Aerie OS vs HaloPSA: Detailed Comparison Draft

Status: Draft for CEO review Date: 2026-04-06 Author: CMO Target Audience: UK MSPs currently on HaloPSA evaluating alternatives; focus on cost, PSA depth, and integrated capabilities Target Keyword: halopsa alternative

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Executive Summary

HaloPSA established itself as a best-in-class PSA for UK MSPs with deep ticket management, strong financial controls, and reliability. Its focus has been "do one thing well"—PSA excellence—which appeals to teams that prefer specialised tools for each function (RMM, documentation, CRM) via integrations.

However, this specialist approach now carries hidden costs: HaloPSA users need separate RMM platforms (often ConnectWise Automate or Datto), additional documentation tools (IT Glue, Hudu), CRM systems (Pipedrive, Salesforce), and security tooling. Each integration requires configuration, API management, and data sync workflows. For UK-based MSPs particularly, HaloPSA's limited native automation and the complexity of multi-vendor stacks have become friction points.

Aerie OS reimagines this: a single unified platform that includes PSA, RMM, CRM, documentation, security tools, and AI automation natively—all without vendor management overhead. For MSPs evaluating an escape from the "integration trap," Aerie offers genuine consolidation.

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Pain Points: Why MSPs Consider Leaving HaloPSA

1. RMM Must Be Bolted On (Or Abandoned)

HaloPSA excels at PSA but provides no native monitoring or remote management. This is the core reason MSPs need a separate RMM.

HaloPSA Limitation:

• No RMM or remote management agents
• No real-time monitoring, alerting, or remediation
• Relies entirely on third-party RMM (ConnectWise Automate, Datto, Veeam, etc.)
• Integration with external RMM means separate logins, data silos, and manual sync workflows
• No unified view: ticket system and monitoring are disconnected

Real-World Impact:

• An MSP using HaloPSA + ConnectWise Automate pays for two separate platforms and must manage API syncing
• When a monitored alert triggers, the technician must switch contexts between RMM alerts and PSA tickets
• Client data, assets, and monitoring info are fragmented across platforms
• Ticket creation from monitoring requires API automation or manual entry

Aerie Advantage:

• Full RMM built-in: real-time agent-based monitoring on Windows, Mac, and Linux
• Unified alert engine tied directly to PSA ticketing
• Single console: monitoring alerts auto-create tickets with context
• Asset discovery and management integrated with CRM and contracts
• No separate vendor management; Aerie manages the entire stack

Cost Impact: An MSP pays £30–80/user/month for HaloPSA plus a separate RMM platform typically costing £300–1,500/month (platform fee plus per-endpoint charges at £1–5/endpoint). Aerie bundles PSA and RMM into a single per-technician fee—no endpoint-count licensing, no separate platform contract, no API sync management.

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2. Documentation and Knowledge Management Are Separate Products

HaloPSA has no built-in knowledge base or documentation tool.

HaloPSA Limitation:

• No native documentation, wiki, or knowledge base
• Must subscribe to IT Glue (£500–2000/month for UK MSPs), Hudu, or equivalent
• Documentation disconnected from HaloPSA clients and assets
• Knowledge searches require context switching
• Data sync between HaloPSA client records and documentation platform requires manual maintenance

Real-World Impact:

• An MSP pays HaloPSA + IT Glue, totalling £1500–3000/month for PSA + docs
• Technician must open two systems to troubleshoot: HaloPSA for the ticket + IT Glue for the runbook
• Client password management requires yet another tool (vault or password manager)
• No single source of truth for client configuration or runbooks

Aerie Advantage:

• Wiki: Full-featured knowledge base with version control, full-text search, and client-level access controls
• Scribe: Auto-documentation that captures OS configurations, installed software, and system state as runbooks
• Vault: Zero-knowledge password manager (client passwords encrypted end-to-end; even Aerie staff cannot access)
• All native to the platform—no additional vendor or login required
• Documentation linked to clients, assets, and tickets automatically

Cost Impact: Aerie includes wiki + vault natively. No separate documentation subscription. Saves MSPs £500–2000/month.

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3. CRM and Sales Pipeline Are Non-Existent

HaloPSA is a PSA-only tool. It has no sales pipeline, quoting, or deal tracking.

