Summary and recommendation
PDQ Deploy user management can be run manually, but complexity usually increases with role models, licensing gates, and offboarding dependencies. This guide gives the exact mechanics and where automation has the biggest impact.
PDQ Deploy is a locally installed Windows application for software package deployment across managed endpoints.
It does not operate as a cloud console - there is no web-based user directory, no invitation flow, and no in-app role system.
Every app in this category that lacks a cloud identity layer puts the access control burden squarely on the OS and the IT admin managing it.
Licensing is per admin console installation, not per endpoint.
The Standard tier covers one admin console with unlimited endpoints at $1,575/yr;
Enterprise pricing applies at 15+ consoles.
PDQ also bundles PDQ Deploy with PDQ Inventory, so quoted pricing may reflect the bundle.
Quick facts
| Admin console path | PDQ Deploy is a locally installed Windows application; user/license management is handled within the application itself and via the PDQ account portal at account.pdq.com |
| Admin console URL | Official docs |
| SCIM available | No |
| SCIM tier required | N/A |
| SSO prerequisite | No |
User types and roles
| Role | Permissions | Cannot do | Plan required | Seat cost | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin (licensed user) | Full access to create, edit, and deploy packages; manage schedules; configure preferences; access all targets within the licensed environment | Cannot share a single license across multiple simultaneous users; each installed instance requires its own license key | Standard ($1,575/yr) or Enterprise (custom) | $1,575/yr per admin seat (Standard); Enterprise pricing is custom for 15+ licenses | PDQ Deploy is a per-admin-console license, not a per-endpoint license. The license is tied to the machine running PDQ Deploy, not to a named user account in a cloud directory. |
| Free/Trial user | Access to core deployment features with limitations; cannot use scheduled deployments or certain advanced package features depending on free tier restrictions | Scheduled deployments and some enterprise features are unavailable on the free tier | Free (no purchase required) | $0 | Free tier is feature-limited; PDQ has moved toward a SaaS model (PDQ Connect) for newer deployments, so the free tier of PDQ Deploy may have reduced long-term support investment |
Permission model
- Model type: role-based
- Description: PDQ Deploy is a locally installed application and does not have a multi-user cloud console with granular role assignments. Access is controlled at the OS level - whoever has access to the Windows machine or service account running PDQ Deploy has access to the tool. There is no built-in user role system with separate permission sets within the application itself.
- Custom roles: No
- Custom roles plan: Not documented
- Granularity: Access is binary: a user either has Windows access to the PDQ Deploy installation and its data directory, or they do not. No in-app role granularity is documented.
How to add users
- Install PDQ Deploy on the target Windows machine using the downloaded installer from pdq.com
- Enter the license key obtained from account.pdq.com during or after installation
- Grant the appropriate Windows user account access to the machine or service account under which PDQ Deploy runs
- If multiple admins need access, each requires a separate PDQ Deploy license installed on their own console machine, or shared access must be managed via Windows permissions on a shared server installation
Required fields: Valid PDQ Deploy license key, Windows administrator account on the host machine
Watch out for:
- PDQ Deploy does not have a cloud-based user invitation flow; 'adding a user' means provisioning Windows access to the machine running PDQ Deploy
- Each license key is tied to a single installation; concurrent use by multiple users on separate machines requires multiple license purchases
- PDQ is transitioning customers toward PDQ Connect (SaaS); new multi-user/cloud management features are being built into Connect, not Deploy
| Bulk option | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CSV import | No | Not documented |
| Domain whitelisting | No | Automatic domain-based user add |
| IdP provisioning | No | Not documented |
How to remove or deactivate users
- Can delete users: Unknown
- Delete/deactivate behavior: PDQ Deploy does not have an in-application user account system to deactivate or delete. Removing a user's access means revoking their Windows permissions to the machine or service account running PDQ Deploy, or uninstalling the application from their machine. Official docs do not describe a deactivate/delete user workflow within the product.
- Revoke the Windows user account's access to the machine running PDQ Deploy via standard Windows user management
- If the license key needs to be reassigned, contact PDQ support via account.pdq.com to manage license key transfers
| Data impact | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Owned records | Packages, schedules, and deployment history remain on the machine where PDQ Deploy is installed; they are not tied to a named user account within the application |
| Shared content | All data is stored locally on the PDQ Deploy console machine; removing a user's Windows access does not delete application data |
| Integrations | Not documented |
| License freed | License keys are managed through account.pdq.com; freeing a license for reassignment requires contacting PDQ support or managing keys through the account portal |
Watch out for:
- Because PDQ Deploy is a locally installed tool, 'user removal' is an OS-level action, not an in-app action
- License key reassignment process is not fully self-service; PDQ support involvement may be required
License and seat management
| Seat type | Includes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Core deployment features; no scheduled deployments; limited package library access | $0 |
| Standard | 1 admin console license; unlimited endpoints; full scheduled deployments; full package library access | $1,575/yr per license |
| Enterprise | Volume licensing for 15+ admin consoles; custom pricing; dedicated support | Custom (contact PDQ sales) |
- Where to check usage: account.pdq.com - license keys and associated installations can be reviewed in the PDQ account portal
- How to identify unused seats: Review installed instances via account.pdq.com; PDQ Deploy does not have built-in usage analytics to identify inactive admin consoles
- Billing notes: Licensing is per admin console installation, not per managed endpoint. Annual subscription. PDQ bundles PDQ Deploy and PDQ Inventory together in their standard offering; pricing may reflect the bundle.
The cost of manual management
Because PDQ Deploy has no in-app user lifecycle management, every access change - onboarding a new admin, offboarding a departing one, or reassigning a license - requires manual OS-level intervention and, in some cases, direct contact with PDQ support.
License key reassignment is not self-service. When a staff member leaves, IT must revoke Windows permissions on the host machine and engage PDQ support via account.pdq.com to transfer the license key. There is no automated deprovisioning path, no idle-user detection, and no audit trail within the application itself.
For teams running multiple admin consoles, each instance requires its own license purchase. Identifying unused installations requires a manual review of account.pdq.com - PDQ Deploy has no built-in usage analytics to surface inactive consoles.
What IT admins are saying
Community evidence is not specific enough to quote or summarize yet for this app.
The decision
PDQ Deploy is well-suited for IT teams that already operate a Windows-centric, on-premises or hybrid environment and need reliable, scriptable package deployment without a cloud dependency. The per-console licensing model works cleanly for small teams with one or two admins.
It becomes operationally expensive as headcount grows. Every app added to a multi-admin environment means another license, another machine to manage, and another manual offboarding step when someone leaves.
Teams that need centralized visibility, automated provisioning, or IdP-connected access control should evaluate PDQ Connect or an alternative SaaS deployment tool before committing to PDQ Deploy at scale.
Bottom line
PDQ Deploy delivers capable, scriptable Windows software deployment for small IT teams comfortable with a locally installed toolchain. Its access model is entirely OS-dependent - there are no in-app user accounts, no cloud directory sync, and no self-service offboarding.
For teams managing more than one or two admin consoles, the manual overhead of license management and access control accumulates quickly, and PDQ's own product roadmap signals that new multi-user and cloud management capabilities are being built into PDQ Connect rather than PDQ Deploy.
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