Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Microsoft Windows Server Update Services comparison

Microsoft Configuration Manager and Microsoft Windows Server Update Services are both solutions in the Patch Management category. Microsoft Configuration Manager is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft Configuration Manager holds a 14.8% mindshare in PM, compared to Microsoft Windows Server Update Services’s 6.5% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Microsoft Configuration Manager users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Read 81 Microsoft Configuration Manager reviews

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2,975 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Microsoft Windows Server Up...

Read 49 Microsoft Windows Server Update Services reviews

2,376 Views
1,773 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Microsoft Windows Server Up...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

Microsoft Configuration Manager and Microsoft Windows Server Update Services compete in the software management and update domain. Configuration Manager holds the upper hand due to its comprehensive management capabilities, making it more suitable for organizations needing advanced features.

Features: Microsoft Configuration Manager excels with central console management, automating configurations, and comprehensive system management tools including patch management and reporting. Its broad range of features supports decision-making and compliance. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services, in contrast, offers basic patch distribution and ease of integration within Windows, focusing on hassle-free update management in its limited feature scope.

Room for Improvement: Configuration Manager could enhance its notification system for patch failures, improve compliance reporting accuracy, and provide better Linux support. Its documentation needs to be more user-friendly, and cloud integration could improve without compromising security. WSUS faces challenges with its outdated interface and limited third-party software capabilities, requiring better reporting and management features beyond Microsoft environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Configuration Manager primarily offers on-premises deployment with hybrid cloud options for flexibility. It faces customer service challenges due to tiered support structures but gains offsetting value from comprehensive documentation and community resources. WSUS, known for straightforward installation in Windows Server setups, mirrors similar customer service feedback, highlighting extensive self-help resources despite tiered support concerns.

Pricing and ROI: Configuration Manager involves higher costs due to its complex licensing and SQL Server requirements. Despite these expenses, it offers strong ROI through automation, integrity, and productivity improvements. WSUS, available at no additional cost with Windows Server, is valued for cost-effectiveness in handling basic update management functions, offering significant value for users with less comprehensive needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services

April 2025

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Helped 851,604 peers since 2012

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

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Ranking in Patch Management

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (6th), Configuration Management (4th)

Microsoft Windows Server Up...

Ranking in Patch Management

3rd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 14.8%, down from 18.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is 6.5%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Patch Management

Featured Reviews

MikeNelson2

IT Infrastructure Coordinator at NSW Government

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.

Read full review

Chuck Colby

Network Architect at a construction company with 51-200 employees

Efficient patch management, potentially scalable, and free is using Microsoft servers

Whether to use the solution or not is going to be context-sensitive. If you have a strong Microsoft team, you can probably handle this. If, like my team, you also have a dozen other vendors to consider, it's not just the operating system. The pattern I've seen over time with WSUS is that it has the potential to be a fantastic product, yet it doesn't feel finished. People try to implement WSUS, and context is important. In my context, we're a small business without teams of Microsoft-certified people. We are just trying to use what's available to achieve a goal, and WSUS is fine, however, not the best product out there. The business in America often tries to do more with less. I would not recommend it to a team of my size. If a company had half a dozen or a dozen Microsoft-certified people, I'd say, run with it. For a team of my size, no, absolutely not. I would rate the overall solution a solid eight out of ten.

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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

"It is easy to install, and quick to deploy."

"The solution doesn't require any maintenance from our end because it is a cloud-based solution and Microsoft takes care of everything."

"The product is suitable for our size, handling 800 devices."

"Software deployment and WSUS are most valuable."

"The product is useful for patch management."

"I have found the solution to be scalable. We have around 50,000 users using the solution."

"I like Mircosoft's technical support. Microsoft has a few updates, like some of the critical KBs. They are published within the interval time, and in case of an escalation on the client missions, we will raise a ticket with the Microsoft team. They will create a hotfix or a critical update. They will chat with us, and that is one thing I like about Microsoft. Whenever any issues occur at my organization, they will help you out soon as possible within the SLA."

"The most valuable feature is the scalability."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is its low cost, as it requires no additional licensing fees."

"Instead of leaving each server to download their own updates, with WSUS you have a centralized management tool for all the updates alongside a log for all the servers. By creating and deploying a WSUS server that will download the updates from the internet and dispatch them to the other servers, you can have control over the entire deployment process."

