Best Patch Management Software for Small IT Teams

The free option: the first 200 endpoints get the full product, with no feature limits and no expiry.

One update, start to finish. A lightweight agent reports missing updates to the cloud console. Updates can need explicit approval, and approvals can be set per organization, which matters for MSPs. To stage the rollout you build update rings: Ring 0 takes a hand-picked set of missing updates, Ring 1 takes only what passed in Ring 0, and you can gate each step on success rate and success count. Paused updates are left out of the current ring and every outer ring. On Windows, the update downloads from the cloud, installs, and then a reboot prompt with a countdown appears to the logged-in user. The user can click Remind Later, but the required reboot can't be skipped. If nobody is logged in, no prompt appears and the endpoint restarts right after the update is set up. An endpoint that went offline after receiving the automation still runs it.

Coverage. The platform lists Windows, macOS, Linux and Windows Server, with third-party patching of hundreds of applications. We couldn't find a title count on the pages we read. Software deployment, inventory and browser-based remote access are in the same product.

Cloud patching for Windows, macOS and Linux, with an entry plan at $1 per endpoint per month and policies you assign to device groups.

One update, start to finish. The agent scans on a cycle and reports missing updates to the cloud console. A patch policy decides what qualifies. The types are Patch All, Severity (by CVE score, critical to low), Patch Only, Patch All Except, Manual Approval and Advanced, which can filter by patch age. With Manual Approval an admin approves packages under Manage Approvals, and they install at the policy's next scheduled run in the device's local time. Policies aren't inherited down the group hierarchy, so each one is assigned to every group it should cover, and a pilot group simply gets its own policy. A device that missed its window can run the policy at its next check-in if you tick the missed-window option. If a patch needs a restart and Automatic Restart is on, logged-in users get a notice with about 15 minutes to respond, with deferrals if you enable them. A bad Windows KB can be rolled back from Device Details or with a worklet.

Coverage. Windows 10 and 11 and Server 2012 R2 through 2025; macOS 14 and newer; many RPM and DEB-based Linux distributions. Third-party patching, listed as 633+ titles on the pricing page and 580 on an older cross-OS page, is in the Automate plans, not in the $1 Patch OS plan. Automox's own maintenance policy says the platform may be down for about four hours on the Thursday after Patch Tuesday, from 8 PM Eastern, so don't schedule urgent work for that window.

ManageEngine's patch-only product, sold as cloud or on premises with a price table by computer count and the most explicit approval and restart options in this group.

One update, start to finish. Agents scan endpoints for missing patches and report to the server, which can be your own or ManageEngine's cloud. Approval has three modes. The default approves new patches automatically. Test and Approve marks new patches Not Approved, sends them to a static test group, and approves a patch only if it installs on at least one test machine and fails on none. The third is manual approval, patch by patch. An Automated Patch Deployment task then applies approved patches under a deployment policy, which sets windows with a start and end time, specific days or weeks, or a schedule around Patch Tuesday, plus user notification and pre-download of patch files. After the install, the policy forces the restart or shutdown, lets users postpone or skips it, which is what you want on servers. Machines that missed the window can be forced after a grace-period date. Results show up in patch and compliance reports, and you can decline a patch or uninstall it where uninstall data exists.

Coverage. Windows, macOS and Linux, with 1100+ third-party applications listed on the product page. Wake-on-LAN can power on machines inside your network before a deployment.

The hands-on option: a clean view of missing Windows updates, a per-device yearly price, and no approval layer between you and the deployment button.

One update, start to finish. The Windows updates tab lists every applicable KB across the tenant with a status of Not Installed, In Progress, Pending Reboot, Failed or Installed. You select a KB, see which devices need it and deploy it to one or more of them, and each KB runs as its own deployment. We found no separate approval stage in the pages we read; that's the biggest difference from WSUS, which has group approvals. For third-party apps, the Package Library holds hundreds of popular titles, and automations can install updates when a new version appears, on a schedule, when a new CVE is detected or when a device joins a group. The agent pulls from the cloud, so devices need internet access, and air-gapped endpoints aren't supported. After the install the device shows Pending Reboot. The pages we read describe no reboot settings, so check how restarts are handled in your trial.

Coverage. Windows and macOS. PDQ sells two products: Connect is the cloud one, and PDQ Deploy & Inventory is the older on-premises product, still sold at $1,950 per admin per year.

An RMM with the most detailed patch policy model in this list, priced per device on a quote and rated 4.7 on G2.

