Best Jamf Alternatives in 2026: 14 Apple and Cross-Platform MDM Options

Updated August 2026: every price below was checked against the vendor's own pricing page this month. Where a vendor publishes nothing, that's stated plainly, and any third-party figure is labeled (reported) with its source named.

If you're shopping Jamf alternatives, you already know the strange part: Jamf itself won't tell you what it costs. Its pricing page names ten products and closes with a line asking you to call a rep or a reseller. That means every "$4.17 per device" figure you've read elsewhere is either stale or invented, and the real comparison isn't "cheaper than Jamf" so much as "what does this platform bill on, and does that basis fit how my fleet is shaped."

The short answer by profile: Mosyle if Apple is the whole fleet and you want a number today, JumpCloud if you want identity and devices on one per-user bill, Hexnode or Scalefusion for mixed Windows-and-Apple fleets that still want published per-device pricing, Microsoft Intune if Windows dominates and Apple is a minority, and NinjaOne or ManageEngine Endpoint Central if patching and remote control matter more than Mac-specific policy depth. If your fleet is small and entirely Apple, don't skip the last entry: Apple retired its own paid MDM tier in April 2026 and now gives basic device management away for free.

One warning before the tables start. Jamf bills per device. So do Mosyle, Hexnode, Addigy, SimpleMDM, Scalefusion, and Miradore. Intune, JumpCloud, and Rippling bill per user or per employee, where one person's laptop, phone, and tablet count once. NinjaOne and ManageEngine price by endpoint band rather than a flat per-unit rate. Mixing these bases into one "Starting Price" column is how most comparison pages get the arithmetic wrong before they get the conclusion wrong. Every price cell below names its basis.

Key Facts

• Jamf has been a private company since 30 January 2026, after Francisco Partners completed a $13.05-per-share, roughly $2.2 billion take-private that delisted the stock from Nasdaq. (Business Wire)
• Procurement platform Vendr reports observed Jamf Pro rates of $8 to $20 or more per device per month and a median annual Jamf contract of $30,155 across 687 purchases, since Jamf's own pricing page carries no dollar figure at all. (Vendr)
• Over 80% of the customers using Kandji (now Iru) for Apple device management run a second platform, usually Intune, for their Windows or Android devices, per CEO Adam Pettit at the October 2025 rebrand. (Computerworld)
• Apple retired the paid Business Essentials subscription on 14 April 2026 and folded basic device management into the free Apple Business platform, ending a monthly per-user fee that used to run from $2.99 to $12.99. (Apple Newsroom)
• The global unified endpoint management market is projected to reach $30.73 billion by 2032, growing at a 22.0% CAGR across the 2025 to 2032 forecast period. (KBV Research)

Jamf Went Quote-Only, and Then It Went Private

Two changes happened to Jamf in the space of a few months, neither visible on a feature list.

Jamf's pricing page names Jamf Pro, Jamf for Mac, Jamf for Mobile, Jamf Now, Jamf School, Jamf Connect, and Jamf Protect, and carries zero dollar figures, closing with: "Contact a Jamf representative or your local authorized reseller for a detailed quote in your local currency." The $4.17 per device figure that still circulates in dozens of comparison articles isn't on that page. Search "Jamf Pro pricing" today and you'll find $4.17, $6.25, $8.25, $12.50, and $13.33 stated with equal confidence across different sites, none traceable to a live Jamf URL, exactly what happens when a vendor stops publishing and pages keep citing each other's cached copy of an old number.

The Vendr figures in Key Facts above are buyer-side data, not a Jamf list price. And the January 2026 take-private didn't cause that opacity; the page had already gone quote-only before the deal closed. But a private company answering to one ownership group carries a different roadmap-risk profile than a public one filing quarterly numbers, worth a line in any vendor-diligence writeup.

For the full head-to-head on Jamf's actual capabilities against the platform most buyers compare it to, Jamf vs Intune covers scripting depth, Conditional Access, and same-day Apple OS support in detail. This article is about what to buy instead, or alongside it.

The Per-Device vs Per-User Trap

Here's the comparison almost nobody runs honestly. Take a 100-person company where everyone carries a laptop, a device-to-user ratio of 1.0, then compare it to the same company where design and sales also carry a company iPad and iPhone, pushing the ratio to 2.0.

