PatchPilot · Comparisons
A PatchMon alternative that does less, on purpose
PatchMon is a capable patch management platform: open source, self-hostable, and wide — Linux, FreeBSD and Windows, with approvals, compliance scans and a browser terminal on its higher tiers. PatchPilot is one table for Debian and Ubuntu servers. Which of the two you want depends on whether you are looking for a platform or for an answer.
Side by side
| PatchMon | PatchPilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Patch management: inventory, scheduling policies with an approval workflow, compliance scanning, remote access | One table: what is installed, what is pending, which of it is a security fix, what waits for a reboot, which release runs out of support |
| Platforms | Linux (APT, DNF/YUM, APK, pacman), FreeBSD and Windows | Debian, Ubuntu and apt-based derivatives, Raspberry Pi OS among them |
| How it runs | Community Edition to self-host under AGPLv3, or PatchMon Cloud with UK, EU or US data residency | Hosted only. Nothing to run but the agent, which talks outbound |
| Installing updates | On the higher Cloud tiers; the $1 tier monitors | On every plan, inside a maintenance window you set. Never reboots |
| Beyond patching | Docker monitoring, browser SSH and RDP, OpenSCAP and CIS scans, SSO and custom roles — by tier | None of it |
| Price | Community Edition free to run yourself. Cloud $1, $2 or $3 per host and month by tier, with a 14-day trial | Free during the beta. After it, priced per server in euros, and every plan has every feature |
PatchMon details as published on patchmon.net on 25 September 2026.
When PatchMon is the better choice
- You want to run it yourself. The Community Edition is free and open source. PatchPilot has no self-hosted edition and will not get one.
- Your fleet is mixed. RHEL-family, Alpine, Arch, FreeBSD or Windows machines are PatchMon's and not ours.
- You need process around patching — approvals, compliance scans, an audit trail, a terminal in the browser.
- You have many hosts and only want to watch them. At $1 a host, PatchMon's monitoring tier is cheaper than any PatchPilot plan.
When PatchPilot is
- You want an answer, not a platform. One table, no approval flows to design, no tiers to compare — every plan has every feature.
- Nobody is going to operate it. One command on the first server and the first answer inside five minutes; there is no server of ours for you to update.
- The release matters as much as the packages. PatchPilot flags a server's release months before it stops getting updates, and keeps it flagged afterwards.
- Trying it should cost nothing. PatchPilot is free during the beta, with installing included.
The short version
PatchMon manages patching across everything you run. PatchPilot shows where each Debian and Ubuntu server stands and installs its updates in a window you choose. If the second sentence is the one you were looking for, PatchPilot is free during the beta. More on the PatchPilot home page.