Microsoft Intune scores highest for the same reason it usually does it ships with Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, so most organizations already own it.
Jamf leads on Apple depth, Esper on dedicated and purpose-built Android devices, and Addigy on Apple management for MSPs. Here are eight platforms scored and matched to the buyer each genuinely serves.
Mobile Device Management (MDM) platforms centralize mobile fleet administration across enterprise networks
Best MDM by Use Case — At a Glance
| Your situation | Our pick | Score |
| Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 estate | Microsoft Intune | 8.8 |
| Apple estate, maximum depth | Jamf | 8.6 |
| Large cross-platform enterprise | Omnissa (Workspace ONE) | 8.3 |
| Dedicated Android devices at scale | Esper | 8.0 |
| Android fleets, kiosks, mid-market | Scalefusion | 7.9 |
| MSP managing many Apple estates | Addigy | 7.8 |
| Rugged and purpose-built hardware | 42Gears | 7.6 |
| Regulated, compliance reporting | IBM MaaS360 | 7.4 |
Definitional answer: Mobile Device Management (MDM) enrols, configures, secures, and monitors mobile devices from a central console enforcing passcode and encryption policy, deploying applications, applying network settings, and enabling remote lock or selective wipe.
Choose the Enrolment Model Before the Vendor
This decision constrains everything downstream and causes most MDM failures.
| Model | What it means | Employee friction |
| Corporate-owned, fully managed | Full control and visibility | None — it’s a work device |
| Corporate-owned, personally enabled | Full control, personal use permitted | Low |
| BYOD — Android work profile | Work container only, personal untouched | Low |
| BYOD — Apple User Enrolment | Managed apps and accounts only | Low |
| BYOD — full enrolment | Full control of a personal device | Very high — avoid |
| Dedicated / kiosk mode | Single-purpose locked device | N/A |
The mistake to avoid: applying full device management to personally owned phones. It generates genuine resentment, invites shadow IT, and in some jurisdictions raises employment and privacy questions.
Apple User Enrolment and Android work profiles achieve nearly the whole security outcome with a fraction of the friction.
Say what you can see, before enrolment opens. On BYOD work profiles and Apple User Enrolment, IT typically cannot read personal messages, view personal photos, or see personal app usage.
On corporate-owned fully managed devices, visibility is far broader and may include location if enabled. One clear paragraph stating this prevents most resistance.
How We Scored
A structured research-based evaluation, not a lab test, with no testing claims. Five criteria:
• Platform depth (30%) — genuine management capability on the platforms that matter to you, including day-one support for new OS releases.
• Total cost (25%) — including whether it’s already in your licensing, with credit for published pricing and free tiers.
• Specialization fit (20%) — how well it serves a specific use case rather than everything adequately.
• Operability (15%) — how much expertise it demands.
• Ecosystem (10%) — integrations, partner network, and support.
| Solution | Depth | Cost | Specialization | Operability | Ecosystem | Total |
| Microsoft Intune | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8.8 |
| Jamf | 10 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8.6 |
| Omnissa | 10 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8.3 |
| Esper | 8 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8.0 |
| Scalefusion | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7.9 |
| Addigy | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7.8 |
| 42Gears | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7.6 |
| IBM MaaS360 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7.4 |
The Picks, Scored
Microsoft Intune — 8.8/10 · best for Microsoft estates
Why it scores here: perfect cost and ecosystem scores. Microsoft Intune is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, manages every major platform, and its conditional access integration means non-compliant devices simply lose access to corporate data.
Strengths: you almost certainly already own it; strong app protection policies that work without full device enrolment, which is ideal for BYOD; excellent Entra ID integration; broad platform support.
Trade-offs: Apple management depth trails Jamf and the specialists; no rugged or dedicated device specialization; Android Enterprise support is good but the specialists go further; console complexity.
Ideal buyer: any organization licensed for Microsoft 365. Check what it doesn’t cover before adding anything.
Verify before buying: which capabilities sit in your tier versus Intune Suite add-ons.
Image ALT: Microsoft Intune mobile device compliance and app protectionJamf — 8.6/10 · best Apple depth
Why it scores here: perfect scores on platform depth and specialization. Nothing manages Apple devices this well, and Jamf typically supports new macOS and iOS features on release day.
Strengths: day-one support for new Apple OS releases; unmatched configuration depth; zero-touch deployment through Apple Business Manager; Jamf Protect adds Apple-specific threat defence; users genuinely prefer it, which reduces workarounds.
Trade-offs: Apple only you need a second tool for Windows and Android; premium per-device pricing; two consoles means two policy sets to keep aligned.
