RMM section · 6 products compared
RMM software for small MSPs
The RMM is the one tool a managed service provider cannot stop paying for. Every client endpoint carries its agent, every alert your techs answer comes out of it, and every monthly report you send a client is built from its data. That makes choosing one less like buying software and more like choosing the floor your whole business stands on — and ripping it out later means touching every machine you manage.
This page is written for owners and technicians at shops of one to fifteen people, and for internal IT teams looking after somewhere between fifty and two thousand endpoints. We compare the platforms we see most often in that bracket on the things that actually move your margin: how the bill scales as you sign clients, how much of the PSA side is included, how well patching holds up across mixed fleets, and how hard the vendor makes it to protect the RMM itself. Our scoring rules are published on the methodology page, and no vendor pays for its position below.
6 RMM platforms side by side
Rows are ordered by how often small MSPs shortlist each product for this job, not by any commercial arrangement — see our methodology. We describe pricing models rather than quoting prices, because tiers change; confirm current figures on each vendor's site.
| Product | Pricing model | Deployment | Key feature | Ticketing / PSA | Best for | Vendor site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NinjaOneNinjaOne | Per device, quote-based | Cloud SaaS + endpoint agent | Policy-driven OS and third-party patching | Built-in ticketing; integrates with outside PSAs | MSPs that want one polished console | Official site → |
| AteraAtera | Per technician, tiered plans | Cloud SaaS + endpoint agent | RMM, ticketing and billing in one plan | Helpdesk, time and billing included | Lean MSPs with many endpoints per tech | Official site → |
| SyncroSyncro | Per technician (user) subscription | Cloud SaaS + endpoint agent | Tickets, invoices and scripts in one record | Full PSA with invoicing included | Small shops moving from break-fix to managed | Official site → |
| Action1Action1 | Per endpoint; free tier for a limited fleet | Cloud SaaS + lightweight agent | OS and third-party patching with compliance reports | None — pairs with your existing PSA | Teams whose main pain is patch compliance | Official site → |
| AuvikAuvik Networks | Per billable network device | Cloud SaaS + on-site collector | Live topology maps and config backup | None — sends alerts into your PSA | MSPs responsible for client network gear | Official site → |
| LansweeperLansweeper | Subscription tiered by asset count | Cloud console + on-site scanning sensor | Agentless discovery of IT, OT and cloud assets | None — feeds asset data to your PSA | Onboarding audits and asset registers | Official site → |
"Official site" links open the vendor's own website directly. None of them is an affiliate link, and placement in this table is not for sale. Disclosure.
Five questions to settle before a demo
- How the bill grows
- Per-technician plans reward shops with many endpoints per tech; per-device plans reward shops with few, high-value seats. Model both against your next twelve months of client growth, not today’s headcount.
- PSA overlap
- If you already run a separate PSA you like, a bundled helpdesk is dead weight. If you run tickets out of a shared mailbox, an all-in-one plan may replace two bills.
- Patching you can report on
- Clients and cyber-insurers increasingly ask for proof. Check whether patch status exports cleanly per client, per month, without spreadsheet surgery.
- Securing the console
- An RMM is remote admin to every client at once. Enforced MFA, granular technician roles, IP or SSO restrictions and a searchable audit log are non-negotiable.
- Leaving later
- Ask how agents are removed at scale, whether scripts and policies export, and how long history is kept after cancellation. Switching costs are part of the price.
How to narrow it down
Start with your ratio of endpoints to technicians. A two-person shop looking after six hundred devices will almost always pay less on a per-technician plan such as Atera or Syncro; a four-person team supporting a few hundred high-touch seats may find per-device pricing like NinjaOne’s easier to pass through to clients line by line. Put both models into the same spreadsheet with your real numbers before a sales call, because every vendor will present the model that flatters their own price.
Then run a real trial on a real client — ideally your messiest one. Enrol twenty machines, push one round of patches, write one script, open one ticket, and produce one client-facing report. What you learn in that week is worth more than any comparison page, including this one. Our RMM pricing guide walks through worked examples, and our security guide covers the console settings to switch on before the first agent goes out.
Where the non-RMM products fit
Action1, Auvik and Lansweeper appear in this table because small MSPs regularly shortlist them next to a full RMM. They are not drop-in replacements: Action1 is patch-first, Auvik looks after network gear rather than endpoints, and Lansweeper is an inventory tool. Many shops run one of them alongside an RMM rather than instead of it, so read their rows as “what you might add” rather than “what you might buy instead”.
Guides and head-to-heads
- RMM pricing: per technician vs per device
- Securing your RMM
- NinjaOne vs Atera
- Syncro vs Atera
- NinjaOne review
- Atera review
- Syncro review
Questions we get from other shops
Is per-technician or per-device RMM pricing cheaper for a small MSP?
It depends on your ratio. When each technician looks after several hundred endpoints, per-technician plans usually cost less. When you have few devices per tech, or many seats that are only briefly managed, per-device pricing can come out ahead. Model your own numbers and check the vendor’s current pricing page, since tiers change often.
Do I need a PSA if my RMM has ticketing?
Not always. Built-in ticketing is enough for many shops of one to five people. Once you need contracts, SLAs, time-entry approval and accounting sync, a dedicated PSA or an RMM with a full PSA module such as Syncro or Atera becomes worth it.
How long does it take to switch RMM platforms?
For a small MSP, plan on several weeks per client rather than a single weekend. You deploy new agents alongside old ones, rebuild policies and scripts, reconnect the PSA and documentation, and only then remove the previous agent. Budget technician time for it as a project.
What security settings should every RMM have on day one?
Enforced MFA for every technician, separate roles so juniors cannot run scripts on every client, alerts on new admin accounts, and an audit log you actually review. Our guide on securing your RMM covers each step.
Can I trial an RMM on a live client?
Yes, with the client’s agreement and on a small group of machines first. Use the vendor’s own trial, generate the agent package inside your trial tenant, and remove it cleanly if you do not proceed.