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ConnectWise RMM vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

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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
5.3
Microsoft Intune enhances efficiency and security while reducing costs, resources, and hardware needs, offering excellent integration and productivity.
Sentiment score
7.3
ConnectWise RMM enhances efficiency and IT management by automating tasks, reducing downtime, and enabling easy software deployment and remote access.
Sentiment score
7.3
KACE SMA increases efficiency and productivity, offering rapid ROI by streamlining operations and reducing time, costs, and staffing needs.
Everything we've gained from it makes my job easier day after day, and I see value in it as an engineer.
IT Systems Engineer at Syracuse University
Microsoft Intune not only saves costs by reducing the number of personnel needed but also offers a comprehensive solution for managing laptops, applications, security, individual access, and enrollment.
Subject Matter Expert at Engage IT Services Pvt Ltd
Importantly, when someone leaves the company, it helps protect document access on their devices.
Channels & Alliances Head at Link Development
It saves probably more than 50% of the time that would have been required, likely around 75%.
Manager, Technical Team at Expert It Solutions Alberta
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
5.7
Microsoft Intune support receives mixed reviews with praise for premium plans but concerns about slow responses and inconsistent quality.
Sentiment score
8.3
ConnectWise RMM's support is praised for its 24/7 availability and expertise, though some experience remote communication issues.
Sentiment score
6.6
KACE SMA support is praised for its expertise and 24/7 availability, with occasional room for flexibility improvement.
When a support ticket is submitted, it directly reaches someone with Intune support expertise.
Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
When I contacted Microsoft, they had the same expertise, if not more, which is phenomenal because I felt heard and my problem was solved.
IT Systems Engineer at Syracuse University
Sometimes, the support provided is excellent, and the representative is knowledgeable, while other times, the service needs improvement.
Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
I rate their support and customer service with ConnectWise as good, as their support team is quick to answer chat requests.
Manager, Technical Team at Expert It Solutions Alberta
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
6.6
Microsoft Intune offers seamless scalability for various organization sizes, efficiently managing devices with flexible licensing and high user ratings.
Sentiment score
8.2
ConnectWise RMM offers scalable SaaS solutions, efficiently managing diverse environments and thousands of endpoints for flexible client requirements.
Sentiment score
7.2
KACE Systems Management Appliance efficiently supports various organization sizes, excelling in integration, scalability, and comprehensive network management.
The scalability of Microsoft Intune is ten out of ten.
Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Ideally, we want to automatically segregate devices based on user properties like primary use, but currently, dynamic groups seem limited to device properties.
Engineer, Systems Admin . at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
It supports organizations with 200 endpoints and those with more than 15,000 endpoints.
Director at Provisioned
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd
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
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Microsoft Intune is considered reliable and robust, despite occasional bugs and performance issues, with improvements over earlier versions.
Sentiment score
9.1
ConnectWise RMM is highly praised for stability, with reliable agents and minimal maintenance, often rated ten out of ten.
Sentiment score
8.1
KACE Systems Management Appliance is praised for its stability, reliability, and efficient performance, with swift recovery during incidents.
We have not experienced downtime, bugs, or glitches.
Head of IT at TWM SOLICITORS LLP
It appears Microsoft Intune undergoes changes without informing customers.
Support Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Microsoft Intune has been very stable.
Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Intune needs improved reporting, third-party integration, non-Windows management, security policies, navigation, and better pricing and support.
ConnectWise RMM needs better automation, customizable dashboards, and improved query flexibility, with reasonable pricing but room for enhancement.
KACE Systems Management Appliance struggles with scalability, usability, customization, integration, image deployment, and technical support responsiveness.
Features like unlocking devices sometimes fail, and the support offered for other operating systems is insufficient.
Strategy & Portfolio Advisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now.
Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Many third-party companies offer single-pane-of-glass reporting that shows you what your update environment looks like, how your patch is doing, application status, etc., but Intune's reporting is not intuitive.
Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The pricing for ConnectWise RMM is reasonable.
Manager, Technical Team at Expert It Solutions Alberta
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

Microsoft Intune provides cost-effective pricing, especially when bundled with Office 365, with average subscriptions at $7 per user.
ConnectWise RMM provides flexible pricing, with costs starting at $2.50 per endpoint, including valuable NOC and help desk services.
KACE Systems Management Appliance offers cost-effective enterprise solutions, although potentially expensive for small businesses, with no additional feature costs.
Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs.
Senior Systems Architect IV at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees
The Intune suite and add-ons, such as batch management and remote help, are costly.
Technical Sales Professional (Microsoft Modern Workplace) at Alnafitha IT
It costs approximately forty euros per user per month.
Cyber Security Officer at Gudu
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

Microsoft Intune integrates with Microsoft services, simplifying deployment and enhancing security for seamless cloud management and robust resource control.
ConnectWise RMM enhances efficiency with robust patch management, remote access, automation, and intuitive integration for comprehensive network visibility.
KACE SMA offers integrated, centralized IT management for efficient software deployment, asset management, and security with customizable inventories.
Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
Microsoft Practice Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow.
Engineer, Systems Admin . at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management.
Director at Provisioned
The ability to do deployments through ConnectWise RMM's scripting features allows us to deploy new software or monitor the status of antivirus or system protection software, presenting another measurable benefit for us regarding ROI.
Manager, Technical Team at Expert It Solutions Alberta
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

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
312
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
ConnectWise RMM
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
19th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (67th), Server Monitoring (22nd), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (48th), Cloud Monitoring Software (38th), IT Alerting and Incident Management (15th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (6th), Patch Management (23rd)
KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
10th
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) (12th), Patch Management (9th)
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
DH
Manager, Technical Team at Expert It Solutions Alberta
Automation tools improve management efficiency, though migration process is time-consuming and support could be more knowledgeable
The best features of ConnectWise RMM are the automation tools that they've included, which are quite good, enabling us to mass manage systems, schedule scripts, etc. We use some of the probe features in ConnectWise RMM that do network discovery and monitoring capabilities. ConnectWise RMM helps our team maintain network visibility and proactively address potential issues since the product works effectively at unknown device discovery, making it better than sending someone to the site for a manual discovery. ConnectWise RMM helps in automating security updates and maintaining endpoint security. We appreciate that their NOC team does evaluations on the security updates, allowing us to free up our time and making it a huge timesaver for us. The ability to do deployments through ConnectWise RMM's scripting features allows us to deploy new software or monitor the status of antivirus or system protection software, presenting another measurable benefit for us regarding ROI.
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
No data available
Performing Arts
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
University
12%
Government
10%
Non Profit
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business121
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise154
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Continuum Command?
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What needs improvement with Continuum Command?
The pricing for ConnectWise RMM is reasonable, and I feel that we're getting good value for the dollars that we're sp...
What is your primary use case for Continuum Command?
As an MSP, we utilize ConnectWise RMM for the management of our client environment.
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, hand...
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 ...
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, a...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Continuum Command, Continuum RMM
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Frontier Business Products, Itek Systems Management, ZLan, Karpel, MySherpa, Arvig, CCSI, Leap Managed IT, eProsper, Pensar, Gordon Flesch, LeadingEdge, NSI, Server Sentry, Computer Consultants, Keystone IT Consulting, Ekaru, Epic Technologies, Rouse Consulting, Empower Information Systems, Computer Solutions Group, The Critical Update, Voice Smart Networks, CMIT Solutions, Preferred Communication Systems, G2 Tech Group, Pulse Business Solutions, Greystone Technology Group, Clare Computer Solutions, Evolve IT Australia
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about ConnectWise RMM vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.