Patch Management Tool Comparison

Action1, Automox, NinjaOne, ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus, Tanium, HCL BigFix and Qualys Patch Management compared side by side — the patching features each one has, the company size each tends to fit, and a neutral RFP question bank. We show features and size fit only; we do not rank the tools. Confirm anything that matters directly with the vendor.

Research date: September 6, 2026

Confirm before you rely on it: patch-management features, supported operating systems and applications, distribution options, integrations, hosting regions, certifications, and pricing all change often. Every capability below is drawn from the vendor's own current pages (linked under each tool), but the authoritative and most current source is always the vendor. Go directly to the vendor to confirm anything that will drive a purchasing or deployment decision.

Feature comparison

Company-size fit is an EVULNABLE Assessment (our opinion on the sizes each tool tends to fit); every other column is drawn from the vendor's own pages. This table lists what each tool does — it does not rank the tools.

Patch management tools matching the current filters
Tool	Category	Deployment	OS patched	Distribution	Company-size fit
Action1	Cloud-native patch management (SaaS, no on-prem infrastructure)	SaaS (cloud-native)	Windows, macOS, Linux	Peer-to-peer	SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise
Automox	Cloud-native patch management (SaaS, no on-prem infrastructure)	SaaS (cloud-native)	Windows, macOS, Linux	Not stated	SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise
NinjaOne (Patch Management)	Unified endpoint management / RMM with patching	SaaS (cloud-native)	Windows, macOS, Linux	Not stated	SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus	Dedicated patch product within an IT-management suite	SaaS (cloud), On-premises	Windows, macOS, Linux	Distribution Server	SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise
Tanium Patch	Enterprise endpoint platform with peer/relay distribution	SaaS (Tanium Cloud), Self-managed / on-premises	Windows, macOS, Linux	Linear-chain P2P	Enterprise, Global enterprise, Government
HCL BigFix (Patch)	Enterprise endpoint platform with peer/relay distribution	On-premises, Virtual, Cloud	Windows, macOS, Linux, Unix (AIX / Solaris)	Relays + throttling	Mid-market, Enterprise, Global enterprise, Government
Qualys Patch Management	Cloud-native patch management (SaaS, no on-prem infrastructure)	SaaS (cloud-native), Government cloud (FedRAMP)	Windows, macOS, Linux	Peer-to-peer (Windows)	Mid-market, Enterprise, Global enterprise, Government

Pricing snapshot

Published figures only. Where a vendor does not publish a price, this says so rather than estimating — confirm current pricing with the vendor.

Pricing basis and published figure per tool
Tool	Pricing basis	Published figure
Action1	Published Price (free tier) + quote-based above 200 endpoints	Published Price: Free for the first 200 endpoints ('Free forever,' no feature limits, no expiry). Above 200 endpoints, pricing is quote-based - Action1 does not publish a paid per-endpoint figure.
Automox	Published Price (Patch OS tier) + custom-quoted higher tiers	Published Price: Patch OS is $1 per endpoint/month with an annual commitment (Windows, macOS, and Linux OS patching). Automate Essentials and Automate Enterprise are custom-priced. Monthly (no-commitment) billing is available; annual saves 25%.
NinjaOne (Patch Management)	Published Price (indicative range) + quote-based full pricing	Published Price: NinjaOne does not publish a full price list, but states an indicative per-device range of roughly $1.50/month at 10,000 endpoints up to $3.75/month at 50 or fewer endpoints (tiered, with volume discounts); a 14-day trial and quotes are offered.
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus	Published Price (full price list) + Free edition	Published Price: Professional and Enterprise editions are published per-computer and per-server (on-prem annual/perpetual and cloud monthly/annual). Illustrative on-prem annual entry points: Professional per-computer from $245, Enterprise per-computer from $345 (rising with volume). Cloud is subscription-only.
Tanium Patch	Quote / demo-based (no public price)	No public price. Tanium does not publish a per-endpoint price; the site directs prospects to request a demo or contact sales.
HCL BigFix (Patch)	Quote-based (no public price)	No public price. HCL BigFix pricing is quote-based (typically per client device, tiered); official pages direct prospects to contact HCL for a quote.
Qualys Patch Management	Quote-based (no current public price)	No current public price. Qualys Patch Management is quote-based and does not display a current per-asset figure; the only official figure found is historical ($29.95 per asset at the 2019 launch).

