If you’re looking for the best MDM (mobile device management) software on the market to improve your mobile workforce’s productivity and enhance security, you have come to the right place. We did extensive research and looked at hundreds of MDM software solutions to deliver this comprehensive list of the top options. We made sure to offer features and pricing diversity to accommodate the needs of businesses of all sizes. We also prepared a handy buying guide to make choosing the best solution yet easier.
We did extensive research and used our strict evaluation methodology to select the top solutions on the market. We tried to think of everything that you might require from this type of platform. If you want to learn more about why we chose these vendors, make sure you read everything about our evaluation methods before proceeding to our MDM comparisons.
As part of drafting our MDM software list, we made sure that businesses of all sizes can find a suitable product in our list. That’s why we opted for vendors that offer their products for SMBs as well as for enterprises.
There is nothing worse than software so complicated to learn that will make you feel frustrated and annoyed. That’s why we chose only user-friendly platforms that won’t take too much of your time to set up and get going. While some might have a little bit of a learning curve for new users, you should be able to find your way around it fairly quickly.
There are several crucial features that we believe every robust MDM software should offer. That said, we also wanted to offer you variety so we chose vendors with the same basic features and as many unique ones as possible. Here are some of the key features we thought would be most useful to any business.
If you want to protect your sensitive data, you have to make sure that only your employees will be able to access it through their devices. This can be done by strict access control through authentication and identity measures that will confirm that the user is authorized to see the requested data.
There are several different types of OTA offered by MDM software vendors, so you must know how they dictate what can be sent through a wireless connection to your company devices. Make sure you understand their OTA features before deciding on which company to go with.
Regardless of how reliable technology has become today, there will come a time when an error or some kind of a problem will occur. That’s how tech works. That’s why it’s important to be able to troubleshoot a device at any moment and that can only be done if the software solution allows for remote troubleshooting.
While plenty of mobile device management solutions offer strict security policies, unless there is an option for remote wiping, all your sensitive data can fall into the wrong hands. We firmly believe that the best mobile device management security is when you are able to remove all sensitive data from a device that has had a major security breach or has gone missing.
Another way to protect your data is by having the ability to remotely lock a device. This usually comes with the use of a prearranged PIN that will lock or unlock the device at any given moment.
Besides remotely locking or wiping your devices, another useful feature that some of the best MDM software offers is remotely tracking all your devices. Whether you are trying to keep track of the device or locate a misplaced one, remote tracking can be a crucial feature for protecting your sensitive corporate data.
Last but not least, we firmly believe that any software solution should be able to help you make your workdays more efficient. In other words, if the software is opening up more work for you than before you started using it, then it’s not the best fit for you. The more automation features it has, the more time you will have to focus on more important tasks and transform your company into a productive environment.
Strong security features are always one of our top priorities when we evaluate different software solutions. We believe that the best mobile device management software is the one that will put your mind at ease security-wise. If you know that all your devices and data are well protected you will be able to finish your everyday tasks with at least one less worry on your mind.
Many companies use one type of operating system only, while others like to mix things up. We, therefore, made sure to give you enough options for both alternatives. We found the best mobile device management vendors that work exclusively with one operating system as well as those that cover all major operating platforms such as Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.
A good company that always puts the needs of its customers first can be noticed from a mile away by the way its user support works. We made sure to check that all the MDM software vendors on our list will go above and beyond to help you solve any problems with their product.
The best way to learn if a company is reliable is to browse through its customer reviews. Rather than limiting our research to testimonials published on their websites, we dug into third-party websites for user reviews. Both the positive and negative feedback helped us draft the final version of our list.
The pricing of MDM solutions can vary depending on the features offered by the vendors. That said, we never assume that a higher price means better quality or that cheap equals good. Rather, we focus on the price-to-quality ratio which is why some of the solutions on our list are free, others are affordable and some are pricey but they all deliver value for money.
