The solution is expensive. Microsoft Configuration Manager would likely be considered high-priced for small businesses because they may not fully utilize all of its features and capabilities.
Since we are a government organization, money is not an issue. There's an agreement between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Microsoft.
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Configuration Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
Microsoft provides a steep price for their enterprise products, but they offer very competitive pricing for their legacy customers. We have been using Microsoft products for the past six to seven years and have found that the cost is considerably less than if we were to purchase a single product. For example, ManageEngine is passed on to us at an individual price, which makes the overall cost much higher.
Senior Cloud Solution Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reseller
Oct 6, 2022
The solution operates on a licensing model that can be expensive. Pricing is reasonable for small companies but large companies or enterprise environments require multiple licenses.
Microsoft comes with an end-to-end package that can include Office 365 and many other applications put together, it makes it a very integrated system for people to use. We have a support license from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager and the overall price of the solution is reasonable.
President/CEO at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Apr 5, 2022
Although the solution is not as expensive as Ivanti, the cost is still quite high. Certain licensing arrangements can get you a better deal, but it's still expensive. It's based on a CAL license, so if you have a client on an endpoint, there's going to be a charge. I think it's around $US35 per license per year. It's not too bad.
Enterprise Systems Engineer at a mining and metals company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Dec 27, 2021
We do pay a licensing fee on a yearly basis. There is a license cost and it is licensed per deployment. We do pay licensing costs for all of the deployments that we have on our end, across the enterprise. With the way everything is moving to the cloud, you need to have all of these licenses in place.
IT End User Computing Expert at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Nov 16, 2021
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.
Information System Auditor (IT Audit) at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Sep 14, 2021
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.
Director of Professional Services at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Jul 30, 2021
They are always changing their price model, which I don't like. It would be better if they didn't keep adjusting their price model. The price model is different for every client. It depends on the corporation, the company's subscription balance, and how many machines they have. For us, it fluctuates. Some clients have a smaller infrastructure, and for those with large infrastructures, it will cost them more. Others will also have multiple versions of it for backup and failovers.
System Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
MSP
Dec 14, 2020
There are a few licensing required. When you purchase the SCCM licence the SQL server license is included. When you compare this solution with other tools in the market you might actually find a lot of variation in the pricing and that's why people opt for the other tools rather than Microsoft tools.
Infrastructure, Technical Computing Applications at EQF Solutions
Real User
Oct 30, 2020
Pricing is negotiable with Microsoft, depending upon which of their packages you choose. They're changing their packages, and I don't know how they're changing them yet. It's been a few years since I have worked in that capacity.
Information Technology Lead at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Oct 6, 2020
I'm more interested in features, which is where I spend most of my research time with products. I don't really get into pricing. I'm not sure of the exact price. I can't say if it's cheaper or more expensive than other options.
Systems engineer - IT infrastructure management at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Aug 23, 2020
We have a basic enterprise agreement with Microsoft which isn't cheap, per se. I can't get into the exact cost structure. The question of pricing is a bit relative. The enterprise-level that we use is always a negotiation. I don't want to use the word monopoly, however, there's no alternative enterprise vendor that covers all bases, from server storage and backup and everything else in between. Pricing is just a matter of negotiation every time the contract renewal period comes up.
Senior Systems Architect with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Aug 14, 2018
SCCM comes with its own version of SQL Server. If you use that SQL Server with SCCM and don't use it for another applications than you get an SQL Server for free. This option was available a few years ago, I assume it still is around.
Pricing and licensing are a downside of SCCM. It's expensive. I'd have to confirm this, but I think they changed the licensing to core-based instead of socket-based. It's not cheap, because you have to buy the software, you have to buy SQL. Another thing we learned from talking to Microsoft is that they provide you a license for SQL if you run it on the same box as the primary server. If you run it outside that box, you have to buy SQL. Microsoft does recommend you running it on the same box because of performance. But then, in order to run SQL, SCCM, and everything on the same box, you better have some resources. It's an expensive solution. There's no doubt about it.
Principal Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Aug 9, 2018
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.
Microsoft has affordable pricing for Small to Medium Businesses, and it comes with many SMB packages already. It is worth investing in these, because the returns in automation and environmental integrity pay back the cost.
Microsoft Configuration Manager streamlines IT management with features such as software deployment, patch management, and automation, centralizing operations for Windows environments. Integration with Microsoft products allows efficient oversight of workstations and servers.Microsoft Configuration Manager provides comprehensive IT management, offering software deployment, patch management, and application pushing. Automation reduces manual tasks, ensuring consistency across systems....