Before you rely on this

Important disclaimer

Patch-Management Tool Disclaimer: EVULNABLE provides independent informational comparisons of patch-management tools. Product capabilities, supported operating systems and third-party applications, automation and distribution features, integrations, deployment models, pricing, data residency, and security authorizations can change. Information labeled Official/Verified is based on the vendor's official documentation available as of the listed research date. Information labeled Published Price is a price the vendor currently displays and may not reflect discounts, minimum commitments, add-on modules, taxes, or professional services. Company-size fit is labeled EVULNABLE Assessment because it is this tab's own independent opinion, not a vendor claim or endorsement, and it is the only comparative opinion offered: this page does not rank the tools or state that any tool is better than another. Organizations should validate current capabilities, licensing, regional availability, and technical coverage directly with the vendor before purchase.

Independent Comparison Notice: EVULNABLE is an independent informational resource and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the vendors listed on this page unless explicitly stated otherwise. Vendor names and trademarks are used solely to identify the products and services being discussed.

How to read this page

How to read this page: for each tool, this page lists the patch-management features documented on the vendor's own pages, notes where a tool also does more (for example, broader operating-system coverage or peer/relay content distribution) as an additional fact, and gives an independent opinion on the company size the tool tends to fit. It does not rank the tools, score them, or recommend one over another. The company-size fit is the only opinion offered and is labeled EVULNABLE Assessment. Where the vendor's pages do not itemize a capability, the page says so rather than guessing. Treat every figure as provisional and confirm it with the vendor.

How this was checked before publishing

Every capability statement on this page was checked against the vendor's own official product pages and documentation on the research date; the sources are linked under each tool's profile. A few points worth flagging for readers: Automox publishes two different third-party title counts on its own site (580+ on the patching pages, 630+ on the pricing page) - both are shown with their source. Action1 and NinjaOne do not publish a specific third-party application count, so none is invented here. NinjaOne and Action1 publish only indicative or free-tier pricing (full pricing is quote-based); Tanium and HCL BigFix do not publish per-endpoint pricing at all. HCL BigFix's own pages give two single-server scale figures (250,000 in the platform docs, 300,000 on the Remediate product page) - both are shown. Because vendor pages change quickly, treat every figure here as provisional and confirm it directly with the vendor.

Market pricing context

Patch-management tools price on very different bases, which makes a direct head-to-head price comparison difficult: per-endpoint/month, per-computer and per-server tiers, free tiers, and pure quote-based enterprise deals all appear below. Figures labeled **Published Price** are numbers a vendor currently displays publicly; where a vendor does not publish a figure, this page says so rather than estimating one. - **Action1** is free for the first 200 endpoints ("Free forever, no feature limits"); above 200 endpoints, pricing is quote-based. - **Automox** publishes **$1 per endpoint/month** (annual commitment) for its Patch OS tier; the Automate Essentials and Automate Enterprise tiers are custom-quoted. - **NinjaOne** is quote-based and does not publish a full price list, but states an indicative per-device range of roughly **$1.50 to $3.75 per month** depending on volume. - **ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus** publishes a full price list for its Professional and Enterprise editions (per-computer and per-server, on-prem and cloud), and has a Free edition for up to 20 workstations and 5 servers. - **Tanium** and **HCL BigFix** do not publish per-endpoint pricing; both are quote/demo-based enterprise deals. - **Qualys Patch Management** is a licensed module alongside VMDR and is quote-based; the only official figure is historical (**$29.95 per asset** at the 2019 launch), and no current per-asset price is displayed. Confirm current pricing directly with each vendor - published figures change often and rarely reflect discounts, add-on modules, or minimum commitments.