If you are looking for good MDM software for your team’s Apple products, Kandji has you covered with multiple useful perks for your device management needs. This platform’s automated Apple device management features, along with integration and custom profiles, scripts, and apps, make it one of the most well-balanced MDM platforms for Apple available.
Pros
Cons
Kandji’s quality device management features, made by experts in Apple AI technology, place this among the top MDM solutions for Apple products on the market.
This highly customizable platform enables users to adjust profiles, scripts, and apps, catering to diverse device management needs. Kandji further has an automated, streamlined software patching, which means that you will not have to worry about any updates, but instead focus on the work at hand.
On top of that, Kandji’s integration and automated device management features streamline and optimize the management experience, boosting team efficiency. This MDM software also stands out with its team member onboarding, for an easier setup experience, as well as great customer service.
Kandji offers scalable, custom pricing based on solution type and how many users you wish to manage. All plans include personalized migration and customer onboarding and support.
A free trial is available to test out Kandji's full suite of capabilities. For additional information on Kandji’s Apple device management and security pricing, please request a custom quote from Kandji directly.
Jamf Pro, formerly known as Casper Suite, is the top Apple-friendly solution for automating device management for the companies working with driving end-user productivity and creativity. It was designed to simplify the security, inventory, and deployment of all iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs.
Pros
Cons
As one of the most popular Apple MDM solutions, Jamf Pro offers a variety of handy features for iUsers. One of those is the zero-touch deployment approach. In other words, the software allows users to instantly enroll and configure their devices without the help of their IT department.
Another useful feature is the ability to set up instant alerts for macOS and apps updates. All users will be informed the second new updates are available for third-party macOS apps and software, as well as for the new versions of Apple OS.
Anyone who uses Jamf Pro’s mobile device management products will confirm that the best part of the software is the platform’s community. The online forum known as Jamf Nation lets you connect with many users from all over the world, and offers a plethora of resources as well as likeminded people with whom you can discuss many different topics.
Jamf Pro offers several tiers for the needs of businesses of all sizes.
If you need provisioning and identity management for Mac, the best plan for you is jamf CONNECT. It’s priced at $2/month and includes a simple Mac account set up and authentication with a single identity. The bundle includes Jamf Connect Login, Configuration, Sync, or Verify.
If you require a purpose-built Apple MDM application, then you should take a look at jamf NOW. The Standard version is priced at $2/month while the Plus version costs $4/month. This plan is recommended for teams and small businesses. The first three devices are free and that no dedicated tech resources are required.
If you are looking for an Apple management program for enterprises and IT Pros, then jamf PRO is the best MDM solution for you. The software for iOS, iPadOS & tvOS is priced at $3.33/month while the one that includes macOS will cost you $7.17 per month. The plan includes powerful workflow designs and a self-service portal.
There is another solution available from Jamf Pro, and that’s the endpoint protection purpose-built for Mac. Priced at $5/month, it offers prevention from macOS malware and other Mac-specific threats. It also responds to security incidents on macOS.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is one of the most popular MDM software vendors for both small businesses and enterprises. This ITIL-ready help desk software solution comes with integrated Asset and Project Management options. It also offers some more advanced features such as change management that may be rare to find in similar products.
Pros
Cons
Every good MDM software offers something unique that can’t be found elsewhere. For ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, this is the ability to boost the user’s quality of service. This happens courtesy of its well-known ITSM workflows and the customizable helpdesk.
Automation is another strong suit of this platform — you will no longer have to worry about all those annoying manual processes that lead to slower ticket resolution and lower end-user satisfaction. It’s also fully integrated and easy to set up.
Last but not least, the software comes with a simple, yet information-dense grid-based view of requests, and offers a bundle of smaller but very useful mobile device management tools such as user's schedule, reminders, assigned tasks, and system announcements.
ManageEngine’s paid plans start with the Standard Edition at $1,195/year (for 10 technicians annually) which includes a self-service portal, incident and SLA management, knowledge base, and help desk reports, among others.
