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ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Configuration Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 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
6.5
ManageEngine Endpoint Central boosts ROI and productivity quickly by automating processes, despite some users lacking precise metrics.
Sentiment score
1.0
Microsoft Configuration Manager enhances productivity and efficiency, with users valuing its operational streamlining despite Mac support challenges.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.0
ManageEngine Endpoint Central's support is praised for helpfulness but could improve response times, communication, and documentation clarity.
Sentiment score
5.5
Microsoft Configuration Manager's customer support is generally effective, with better experiences from higher-tier and premier support options.
The support team is available via chat and will create a ticket if they're not available, providing assistance even for small issues.
While they are generally good, there could be improvements in their response times to align with our SLAs.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
ManageEngine Endpoint Central effectively scales for large deployments, integrating diverse architectures with high scalability for growth, especially in cloud environments.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Configuration Manager efficiently scales across environments, supports high user numbers, integrates with Intune, and aids cloud transitions.
The product is suitable for our size, handling 800 devices.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is praised for its stability, reliable performance, and efficient support despite minor performance issues.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Configuration Manager is stable and reliable, requiring configuration and maintenance, with issues often stemming from external factors.
ManageEngine prefers not to display any information if it cannot be properly gathered.
We haven't encountered issues very frequently.
The product is very stable, especially with the cloud version.
There were misconfigurations by our team rather than issues with the product itself.
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek improvements in software QA, stability, compatibility, navigation, integrations, and performance across OS management in Endpoint Central.
Microsoft Configuration Manager needs a streamlined interface, better integration, enhanced automation, improved scalability, and simplified remote management.
It would be great if there was a smarter solution to address this issue.
Endpoint Central does not support Linux, which makes it challenging to patch Linux machines using commands.
The patch management module could be simplified as it is currently a bit complicated.
 

Setup Cost

ManageEngine Endpoint Central is cost-effective with complex licensing, praised for ROI but extra features can increase costs.
Microsoft Configuration Manager is costly, especially for setup and licensing, but justified by robust features and integration capabilities.
The pricing is cheaper compared to other MDM products.
ManageEngine products offer reasonable prices for their product quality.
The pricing of ManageEngine Endpoint Central is quite decent.
The setup cost is considered sufficient.
 

Valuable Features

ManageEngine Endpoint Central excels in patch management, asset control, and user-friendly interface boosting IT efficiency and productivity.
Microsoft Configuration Manager streamlines IT processes with automation, integration, scalability, and comprehensive system management features for enterprises.
The patch management feature is effective and allows us to see what new patches are available and which machines are affected.
The system misconfiguration part of vulnerability management is quite good, providing detailed insights into endpoint misconfigurations.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is straightforward to use and implement.
The product valuable for deployment recovery.
 

Categories and Ranking

ManageEngine Endpoint Central
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (4th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (2nd)
Microsoft Configuration Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Software Distribution (1st), Server Monitoring (6th), Configuration Management (3rd), Patch Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Systems Management solutions, they serve different purposes. ManageEngine Endpoint Central is designed for Client Desktop Management and holds a mindshare of 32.3%, down 42.3% compared to last year.
Microsoft Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Server Monitoring, holds 5.2% mindshare, down 7.7% since last year.
Client Desktop Management
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

Charles A - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective vulnerability, desktop, and patch management
We are using ManageEngine Endpoint Central primarily for desktop management. It allows us to deploy patches, manage antivirus, control endpoints like DLP, and more The most valuable feature to me is the vulnerability management. It also has effective patch management capabilities. The main issue…
MikeNelson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Deployment recovery works well but requires configuration improvements
While I do not use the product frequently, many issues were due to configuration rather than the product itself. I cannot give an exact recommendation as it is not my area of responsibility. The team that uses it finds it adequate. It is presently good enough for us not to investigate other options. Overall, I rate the product a six out of ten.
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Answers from the Community

NC
Dec 1, 2021
Dec 1, 2021
ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. What I like most about ManageEngine is that I can log on to every PC very easily and use the chat feature to speak with any user. In addition, using this product has helped me identify outdated PCs and has been very useful when I have needed to assist with remote control and softwa...
2 out of 5 answers
SD
Nov 23, 2021
My recommendation is to use MS Intune as a solution and you can drop both SCCM and ManageEngine Desktop Central.  Intune is the best solution for managing mobile devices and endpoints. You can also manage your servers but there will be some difficulty in managing on-premises servers. 
MW
Nov 24, 2021
Quest's Unified Endpoint Management - please have a look at this solution: easy to manage, best for mass task deployment, comprehensive and customized reporting.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How to choose between ManageEngine Desktop Central and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM)?
ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. What I like most about ManageEngine is that I can log on to every PC very easily a...
What do you like most about ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
Well, what we like is that it catch actually a lot of features constantly upgrading. So all the three maybe there there were some features as the tenant on the earliest version. Now it's it's almos...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
The pricing is cheaper compared to other MDM products, but I don't remember the exact details.
How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that the set up will take depends on the kind of technical architecture that your org...
What do you like most about SCCM?
One of the standout features of SCCM is its application management capabilities. It allows us to create packages efficiently and deploy them to specific groups within our network. This streamlined ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SCCM?
The setup cost is considered sufficient. It is not significant enough for us to consider a change at the moment.
 

Also Known As

ManageEngine Desktop Central, Desktop Central, ManageEngine Desktop Management MSP
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM ), Microsoft SMS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Strathallan School, BMI Healthcare, Comercial Kywi, First Priority Federal Credit Union, Gerab National Enterprises
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine, Broadcom, Quest Software and others in Client Desktop Management. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.