doesn't allow you to see all the setup parameters after you've set it up. This may not be a big issue, but it's something my team noticed that may not be good in the solution.

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Alastair Brand

MD at Thembanet

Flexibility and reliability enable effective network monitoring with integrations and compliance reporting

The flexibility and reliability of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are particularly valuable. It allows for a significant amount of integrations, including with collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Telegram, as well as ServiceNow and Microsoft BI. The solution facilitates compliance reporting through an NCM module, effectively generating out-of-the-box reports on software vulnerabilities and outdated software versions. Additionally, the real-time change detection feature significantly reduces the time to resolve issues by allowing alerts to be tracked through to resolution. The use of templates helps in deploying configuration standards, preventing configuration errors.

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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

"We found IP and Network Discovery the most valuable features of BlueCat Gateway. Our team found it very easy to build, verify, and validate APIs in BlueCat Gateway, mainly if the users have a background in development and APIs. Our team found that BlueCat Gateway answers our needs well."

"The ability to develop a kiosk-like solution for in-person assistance is crucial."

"The most valuable features the solution offers are compliance, reliability, and information about reliability."

"What's nice with NCM is you can set up policies that you can then check against the configs to ensure that your device configs adhere to a baseline or standard that you've set in place."

"It's perfect for network configuration management. It's easy to use."

"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."

"The scanning features have proven to be highly valuable, particularly due to the comprehensive information they provide."

"The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and best practices. Automation capabilities have greatly impacted workflows, enabling tasks such as configuration backups, template deployment, and firmware upgrades to be automated, thereby streamlining processes and saving time. Compliance reporting features provide valuable insights into network compliance, offering pre-built security audit reports and customizable options to meet specific requirements."

"The feature that I really enjoy is the ability to script changes across all of your devices."

"Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"One area for improvement in BlueCat Gateway is the time it takes to fill in the dropdown in the UI of the solution because the speed with which the data loads isn't that fast. It would be better if you didn't have to wait for old items to load before seeing the first data."

"My most significant concern is that the documentation has problems."

"Its customer service response could be faster."

"For each device, when you open the network performance monitor, it will give you all of the information about the device, but many of the natural configuration management features are not on that page."

"Its look and feel can be improved. They can also put in more effort into building the THWACK community and use the information about various customer issues and requests to build the new releases."

"The only thing that requires some experience, and training doesn't fix, is how to set up your custom policy-based reports to check compliance."

"The third-party plugins available in the solution could improve. I have received some issues with the templates."

"There is room for improvement in automation."

"Our experience has shown that most of the problems we've had with SolarWinds NCM are related to software issues."

"On NCM, reporting could be a bit better. It's completely become just one report. When I try to create a custom report, the solution just commits old server data."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is actually quite favorable based on our negotiations."

"The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."

"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."

"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."

"Available at a moderate price"

"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."

"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"The pricing is good."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Government

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and b...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

The licensing costs of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are expensive, but considering its reliability, feature enhancements, and support, it is worthwhile.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

NCM could benefit from enhanced automation capabilities — for instance, enabling workflow-based configuration automation tasks. While regex and command-line scripting are available, they require sp...

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Comparisons

NetBrain vs BlueCat Gateway

Compared 27% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs BlueCat Gateway

Compared 21% of the time

BMC TrueSight Automation for Networks vs BlueCat Gateway

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs BlueCat Gateway

Compared 13% of the time

VMware Aria Automation vs BlueCat Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

More BlueCat Gateway Competitors

Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 9% of the time

HashiCorp Terraform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 4% of the time

ManageEngine Network Configuration Management vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 4% of the time

Huawei eSight vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Network Automation

February 2026

Download BlueCat Gateway product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

February 2026

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager report

Download SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager product report

Also Known As

BlueCat Network Automation

SolarWinds NCM

Overview

BlueCat Gateway allows you to automate and transform mission-critical business requirements into DNS, DDI, DHCP, and IPAM workflows, plugins, and applications and enables the rapid development of turn-key integrations with existing technology investments. Using zero-touch automation frees IT teams from time-consuming, error-prone, and repetitive network configuration and provisioning tasks so they can focus on the innovation business needs. BlueCat’s automation platform automates the DNS services necessary to provision and deallocates cloud and on-premises resources, enabling IT to respond faster to user requests.

BlueCat

Before you monitor your network, configure it! A reliable and secure network starts with carefully planned, executed, and monitored network configuration and change management. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) saves time and improves network reliability and security by managing configurations, changes, and compliance for routers, switches, and other network devices from Cisco, Juniper, HP, Dell, Brocade, Aruba, Rukus, and more.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

US Department of Energy, Swisslos, DXC, Edeka SouthWest

United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force

Buyer's Guide

BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

March 2026

Free Report: BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Find out what your peers are saying about BlueCat Gateway vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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