HaloPSA Limitation:

• No native CRM or sales pipeline
• No deal stage tracking or forecasting
• No quoting system; quotes must be created in Word or external quoting tools
• Contract renewal tracking is minimal—no proactive alerts for upcoming renewals
• Client health scoring and upsell opportunities are invisible

Real-World Impact:

• An MSP using HaloPSA + Pipedrive or HubSpot manages client relationships in two places
• Salespeople see opportunities in Pipedrive; technicians see tickets in HaloPSA with no sync
• Contract renewal dates are manually tracked or missed
• Upsell opportunities (additional services, new seats, upgrades) require cross-platform data hunting
• No single dashboard showing revenue by client or contract status

Aerie Advantage:

• Full MSP-native CRM integrated directly into Aerie
• Deal pipeline with drag-and-drop stage management and forecasting
• Quote generation with quote-to-cash workflows (quotes become contracts with auto-billing)
• Contract lifecycle management: automated renewal alerts, contract versioning, SLA tracking
• Client health scoring based on ticket history, spend, and contract status
• Revenue insights: MRR breakdown by client, service, and technician
• Single dashboard: operations and sales data unified

Cost Impact: Eliminates need for separate CRM like Pipedrive (£50–150/seat/month). For a 15-tech MSP, saves £9000–27000/year.

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4. Limited Automation and Workflow Customisation

HaloPSA has basic automation rules but lacks depth for complex MSP workflows.

HaloPSA Limitation:

• Rule-based automation (if/then conditions)
• Text-based rule configuration—not visual
• Limited scope: primarily ticket assignment, status changes, and notifications
• No multi-step workflows with conditional branches
• Difficult to automate unusual or edge-case scenarios
• No visual representation of workflow logic (hard to audit and train)

Real-World Impact:

• An MSP needing to route tickets by technician skill + availability + contract type must manually assign or use basic rules
• Complex workflows (e.g., "if ticket is urgent AND client is premium AND RMM monitored, escalate + notify manager + create followup task") require third-party workflow automation (Zapier, Make)
• Adding a third-party automation layer introduces additional cost and latency

Aerie Advantage:

• Visual ReactFlow-based workflow builder (drag-and-drop, no coding)
• Complex multi-step automation with parallel execution, loops, and conditional branches
• Built-in business logic: SLA escalation, technician availability, contract rules
• Automations are immediately visible—audit trail shows what triggered each action
• No third-party automation tools needed; all in one platform

Example Workflow in Aerie:

When: Ticket created AND priority = urgent AND client = premium member
Then (in parallel):
  1. Assign to highest-available senior technician
  2. Set SLA to 1 hour response
  3. Create callback task for manager
  4. Send SMS alert to tech
  5. Log to reporting dashboard
  6. Cc support team in notifications

This would require Zapier + manual rules in HaloPSA. In Aerie, it's one visual workflow—deployed in 10 minutes.

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5. No Built-in Security or Compliance Tools

HaloPSA has no EDR, SIEM, vulnerability management, or compliance reporting.

HaloPSA Limitation:

• No security monitoring or alerting within the platform
• No EDR (Endpoint Detection & Response) data
• No compliance reporting for SOC 2, ISO, GDPR, or NIS2
• MSPs must subscribe to separate security tools (Sophos, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne)
• Compliance audit trails are fragmented across multiple platforms

Real-World Impact:

• An MSP must manage HaloPSA + separate EDR + separate compliance tool
• Security incidents are not correlated with ticket data
• Compliance reporting requires manual data gathering from multiple systems
• Customer incidents or security alerts are disconnected from client context

Aerie Advantage:

• EDR: Built-in endpoint detection and response (Windows/Mac/Linux)
• SIEM: Security information and event management; real-time threat correlation
• Vulnerability Management: Automated scanning and remediation recommendations
• Compliance Modules: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, NIS2 compliance checklists and audit trails
• Incident Correlation: Security events auto-linked to client tickets and contracts
• All integrated—one security dashboard, one audit trail

Cost Impact: Eliminates separate EDR subscriptions (typically £3–12/endpoint/month for tools like SentinelOne or Sophos). For a managed portfolio of 500 endpoints, that's £1,500–6,000/month in additional security tooling—included in Aerie Professional at no extra cost.

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6. Pricing Opacity and Hidden Costs

HaloPSA's pricing model is not transparent, and total cost of ownership grows quickly with add-ons.

