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Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) 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

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNI...
Ranking in Patch Management
29th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Patch Management
9th
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) (11th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac is 1.2%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 3.7%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)3.7%
Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac1.2%
Other95.1%
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

KU
Linux admin at Ameex Technologies
With good website development capabilities, the solution also provides exceptional stability
The initial setup is straightforward. The time taken for deployment for the website depends on the website code files and database. It may take four hours to eight hours for a single site to migrate from another solution. We used to do the migration from the cloud only and not on-premises. For deployment, we used to compress the code files, and using SFTP, we used to transfer the files. We then configure the same with that, and after transferring the code files, we used to have the UAT, staging, and production URL. Once everything is fine, we will switch the DNS for the live website. For the deployment and maintenance, we need support from the client's side and from the management side to make the DNS switch. We also need help from third-party vendors to provide access.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool is a stable product."
"The solution is easy to implement."
"The website development section is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date."
"The scripting part increases IT productivity because of the specialized software in our environments for students' courses. You need to use software which is not programmed by developers. A lot of software for building houses or other things is developed by normal guys, who do not have much skill in programming. When you need to install this type of software, it is very difficult. You have to install registry keys, etc. For that, it is very good to use the scripting part of this solution. So, you can automate this part as well."
"When vulnerabilities are exploited so much, it is nice to be able to quickly detect or deploy what is needed within our off-work hours or during work hours without a reboot."
"The service desk can be configured and customized to better serve our environment."
"KACE’s knowledge-based articles are very good."
"Using this solution saves us lots of time, especially when it comes to performing updates."
"Using Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), we have been able to manage three times the amount of machines as other groups while having half the staff, which has positively impacted our organization."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to have an overview of all devices that are accessing our environment."
"There is ease of use, and its pricing was a driving factor."
 

Cons

"The solution can be quite expensive, compared to other options on the market."
"The tool needs to improve its visual system."
"The better way to improve the solution is by working on an area where it lacks, which includes the migration part."
"The labeling process should be more streamlined. It should be easier to do. It gets confusing at times."
"The GUI needs some work. I love all that it can do, however, it can be just be so cluttered at times."
"The solution needs to have the ability to push out managed feature updates from Microsoft in a more seamless way."
"The only hiccups we had were some power issues, where the box was a little under-powered early on."
"Imaging becomes a problem when you start to try to go beyond doing more than thirty or forty machines at a time. We initially tried to do that virtually and it just, it wouldn't work."
"I've had some issues with patch catalogue."
"The only pain point I have is with their salespeople. They call too often. They're too aggressive in trying to upsell. We know what we need, and we know if we want to expand. I don't mind quarterly calls from them, but sometimes, it is weekly. They need to get their sales team under control. The main goal of their support people and professional services is to make sure they deliver the service, and they deliver it well, whereas their salespeople are so interested in making a sale that they're wasting my time."
"I wish Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) would have a top-down approach since we use orgs; currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the university."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open-source, so we do not need any licensing."
"It may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for."
"We pay annually for technical support."
"Some of the other solutions were just astronomical in price compared with KACE and didn't necessarily have the ease of use either. So, we chose Quest KACE for its easy-to-use features and cost."
"Licensing is very straightforward. They don't overcomplicate it. This is not a Cisco product where you have to have 30 different licenses just to open the box. It's pretty much set-and-forget. You pay an annual license... The cost is in the mid to upper range, but the ROI exceeds the outside cost, especially once you've had the system for a while."
"We are also saving on the licensing fee, compared to other endpoint management solutions."
"Its pricing model is good for what it offers. Nobody here gives me a hard time about renewing the contract every year. It might be a little cost prohibitive for a smaller company who has to stand up a virtual environment as well as have virtual environment licensing and the hardware. If you have a smaller environment, it might be cost prohibitive. If you only have a couple of hundred computers, you might be more willing to do those manually. In our environment, the cost savings of having KACE far outweigh the licensing costs. We are okay with its pricing model."
"The pricing is great. It's billed annually and it's very reasonable."
"The cost of KACE has been relatively low compared to other systems. Even if those systems have the same cost, they do not do as much of the third-party patching that KACE natively does."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
University
12%
Non Profit
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

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

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.
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 have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the...
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, and we use it day-to-day to handle those tasks. With Quest KACE Systems Managemen...
 

Also Known As

HEAT Patch, PatchLink
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.