PilotDeploy and Patch My PC: two tools, two jobs

Patch My PC and PilotDeploy get mentioned in the same sentence because both touch Intune. They solve different problems. Patch My PC keeps software current. PilotDeploy builds a package you then test and deploy yourself.

Confuse the two and you buy the wrong tool, then blame it for features it never promised.

What Patch My PC does

Patch My PC describes itself as automated third-party patching for Microsoft Intune and Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr). It handles what Intune does not: detecting new versions of third-party software, packaging them and updating them through the distribution you already run.

According to the vendor, the offering includes:

• patching, application management, reporting and analytics
• a separate edition for managed service providers (MSPs)
• a Home Updater for private users
• a catalog of supported applications with tested install and detection rules
• release notes, catalog release history and a public roadmap

The homepage states 4.8 out of 5 from 710 reviews, 10,900 customers and 32.8 million managed endpoints. These are vendor claims as of 11 November 2026. Sources: Patch My PC Cloud and Patch My PC Publisher.

One detail that matters for this comparison: Patch My PC stewards the open-source PSAppDeployToolkit (PSADT) project and offers enterprise support for it. The two companies are closer than the word "alternative" suggests.

What PilotDeploy does

PilotDeploy is a local packaging tool. You point it at a vendor file — EXE, MSI or an older DSM package — and get a PSADT package with a fixed structure: launcher, PowerShell script, sources under Files/Source, reports under PackageInfo.

Analysis runs in the browser. Installers are not uploaded to a server. What stays visible are the decisions no tool can make for you: silent parameters, detection, uninstall, return codes and the Windows test.

PilotDeploy deploys nothing. No agent, no automatic updates, no connection to your Intune tenant.

The difference in one table

"Bring Your Own Applications" is explicitly listed on the Cloud page: your own business apps go into a private catalog, with custom package options, pre/post scripts and MST transforms. The difference is therefore not whether custom apps are possible, but where packaging and operations happen: locally with an export, or inside the connected service.

Where the two meet: PSADT

Both paths often end in the same format. Patch My PC stewards PSADT as an open-source project and supports it. PilotDeploy generates PSADT packages and makes the structure visible.

That is not a contradiction, it is a division of labour: PSADT is the format, Patch My PC is operations, PilotDeploy is the build. If you already run Patch My PC and occasionally need your own package, nothing has to be replaced.

When Patch My PC is the better fit

• You want third-party software updated continuously without packaging each app.
• Most of your applications are in the vendor's catalog.
• You need reporting on patch state across managed endpoints.
• You want a supported platform with a clear update history.

PilotDeploy does not solve these. If you need automatic updates, a local packaging tool will not make you happy.

When PilotDeploy fits

• You want to build a package locally and read every decision before export — including line-of-business apps, drivers or internal tools.
• You want to see install command, detection and return codes before the Windows test.
• The source file must not go to a cloud service for analysis because of licensing or data protection rules.
• You need a consistent package structure for several people without introducing a platform.

Where the data stays

Patch My PC Cloud is a SaaS service for Intune and ConfigMgr; Patch My PC Publisher runs in your own environment. Which data goes where depends on the product and on BYOA/custom apps. PilotDeploy reads the source in the browser; it is not uploaded to a server for analysis. If you store the finished ZIP in the personal package catalogue, it can contain installers and payload and leaves the device encrypted — optional and switchable. Both are deliberate choices, not a ranking.

One limit applies to PilotDeploy: the optional AI assistant runs centrally and receives cleaned metadata only, never installers or package files. That is documented on the security page.

What PilotDeploy does not replace

No patch management, no software inventory, no deployment, no success report from Intune. With PilotDeploy, the Windows test remains after export: install, uninstall, install again, then deploy to a test group. Patch My PC tests its catalogue packages and handles packaging and update delivery for them; that does not replace validation in your own environment or your sign-off.

Know that boundary and the two tools can run side by side.

FAQ

Can I replace Patch My PC with PilotDeploy? Only the part where a package is built. Automatic updates and reporting are missing.

Can I run both? Yes. Patch My PC for the catalogue and ongoing updates, PilotDeploy for packages you want to build locally without tying them to a platform.

Is PilotDeploy a Patch My PC alternative? Only for packaging. For patching it is not an alternative, because it does not do that job.

Does PilotDeploy reuse detection rules from a catalog? No. Detection is a checkpoint you control. See detection rules that survive an update.

Catalogue and scope

PilotDeploy currently shows nine reviewed templates in the catalogue. That is not a 30,000-app catalogue: the focus is building your own package from EXE, MSI, DSM and folders.

Next step

If you want to build your own package: the builder starts without a credit card, the first 20 exports are free. If you want the limits first, read EXE, MSI, DSM: what PilotDeploy handles.