Category definitions

Cloud-native patch management: Delivered purely as a SaaS service with a lightweight endpoint agent and no on-premises servers, relays, or appliances to run. Endpoints check in over the internet, so remote and off-network machines are patched without a VPN. Action1 and Automox are built this way.
Unified endpoint management / RMM with patching: Patch management is one module inside a broader cloud endpoint-management / remote-monitoring-and-management platform that also does things like remote access, software deployment, and monitoring (NinjaOne). Useful where one team wants patching alongside general endpoint management in a single console.
Dedicated patch product within an IT-management suite: A purpose-built patch-management product, offered in both on-premises and cloud editions, that is part of a larger family of IT-management tools (ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus). Distribution servers can be placed at branch offices to save bandwidth.
Enterprise endpoint platform with peer/relay distribution: A converged endpoint-management platform whose single agent covers many capabilities and whose distribution architecture (Tanium's linear-chain peer-to-peer, BigFix's relays) is designed to move patch content across very large, distributed estates with limited bandwidth. Tanium and HCL BigFix are built this way.

Request a correction — See outdated information? Patch-management features, supported applications, certifications, and pricing change frequently. If you represent a vendor or notice information that may be outdated, use the link below to request a review or correction.

Export comparison

Pick the tools to include, then download a self-contained PDF or Excel comparison.

Tool profile

One profile at a time. Every profile is its own URL, so a link to one is a link you can send.

HCL BigFix (Patch)

Enterprise endpoint platform with peer/relay distribution

An automated, single-console patch-management solution that finds and fixes problems across all endpoints, wherever they are.

On-premises, Virtual, CloudDeployment
YesOn-prem option
Relays + throttlingDistribution
Quote onlyPublished price

