IT Management

The Top 11 Patch Management Software For Business

Discover the top patch management software. Explore features such as vulnerability scanning, reporting and analytics, and patch and update deployment.

Last updated on Apr 4, 2025
Caitlin Harris
Craig MacAlpine
Written by Caitlin Harris Technical Review by Craig MacAlpine
The Top 11 Patch Management Software include:
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Patch management is the process of identifying, acquiring, deploying, and verifying new patches (or “bug fixes”) for network devices and the software applications installed on those devices. Patches typically include updates for operating systems, application code, and embedded systems such as servers.

The Challenge: If a vulnerability isn’t patched, it could cause systems to run ineffectively. Plus, when a threat actor identifies a weakness in an application or device, they can use that weakness like a back door to access your company’s data. Exploiting undisclosed or unpatched vulnerabilities in this way is one of the leading ways in which cybercriminals attack endpoints.

How Patch Management Works: Patch management tools monitor endpoints and applications for required updates, then automatically distribute those updates according to a pre-defined schedule. They give IT teams greater visibility into device security and operational performance, and enable admins to schedule patch deployments at a time when users aren’t online, causing minimal downtime.

In this shortlist, we’ll highlight:

  • The best patch management solutions designed to manage security updates across your network’s endpoints
  • Standout features of each solution
  • Who they are best suited for

Heimdal™ Patch and Asset Management enables organizations to view, manage, and update their software inventory from anywhere in the world to ensure all software is up-to-date, secure against any vulnerabilities, and fully compliant.

Who it’s for: Heimdal™ Patch and Asset Management is suitable for organizations of any size looking for a comprehensive, highly customizable patch management solution, with a focus on both granular functionality and ease of use.

What we like: This is a comprehensive platform, but it’s also very straightforward to use. It offers a clean, modern user interface that makes it easy to configure policies and reports, and schedule patches.

  • You can manage Microsoft and Linux patches and automate patch management for over 350 different third-party and custom applications, all from a single console.
  • Patch scheduling comes with advanced options for force-reboots and on-demand updates, and you can configure the platform to update software immediately when patches become available.
  • You can configure granular policy controls for software deployment and privilege management.

The bottom line: Heimdal™ Patch and Asset Management is a fully featured patch management solution that enables organizations to seamlessly deploy and patch software via a modern, cloud-based admin console.

  • Heimdal™ is a quickly growing cybersecurity company headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their solutions are currently deployed in more than 45 countries and secure more than two million endpoints, for over 10,000 enterprise customers.
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Sponsored

Ninja Patch Management gives IT teams and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) greater visibility into their endpoint security and helps them automate patching across their endpoints.

Who it’s for: Ninja Patch Management is a strong solution for small- to mid-market MSPs and organizations in the government or education sectors looking for an intuitive tool that a smaller IT department can manage.

What we like: This cloud-native platform is really easy to use, thanks to its user-friendly interface, continuous software improvements based on customer feedback, and Ninja’s dedicated support team.

  • With its patching engine and built-in tools for software deployment, removal, and blacklisting, you can automate patch management for Windows, Mac, and Linux OSs, plus over 135 third-party applications.
  • Endpoint health and performance monitoring and alerting allow you to identify potential issues more quickly and remediate them before they can be exploited.
  • You can integrate Ninja Patch Management with a broad range of remote access, endpoint security, and analytics solutions to obtain a comprehensive, unified view of your threat data.

The bottom line: With Ninja Patch Management, IT teams can automate their patch management workflows to more efficiently keep their endpoints protected. Its per-device pricing and monthly billing, combined with its ease of deployment and management, make this a great patch management tool for those looking to get up and running quickly.

  • NinjaOne, formerly NinjaRMM, is an IT operations provider that specializes in remote monitoring and management (RMM), system backups and IT support operations.
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Sponsored

ESET Vulnerability & Patch Management tracks vulnerabilities across Windows and macOS operating systems and applications, with automated patching via ESET’s integrated endpoint security platform.