At $495/year, the Professional Edition (for 2 technicians and 250 nodes) ups the ante with helpdesk, asset management, service catalog, AD & LDAP integration, and asset inventory reports.
The Enterprise Edition starts at $1,195 per year (for 2 technicians and 250 nodes) and includes features such as problem management, change management, CMDB, IT project management, and more.
If you’re looking for the best MDM for iOS, Fleetsmith is one of the most popular MDM solutions for iOS currently available on the market. The software is free forever for up to 10 devices. Fleetsmith is a cloud-based information technology asset management software solution that can be of great help for all companies with Apple devices.
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One of Fleetsmith's most known features is the security-first design. Run by the belief that all networks are potentially insecure, this MDM application is filled with features such as two-factor authentication, SSH keys, password manager, secret management, and security audits. The software further allows users to quickly identify the connected devices’ health, compliance, and security status.
Another great feature of Fleetsmith is the real-time intelligence that offers automatic inventory management, streamlined environment, and visibility of your entire fleet for free. With this unique feature, you are able to see any issues that may appear on your dashboard the same second they are detected.
Fleetsmith offers a bundle of mobile device management tools but the feature that really stands out is the integration with applications such as G Suite, Microsoft Office 365, etc.
You can also maintain GDPR/HIPAA compliance across processes and prevent breaches with data encryption.
Fleetsmith’s Intelligence Plan is free and offers insights across your devices. It comes with dashboard, auto device assignment, automatic device enrollment, macOS intelligence, iOS and tvOS intelligence, asset tag support, and smart device inventory.
The Managed Plan is free for up to 10 users, and then costs $8.25/device/month. It ups the free plan with a dashboard with easy remediation, true zero-touch deployment, remote lock and delete, easy disk encryption with automatic key escrow, and password and screen lock enforcement.
Is Drive Strike the best MDM software for your company? The answer is YES if you are looking for a solution to manage mobile devices with the ability to do remote wipe, remote lock, and remote locate. Regardless of the platform you use, DriveStrike can be a powerful tool to protect your data and devices at an affordable price.
Pros
Cons
As we already mentioned, DriveStrike has three very powerful features — Remote wipe, remote lock, and remote locate. These make it the most secure MDM software currently available.
The remote wipe feature is a revolutionary technology built to ensure continuous protection of all your data. It’s arguably the fastest and most powerful drive wipe tool in the entire industry. Why is that? DriveStrike doesn’t just wipe the main drive, but also the one connected to the protected computers.
The remote lock feature is pretty self-explanatory, giving users the ability to lock their devices remotely. The only way to unlock the devices is by typing the previously assigned PIN.
The remote locate feature meanwhile can be extremely useful to determine device location. Based on several parameters, such as GPS, IP address, WiFi triangulation, and Bluetooth detection, users can successfully locate all their devices within minutes. The MDM program also keeps detailed records with location updates for all protected devices.
The pricing of DriveStrike depends on the number of your devices:
We continue our MDM solutions comparison with Scalefusion — one of the most popular kiosk lockdown solutions for businesses of all sizes. In other words, you can use this software to transform any Android devices into Kiosk mode. The cost-efficient solution can help you save money and at the same time help you monitor and manage all devices in your company.
Pros
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Scalefusion is one of the most known MDM solutions for Android that comes with many useful features. One of these features is the remote management system. Scalefusion offers a one-stop interface dashboard that helps its users monitor and manage all company devices and apps. It also comes with monitoring data usage, remote wipe, and tracking location.
Our mobile device management tools comparison continues with another interesting feature of Scalefusion that allows all users to upload their own APKs (Android app installation package) straight to the Enterprise store and install them remotely.
Scalefusion is one of the most customizable mobile device management products. The software allows a plethora of customization options that will help users make the home screen personal and better suited for their needs. Logos, company name, and wallpapers are also customizable, in turn ensuring all devices to reflect the company branding.
