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Change Auditor for Active Directory vs ManageEngine ADAudit Plus 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Change Auditor for Active D...
Ranking in Active Directory Management
7th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ManageEngine ADAudit Plus
Ranking in Active Directory Management
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Change Auditor for Active Directory is 6.8%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is 8.9%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Active Directory Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ManageEngine ADAudit Plus8.9%
Change Auditor for Active Directory6.8%
Other84.3%
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2794194 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Mgr Cyber Defense at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Auditing changes has become faster and now uncovers misconfigurations within minutes
The best features Change Auditor for Active Directory offers are that it's lightweight and easy to understand. You don't have to memorize event IDs since it's in English. What makes Change Auditor for Active Directory lightweight and easy to understand in my experience is that it doesn't require the events to record to the domain controllers. Therefore, I can focus just on the event types without having to turn up detailed logging on my DCs. Change Auditor for Active Directory has positively impacted my organization by helping us respond to audits very quickly to show that we had evidence of who was making the changes and match them up to the ticket request and who approved it. After implementing Change Auditor for Active Directory, it has allowed us to answer questions literally in minutes, whereas it would have taken us half a day to a day before.
Md Abdul Hakim - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at Corporate Projukti Limited
Advanced monitoring enhances user tracking that's cost-effective
I have been involved with this product for the last three years, participating in service and support within our company. We are currently supporting over 30 companies. This month, we deployed the solution for three companies, including two RMGs and one private bank in Bangladesh. The popularity of this product is due to its active directory monitoring abilities. Engineers can receive reports and log details within one to five seconds, which is essential for monitoring user activity swiftly and effectively. This product is very well-liked in Bangladesh due to user tracking, failed logins, and Jar reports for any Barna activity or execution. This solution's popularity extends through comprehensive auditing capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are the ability to protect Active Directory accounts and groups, and the real-time notifications that help manage Active Directory more effectively."
"Change Auditor for Active Directory has positively impacted my organization by helping us respond to audits very quickly to show that we had evidence of who was making the changes and match them up to the ticket request and who approved it."
"Real-time monitoring of AD changes and logons is valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the control of the file server."
"The Account Lockout Analyzer and the Inactive Users reports are particularly valuable."
"The most valuable feature of ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is its reports."
"I rate this ten out of ten."
"ADAudit Plus's best features are that it's very easy to use with a user-friendly interface, and it gives reports on group policy and object changes that we couldn't find in any other product."
"Some of the most valuable features of ADAudit Plus are the granular parts of the reports fetched from Active Directory."
"Some of the most valuable features of ADAudit Plus are the granular parts of the reports fetched from Active Directory."
 

Cons

"Change Auditor for Active Directory could be improved if the client were more flexible when installed, so if I upgrade the server, I wouldn't have to replace the clients at the same time."
"Areas that could be improved include having more management capabilities with command-line scripts and more flexibility in general."
"The initial setup was quite complex and required some research beforehand."
"Some features require more external integration."
"The initial setup was difficult."
"The solution's managing file server activity could be improved."
"I consider the pricing for ADAudit Plus a bit high compared to other software solutions, so I would rate it around two or three on the pricing scale."
"Sometimes the developers in technical support take time."
"The return on investment for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is very hard to measure."
"There is room for improvement, especially in the standard professional edition. Some features require more external integration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"My guess is that it was around $4,000 or $5,000 a year, and we bought a license, and then we have maintenance fees. I'm not 100% sure how that worked out."
"It's a medium-priced solution."
"Adding features and other functionality it costs you more. Also, the first installation costs an additional amount."
"ADAudit Plus's pricing is affordable and flexible, with very low prices in the market."
"The tool is affordable, and our company is very happy with it. If ten is the most expensive and one is the least expensive, I rate the tool a three or four."
"The solution's pricing is acceptable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Insurance Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest Change Auditor for Active Directory?
The price can vary based on the components purchased and the needs and budget of the organization. It is considered a bit pricey, especially for smaller companies.
What needs improvement with Quest Change Auditor for Active Directory?
Areas that could be improved include having more management capabilities with command-line scripts and more flexibility in general. Often this type of tool could benefit from better scripting capab...
What is your primary use case for Quest Change Auditor for Active Directory?
The primary use case is to manage human errors, like protecting identities from being modified by the software, and to audit security. This includes monitoring high-privilege accounts and having th...
What needs improvement with ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?
An area of improvement for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus could be in graphical reporting, as currently, it's limited with old school bar charts, and having more interactive reports with a better graphi...
What is your primary use case for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus?
The main use case for ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is primarily focused on auditing, so any changes related to Active Directory or Azure Intra ID or even file servers, such as file monitoring, are imm...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Airlines, Bank of America, BARCLAYS, ebay, Ford, intel, MARS, MERCK, Microsoft, UBER, VISA
Warsaw City Hall, Acument Global Technologies, Inc., Cosma International, Bank of South Pacific, Life Management Center, Central Bank, UncleBob's Self Storage, Leeds Building Society, California Transplant Donor Network, First Response, Blessing Hospital, Northern Land Council, RMK Marine
Find out what your peers are saying about Change Auditor for Active Directory vs. ManageEngine ADAudit Plus and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.