AWS Systems Manager State Manager vs SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (formerly SUSE Manager)

AWS Systems Manager State Manager9.0Visit SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (formerly SUSE Manager)8.8Visit

Higher score AWS Systems Manager State Manager #5 in IT Automation Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 3 features Visit AWS

vs

SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (formerly SUSE Manager) #7 in IT Automation Software 8.8/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 3 features Visit SUSE

• AWS Systems Manager State Manager fits best

  AWS-centric desired-state automation

• SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (formerly SUSE Manager) fits best

  Enterprise Linux lifecycle governance

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Side by side

Feature	AWS Systems Manager State Manager 9.0/10 Visit ↗	SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (formerly SUSE Manager) 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.8
Ranking	#5 in IT Automation Software	#7 in IT Automation Software
Best for	AWS-centric desired-state automation	Enterprise Linux lifecycle governance
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web, Linux
Support	Docs	Docs
Integrations	8 integrations	6 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features AWS Systems Manager State Manager 1/3 · SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (formerly SUSE Manager) 0/3
Patch management	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Configuration management	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Remediation automation	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment model	Cloud	Hybrid
Included endpoints	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Supported platforms	Linux, macOS on Amazon EC2, Windows Server	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Free State Manager service with scheduled configuration associations Targets nodes by tags, resource groups, IDs, or all managed nodes Runs scripts and manages drift across Linux, macOS, and Windows Server	Covers provisioning, patching, monitoring, auditing, and compliance in one platform Supports Salt, Ansible, OpenSCAP, OVAL, Prometheus, and Grafana Offers agentless Salt SSH management plus REST/API automation
Cons	Associated AWS resources and some Systems Manager operations may incur charges Its model centers on associations and Systems Manager documents Best fit depends on AWS-connected managed nodes and resources	No free plan is offered Subscription pricing requires contacting sales Listed subscriptions target X86-64 environments
Our verdict	AWS Systems Manager State Manager is a cloud configuration management service for AWS customers. It defines desired configurations through associations and Systems Manager documents, then repeatedly applies those configurations to managed… Read the review →	SUSE Multi-Linux Manager, formerly SUSE Manager, is an open-source infrastructure management platform for enterprise IT and DevOps teams. It centralizes administration across mixed Linux environments, covering provisioning, client… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• AWS Systems Manager State Manager — where it wins

  • Free State Manager service with scheduled configuration associations
  • Targets nodes by tags, resource groups, IDs, or all managed nodes
  • Runs scripts and manages drift across Linux, macOS, and Windows Server

  Where it doesn't

  • Associated AWS resources and some Systems Manager operations may incur charges
  • Its model centers on associations and Systems Manager documents
  • Best fit depends on AWS-connected managed nodes and resources

• SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (formerly SUSE Manager) — where it wins

  • Covers provisioning, patching, monitoring, auditing, and compliance in one platform
  • Supports Salt, Ansible, OpenSCAP, OVAL, Prometheus, and Grafana
  • Offers agentless Salt SSH management plus REST/API automation

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is offered
  • Subscription pricing requires contacting sales
  • Listed subscriptions target X86-64 environments

• AWS Systems Manager State Manager9.0/10 · Free plan

  A free AWS service for scheduled, desired-state automation across managed infrastructure.

  Visit AWSFull verdict →
• SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (formerly SUSE Manager)8.8/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad open-source platform for governing mixed Linux environments across enterprise infrastructure.

  Visit SUSEFull verdict →