"The solution has great potential and leaves the user with almost limitless possibilities. It is truly a product with a million uses."

"With WSUS, you can automatically install and distribute Microsoft security patches without using an internet connection for all clients and servers. It is not difficult to understand how it works and I think it's a very nice tool."

"The platform provides good value in terms of time and effort by eliminating the need for manual patch management."

"The product reduced the number of crashes on our applications that were not able to use the latest versions of Windows updates."

"The solution gives authentic updates."

"We can easily download particular patches, and we can apply them on a group basis and policy basis."

More Microsoft Windows Server Update Services pros

Cons

"The analysis is something that can be integrated. Their report analysis can be improved a little bit due to the fact that most of the time complaints policies are saved by the admins. It's something that we need to look into and search for."

"Initial setup was complex. There's a lot that goes into it."

"The solution can be improved with the addition of a mobile device manager."

"The cost of the product can be improved."

"Regarding this, I'd like to mention the agent situation. When the agent on an end-user device is not functioning correctly, it can be quite problematic. It would be highly beneficial if there were a self-healing mechanism in place. Essentially, if the agent becomes corrupted or encounters issues, it should be able to rectify itself autonomously. This is particularly critical because, in order to utilize a tool like MECM (assuming you're referring to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager), we need to deploy agents, known as AsMs, on all the devices we use, such as Windows 10 or Windows Server. Sometimes, when we deploy configurations or updates, they don't apply properly due to agent issues. This issue has been present since we began using MECM around 23 years ago. Unfortunately, there is currently no built-in mechanism for the agent to detect its own problems and initiate self-repair. Microsoft doesn’t have any feature to scan vulnerabilities and hence, they could include those."

"It needs to be able to load faster during deployment."

"The solution could improve the functionality for automating, license management. Additionally, more and better-looking reports are needed."

"The solution is crowded with information."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

"They could reduce the platform's prices."

"This solution's deployment could be improved. When I was the admin, there were some problems when deploying to clients. Sometimes the policy is not effective. I guess, more on the reliability side, more reliable means working more often with the clients. It could be easier to deploy."

"A few bugs need to be figured out for the security side."

"Sometimes, I encounter issues with the Windows internal database."

"The solution's stability could be improved because sometimes, there are some problems in communication and sending updates and patches."

"Having the ability to group updates by the operating systems would be very helpful."

"I don't have any notes on improvements."

"Microsoft Windows Server Update Services could improve the ease of use."

More Microsoft Windows Server Update Services cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license price could be reduced for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager They should make the price more affordable for smaller companies, most companies would be able to use the solution if it was priced better. There are more people on this cloud because you don't have to have either a server room or an on-premise server. You can have one IT person handle this without any local infrastructure."

"The solution operates on a licensing model that can be expensive."

"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."

"For enterprises, there is an annual license required to use this solution. The price of the solution could be cheaper. However, this is mostly because of the exchange rate from the dollar to the Nigerian currency."

"Its licensing is quite complicated because we are getting the license not only for SCCM but for the full Microsoft package. We don't need to pay for a separate license. We need to have one license that includes everything we need, such as Windows, Microsoft 365, SCCM, encryption, and so on. So, we don't have a specific price for it. Perhaps, it is good that it includes the full suite of licensing of Microsoft. It is expensive, but we are getting a lot of features."

"The licensing is good because they have various options, depending on what you are looking for."

"Overall, I think it's fine. It's pretty much in-line because there are ways to offset it with the Office 365 licensing."

"Pricing and licensing are horrible. You have to not look at dollar value to use SCCM. It's super-duper expensive but it works. The acquisition cost is expensive, it's labor-intensive. But it works."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

"The solution is expensive, and the licensing costs are yearly."

"Microsoft's operating model determines the solution's pricing, and we use it based on our enterprise agreement, which incurs an annual cost."

"We need one single key for Windows deployments, which is a better option. Buying a license with the same key for all systems, like Windows and Windows Desktop, makes configuring easier. Otherwise, it isn't easy to manage multiple keys for different systems."

"I rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten."

"The product is not expensive."