Classification: Official/Verified: Patch management delivered as HCL BigFix Patch within the BigFix endpoint-management platform - a single intelligent agent covering many operating systems, managed from one console, deployable on-premises, virtual, or cloud. (Packaged within BigFix Lifecycle; patch + vulnerability remediation is also offered as BigFix Remediate.)
Operating systems patched: Official/Verified: The four major OS families - Windows, UNIX, Linux, and macOS - with the Lifecycle page citing support for 'more than 90 different OS versions.' The supported-software page enumerates Windows, macOS, many Linux distros (RHEL, Ubuntu, Amazon Linux, Rocky, Debian, CentOS, Oracle Linux, openSUSE) and Unix (AIX, Solaris, HP-UX), plus VMware ESXi.
Third-party application patching: Official/Verified: Yes - third-party application patching (named vendors include Adobe, Mozilla, Apple, and Oracle), organized into Base and Extended patch content. A specific aggregate application count is not stated.
Patch discovery / vulnerability visibility: Official/Verified: Patch content is delivered as Fixlets (a Patch Policy is a collection of Fixlets for a set of endpoints); agents detect security exposures and misconfigurations and the console shows a system-wide view of vulnerabilities and suggested remedies with near real-time visibility. BigFix Remediate adds CyberFOCUS Analytics to discover, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities.
Automation & scheduling: Official/Verified: Patch Policy provides automated, policy-based patching - configurable timing, frequency, and duration; staggered start times to distribute load; pre-caching and retry; and device-owner restart notifications. (Patch Policy in the WebUI currently covers Windows and RHEL patching.)
Testing / staging: Official/Verified: Staged/phased rollout via per-machine-group scheduled policies (each with tailored deployment parameters) and staggered start times; a named 'pilot/test group' term is not used on the pages reviewed.
Reboot management: Official/Verified: Patch Policy includes device-owner notifications for pending restarts, and Windows patch client settings include restart-handling controls; more detailed reboot-deferral/user-messaging timers live in the Patch for Windows user guide.
Rollback / uninstall: Official/Verified: A Microsoft Patch Rollback Task Wizard uninstalls patches by KB number (Windows/Microsoft); the docs note some patches require uninstallation outside the wizard.
Content distribution: Official/Verified: A relay architecture - hundreds to thousands of clients point to a single relay (which makes one request to the server), relays can chain, and bandwidth throttling can be set at server, relay, or client level - explicitly addressing limited-bandwidth and VPN-connected/distributed networks.
Reporting & compliance: Official/Verified: Detailed patch-compliance reporting with near real-time monitoring; Web Reports consolidates data across a deployment (overview graphs, computer properties, an Open Vulnerabilities list, and custom reporting). A separate HCL BigFix Compliance product also exists.
ITSM / ticketing integration: Official/Verified: ServiceNow integrations include a Service Graph Connector (near real-time CMDB enrichment), ServiceNow Vulnerability Response Patch Orchestration, an Inventory Spoke, and a bidirectional CMDB data flow, covering incident/problem/change management.
Remote control / remote access: Official/Verified: Yes - BigFix Remote Control, a separate module within BigFix Lifecycle, supporting peer-to-peer or centrally-managed sessions with authentication and session recording.
Agent model: Official/Verified: A single intelligent BigFix Agent on every endpoint (operating in under 10 MB of RAM) does most analysis and enforcement locally; the architecture also includes Server(s), Relays, Console, Web Reports, WebUI, and a Plugin Portal for cloud/modern device management.
Scale: Official/Verified: BigFix states single-server scale of 'up to 250,000' endpoints (platform docs) and 'up to 300,000 endpoints per management server' (Remediate product page) - both figures appear on official pages and are shown here as stated.
Data residency / certifications: Data residency regions and security certifications (e.g., SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / FedRAMP) for BigFix's cloud offerings are not stated on the product/docs pages reviewed; confirm with HCL's trust/security pages.
Pricing: No public price. HCL BigFix pricing is quote-based (typically per client device, tiered); official pages direct prospects to contact HCL for a quote.Enterprise/quote-based. Confirm pricing, packaging (Lifecycle vs Remediate), and licensing metric directly with HCL.
Company-size fit: EVULNABLE Assessment: BigFix's single-agent breadth (90+ OS versions including Unix), relay-based bandwidth handling, and single-server scale into the hundreds of thousands make it a fit for mid-market, enterprise, global-enterprise, and government estates - especially heterogeneous, distributed, or low-bandwidth environments. Running the on-prem server infrastructure is the trade-off to weigh for smaller teams.
How the vendor positions it: HCL positions BigFix for large, diverse, distributed estates - managing endpoints 'regardless of their location, connection type, or operational status,' across servers, desktops, laptops, mobile, point-of-sale, ATMs, and kiosks - and publishes MSP and government-oriented materials.

Last verified: September 6, 2026 Confirm current details directly with the vendor.

Capability matrix

Every cell is a factual descriptor from the vendor's own pages — "Yes", the named feature, or "Not stated" where the vendor does not itemize it. The matrix does not score or rank the tools.

