EMCO Remote Installer vs OPSI

EMCO Remote Installer centrally audits software and deploys packages across Windows PCs on a local network. It can remotely install, uninstall and repair EXE, MSI and MSP packages, with silent, parallel deployments that do not require client software preinstalled on target PCs. Administrators can select computers directly or build dynamic targets using domains, workgroups, computer names, organizational units, operating systems or installed software. The inventory stores operating system and application information centrally and can track changes between scans. Deployments can combine multiple install, uninstall or repair steps with custom actions before or after; Professional users can save reusable deployment and audit tasks for manual or scheduled one-time and recurring runs. The Free Edition costs nothing and supports up to 5 remote PCs at a time and up to 5 packages per multi-step deployment. Professional Edition (Single Copy) costs $399, paid once, plus tax or VAT depending on country, for a perpetual version 6 license. Professional Edition (Unlimited Copies) costs $595, paid once. Remote deployment requires administrative Windows accounts, standard Windows networking services and corresponding network ports to be open.

OPSI is an open-source client management system for software distribution, operating-system installation, inventory, patch management, and configuration. It can deploy Windows updates, MSI packages, setup programs, and system packages without interactive installation steps. It also automates installations of Windows client and server systems and common Linux distributions, including unattended and image-based setups.

Regular inventory collects hardware and software details, including hardware information from devices without an operating system. Administration can be centralized across multiple sites, each with its own depot servers, configurations, and software packages. Directory integrations support Active Directory, Samba 4, and OpenLDAP; single sign-on extensions support Microsoft Entra ID and Keycloak through SAML 2.0. OPSI-WebGUI runs in a modern browser without client-side installation. Community is free with unlimited devices and one worker process. Basic is free for up to 30 devices and one setup per user. Professional costs €499 a year and requires a minimum purchase of 100 devices; Enterprise costs €899 a year with the same minimum. Enterprise Cloud costs €1,199 a year, starting at 100 devices.