Scalefusion offers three paid plans — Starter, priced at $2 per device per month, Business, at $3 per device per month, and Enterprise, which will cost you $4 per device per month. All plans are billed annually.
The Starter Plan of this mobile device management system includes all features needed for getting started with MDM. It also comes with 15 minutes of location tracking and synchronization time, seven days of location history retention, 50MB of content management, 50MB of private app store space, two technicians/administrators, and basic reports.
The Business Plan comes with some more advanced features. The location tracking and synchronization time are three minutes, the location history retention stays up to 30 days, it offers remote cast and control, team communication suite, and ITSM integration. It also comes with 200MB content management, 200MB private app store space, 10 technicians/administrators, basic workflows, and advanced reports.
The Enterprise Plan of this MDM program offers comprehensive device and endpoint management features. It contains all the features from the previous plans plus one minute of location tracking and synchronization time, 90 days of location history retention, 1GB of content management, 1GB of private app store space, unlimited technicians/administrators, and advanced workflows.
There is a Custom Plan available as well that’s recommended for ISVs, OEMs & large volume enterprise deployments. Contact Scalefusion for pricing details.
Rippling is best known as one of the best MDM solutions for managing your company’s HR, Payroll, Benefits, and IT from one platform. The software combines all your employees’ data and systems together, in turn automating your workflow and helping your entire company be more productive. It is recommended for SMBs only.
Pros
Cons
There are many useful features that can put Rippling in the top MDM solutions for small and midsize businesses. For example, you are able to automate the most needed HR tasks such as onboarding, offboarding, PTO tracking, and staff work milestone monitoring. There are additional features that can be added in the form of add-ons that include payroll processing, benefits administration, and HR help desk support.
Rippling supports all 50 states and all international locations, so companies can pay both their employees and contractors no matter where they physically are. It also allows you to have and manage multiple employer identification numbers (EINs) in a single account.
This MDM software also offers HR software that can simplify and automate employee enrollments within the lines of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) compliance.
Rippling starts at $8/month/user. Some of the features available with the lowest tier include but are not limited to automated employee onboarding and offboarding, employee changes, unified employee database, custom reports and graphs, task manager, digital document management, and approval workflow management.
Besides The Employee Management Platform, Rippling offers several other mobile device management products such as HR management and IT & Operations Management but the pricing is not published on their website. For more information about the features and pricing, you should contact the vendor directly.
VMware AirWatch is a cloud based MDM that helps businesses manage the mobile devices employees are using to access corporate applications and data. It can be a bit pricey compared to its competition, but it’s also good MDM software that can be used by both smaller businesses and larger enterprises.
Pros
Cons
Regardless of the size of your company, with VMware AirWatch you can have enterprise-level security. A bundle of end-to-end features is included in all plans that will keep all your sensitive data safe, starting from users and applications to devices and networks.
The self-service portal is another great feature of this mobile device management software. All users can both manage and control their own devices regardless of the type of the device. The software supports smartphones, tablets, laptops, printers, rugged, and peripheral devices.
Another great feature of this software solution is the dashboard. You can easily spot any problems based on colors, and get more detailed information about them.
The starting price of this application is $4.33/device/month. Depending on the additional features you require the price can jump up to $9.33/device/month. Their on-premises pricing can get as low as 50% per device per year, and with additional features, it may reach up to $130. The maintenance fee is not included in this price.
Addigy is one of the top mobile device management solutions when it comes to businesses and educational institutions that are using only Apple devices. The cloud-based platform was specifically designed to assist IT teams in managing and maintaining the Apple ecosystem. The software solution is able to provide real-time service regardless of the location of the devices.
Pros
Cons
Addigy is one of the most comprehensive MDM solutions for iOS currently available on the market. In other words, it’s a one-stop-shop for all Apple devices that can be completely managed from a web browser. It’s also SaaS, meaning that’s completely on the cloud so you don’t have to manage servers or maintain software distribution points.