HaloPSA Pricing Reality:

• Per-user licensing (support techs, admins, managers) — typically £40–80/user/month
• API call limits (overages charged separately)
• Add-on modules (project management, resource planning)
• Separate RMM: £300–1,500/month platform + endpoint fees
• Documentation (IT Glue/Hudu): £250–800/month
• CRM (Pipedrive/HubSpot): £500–1,500/month for 15 users
• Security tooling (EDR): £500–1,500/month for a 100–300 endpoint portfolio
• Typical all-in cost for a 15-tech MSP: £3,500–7,000/month across all platforms

Aerie Advantage:

• One transparent per-technician cost (includes PSA, RMM, CRM, security, documentation)
• All users included: technicians, managers, salespeople, admins—no per-user tier-up
• Unlimited API calls
• All modules included; no add-on upselling
• Aerie Professional for a 15-tech MSP: £5,936/month (annual) — one contract, one invoice
• Savings come not just from platform cost but from eliminating integration management overhead

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7. UK-Specific Support and Compliance Gaps

HaloPSA, while UK-popular, has limited UK-centric feature development.

HaloPSA Limitation:

• No native support for UK business day logic (different public holidays by region)
• Limited GDPR compliance tooling (data export, deletion, audit logs are basic)
• NIS2 compliance features added late and require workarounds
• Support team is global, not UK-based; timezone delays on urgent issues
• UK-specific tax handling (VAT, IR35) requires manual configuration or workarounds

Aerie Advantage:

• Built-in UK business calendars (England, Scotland, Wales, NI calendars with correct holidays)
• Native GDPR tooling: right-to-be-forgotten, data export, audit logs
• NIS2 compliance baked in: vulnerability tracking, incident logging, access controls
• UK-based support team with local expertise
• UK tax handling: VAT, IR35 classification, business rates tracking

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Feature Comparison: Head-to-Head

Feature	HaloPSA	Aerie OS	Winner
PSA/Ticketing	Excellent, UK-leading	Enterprise-grade + AI triage	Aerie
RMM	Third-party required	Full native agent-based RMM	Aerie
CRM & Sales	Not included	Full MSP-native CRM + pipeline	Aerie
Workflow Automation	Text-based rules, limited	Visual ReactFlow, unlimited complexity	Aerie
Documentation	Third-party required	Wiki + Scribe + Vault included	Aerie
Security Tools	Third-party required	EDR + SIEM + vulnerability mgmt	Aerie
Compliance Reporting	Basic audit log only	SOC 2, ISO, GDPR, NIS2 native	Aerie
UK Support	Global team, timezone delays	UK-based team, local expertise	Aerie
AI Automation	Not included	Native across all tiers	Aerie
Setup Time	2–4 weeks	Day 1 ready with templates	Aerie
Total Cost of Ownership (15-tech MSP)	£3,500–7,000/month (all tools)	£5,936/month annual (all-in)	Comparable — Aerie wins on simplicity
Vendor Management	4–6 separate vendors	One vendor, one contract	Aerie

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Common FAQ: HaloPSA vs Aerie

Q: I love HaloPSA's PSA features. Does Aerie match that depth?

A: Yes, with enhancements:

HaloPSA PSA Strengths:

• Excellent ticket queue management and customisation
• Strong financial controls (billing rules, SLA tracking)
• Reliable reporting on time tracking and costs

Aerie PSA (Match + Exceed):

• All of HaloPSA's ticket management features
• Plus: AI-powered ticket triage (auto-categorisation and priority)
• Plus: Visual SLA engine with business hours logic
• Plus: Unlimited workflow automation (no third-party integration needed)
• Plus: Integrated with RMM, CRM, documentation—context is never lost
• Plus: Forecasting and revenue insights (tied to actual service delivery)

Bottom Line: If you love HaloPSA's PSA, Aerie will feel immediately familiar but with fewer context switches and integrated capabilities that make you work faster.

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Q: Can I migrate from HaloPSA to Aerie?

A: Yes. Our Migration Wizard handles:

• Ticket history and metadata (including custom fields)
• Client and contact records (with data validation)
• Technician profiles and team assignments
• Contracts and recurring billing setup
• Asset inventory and tracking data

We also offer migration credits to offset any remaining HaloPSA contract overlap, making the transition cost-neutral.

