Mobile device management is how a fleet of phones and laptops gets enrolled, configured and wiped without anyone touching them.
This guide ranks the platforms on what the first ninety days cost in administrator hours, what the per-device price becomes once patching and identity are added, and how much of the work survives if you leave the vendor.
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In short
What mobile device management software does
Mobile device management enrols company phones, tablets and laptops into a central console that pushes settings, applications and security policy, and can lock or wipe a device remotely.
In this order: setup effort, what it really costs, how your data comes back out, whether
you can leave, and who each mobile device management tool is built for. Why those five, and why there is no
score out of ten, is on the how we work page.
Logistics and retail fleets where device downtime stops work
An office of knowledge workers with company iPhones
Country is where the vendor is headquartered or contracts from, which is a
different question from where your data is hosted. Where the two tell different stories, the
entry says so.
Cross-platform device management with the price list on the website
Ranked #1 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Hexnode UEM nearly wins the independence test: you can sign up, enrol a test device and read the price of every tier but the top one without speaking to anyone. It manages every platform a normal company owns, competently rather than deeply.
Plan for landing a tier higher than expected once remote control turns out to start at Ultimate and desktop patching at the quoted Ultra plan, and budget a few days to learn a console that shows every option it has at once.
What stands out
Published pricing
All platforms
Self-serve trial
Where it costs you
Features are split across tiers in ways the comparison table hides
The console is dense and unfriendly on first use
Right for
A mixed fleet that wants one console and a published price
Wrong for
An Apple-only shop that would rather buy Apple depth
United StatesPer device per month, published for three of four tiers; Ultra quoted; 15-device minimum
Apple-only management with a free tier that genuinely works
Ranked #2 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
Mosyle is the cheapest credible way to manage Apple hardware properly, and the free plan covers up to 30 devices, with enrolment, app management and basic security included.
The paid plans lift that cap from a 30-device minimum and bundle identity, security and DNS filtering, which look generous until you compare each one against a specialist. Setup is a day. The exit is easy in principle because enrolment lives in Apple Business Manager, not in Mosyle.
What stands out
Apple only
Free tier
Published pricing
Where it costs you
Apple only, with no path if Windows arrives
Bundled security modules are weaker than dedicated products
Right for
A Mac and iPhone fleet under a few hundred devices
Wrong for
Any company with Windows laptops or Android phones
United StatesFree up to 30 devices; paid per device per month, billed annually, published
Android fleets, kiosks and shared devices, priced on the page
Ranked #3 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingAsia-Pacific
Scalefusion is what you buy when the devices are Android and not all of them are phones. Kiosk lockdown, shared-device check-in and OEM-specific controls are configured rather than scripted, and the price is on the website.
Documentation assumes familiarity with Android Enterprise enrolment modes, which is where most failed pilots here actually stall. The Apple side works but is not the reason anyone chooses it.
What stands out
Android depth
Kiosk mode
Published pricing
Where it costs you
Apple and Windows support trails the Android side
Support hours sit in an Indian timezone
Right for
Android fleets, kiosks and shared devices in the field
Wrong for
A Mac-first company that lives in macOS policy detail
German device management built for schools and public bodies
Ranked #4 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Free tierSelf-hostablePublished pricingEurope
Relution exists because German procurement asks questions most vendors answer badly: where is the data, can we host it ourselves, and what does the works council see. All three are standard here, including an on-premise deployment.
Outside education and public administration the feature set looks modest, and English documentation lags the German. Judge it on the compliance answer first and the console second, in that order.
What stands out
German hosting
Education focus
On-premise option
Where it costs you
Very focused on the German public sector market
Reporting and app catalogue are thin next to the specialists
Right for
German schools, municipalities and privacy-sensitive public bodies
Wrong for
A multinational needing depth across three operating systems
GermanyFree up to five devices; paid plans price on request, cloud or on-premise
Already inside your Microsoft licence, if you read it closely
Ranked #5 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
For most Microsoft shops Intune is already paid for, and no competing product survives that argument on price. Windows enrolment through Autopilot and conditional access through Entra ID are as good as this market gets.
The Apple side is a season behind, the admin centre keeps moving, and troubleshooting is genuinely unpleasant: policies report as pending for hours with no explanation of what is blocking them.
