AWS Systems Manager State Manager

Web · Windows · Mac · Linux

Freedom report

Three barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely4 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

AWS Systems Manager State Manager is ranked #7 of 70 in IT automation software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Web, Windows. There is a free plan.

AWS Systems Manager State Manager plans and pricing

All plans

AWS Systems Manager State Manager Free No additional charge · Limits may apply aws.amazon.com · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on IT automation software

Free plan: Yes
Deployment model: cloud
Agent model: agent_based
Drift detection: Yes
Patch management: Yes
Policy as code: Yes
Compliance reporting: Yes
Supported platforms: Linux, macOS on Amazon EC2, Windows Server

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The record

Purpose: State Manager automates keeping managed nodes and other AWS resources in a state that you define.
Who it is for: AWS customers can use State Manager to improve management and governance of AWS resources and reduce configuration drift.
Node management: It can bootstrap software, schedule agent updates, configure network settings, join nodes to a Microsoft Active Directory domain, and run scripts on Linux, macOS, and Windows Server managed nodes.
Associations: Associations define the state to maintain on AWS resources, along with when to apply the configuration and which resources to target.
Scheduling: Associations support immediate or delayed processing and most standard cron and rate expressions; cron expressions for associations do not support specifying months.
Targeting: Associations can target resources by tags, AWS Resource Groups, individual node IDs, or all managed nodes in the current Region and account.
Integrations: State Manager supports storing association run output in Amazon S3 and is supported as an event type and target type in Amazon EventBridge rules.
Security: AWS Systems Manager follows a shared responsibility model: AWS protects the cloud infrastructure, while customer responsibilities depend on the service and their data and requirements.
Compliance: Third-party auditors assess Systems Manager under multiple assurance programs, including SOC, PCI, FedRAMP, and HIPAA.
Price limits: State Manager has no additional charge, though limits may apply.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best IT Automation Software in 2026#7 of 70
Best Configuration Management Tools in 2026#1 of 25
Best IT Configuration Management Software in 2026#7 of 23
Best IT Operations Management Software in 2026#4 of 22

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Sources

docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/system· checked 5 Oct 2026
docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/securi· checked 5 Oct 2026
docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/compli· checked 5 Oct 2026
aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/pricing/· checked 5 Oct 2026