Another interesting thing about Addigy is the built-in remote support. The company has partnered with a bundle of vendors that offer screen sharing solutions in turn allowing Addigy administrators to support their own end-users.
Addigy is one of those MDM software vendors that is known for its integration capabilities. The solution integrates seamlessly with a bunch of third-party applications such as Freshdesk, NoMAD, ConnectWise, DuoMobile, Autotask, IT Glue, Watchman Monitoring, ScreenConnect, and many more.
When it comes to pricing, Addigy’s offer is very straightforward. They have one plan that’s priced at $6 per device per month and offers all features, including training and onboarding.
AppTec is one of the top mobile device management software platforms in the field of unified endpoint management and mobile security. The software is available for all the bigger operating systems such as Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows and is recommended for businesses of all sizes. The vendor also offers a plan that makes it one of the best enterprise mobile device management options as well.
Pros
Cons
Security is in the first place for this mobile device management solution. IT admins can safeguard all sensitive data by separating it and securing it on all devices. This is making the BYOD scenarios much more acceptable for the companies using this software.
The AppTec mobile device management program offers a bundle of individual customization options, including whitelisting or blacklisting apps and URLs, providing and presenting data with the help of Secure ContentBox.
Another popular AppTec feature is the central “Over-the-Air” installation and deletion of apps. It also allows you to monitor all devices, remotely lock them in case of theft, block any data synchronization, and many more.
AppTec EMM offers several paid plans depending on your needs, as well as additional MDM solutions.
The Unified Endpoint Management Package is an enterprise mobile manager priced at $0.99/device/month. This plan includes features such as mobile device, PC and Mac management, app and kiosk management, security management, connection management, BYOD container management, inventory and asset management, auto-enrollment, and basic support.
The Secure Connection & Identity Package is priced at $0.79/device/month and comes with email getaway, quarantine mode, unmanaged device support, zero-touch authentication (Kerberos), AppTec VPN server and client, and many more.
The Content Management Package of this mobile device management software is a Content Box that includes features such as content management, content storage, external storage support, audit trail, secure content app, business camera, secure browser, and basic support. It costs $0.79/device/month.
Digital Signage & Kiosk Package is a custom launcher that’s priced at $0.49/device/month and unlocks features such as multi-app kiosk mode, wallpaper setting for kiosk mode, AppTec secure settings app, and basic support.
Last but not least is the AppTec Ultimate Package — an all-in-one mobile device management system that comes with a unified endpoint management package, secure connection and identity package, content management package, digital signage and kiosk package, as well as basic support. It’s priced at $2.30 per device per month.
Some of the options and addons that are available from AppTec are Cloud Hosting for $0.49, Full and Priority Support for $0.99, SecurePIM Container for $4.99, Samsung Knox Container for $3.40 and Anti-Virus for Android for $0.79.
We will finish our mobile device management comparison chart with Miradore Online — free cloud-based software that will keep all your sensitive data safe and hidden from prying eyes. The software supports devices through many platforms such as Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. You can manage all of them from a single location.
Pros
Cons
One of the reasons why Miradore Online is so popular is the amount of mobile device management tools it offers for free and for affordable prices. One of those tools is in-depth and robust analytics. These detailed analytics will help you proactively manage all your company devices by knowing which systems and phone models are used the most, as well as what are their security configuration and status.
Another great thing about Miradore Online is its security abilities. The application allows you to configure secure containers from your work profiles. This specific feature separates all work data from the personal ones. In other words, both you and your employees can keep personal matters aside and safeguard all work-related sensitive data.
Last but not least, what separates this mobile device management application from the competition is its reporting capabilities. The reports offered by the vendor are granular, customizable, and can be scheduled. This can make your everyday work life a bit more automated, in turn helping you find more time for more important tasks.
There are four plans offered by Miradore Online — Free, Businesses, Enterprise, and Enterprise+.