Ideal buyer: Apple-heavy organizations, commonly running Jamf alongside Intune for Windows.
Verify before buying: which Jamf product tier covers your requirements.
Image ALT: Jamf Pro Apple device management and configuration profilesOmnissa (Workspace ONE) — 8.3/10 · best cross-platform enterprise
Why it scores here: a perfect depth score with genuine capability on every major platform, and mature enterprise features.
Strengths: excellent breadth across iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS; strong application delivery heritage; good conditional access; mature reporting.
Trade-offs: newly independent following the divestiture of VMware’s End-User Computing division after Broadcom’s acquisition ask about roadmap and support continuity; enterprise pricing and complexity.
Ideal buyer: large enterprises with genuinely mixed device estates.
Verify before buying: current corporate status and roadmap commitments.
Image ALT: Omnissa Workspace ONE cross-platform mobile device managementEsper — 8.0/10 · best for dedicated Android devices
Why it scores here: a perfect specialization score. Esper is built for company-owned, single-purpose Android devices kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, digital signage, delivery handhelds with a DevOps-style approach to device fleets.
Strengths: genuinely different model treating devices like managed infrastructure, with pipelines, staged rollouts, and remote debugging; excellent for organizations deploying hundreds or thousands of identical purpose-built devices; strong Android Enterprise dedicated device support; good API and automation.
Trade-offs: not a general-purpose MDM for employee phones and laptops; Android-focused with limited iOS and no Windows management; smaller ecosystem than the generalists.
Ideal buyer: retail, logistics, healthcare, and any organization deploying fleets of dedicated Android devices.
Verify before buying: device model support for your specific hardware.
Image ALT: Esper dedicated Android device fleet management and deploymentScalefusion — 7.9/10 · best Android and kiosk value
Why it scores here: strong cost score from published, accessible pricing combined with genuine Android Enterprise and kiosk capability.
Strengths: excellent Android and kiosk lockdown; published pricing; fast deployment; good remote support tooling for field devices; covers iOS and Windows adequately alongside.
Trade-offs: Windows and macOS depth below the enterprise platforms; smaller integration library; fewer large-enterprise references.
Ideal buyer: mid-market organizations with Android fleets, kiosks, or field operations.
Verify before buying: current pricing tiers and device support.
Image ALT: Scalefusion Android kiosk and device management dashboardAddigy — 7.8/10 · best Apple management for MSPs
Why it scores here: strong specialization for a specific buyer managed service providers running Apple estates for multiple clients.
Strengths: built with multi-tenancy for MSPs from the start; good Apple device management with live terminal access and scripting; strong automation and policy inheritance across client organizations; reasonable pricing relative to Jamf.
Trade-offs: Apple only; depth below Jamf for the most demanding single-organization deployments; smaller ecosystem and reference base.
Ideal buyer: MSPs managing Apple devices across multiple client organizations, and Apple estates wanting a lighter alternative to Jamf.
Verify before buying: multi-tenant capabilities against your specific delivery model.
Image ALT: Addigy multi-tenant Apple device management for MSPs42Gears — 7.6/10 · best rugged value
Why it scores here: strong cost and specialization scores. SureMDM offers rugged and kiosk device management at published pricing well below the enterprise specialists.
Strengths: good rugged and purpose-built device support; published, accessible pricing; kiosk and single-app lockdown; covers Windows, Android, and iOS; the budget alternative to enterprise rugged platforms.
Trade-offs: enterprise depth and support scale below the market leader in rugged management; smaller ecosystem; interface is functional rather than polished.
Ideal buyer: organizations with rugged or kiosk devices and mid-market budgets.
Verify before buying: support for your specific rugged hardware models.
Image ALT: 42Gears SureMDM rugged and kiosk device managementIBM MaaS360 — 7.4/10 · best compliance reporting
Why it scores here: solid across the board with strong ecosystem and governance capability for regulated industries.
Strengths: strong compliance and audit reporting; AI-assisted risk insights; good integration with the IBM security portfolio; global support footprint; established in regulated sectors.
Trade-offs: innovation pace trails the leaders; Apple depth below the specialists; enterprise procurement model suits large organizations rather than mid-market.
Ideal buyer: regulated enterprises where audit reporting and governance matter more than feature velocity.
Verify before buying: current packaging and which capabilities sit at which tier.