Addigy at $8.25 per Mac looks close to Intune's $8.00 per user until you notice Intune's $8.00 covers every device that person owns. At a ratio of 1.0, per-device tools beat per-user ones. At 2.0, every per-device row doubles while per-user rows don't move, and by 3.0 the gap is large enough to fund a hire. Jamf itself is per-device too, at the reported $8 to $20-plus band, so run your own ratio before assuming Jamf-class Apple depth is affordable at your fleet's actual device count, not just its headcount. TCO modeling for SaaS covers the multi-year version, including renewal uplift.

What "Free" Actually Means in MDM in 2026

Free tiers in this category are unusually unreliable, and the biggest one just changed shape entirely.

Apple's move deserves the top line here. On 14 April 2026, Apple retired Business Essentials, Business Manager, and Business Connect, folded them into a single platform called Apple Business, and made device management free for every customer. Business Essentials used to charge $2.99 to $12.99 per user per month depending on device count and storage tier; that fee is gone. What's left to pay for is iCloud storage beyond the included 5GB (from $0.99 per user per month) and AppleCare+ for Business ($6.99 to $13.99 per month). For a small, all-Apple shop needing only enrollment, supervision, and basic configuration profiles, that's a zero-price floor every paid tool here now has to justify beating.

Quick Comparison Table

Stage Fit Matrix

Company size alone does not determine MDM fit. Fleet mix, IT staffing, identity ownership, regulatory burden, and multi-tenancy change which platform makes sense at each stage.

Transparency runs backwards to size here. The small-fleet end (Mosyle, Miradore, Scalefusion, Hexnode, SimpleMDM, Apple Business) publishes numbers you can budget against in an afternoon; the enterprise end (Jamf, Iru, Omnissa) publishes essentially nothing. Run the vendor diligence checklist early rather than after you've picked a favorite.

1. Microsoft Intune: The Mixed-Fleet Default

Intune is the platform most Jamf shops end up evaluating first, not because it matches Jamf's Mac depth, but because it's the one console that also manages Windows, and most "leaving Jamf" conversations start with a Windows-heavy fleet Jamf was never going to cover anyway. It bills per user rather than per device, which flips the math in your favor the moment employees carry more than one Apple device.

Pricing: Intune Plan 1 is $8.00 per user per month paid yearly, standalone. Plan 2 adds $4.00 and requires Plan 1. The Intune Suite add-on rate is $10.00. Plan 1 is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium ($22.00 per user per month paid yearly), and in E3 and E5. (Microsoft) Best for: Mixed fleets already paying for Microsoft 365, where Windows is the majority platform and Apple is a minority you need covered, not led. Not ideal for: Apple-heavy shops running conditional workflows keyed off custom Mac inventory data. For that gap specifically, read Jamf vs Intune.

2. Iru (formerly Kandji): Apple-First, Now Cross-Platform, Still Quote-Only

Iru is the closest thing to a like-for-like Jamf replacement in spirit: Apple-native, modern, built around automation and compliance templates rather than raw policy depth. It rebranded from Kandji on 22 October 2025 and expanded past Apple-only into Windows and Android, launching Workforce Identity, EDR, Vulnerability Management, and Compliance Automation alongside the rename. Existing customers migrated automatically, kandji.io now redirects to iru.com, and the new pricing page publishes nothing.

Pricing: Not published. Iru's pricing page states "Iru offers scalable pricing that is based on the solutions your organization needs, as well as the number of users and devices," with only Request a quote and Book a demo as options. Every per-device Kandji figure circulating online predates the rebrand. (Iru) Best for: Apple-centric, security-conscious teams wanting endpoint management and detection under one console, and a genuine Jamf-style Apple focus without the enterprise sales weight. Not ideal for: Buyers who need a number this week, or Windows-first shops, where the cross-platform side is the newest part of the product.

3. Mosyle: The Only Apple MDM Still Publishing Real Numbers

With Jamf and Iru both quote-only, Mosyle is the transparency story in Apple device management, the easiest "cheaper than Jamf" case to make with real numbers. Its free tier covers up to 30 devices with no time limit, and Business Premium is $1.00 per device per month, not a typo. Fuse bundles MDM with identity, security, and encryption, and even the top macOS tier stays at $3.00.