"The licensing of WSUS is free of charge because it comes with the Windows Server operating system, included as a feature of the operating system itself. It's simply a role that you enable within Windows Server."

"This product comes included with Windows and can be used free of charge."

"Because it is not open-source, it has to compete with open-source solutions. Relatively it is expensive to open-source."

More Microsoft Windows Server Update Services pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?

We can track the updates of the PC and servers.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?

It's a free service. You just buy the Windows Server operating system, and it is an internal feature.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?

Sometimes, I encounter issues with the Windows internal database, which occasionally does not load, leading to the Pandit console stopping. I have to repair the database and perform export and impo...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 27% of the time

BigFix vs Microsoft Windows Server Update Services

Compared 18% of the time

GFI LanGuard vs Microsoft Windows Server Update Services

Compared 8% of the time

Ivanti Security Controls vs Microsoft Windows Server Update Services

Compared 8% of the time

Atera vs Microsoft Windows Server Update Services

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager

May 2025

Download Microsoft Configuration Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services

March 2025

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services report

Download Microsoft Windows Server Update Services product report

Also Known As

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )

Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft WSUS, WSUS, Microsoft Software Update Services, Software Update Services, Microsoft SUS, SUS, MS Windows Server Update Services

Overview

Microsoft Configuration Manager helps IT manage PCs and servers, keeping software up-to-date, setting configuration and security policies, and monitoring system status while giving employees access to corporate applications on the devices that they choose. When Configuration Manager is integrated with Microsoft Intune, you can manage corporate-connected PCs and Macs along with cloud-based mobile devices running Windows, iOS, and Android, all from a single management console.

New features of Configuration Manager, such as the support of Windows 10 in-place upgrade, co-management with Microsoft Intune, Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise Servicing Dashboard, integration with Windows Update for Business, and more make deploying and managing Windows easier than ever before.

Microsoft

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is a patch management tool that simplifies the administrator’s task of deploying the latest Microsoft updates. Administrators use WSUS to manage the distribution of updates released through Microsoft Update to computers in their network.

WSUS has features you can use to manage and distribute updates from a management console. The WSUS server can also be a source of updates to other servers within the organization, acting as an upstream server.

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Use Cases

The four main use cases that WSUS adds value to businesses are:

Centralizes update management.
Automates update management.
Performs general patch management to ensure compliance and protect against vulnerabilities.
Downloads all endpoint updates from data centers to a central location and then distribute them across the organization’s network.

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Features

This built-in server includes the following features:

Includes Windows PowerShell cmdlets.
Features client and server separation, which means you can deliver versions of the Windows Update Agent (WUA) separately from WSUS.
Automatic download of updates.
Deploy a targeted download of updates to a specific group of computers.
Multiple language support.
Advanced reporting capabilities.
Centralized management of network resources.

Requirements

In order to be able to use WSUS to manage and deploy updates, it is important to use a supported WSUS version, such as:

WSUS 10.0.14393
WSUS 10.0.17763
WSUS 6.2 and 6.3 with installed KB 3095113 and KB 3159706

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Benefits

Stable.
Ensures servers are always patched and prevents vulnerabilities.
Works great for internal updating.
Enforces automated updates and patching for applications.
Because the solution is used in the cloud, clients are always using the latest version.
Highly scalable and configurable regardless of the organization’s layout.

Different Types of WSUS Deployments

Simple WSUS deployment: A server inside the corporate firewall serves clients via a private intranet. The WSUS server downloads updates by connecting to Microsoft Update. Using this model, you can configure multiple WSUS servers with a parent WSUS server.
Computer groups: You can use computer groups to deliver updates to specific computers. There are two basic computer groups: All Computers or Unassigned Computers. When a client first contacts the WSUS server, it is added to both. You can then create a group from the Unassigned Computers group to the new group.
WSUS server hierarchies: The flexibility of WSUS enables the creation of complex hierarchies of servers. To do this, you need only a single WSUS server connected to Microsoft Update. This will serve as an “upstream server,” and the connected servers as “downstream servers.”
- You can link WSUS servers in two modes: autonomous or replica. In the autonomous mode, the upstream server shares the updates with the downstream servers but doesn’t update status or group information.
- The upstream server shares updates, status, and group information in replica mode. You cannot administer replica servers apart from the upstream WSUS server.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services

April 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services

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