Canonical MAAS vs PatchMon
Canonical MAAS
canonical.com
PatchMon
patchmon.netSide by side
| Figure | Canonical MAAS | PatchMon |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $2.50/mo | $1/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 6 |
| Spec score · IT Automation Software | 9.3 (#2) | 8.9 (#8) |
| Architecture | A PostgreSQL-backed region controller handles operator requests while distributed rack controllers provide DHCP, IPMI, PXE, TFTP and cached images. | The server is a Go binary with embedded React/Vite UI and uses PostgreSQL 17 plus Redis 7 for queued jobs. |
| Company size | LinkedIn places Canonical in the 1,001–5,000-employee range. | LinkedIn lists PatchMon as a privately held software-development company with 2–10 employees. |
| Documentation depth | The documentation is organized into tutorials, how-to guides, explanations and reference material, including installation, API, Terraform, troubleshooting, metrics, logging and security-hardening sections. | The documentation set includes a 168-page Admin Guide, 207-page Operator Guide and 128-page API and Integrations Guide. |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | London, United Kingdom |
| Integrations | Canonical documentation names Juju, Chef, Puppet, Ansible, Terraform, OpenStack and Kubernetes as MAAS automation or orchestration integrations. | Documented integrations include Discord, getHomepage, Ansible and Proxmox LXC auto-enrollment. |
| Purpose | MAAS is an open source platform for centrally managing and provisioning physical servers as cloud resources. | PatchMon provides a central dashboard for patch monitoring across Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows fleets. |
| Self-hosting | Installation is delivered as a MAAS snap and requires an Ubuntu LTS host, sudo access and PostgreSQL; the current guide uses MAAS 3.8 and PostgreSQL 16 snaps. | Self-hosted deployment is offered through Docker Compose, native binaries and a Proxmox LXC script. |
| What it does | MAAS is Canonical's private-cloud infrastructure manager that turns physical servers into cloud-like, repeatably deployable resources. | PatchMon centralizes patch monitoring, patch deployment, compliance and remote access for Linux, FreeBSD and Windows fleets. |
Plans
Canonical MAAS
- FreeFree
- Self-supportFree
- Essential$30 a year
- Essential$30 a year
- Standard$50 a year
- Standard$50 a year
- Advanced$100 a year
- Advanced$100 a year
PatchMon
- Community EditionFree
- Community EditionFree
- Starter$1 a month
- Plus$2 a month
- Max$3 a month
- PROPriced on request
In their own words
Canonical MAAS
Canonical MAAS is an open source platform for provisioning physical servers as centrally managed cloud resources. It automates server discovery, inventory, commissioning, deployment, and decommissioning, and lets operators manage nodes through a web interface, command line, or API. Hardware discovery uses PXE boot and supports IPMI-enabled machines, as well as subnets, VLANs, and switch fabrics. MAAS integrates with Terraform, Juju, and Ansible for infrastructure automation. It can configure networking and storage, run hardware tests, and manage LXD and KVM virtual machines. Listed images include Ubuntu, CentOS, Windows, and RHEL; images can be synchronized or served from an onsite mirror for offline use. Canonical describes MAAS for private cloud with OpenStack, server automation, and bare-metal Kubernetes. A free self-support plan covers all machines but excludes HA support, RBAC, Knowledge Base, a Sev 1 response SLA, phone support, and ticket support. Paid plans start at $30 a year per managed machine. Ubuntu Pro is required for MAAS controllers; Canonical says it provides security patching and enterprise support for controllers and Ubuntu machines.
PatchMon
PatchMon provides a central dashboard for patch monitoring across Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows server fleets. Policies can schedule patches immediately, after a delay, or at a fixed time, with dry-run validation, approval workflows, and assignment by host or host group. Automated patch deployment is available on Linux and FreeBSD; Windows deployment is on the roadmap. Patch runs record who triggered and approved them, timestamps, policy details, affected packages, and command output. OpenSCAP CIS benchmark scans include per-rule results, severity, remediation guidance, and score tracking. Listed integrations span Proxmox LXC, Ansible, Docker, REST API, OpenSCAP, SSH, Windows RDP, and messaging and AI services. Monitoring agents connect outbound over WebSocket, use TLS in transit, and do not require root for monitoring operations. The free Community Edition is self-hosted under AGPLv3, with users responsible for the server, updates, backups, and uptime. Cloud plans start at $1 a month per endpoint. Cloud trials last 14 days, include Plus features, require a card at signup, and are not charged if cancelled before they end.