One update, start to finish. A scan schedule detects missing Windows updates; the default is 8 AM local device time. Each patch category is set to Approve, Manual or Reject, with overrides per patch. Security updates follow Microsoft's severity levels. NinjaOne recommends applying Critical and Important updates right away, Important updates can auto-approve after a set number of days, and optional updates are usually rejected. Patch Intelligence AI can override an approval when a patch has a known issue. The install schedule is separate, defaulting to 5 PM local time, at least an hour after the scan, with stagger options to avoid every machine installing at once. Then the reboot setting applies. A logged-in user can be prompted until they accept, with an optional forced reboot after a set number of prompts, or notified and then rebooted, or rebooted automatically. With no user logged in, the device can reboot at once or retry. A pending reboot blocks further scans and installs on that device until it restarts. The dashboard lists patches as Pending, Approved, Rejected, Installed or Failed and lets you drill into devices.

Coverage. Windows, macOS and Linux. The marketing page quotes two different third-party catalog sizes (8,800+ and 6,000+), so ask the sales team for the list instead of trusting either number. The Windows guide doesn't support Vista and many Windows 7 and Server 2008 versions.

RMM and help desk in one platform, priced per technician with unlimited endpoints, which favors small teams with many devices.

One update, start to finish. Patching runs through IT automation profiles. Atera's own guidance is to split them: one profile each for Windows workstations, Windows servers and Macs, with heavier tasks in separate profiles scheduled an hour to an hour and a half apart. The recommended way to handle updates that need a restart is Reboot if needed, which restarts a device only when an update requires it and lets configuration policies set the timing. Profiles don't restart devices by default, and the devices page shows a Reboot required indicator. Atera warns that devices offline when a profile runs can restart unexpectedly later, depending on the Run on offline agents setting, so run profiles outside business hours and tell people not to shut down. A Patch & Automation Feedback email arrives one hour after a run, and the feedback report can lag if offline agents finish later. Failed patches can be retried from the patch management dashboard.

Coverage. Windows and macOS. On Macs Atera uses the native Software Update and lets you approve or postpone updates for up to 30 days. Third-party updates run through WinGet and Chocolatey on Windows and Homebrew Cask on macOS, plus internal apps from a private NuGet repository, with no fixed catalog count.

Included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium and E3, so many small teams already own the Windows patching controls and have never turned them on.

One update, start to finish. You assign a Windows update ring policy to an Entra group. The ring sets a quality update deferral from 0 to 30 days and feature update deferral from 0 to 365 days, deadlines of 2 to 30 days, and a grace period of 0 to 7 days before a forced restart. Active hours block automatic restarts, and the default scheduled install is 3 AM with a 15-minute restart countdown if you set nothing else. You can pause a ring for up to 35 days and uninstall the latest quality or feature update. When a fix is urgent, an expedite policy overrides the deferral and pushes the quality update immediately, which needs Plan 1 plus a Windows license with the Autopatch entitlement. Eligible Windows 11 devices can take hotpatch security updates that don't require a restart, shipped eight times a year. macOS 14 and newer take updates through declarative device management, with a target version, a deadline and a countdown before the forced restart.

Coverage. Third-party apps are a separate story. The Enterprise App Management add-on is $2 per user per month, covers Windows only, auto-updates only apps assigned as Required, and has no rollback or rollout rings. Microsoft's stated objective is that 80 to 90 percent of catalog app updates appear within 24 hours.

Not a standalone patcher but the add-on most Intune and Configuration Manager admins reach for when third-party apps fall behind.

One update, start to finish. Patch My PC's team detects a new third-party release, packages and tests it, and publishes it. The vendor says updates arrive within 24 hours of the vendor's release. In Configuration Manager the update appears as a software update that an automatic deployment rule rolls out. In WSUS an automatic approval does it. In Intune it syncs as an app and is assigned to Entra groups, and update rings delay later groups so testers and early adopters go first. The Intune Management Extension on the device runs the installer, with optional pre and post scripts and prompts that ask the user to close the app. If an update fails, retained prior versions let you revert. Patch Insights and, on Premium, Advanced Insights report deployment status and unpatched systems.

Coverage. The pricing page cites a curated catalog of 3,913 products for Windows and macOS. Premium adds CVE visibility, advanced reporting and Intune update compliance, which includes Microsoft updates. Monthly Windows security updates themselves aren't what this product installs: those still come through Windows Update, WSUS or Intune.