What stands out
Bundled licence
Windows depth
Entra integration
Where it costs you
Apple support consistently trails Jamf Pro on new releases
Failed policies are debugged through sync logs, not error messages
Right for
A Windows company already paying for Microsoft 365 E3 or E5
Wrong for
A Mac-heavy team that needs Apple controls on day one
United StatesPer user per month, published; included in some Microsoft 365 plans
The deepest Apple management, and the administrator time to match
Ranked #6 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Jamf Pro gives you the primitives and expects you to assemble the policy, which is exactly right at five hundred Macs and absurd at thirty. It tracks new Apple controls faster than anyone, and the community around it means someone has already published the script you need.
The cost is two-sided: the per-device licence and the salary of the person who runs it. Exit is clean, since Apple Business Manager holds enrolment.
What stands out
Apple depth
Large ecosystem
Scripting
Where it costs you
Needs an administrator who scripts, not one who clicks
No published price; every licence is quoted by sales
Right for
A large Mac estate with a dedicated Apple administrator
Wrong for
A twenty-person company with a handful of MacBooks
Berlin-built MDM for company iPhones and Android phones
Ranked #7 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Cortado Mobile Solutions is a Berlin company, and its MDM covers the ground a small or mid-sized firm needs for company phones: enrolment, app distribution, kiosk mode, rights management and remote wipe, all from a console a generalist can learn.
That makes it a European alternative to Hexnode UEM for a phone fleet. The limits are scope and price transparency. Windows is outside its focus, useful features sit in higher tiers, and every plan says price on request.
What stands out
German vendor
iOS and Android
Simple console
Where it costs you
Every tier is priced on request
Little to offer for Windows laptop management
Right for
European SMEs managing company phones and tablets without an MDM specialist
Wrong for
Mixed estates where Windows laptops need the same policies
GermanyPer plan, price on request; 14-day free trial
Spanish device management with in-house app distribution built in
Ranked #8 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Applivery came from internal app distribution and kept that strength, so shipping your own builds to enrolled devices is smoother here than in products that bolted it on. It is EU-established, publishes prices and can be trialled the same afternoon.
The limits are scale and headcount: bulk operations and reporting thin out above a few hundred devices, and the vendor is small enough that roadmap risk is a real line item.
What stands out
EU vendor
App distribution
Published pricing
Where it costs you
A small company carrying the whole roadmap
Reporting and bulk operations are basic at scale
Right for
European teams distributing their own apps to managed devices
Wrong for
A fleet of several thousand devices needing deep reporting
Device management, Apple-first, with the remediation scripts already written
Ranked #9 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Kandji, now renamed Iru, sells the work, not the tool: a library of prebuilt controls that install, configure and repair themselves, so a generalist IT person can run a Mac fleet to a decent standard. It now also manages Windows and Android, though the Apple side is what it is known for.
That is worth real money if the alternative is hiring. When your policy sits outside what the library covers you end up scripting anyway, and then you are paying a premium for the parts you no longer use. Ask for the quote early.
What stands out
Apple depth
Prebuilt controls
Quote-only
Where it costs you
Quote-only pricing at a premium over Mosyle
Prebuilt automation is opinionated and hard to bend
Right for
A Mac fleet without a full-time Apple administrator
Wrong for
Teams with unusual policies that fight the prebuilt controls
United StatesQuoted on modules, users and devices; 14-day trial
On-premise client management that grew a mobile module
Ranked #10 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Self-hostablePricing on requestEurope
baramundi Management Suite is client management with mobile attached, not the other way round. Imaging, patching and software deployment on Windows machines are the core, usually run from a server you own (a baramundi-hosted version exists), which is why manufacturers with a nervous security officer keep buying it.
As a phone-management product it is behind the specialists. Price the on-premise route over three years, including the Windows Server it needs, or the comparison is meaningless.
What stands out
On-premise
Windows patching
German vendor
Where it costs you
Mobile management is the junior half of the product
Licensing rewards multi-year commitments over pilots
Right for
German mid-sized firms managing Windows clients on their own servers
Wrong for
A cloud-first company with mostly phones and Macs
GermanyPer endpoint, perpetual or subscription, quoted
Purpose-built and rugged hardware, including the awkward models
Ranked #11 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingAsia-Pacific
42Gears SureMDM covers the devices that break other consoles: scanners, wearables, printers and Android builds that stopped receiving updates years ago. Pricing is published per device, which keeps it honest.
What you give up is polish. The interface has accumulated fifteen years of features without a redesign, and the surrounding product names overlap enough that quotes need reading twice before you know what you bought.
What stands out
Rugged devices
Kiosk
Wide OS support
Where it costs you
Console shows its age and its accumulated features
Product naming across the add-ons is confusing
Right for
Warehouse, retail and field fleets on unusual hardware
IBM's cloud device management with published per-device pricing
Ranked #12 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
MaaS360 is the enterprise option that still prints a per-device price on its product page, with a free trial to test it. It manages all four major platforms and adds threat detection and analytics that security teams value.