Image ALT: IBM MaaS360 device management and compliance reportingFull Comparison
| Solution | Apple | Android | Windows | Dedicated/kiosk | Published pricing | Multi-tenant | Best-fit size |
| Microsoft Intune | Good | Good | Excellent | No | Yes | Partial | Any M365 estate |
| Jamf | Best | No | No | Limited | Yes | Partial | Apple estates |
| Omnissa | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Limited | No | Yes | Large enterprise |
| Esper | Limited | Excellent | No | Best | Partial | Yes | Dedicated Android |
| Scalefusion | Good | Excellent | Good | Excellent | Yes | Yes | Mid-market |
| Addigy | Excellent | No | No | Limited | Yes | Best | MSPs, Apple |
| 42Gears | Good | Good | Good | Excellent | Yes | Yes | Rugged, budget |
| IBM MaaS360 | Good | Good | Good | Limited | No | Yes | Regulated |
How to Choose
Check your Microsoft licensing first. Intune ships with Microsoft 365 E3, E5, and Business Premium. Buying MDM you already own is the most common waste in this category.
Separate employee devices from dedicated devices. These are different problems with different vendors. A phone in someone’s pocket and a delivery scanner in a warehouse need different management models Esper and 42Gears exist because the generalists handle the second case poorly.
Confirm per-device versus per-user pricing. Multi-device users cost multiples under per-device licensing.
Test day-one OS support. Ask how quickly each vendor supported the last major iOS, iPadOS, and Android releases. Jamf’s day-one Apple support is a real differentiator, and a vendor taking months leaves you unable to deploy new hardware.
Verify Apple Business Manager and Android Enterprise integration. Zero-touch enrolment depends on it. Without proper integration, every device needs manual setup labour that dwarfs licence differences.
Test selective wipe on a real device. Corporate-data-only wipe behaves differently across enrolment models. The moment a device is stolen is not when you want to discover it doesn’t work as expected.
Common mistakes: full-managing personal phones; buying MDM without connecting it to conditional access so compliance never gates anything; and assuming MDM detects threats it enforces configuration, and detection requires mobile threat defence.
Situational FAQ
What is mobile device management (MDM)?
MDM enrols, configures, secures, and monitors mobile devices from a central console enforcing passcode and encryption requirements, deploying and removing applications, applying network and email settings, and enabling remote lock or selective wipe.
Modern MDM also manages laptops, which is why it increasingly overlaps with unified endpoint management.
Which MDM is best for a small business?
If you hold Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Intune is included and adequate for most small businesses. Scalefusion and 42Gears publish accessible pricing for organizations needing more Android or kiosk capability.
Apple-only small businesses should look at Addigy or the entry tiers of Apple-focused vendors rather than enterprise platforms.
Can MDM see my personal data?
On BYOD enrolments using Apple User Enrolment or Android work profiles, IT typically cannot read personal messages, view personal photos, or see personal app usage visibility is limited to the work container plus basic device information.
On corporate-owned fully managed devices, visibility is much broader and may include location if the organization enables it.
What is the best MDM for Apple devices?
Jamf offers the deepest Apple management with day-one support for new OS releases. Addigy is a strong alternative, particularly for managed service providers handling multiple client estates.
Both cost more per device than generalist platforms, and the capability difference is genuine rather than marketing.
How do I manage dedicated or single-purpose devices?
Dedicated devices kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, delivery scanners, digital signage need purpose-built management rather than a general MDM.
Esper treats device fleets like managed infrastructure with staged rollouts and remote debugging, and 42Gears offers rugged and kiosk management at lower cost. General-purpose MDM handles these poorly.
How much does MDM cost?
MDM is typically priced per device or per user per month. Microsoft, Jamf, Scalefusion, Addigy, and 42Gears publish pricing; Omnissa, Esper, and IBM are largely quote-based.
Microsoft Intune is included in Microsoft 365 E3, E5, and Business Premium, making it effectively free for organizations already licensed.
The Short Version
Microsoft Intune wins by default for Microsoft 365 organizations and the burden of proof sits with anyone arguing otherwise.
Add Jamf if Apple depth matters the difference is real or Addigy if you’re an MSP managing Apple estates for several clients. Esper is genuinely differentiated for dedicated Android fleets and Scalefusion or 42Gears for kiosks and rugged hardware at accessible prices.
Choose your enrolment model before your vendor, and never full-manage a personal phone.
More from Cyberpress:
• Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) Solutions by Use Case
• Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) Solutions by Use Case
• Patch Management Software by Use Case
• Antivirus Software for Mac by Use Case
• Antivirus (Endpoint Protection) Software for Business by Use Case
• Zero Trust Security Companies: Our Top Picks
• Network Access Control (NAC) Solutions by Use Case
• Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) Solutions by Use Case
• Cloud Security Tools: Our Top Picks