Pricing: Billed annually with a 30-licence minimum on paid plans. Business FREE covers up to 30 devices. Business Premium is $1.00 per Mac, iPhone, iPad, and visionPro per month. Fuse for macOS is $3.00 per device per month; Fuse for iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS is $1.50. watchOS carries no additional licence, and each paid macOS or iOS licence covers one Apple TV free. (Mosyle) Best for: Apple fleets of any size where cost transparency matters more than Jamf's ecosystem breadth. Not ideal for: Mixed fleets, where a second tool for Windows undoes the savings.

4. JumpCloud: Replace Jamf and Your Identity Tool in the Same Move

If your complaint about Jamf isn't Apple depth but that you're stitching identity, SSO, and device tools together around it, JumpCloud is the consolidation play. It bundles a cloud directory, SSO, MFA, conditional access, and cross-platform device management (Windows, macOS, Linux) into one per-user bill, directly comparable to Intune rather than Jamf's per-device model.

Pricing: Per user per month, annual then monthly. Device Management $9/$11. SSO $11/$13. Device and Identity Management $13/$15. Platform Essentials caps at 300 users and is contact-sales, as are Platform and Platform Prime. A-la-carte modules run $3/$4 for most, $5/$6 for MDM. A 30-day trial is offered "with zero restrictions." (JumpCloud) Best for: Companies replacing Jamf and a separate identity stack together, not swapping MDM alone. A closer look at how it stacks up against its own direct competitors lives in Best JumpCloud Alternatives. Not ideal for: Teams with far more devices than users, or anyone counting on the grandfathered free tier.

5. Addigy: Apple Management Built for MSPs

Addigy is Apple device management built around the multi-tenant reality of an MSP managing Macs across many client organizations: one console, per-client policy, per-client billing. In-house teams use it too, but its shape and pricing suit a partner managing other companies' fleets, and month-to-month terms mean no multi-year lock-in.

Pricing: Apple MDM plans start at $8.25 per Mac per month. Security Suite, which bundles MDM with SentinelOne EDR and 24/7 MDR, starts at $16 per Mac per month. iOS management and MSP rates are custom-quoted, and the monthly-versus-annual split isn't published. (Addigy) Best for: MSPs and consultancies managing Mac fleets across many client tenants who want Jamf-adjacent Apple depth with a partner-first billing model. Not ideal for: In-house teams on a tight budget, where Mosyle delivers Apple MDM at a fraction of the per-device rate.

6. Hexnode: Published Per-Device Pricing Across Every OS

Hexnode is the most straightforward answer for a mixed fleet leaving Jamf that wants a number without a sales call. It covers Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android, tvOS, and Fire OS from one console and publishes a full per-device tier table, which almost no cross-platform alternative here does. The tradeoff is technician seats: each tier caps admins, so a bigger IT team gets pushed up a tier regardless of fleet size.

Pricing: Per device per month, 15-device minimum, annual saves 10%, 14-day trial, no free plan. Pro $2.20 monthly / $1.98 annual (2 technicians). Enterprise $3.20 / $2.88 (3). Ultimate $4.70 / $4.23 (4). Ultra is quote-only (5). (Hexnode) Best for: Mixed Windows, Apple, and Android fleets of 50 to 500 devices wanting transparent pricing and one console. Not ideal for: Large IT teams that would hit technician caps, or Apple-only shops where Mosyle costs less.

7. SimpleMDM: Small Apple Fleets, No Minimums, No Contracts

SimpleMDM does what its name promises: Apple MDM with a short learning curve, no device minimum, no contract, and a pricing page that reads in fifteen seconds, a sharp contrast with Jamf's reseller-quote process. For a 40-Mac company needing enrollment, app deployment, and OS update enforcement, it clears the bar without anyone becoming a specialist.