Who it’s for: We recommend ESET Vulnerability & Patch Management for organizations looking for powerful endpoint security, vulnerability management, and patch management, delivered in an easy-to-use, unified admin console.

What we like: ESET Vulnerability & Patch Management goes beyond patch management, adding vulnerability scanning to offer comprehensive endpoint security.

  • This platform offers lots of automation: its automated vulnerability scans can instantly detect over 35,000 common vulnerabilities (CVEs), and its automated patching workflows give you the option to configure immediate patches or manually push updates when vulnerabilities are detected.
  • You can access vulnerability and patch reports in the admin console as soon as scans are completed. These reports are prioritized and filtered by exposure score and severity.
  • You can prioritize patches based on the severity of the vulnerability or the importance of specific assets, and schedule less critical patches during off-peak times to avoid disruption.

The bottom line: ESET Vulnerability & Patch Management provides fully featured patch management and powerful protection for your entire endpoint network. It can be deployed standalone or as part of the wider ESET PROTECT platform, which also includes XDR, server security, full disk encryption, email security, and cloud app protection.

  • ESET is a leading endpoint security and management provider, securing millions of customers and hundreds of thousands of enterprise organizations globally.
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Sponsored

Atera is an all-in-one platform for Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), helpdesk, ticketing, and automation. This user-friendly solution consolidates RMM, remote desktop access, IT automations, patch management, scripting, help desk and ticketing, network discovery, and reporting into a single dashboard.

Who it’s for: Atera is a strong solution for small- to mid-sized MSPs and IT service providers looking to automate and simplify their patch management processes.

What we like: This platform offers a very user-friendly interface and strong remote support capabilities via the mobile app.

  • Atera monitors client endpoints in real-time and alerts you to any vulnerabilities or bugs as soon as it detects them.
  • The platform offers lots of automation, including automated system scans, update checks, system reboots, and automated patch management for Windows/Mac operating systems, software and hardware, with options to configure different settings for individual devices and device groups.
  • You can access a range of useful reports: the Patch Status Summary provides a full overview of patch management, including a list of missing patches; the Patch and Automation Feedback report notifies IT teams on any updates that haven’t worked.
  • You can remotely install and uninstall applications as needed.
  • Atera integrates seamlessly with a number of third-party applications, including Chocolatey, enabling you to automate Mac and Windows updates for popular software such as Chrome, Zoom, Dropbox, and Java.

The bottom line: Atera’s consolidated IT management and security platform enables support teams to quickly and easily discover and address issues across their clients’ networks.

  • From its headquarters in Israel and three further global offices, Atera Networks serves over 12,000 users in 120 countries.
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Sponsored

SuperOps is a unified RMM and PSA platform that combines patch management, remote access, network monitoring, and intelligent AI alerts with a comprehensive service desk, automated invoicing, and smart documentation.

Who it’s for: SuperOps is an effective solution for MSPs looking for a comprehensive platform for remote monitoring, patch management, and client management.

What we like: Everything is managed in a single, modern pane of glass, which is easy-to-use and supports a marketplace of integrations with popular security tools.

  • The platform offers policy-based automation at a client, site, and even at an asset level, so you can automatically deploy critical patches (e.g., security patches) and stagger deployment for less critical patches to support device performance and user productivity. You can also automate patch deployment to cover new assets as soon as they’re onboarded.
  • You can test out patches on your own systems to check their stability before rolling them out to your clients.
  • The comprehensive reporting module make it easy to track endpoint health and patch status, with filters for patch type, status, asset, and client. It also includes compliance reporting.

The bottom line: SuperOps enables MSPs to manage every facet of their clients’ networks via a single, modern pane of glass.

  • Since being founded in 2020, SuperOps has raised a total of $29.4M in funding, which it has invested into its SaaS, AI-powered PSA and RMM platform for MSPs.
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Adaptiva’s OneSite Patch enables organizations to patch and manage their endpoints at scale. The solution is available standalone or as part of the wider suite of OneSite products, which includes modules for IT health checks, software distribution, and remote device start-up.