The Free Plan includes one administrator, remote lock and wipe, passcode reset and clear, lost mode, alarm sound, device encryption, email configuration, WiFi settings, passcode settings, VPN configuration, dashboard and standard reports, data import, inventory data, two-factor authentication, notification center, knowledge base and community access, and email and chat support. All these features are making it one of the most comprehensive free MDM solutions currently available.
The Business Plan ($1/device/month) ups the Free plan with unlimited administrators, wallpaper settings, location history for up to three months, current location information and mapping, device usage restrictions, data roaming limitations, custom reports, web content filtering, email alerts, and notifications, sending messages to device users, and phone support.
The Enterprise Plan ($2/device/month) of this mobile device management system further adds secure container, data management, kiosk mode, application deployment, removal, whitelisting, and blacklisting, android file deployment, google play store application deployment, apple volume purchasing program, iOS certificate deployment, automated configuration profiles deployment, business policies, API, reader access, network data usage analytics, and next business day response.
The Enterprise+ Plan unlocks all the features from the previous two plans plus secure iOS email. It also offers pricing tailored specifically for your company. For more information, contact Miradore Online directly.
If you have reached this point we are confident you already have several favorites. Our job, however, is not done: if you follow the next four steps, you can narrow down your choices further to get to the perfect software for you. Just give yourself enough time and don’t rush the process.
The first step is the easiest one. Eliminate all those MDM solutions that don’t cover all the devices you use within your company. Also, make sure to think ahead by also including all devices that you might want to use in the future.
This is where things get a bit more complicated. Create a list of everything that you need from this platform. Highlight the most crucial features and try to find as many unique ones as possible. All vendors in our selection have the basic set of features but what makes them different is the additional ones they provide.
At this point, you should have already been able to narrow down the list substantially. This step will help you to choose the best MDM solution for your company as well as have at least one or two more as a backup in case something doesn’t work out with it. When defining your budget try to focus on your needs, and don’t overpay for something that you are not going to use.
Do you already have a favorite? Great! If your choice offers a free trial make sure to start with that first. Taking the software for a test drive will help you understand exactly what you need from your mobile device management application as well as give you the chance you see if it will be as helpful to you as it seems. If something doesn't “click,” you can always try your backup and compare the end results.
It’s difficult to say which solution will be best for your company. It depends on many factors such as your company’s needs, budget, and the operating system of the devices you use. That said, there are some basic MDM features that all good choices have. Some of them are access control, OTA distribution, device troubleshooting, remote locking, remote wiping, remote location, and workflow automation. They should have powerful security features as well.
The pricing of such solutions can vary depending on its capabilities, but according to a 2018 study on enterprise mobility made by Oxford Economics, it usually falls between the lines of $3.25 and $9 per device each month. Of course, the price can get lower or higher. Some vendors even offer comprehensive free versions so if you are lucky enough to find everything that you need there, you can spend $0 per month for a quality MDM.
The short answer is yes. These platforms are able to track the location of the device while some of them offer a tracking history up to several months. This helps in case of misplaced, missing, or stolen devices.
No, this software is unable to see or track your browsing history. Your privacy as an employee is protected. Besides your browsing history, the platform can’t see your callings, contacts, calendars, emails, text messages, files, passwords, and pictures.
The answer is yes. Your privacy as an employee is completely protected while at the same time the company is able to protect its sensitive data in case of misplaced, lost, or stolen devices.
Some employees might find their MDM capabilities to be a threat to their privacy, but this is usually not the case. The software is designed in a way to never show your company the calling and web browsing history, your contacts and calendar, your email and text messages, your files, passwords, and personal pictures.
What the MDM software can actually see is your device model and manufacturer, the operating system and version, app inventory and app names, device owner and device name, the serial number of your device as well as the IMEI.
Depending on the type of MDM, in some cases, your company might have access to your phone number, device storage space, location, app inventory details, and network information.