The costs are the ones that come with IBM: a console built up over many years, new Apple controls arriving later than at the Apple specialists, and a vendor whose attention is spread across a large portfolio.
What stands out
Published per-device price
Threat analytics add-ons
Multi-platform
Where it costs you
Dense console with years of accumulated features
Apple feature support lags Jamf Pro and Kandji
Right for
Security-led IT teams managing mixed fleets with a published per-device budget
Wrong for
Small Apple-only fleets or teams wanting a minimal console
United StatesPer device per month, published; enterprise discounts quoted
Enterprise device management, newly independent of VMware
Ranked #13 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Omnissa Workspace ONE is the enterprise end of the market, and the only product here that treats a virtual desktop and a physical laptop as the same access decision.
It left VMware in 2024, and customers spent that year discovering what their renewal now costs, so get the multi-year price in writing before signing. It is heavy to deploy, partner-led in practice, and disproportionate below a thousand devices.
What stands out
Enterprise scale
Virtual desktop tie-in
Published pricing
Where it costs you
Ownership changed in 2024 and renewals moved with it
Needs a partner or a dedicated team to run properly
Right for
Enterprises running virtual desktops and devices under one policy
Wrong for
Any organisation under roughly a thousand devices
United StatesPer device or per user per month, published
Frontline device fleets where an hour of downtime costs real money
Ranked #14 of 14 in Best Mobile Device Management Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
SOTI MobiControl is built for devices that earn money by the hour: a scanner in a depot, a handheld at a till. Remote control, battery and signal diagnostics and scripted recovery are the reasons it costs what it costs.
The buying process is quoted and modular, implementation normally involves a partner, and the independence test goes badly. Right answer for a frontline fleet, wrong answer for head office.
What stands out
Rugged fleets
Remote diagnostics
Quote-only
Where it costs you
Quote-only, module-priced and usually sold through a partner
Far too heavy for a standard office fleet
Right for
Logistics and retail fleets where device downtime stops work
Wrong for
An office of knowledge workers with company iPhones
Mobile device management enrols company phones, tablets and laptops into a central console that pushes settings, applications and security policy, and can lock or wipe a device remotely. The differences that matter are rarely in the feature list, so this is
the order we would work through them.
01
Decide whether you need a published price
9 of the 14 tools here publish what they cost; the other 5 quote per organisation. The ones you can compare without a sales call: Hexnode UEM, Mosyle, Scalefusion, Relution, Microsoft Intune, Applivery, 42Gears SureMDM, IBM MaaS360, Omnissa Workspace ONE.
02
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
These 14 vendors are established in 5 countries across 3 regions (North America 8, Europe 4, Asia-Pacific 2). That decides whose disclosure law applies to what the vendor holds, wherever the servers are.
Enrolment is the product, not the console
Every demo shows a dashboard; the thing that decides your project is how a device gets into it. Apple Business Manager, Android Zero-touch and Windows Autopilot let a device arrive at a desk in a sealed box and configure itself, and a device enrolled any other way can be removed by its user.
Jamf Pro, Mosyle and Kandji all build on the same Apple enrolment, which is why switching between them is easier than it looks. Scalefusion and 42Gears SureMDM earn their place on the Android side, where enrolment mode decides what you can control for the life of the device. Choose the enrolment path first, then pick the console that speaks it best.
Confirm your hardware reseller can add devices to Apple Business Manager or Zero-touch.
Enrol one real device in the trial, including the factory reset, not a simulator.
Ask which enrolment modes the vendor supports for Android: work profile, fully managed or dedicated.
Per device or per user, and how that bill actually grows
A phone, a laptop and a tablet for one employee is one user and three devices, and vendors here charge both ways. Microsoft Intune bills per user, which gets cheaper the more devices people carry. Hexnode UEM, Mosyle and Scalefusion bill per device, which is cheaper for shared hardware nobody owns personally.
The second variable is tiering: patching, remote access, kiosk mode and identity sit above the entry plan almost everywhere, and the entry plan is the number in every comparison. Price the tier that contains the three features you actually named in the requirements, then multiply by your real device count including spares and test units.
Count devices and users separately, then price both models with your own numbers.
Check whether spare, loan and test devices consume a licence while sitting in a drawer.
Get the renewal uplift in writing; year-one discounts here are steep and temporary.