The setup cost is considered sufficient. It is not significant enough for us to consider a change at the moment.
The solution is expensive. Microsoft Configuration Manager would likely be considered high-priced for small businesses because they may not fully utilize all of its features and capabilities.
Since we are a government organization, money is not an issue. There's an agreement between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Microsoft.
We use the tool's free license. It is expensive.
There is an annual license needed to use the solution.
The pricing is good. I'd rate its affordability eight out of ten. It could always be cheaper, however, we are pretty happy with the cost.
MECM is more expensive than Ansible, which is open and free. That's why we'll use other tools as needed for automation.
Microsoft provides a steep price for their enterprise products, but they offer very competitive pricing for their legacy customers. We have been using Microsoft products for the past six to seven years and have found that the cost is considerably less than if we were to purchase a single product. For example, ManageEngine is passed on to us at an individual price, which makes the overall cost much higher.
The price could be better.
The solution operates on a licensing model that can be expensive. Pricing is reasonable for small companies but large companies or enterprise environments require multiple licenses.
The price of SCCM depends on the size of the organization. The price is competitive. I rate the price of SCCM a three out of five.
Microsoft comes with an end-to-end package that can include Office 365 and many other applications put together, it makes it a very integrated system for people to use. We have a support license from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager and the overall price of the solution is reasonable.
Although the solution is not as expensive as Ivanti, the cost is still quite high. Certain licensing arrangements can get you a better deal, but it's still expensive. It's based on a CAL license, so if you have a client on an endpoint, there's going to be a charge. I think it's around $US35 per license per year. It's not too bad.
There is not a license needed to use the solution.
As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license.
We do pay a licensing fee on a yearly basis. There is a license cost and it is licensed per deployment. We do pay licensing costs for all of the deployments that we have on our end, across the enterprise. With the way everything is moving to the cloud, you need to have all of these licenses in place.
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.
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.
They are always changing their price model, which I don't like. It would be better if they didn't keep adjusting their price model. The price model is different for every client. It depends on the corporation, the company's subscription balance, and how many machines they have. For us, it fluctuates. Some clients have a smaller infrastructure, and for those with large infrastructures, it will cost them more. Others will also have multiple versions of it for backup and failovers.
Pricing is not in my work description and is left up to management and my colleagues.
We have to pay for a license.
I don't deal with the pricing. I'm not aware of the costs in general. I can't say if it's reasonable or expensive. It's not my area of expertise.
Its price is okay because it is part of our licensing.
There are a few licensing required. When you purchase the SCCM licence the SQL server license is included. When you compare this solution with other tools in the market you might actually find a lot of variation in the pricing and that's why people opt for the other tools rather than Microsoft tools.
The solution is pretty expensive. A company really needs to consider their environment.
Pricing is negotiable with Microsoft, depending upon which of their packages you choose. They're changing their packages, and I don't know how they're changing them yet. It's been a few years since I have worked in that capacity.
I'm more interested in features, which is where I spend most of my research time with products. I don't really get into pricing. I'm not sure of the exact price. I can't say if it's cheaper or more expensive than other options.
I don't know much about the licensing structure but I believe everything is probably included within the package.
We have a basic enterprise agreement with Microsoft which isn't cheap, per se. I can't get into the exact cost structure. The question of pricing is a bit relative. The enterprise-level that we use is always a negotiation. I don't want to use the word monopoly, however, there's no alternative enterprise vendor that covers all bases, from server storage and backup and everything else in between. Pricing is just a matter of negotiation every time the contract renewal period comes up.
The licensing is good because they have various options, depending on what you are looking for. There are one-year up-to three-year license contracts.
Overall, I think it's fine. It's pretty much in-line because there are ways to offset it with the Office 365 licensing.
SCCM comes with its own version of SQL Server. If you use that SQL Server with SCCM and don't use it for another applications than you get an SQL Server for free. This option was available a few years ago, I assume it still is around.
Pricing and licensing are a downside of SCCM. It's expensive. I'd have to confirm this, but I think they changed the licensing to core-based instead of socket-based. It's not cheap, because you have to buy the software, you have to buy SQL. Another thing we learned from talking to Microsoft is that they provide you a license for SQL if you run it on the same box as the primary server. If you run it outside that box, you have to buy SQL. Microsoft does recommend you running it on the same box because of performance. But then, in order to run SQL, SCCM, and everything on the same box, you better have some resources. It's an expensive solution. There's no doubt about it.
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.
Microsoft has affordable pricing for Small to Medium Businesses, and it comes with many SMB packages already. It is worth investing in these, because the returns in automation and environmental integrity pay back the cost.