Migration Timeline:

• Typical: 2–4 weeks (planning, data export, validation, UAT, cutover)
• Minimal downtime: can be done in parallel mode (new tickets in Aerie, historical access in HaloPSA)
• Dedicated migration manager included

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Q: What if I need HaloPSA's specific reporting or custom fields?

A: Aerie has more flexible reporting:

HaloPSA Reporting:

• Predefined reports (time tracking, billing, SLAs)
• Limited customisation; adding new metrics requires API work

Aerie Reporting:

• AI-powered insights (predictive churn, upsell opportunities, revenue forecasting)
• Drag-and-drop report builder (no SQL or API needed)
• Custom fields: fully customisable per client, contract, ticket, and asset
• Real-time dashboards synced to live data
• Export to Excel, PDF, or email on schedule

If you have very specific HaloPSA reports, our implementation team can replicate them in Aerie within the first week.

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Q: HaloPSA is cheaper than the all-in-one platforms I've seen. Is Aerie really cheaper?

A: It depends on your current stack:

If you're using HaloPSA + ConnectWise Automate + IT Glue + Pipedrive + EDR:

• Current cost: ~£5,000–7,500/month for a 15-tech MSP (all platforms combined)
• Aerie Professional: ~£5,936/month (annual) — PSA, RMM, CRM, docs, security, all included
• Comparable cost — but one contract, one support team, zero integration management

If you're using HaloPSA + only one integration (e.g., just RMM):

• Current cost: ~£2,500–4,000/month (HaloPSA + RMM only)
• Aerie Professional: ~£5,936/month for 15 techs
• Note: Aerie costs more per-platform but includes CRM, security, and docs that you'd eventually need — and avoids adding them one vendor at a time as you scale

Total cost of ownership includes:

• Platform subscriptions
• Integration/API management overhead
• Implementation and configuration time
• Support tickets for sync failures and data inconsistencies

Aerie's single-vendor model eliminates most of that overhead.

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Q: What's the onboarding experience like?

A: Faster than HaloPSA:

HaloPSA Onboarding:

• 2–4 weeks implementation
• Requires custom configuration for workflows, fields, billing rules
• Separate onboarding for each integrated tool (RMM, docs, CRM)
• Team needs training on multiple platforms

Aerie Onboarding:

• Day 1: Import data, activate templates
• Day 2–3: Customise workflows and automations visually
• Week 1: Team trained on one unified platform
• Built-in support templates and playbooks

Most teams go live in 1–2 weeks compared to HaloPSA's 2–4 weeks.

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Q: Does Aerie work for very small MSPs (e.g., 2–3 technicians)?

A: Yes. Aerie is designed for MSPs of any size:

For small MSPs (2–5 techs):

• Transparent per-tech pricing (no per-user tiers or minimum seats)
• Pre-built templates for common scenarios (on-call, break-fix, retainer)
• No minimum feature "bloat"—use what you need
• Lower cost than HaloPSA for small teams (per-tech cost is the same)

For growing MSPs:

• Workflow automation scales with complexity
• CRM and forecasting become more valuable as you grow
• Unified stack means no re-platforming when you scale from 5 to 50 techs

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Conclusion: When to Switch from HaloPSA to Aerie

Consider Aerie if you:

• Are tired of managing 4+ vendor relationships (HaloPSA + RMM + docs + CRM)
• Want integrated security and compliance without separate EDR/SIEM subscriptions
• Need smarter automation without Zapier or API configuration
• Want UK-based support and compliance features built-in
• Are evaluating cost optimisation: single vendor is always cheaper than multi-vendor

Stick with HaloPSA if you:

• Prefer best-of-breed PSA tools over integration (though integration complexity grows over time)
• Have no RMM or documentation needs (rare for managed services)
• Are contract-locked and cost is not a concern

For most growing UK MSPs, HaloPSA is a feature-complete PSA—but it's feature-complete only as a PSA. The moment you add real-world requirements (RMM, CRM, security, compliance), the multi-vendor stack becomes complex and expensive.

Aerie consolidates all of this into one transparent, unified platform.

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Next Steps

Interested in switching?

• Free migration assessment: We'll analyse your HaloPSA setup, calculate your actual TCO, and estimate savings. [Schedule a call]
• 30-day free trial: Bring your HaloPSA data, see Aerie in action with your real workflows
• Migration support: Dedicated team to move your data, retrain your staff, and cut over with minimal downtime

Contact our sales team for a no-pressure conversation about whether Aerie is right for your MSP.