Who it’s for: OneSite Patch is a strong solution for ITOps and SecOps teams within larger enterprises. Thanks to the platform’s unique P2P architecture, you can deploy patches of several gigabytes in size across tens of thousands of endpoints, with minimal network impact.

What we like: OneSite Patch is a highly scalable, highly versatile solution: it’s compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac devices, third-party applications, servers, drivers, and BIOS firmware, and it offers a library of 45,000 patches for 1,600+ third-party products, apps, and drivers that’s updated daily.

  • Thanks to the extensive patch library, you can create and automatically execute an organization-wide patching strategy using a decision-tree model to roll out patches as they’re made available. You can also create exceptions for patches or lock patches down to specific versions.
  • For added security, you can add multi-level custom approval workflows for patch rollout, and pause, roll-back, or cancel patches that aren’t behaving correctly. For critical patches, you can also pause, cancel, or skip approvals.
  • The platform offers integrations with MS Defender, Crowdstrike Falcon Exposure Management, and Tenable that enable you to set patching rules based on criticality factors.

The bottom line: OneSite Patch is a powerful, high-speed patch management tool with lots of automation capabilities. The platform is currently available as a single-server on-premises solution but can be moved to a virtual or cloud server, and Adaptiva has plans to roll out a full SaaS version in the next few months.

  • Adaptiva is a leading provider of endpoint management and security solutions. From their headquarters in Kirkland, Washington, they improve the efficiency and security of millions of endpoints globally.
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Adaptiva OneSite Patch

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Automox is a cloud-native patch and vulnerability management platform that supports Windows, MacOS, and Linux endpoints, providing patching and configuration controls for clients, servers, virtual machines, containers, and cloud instances.

Who it’s for: Thanks to its combination of a single, lightweight agent, user-friendly interface, and cloud-native architecture, Automox is suitable for SMBs and large enterprises alike.

What we like: Because of its cloud-native, cross-platform architecture, Automox’s configuration management is highly scalable and can support all devices—regardless of operating system, location, or domain—via a single user interface.

  • You can group devices by department, operating system, region, or using custom tags to help manage patching across multiple OS types.
  • You can configure automatic patching (including vulnerability detection and patch packaging) for 560 third-party applications. For added security, Automox scans all incoming third-party packages for malware.
  • There are two options for patching automation: policy-based, or using Automox Worklet automation scripts. These enable you to automate any scriptable action on any endpoint, including software deployment and local configuration policy enforcement.

The bottom line: Automox provides a single, consolidated platform for securing on-premises, remote, and hybrid endpoints against known and zero-day vulnerabilities.

  • Founded in 2015, Automox has quickly become a leader in the patch management and IT configuration space. Having recently raised $110M USD in Series C funding, they currently serve millions of endpoints across the globe.
7.

Automox

Automox Logo

Patch Manager Plus is ManageEngine’s patch management solution. It’s compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, and also supports patching for over 900 third-party apps and updates for over 500 third-party apps.

Who it’s for: We recommend Patch Manager Plus to SMBs looking for an easy-to-use, intuitive patch management solution with reliable reporting capabilities.

What we like: Patch Manager Plus offers a user-friendly interface that makes it really easy to set up automatic patch deployment.

  • The platform scans all endpoints to identify vulnerabilities then automatically deploys the necessary OS and third-party app patches from its repository. Before deploying patches, the platform tests each one to mitigate security risks and ensure all devices are fully secured.
  • You can generate reports into the state of security across each endpoint in order to track patching across the business and prove compliance with data protection standards.
  • The solution is available on-premises and in the cloud, which allows it to support any infrastructure—no matter your organization’s state of cloud migration.

The bottom line: Patch Manager Plus is a reliable solution that delivers lots of automation via a user-friendly interface, making it easy to manage patches across a range of devices and third-party apps.

  • ManageEngine, a division of Zoho Corporation, is a provider of comprehensive IT management software that helps organizations optimize and integrate their IT processes.
8.

ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus

ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus Logo

Microsoft Intune is a mobile device and application management solution that delivers software updates to mobile Windows devices. It allows you to manage the Windows Update for Business configuration built into Windows operating systems.

Who it’s for: Intune is suitable for organizations looking to deploy software updates across corporate-issued and BYOD mobile endpoints running on a Windows OS. For updating operating systems, software and applications across desktops, organizations should consider Microsoft Endpoint Manager (formerly SCCM).

What we like: Deployed in the cloud, Intune is a highly scalable solution and, being Microsoft owned, it integrates seamlessly with all Windows OSs and Microsoft applications.

  • You can use Intune’s granular update settings to defer and schedule update installations across your users’ endpoints. These settings also enable you to block the installation of certain features from new Windows versions to keep certain devices running smoothly, while still rolling out security updates.
  • You can monitor and manage patch and software updates from within Intune.
  • Intune can generate reports into the status of discovered vulnerabilities and current updates, including failed updates and rollbacks.

The bottom line: Intune offers robust patch management capabilities for mobile devices running on Windows. It’s available as a standalone Azure service billed per user, but also as part of the following Microsoft 365 licenses: Business Premium, E3, E5, F3 and Government.

  • Microsoft is a Big Tech company best known for its market-leading Windows operating systems, Microsoft 365 productivity suite, Azure cloud computing platform, and Edge web browser.
9.

Microsoft Intune

Microsoft Intune Logo

Patch My PC’s flagship solution, Application & Patch Management, enables organizations to quickly and securely package and patch applications.

Who it’s for: By utilizing existing Configuration Manager or Intune infrastructure for app and update deployment, this solution is highly scalable. This, alongside its ability to automate much of the patch workflow, makes Patch My PC Application & Patch Management a strong solution for large enterprises running a Microsoft environment.

What we like:

  • You can automate app updates and deployments, allowing you to focus your team’s resources where they’re needed most.
  • You can automatically create application packages in Microsoft CongifMgr/Intune, which you can use to speed up initial deployment and deliver patches more efficiently.
  • If a patch fails, Patch My PC automatically re-tries it without the need for human intervention.
  • From the admin console, you can access detailed, visual insights into patch compliance and your security posture.
  • You can access support via email, live chat, phone, and Patch My PC’s forum at no extra cost.

The bottom line: Patch My PC Application & Patch Management does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s an easy-to-use patch management tool that offers high scalability, lots of automation to streamline the patch process and save your team time, and comprehensive reporting.

  • Patch My PC is a cybersecurity provider focused on application and patch management for home users and enterprises. Over 7,000 organizations currently use Patch My PC to secure their endpoints.
10.

Patch My PC Application & Patch Management

Patch My PC Application & Patch Management Logo

PDQ Deploy is a patch management solution the enables organizations to update third-party software and deploy custom scripts across on-prem Windows devices.

Who it’s for: This is a strong solution for any-sized organizations looking to secure their on-premises Windows devices. To cover VPN-connected devices, you can also add on a PDQ Inventory subscription to your license.

What we like: PDQ Deploy takes a “set and forget” approach to patching by automating many of the repetitive tasks involved in identifying, testing, and deploying patches and software updates.

  • You can automate patch deployment across any number of systems at a granular level, with options for scheduling updates out-of-hours to minimize disruption to end users, or when offline machines come back online. You can also turn on automatic re-deployment for any failed updates.
  • The platform’s package library of over 200 ready-to-deploy applications allows you to install updated, tested patches for popular solutions like Google Chrome, Slack, MS Teams, and Adobe Reader in a few clicks. You can also build your own custom packages.
  • To keep you in the know, PDQ Deploy offers in-depth reports on patch compliance and system health, and you can set patch deployment notifications via email, Slack, or MS Teams.

The bottom line: PDQ Deploy is a strong patch management for securing Windows devices. It offers powerful automations that take the repetition out of match management, allowing you to focus on more hands-on security tasks.