BYOD, privacy and the works council
In most of Europe you cannot simply manage a personal phone. A works council will ask what the employer can see, and the honest answer differs by enrolment mode: a full-control enrolment exposes location and installed applications, an Android work profile or Apple user enrolment separates company data and shows the employer almost nothing personal.
Get this agreed in writing before the rollout, not during it. Relution and Applivery are the two here that answer the data residency question without a special contract, and baramundi Management Suite answers it by running on your own server. If personal devices are in scope, a wipe must mean the work container only, and you should test exactly that before anyone signs a policy.
Write down what the console can see per enrolment mode, and show it to the works council.
Test a selective wipe on a personal device, and confirm the photos survive.
Ask where the management data is hosted and which entity can be compelled to hand it over.
Leaving a device management platform means touching every device
This is the migration nobody budgets for. Policies, applications and certificates do not transfer between consoles, and on Apple hardware the supervised state usually survives only if enrolment was done through Apple Business Manager, which is the argument for insisting on it from the start. Moving from Omnissa Workspace ONE or SOTI MobiControl to anything else is a project with a device-touch line in it.
The defensible position is to keep the assets that matter outside the vendor: enrolment tokens in Apple Business Manager and Android Zero-touch, application packages in your own storage, and the policy set documented somewhere a human can read. Then the console becomes replaceable, which is the only leverage you have at renewal.
Confirm your enrolment tokens live in your own Apple and Google accounts, not the vendor's.
Export the full policy and profile set during the trial and check it is readable.
Ask what happens to managed devices on the day the contract ends, and get it in writing.
What goes wrong most often when buying mobile device management software
Enrolling devices manually because the reseller had not set up Apple Business Manager yet. Every one of those devices has to be wiped and done again.
Buying on the entry tier price. Patching, remote access and kiosk mode sit a tier higher at almost every vendor in this list.
Rolling out to personal phones before the works council has seen, in writing, what the console can and cannot see.
Treating device management as a security control on its own. It configures and wipes devices; it does not detect what is running on them.
07
Frequently asked questions
7 answers
What is the best mobile device management in 2026?
Hexnode UEM leads our ranking of 14. Manages iOS, Android, Windows and macOS from one console and publishes the price of three of its four tiers, which is unusual in this market.
The tier boundaries are the catch: mobile kiosk is in the entry plan, but remote control, scripting and Windows app management start at Ultimate, and desktop patching sits in Ultra, which has no list price, so most buyers land a level above the one they priced. Support responds faster than the size of the company suggests.
Which mobile device management tools publish their pricing?
9 of the 14, with the pricing model each one publishes:
Hexnode UEM: Per device per month, published for three of four tiers; Ultra quoted; 15-device minimum.
Mosyle: Free up to 30 devices; paid per device per month, billed annually, published.
Scalefusion: Per device per month, published.
Relution: Free up to five devices; paid plans price on request, cloud or on-premise.
Microsoft Intune: Per user per month, published; included in some Microsoft 365 plans.
Applivery: Per device per month, published.
42Gears SureMDM: Per device per month, published.
IBM MaaS360: Per device per month, published; enterprise discounts quoted.
Omnissa Workspace ONE: Per device or per user per month, published.
The other 5 quote per organisation.
Is there a free mobile device management tool?
Mosyle, Relution offer a free tier or a free self-hosted edition.
Where are these mobile device management vendors established?
In 5 countries across 3 regions: North America 8, Europe 4, Asia-Pacific 2.
Hexnode UEM: United States.
Mosyle: United States.
Scalefusion: India.
Relution: Germany.
Microsoft Intune: United States.
Jamf Pro: United States.
Cortado MDM: Germany.
Applivery: Spain.
Iru (formerly Kandji): United States.
baramundi Management Suite: Germany.
42Gears SureMDM: India.
IBM MaaS360: United States.
Omnissa Workspace ONE: United States.
SOTI MobiControl: Canada.
Which mobile device management tools can you host yourself?
Relution, baramundi Management Suite. The other 12 are hosted by the vendor only.
What should you use instead of Hexnode UEM?
Mosyle and Scalefusion are the next two on this page. Mosyle is for a Mac and iPhone fleet under a few hundred devices; Scalefusion is for Android fleets, kiosks and shared devices in the field.
Who should not buy Hexnode UEM?
An Apple-only shop that would rather buy Apple depth. Features are split across tiers in ways the comparison table hides.
If your mobile device management product belongs among these 14, tell us what it does and who it is for. Inclusion is an editorial call; what a listing is and is not is set out under software advice.