Capability comparison across the tools matching the current filters
Capability	Action1	Automox	NinjaOne (Patch Management)	ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus	Tanium Patch	HCL BigFix (Patch)	Qualys Patch Management
Windows patching	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
macOS patching	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Linux patching	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Unix (AIX / Solaris) patching	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Yes	Not stated
Third-party app patching	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Via Tanium Deploy	Yes	Yes
Third-party catalog size (stated)	Not stated	580+ / 630+	Not stated	1,100+	Not stated	Not stated	300+
Automated deployment policies	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (Zero-Touch)
Phased / staged rollout	Update Rings	Groups + manual approval	Ring deployments	Test-and-approve groups	Rules + maintenance windows	Policy groups + staggered	Deployment rings
Test / pilot staging	Yes (Ring 0)	Groups + manual approval	Yes (pilot ring)	Yes (test & approve)	Not stated (named)	Policy groups	Yes (deployment rings)
Reboot management	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Status tracked	Yes	Yes
Patch rollback / uninstall	Software uninstall (Win)	Windows rollback	Windows patch uninstall	Patch rollback	Not stated	Windows KB rollback wizard	Windows rollback; EOL uninstall
Vulnerability / CVE visibility	Yes (CVE/CVSS/KEV)	Vulnerability Sync (scanner import)	CVE dashboard	Real-time + scanner integrations	Via Tanium Comply	Fixlets + CyberFOCUS	Yes (VMDR / TruRisk)
Peer / relay distribution	Peer-to-peer	Not stated	Not stated	Distribution Server	Linear-chain P2P	Relays + throttling	Peer-to-peer (Windows)
Remote control / remote access	Yes (built-in)	Yes (Splashtop)	Yes (native + integrations)	Add-on	Via ScreenMeet	Yes (separate module)	Not documented
On-prem / self-managed option	No (cloud-only)	No (cloud-only)	No (cloud-only)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No (cloud-only)
ITSM (ServiceNow)	Yes	Yes (Service Graph)	Yes (API)	ServiceDesk Plus; ServiceNow not stated	Yes (ITX / SecOps)	Yes (Service Graph + Vuln Response)	Yes (closed-loop)
Government / FedRAMP posture	TX-RAMP; NIST 800-171; CMMC	TX-RAMP	FedRAMP Moderate (Authorized)	Not stated	FedRAMP Authorized (Moderate)	Not stated	FedRAMP Moderate + High
Published price figure	Free to 200; else quote	$1/endpoint/mo (Patch OS)	Indicative $1.50-$3.75/device	Full published price list	Quote only	Quote only	Quote only

RFP question bank

Neutral questions to take to any patch-management vendor. They presume no answer and point at no tool.

A ready-to-use set of 34 vendor-neutral questions, grouped by capability. Written to be pasted straight into a request for proposal, and included in the PDF and Excel exports above.

The 34 questions, grouped

Coverage

Which operating systems and versions are supported for OS patching?

Which third-party applications are supported, and is the list published?

How often is the third-party patch catalog updated?

Are servers, workstations, and laptops all supported equally?

How are remote and off-network endpoints patched (VPN required)?

Is Unix (AIX, Solaris, HP-UX) or ESXi patching supported?

Automation & scheduling

How are patch policies defined and scheduled?

Can approval be automatic, by severity, or manual?

Are maintenance / deployment windows configurable?

How are Patch Tuesday and out-of-band patches handled?

Can deployment be staggered to control load?

Testing, staging & rollback

Is there a test/pilot group or ring-deployment workflow?

How is a patch promoted from a pilot group to production?

Can installed patches be rolled back or uninstalled, and on which OSes?

What happens when a patch fails on a subset of endpoints?

Distribution & bandwidth

How is patch content distributed to endpoints?

Is peer-to-peer or relay/distribution-server distribution available?

Can bandwidth be throttled for constrained or branch sites?

Is any on-premises infrastructure required for distribution?

Reboot & end-user experience

What reboot controls are available (defer, prompt, force, exclude)?

Can end users postpone a reboot, and within what limits?

How are unattended/headless devices handled for reboots?

Reporting & compliance

What patch-compliance and patch-status reports are provided?

Can reports be scheduled and exported for audits?

Which compliance frameworks does the reporting map to?

Is vulnerability/CVE context shown alongside missing patches?

Integration

Which ITSM/ticketing systems are integrated (ServiceNow, Jira, others)?

Can findings from external vulnerability scanners be ingested?

Is there a documented API for automation?

Deployment, data & pricing

Is the tool SaaS-only, on-premises, or both?

Which hosting regions are available, and can data residency be chosen?

Which security certifications does the service hold?

What is the licensing metric (per endpoint, per server, tiers)?

Is there a free tier or trial, and what does published pricing cover?

Research date: September 6, 2026. This page shows the patch-management features each tool documents and an independent opinion on the company size each fits; it does not rank the tools. EVULNABLE has no commercial relationship with any tool listed here.