  • Founded in 2001, PDQ delivers IT management tools “built for sysadmins by sysadmins”. Today, the company serves over 25,000 customers globally with their suite of on-prem and (more recently) cloud-based device management tools.
11.

PDQ Deploy

PDQ Deploy Logo
The Top 11 Patch Management Solutions

Other Solutions To Consider

We researched lots of patch management solutions while we were making this guide. Here are a few other tools worth your consideration: 

  1. Chocolatey for Business A package manager that enables IT teams to manage all software deployments, updates, and removals across their Windows environments via a single interface, rather than having to monitor them individually. 
  2. GFI Languard: A patch management, auditing and vulnerability scanning solution designed to give organizations increased visibility into the state of their endpoints, and help them to identify and patch vulnerabilities. 
  3. Ivanti Patch: A range of patch management solutions that supports a wide range of operating systems across remote, physical and virtual devices, as well as third-party applications, including the Microsoft 365 Suite and Java, and internet browsers. 
  4. Robopack: A full-featured patch and packaging management tool that’s free for organizations with less than 100 users. While Robopack is currently a relatively small company, they’re definitely one to watch out for.  
  5. Syxsense Manage: A combined endpoint management, vulnerability scanning and patch deployment solution that enables IT teams to automate patch deployment across all the devices connected to their network via one holistic platform. 

Patch Management: Everything You Need To Know (FAQs)

What Is A Software Patch?

A software patch (or “bug fix”) is a sequence of code designed to update, improve, or fix a computer program or application. A patch can also be used to add new features to a program.

In other words, it “patches” up a hole or makes the original program stronger, like a fabric patch would on a worn pair of jeans.

What Is Patch Management?

Patch management is the process of monitoring all the devices and software applications connected to your network for vulnerabilities, then applying the correct patch to any vulnerabilities you discover.

Usually, patch management is handled by an individual, team, or an automated software solution like those in this shortlist.

How Does Patch Management Work?

There are three main stages involved in patch management:

  • Identifying which machines and apps need updating
  • Locating the relevant patch from the provider’s website
  • Installing that patch on each machine

A patch management solution downloads patches on your behalf and distributes them automatically in line with policies that you configure. It also alerts you to unsuccessful patch deployments, and usually offers a roll-back feature to remove a patch if it isn’t working correctly.

Why Is Patch Management So Important?

Not patching your software can cause it to run inefficiently or, worse, provide a backdoor for cybercriminals to enter your network. So, it’s important for you to deploy your patches.

But you also need to make sure you deploy them as soon as possible after they’re made available.

Newly released patches often come with the disclosure of the security risk the patch is designed to fix. For attackers, this information is a gift; instead of spending time and energy attempting to uncover vulnerabilities, they can simply read up on the latest patch for a third-party component and specifically target those users.

We understand that you’re very busy and have lots of work to get on with, and that might mean that patching just isn’t at the top of your priority list—but unfortunately, attackers know this too, and they’re more than happy to exploit that.

To help avoid that, we recommend implementing a patch management tool that will identify vulnerabilities, locate the right patch, test that patch, and finally deploy it for you.

Written By

Caitlin Harris is Deputy Head of Content at Expert Insights. Caitlin is an experienced writer and journalist, with years of experience producing award-winning technical training materials and journalistic content. Caitlin holds a First Class BA in English Literature and German, and provides our content team with strategic editorial guidance as well as carrying out detailed research to create articles that are accurate, engaging and relevant. Caitlin co-hosts the Expert Insights Podcast, where she interviews world-leading B2B tech experts.

Technical Review
Craig MacAlpine CEO and Founder

Craig MacAlpine is CEO and founder of Expert Insights. Before founding Expert Insights in August 2018, Craig spent 10 years as CEO of EPA cloud, an email security provider acquired by Ziff Davies, formerly J2Global (NASQAQ: ZD) in 2013, which has now been rebranded as VIPRE Email Security. Craig has extensive experience in the email security industry, with 20+ years of experience helping organizations to stay secure with innovative information security and cyber security solutions.