Pricing: $3.00 per device per month billed monthly, or $2.50 per device per month billed annually. Enterprise is custom-quoted and billed annually, with discounts for large fleets, MSPs, and education. The vendor states "no hidden fees or contracts, ever." (SimpleMDM) Best for: Small to mid-size Apple fleets that value simplicity and want to avoid minimums or annual lock-in. Not ideal for: Mixed-OS environments, or teams needing sophisticated compliance automation.

8. Scalefusion: Budget Cross-Platform UEM With a Published Rate Card

Scalefusion answers the "mixed fleet, small budget" question Jamf can't, since Jamf doesn't do Windows at any price. Its cheapest tier covers Android and iOS only, then expands to full cross-platform UEM (Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, printers, tvOS) on the Business tier, all billed per device on a published rate card.

Pricing: Billed annually, 10-device minimum. Essentials is $2.00 per device per month (Android and iOS only). Growth is $3.50. Business, the first cross-platform tier, is $5.00. Enterprise is $6.00. Scalefusion 360, which bundles the top UEM, identity, and security tiers together, is $12.42 per device per month, against $15.00 if bought separately. Best for: Budget-conscious mixed fleets that want cross-platform coverage without ManageEngine's annual-band billing or Hexnode's technician caps. Not ideal for: Teams needing month-to-month billing, since every tier is annual only.

9. ManageEngine Endpoint Central: Jamf's Scope, Windows-First, Patching Included

Endpoint Central is the closest thing here to a like-for-like scope match for a Jamf shop really shopping for full UEM rather than Apple depth: OS and third-party patching, software deployment, remote control, asset management, and MDM across every major OS, capabilities Jamf and Apple-first tools don't attempt.

Pricing: Sold as an annual fee per fleet-size band, not a per-device rate, quoted separately for on-premises and cloud. Cloud Professional runs $1,045 at 50 endpoints and $11,245 at 1,000. Cloud Enterprise runs $1,245 at 50, $14,045 at 1,000. Cloud UEM runs $1,395 at 50, $16,295 at 1,000. Technicians and add-ons (EDR, malware and ransomware protection) are priced separately. (ManageEngine) Best for: Mixed fleets wanting UEM breadth plus patching in one licence, and teams needing an on-premises option. Not ideal for: Buyers who want one flat per-device number, or Apple-only shops that will never touch the Windows depth.

10. Omnissa Workspace ONE: The Enterprise UEM That Left VMware

Workspace ONE is the platform most likely to appear opposite Jamf in a large enterprise RFP once Apple depth alone isn't the whole requirement. It spun out of VMware into Omnissa in 2024 and retains genuine breadth: UEM across every major OS, digital employee experience monitoring, virtual apps and desktops, and identity, at a scale where an Apple-only model stops being sufficient.

Pricing: Not published on Omnissa's own site, which routes buyers to sales. Reseller and review-site listings put Workspace ONE Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise in roughly the $3 to $15 per device per month band, with Enterprise around $10 per device per month (reported) per TrustRadius and reseller catalogs such as CDW. Treat that as indicative only. (TrustRadius) Best for: Large enterprises that have outgrown an Apple-only tool and need UEM plus DEX and virtual desktop management in one family. Not ideal for: Anyone under a few hundred endpoints, or teams needing to price a decision before engaging sales, the same complaint they'd have with Jamf.

11. NinjaOne: Patching and Remote Control Above Policy Depth

NinjaOne approaches endpoint management from the RMM tradition rather than the Apple-MDM one, and it shows in what users praise: fast patching, good remote control, and a console a small team can run without a specialist. If your complaint about Jamf is deep Mac policy but thin cross-platform patching and remote support, NinjaOne is close to the opposite tool.

Pricing: Deliberately quote-only. NinjaOne explains why: "like many companies who sell through the channel, we don't publicly list our full pricing... we don't want to interfere with how our partners are pricing their services." The one figure it publishes: "NinjaOne starts as low as $1.50 USD per month at 10,000 endpoints, increasing to $3.75 USD at 50 or fewer endpoints." That's per endpoint per month; the cheap end requires 10,000 endpoints, so never read "$1.50" as an entry price. (NinjaOne) Best for: Small IT teams and MSPs where patching speed and remote support matter more than Mac-specific policy granularity. A deeper look at where it fits among its own rivals is in Best NinjaOne Alternatives. Not ideal for: Organizations needing formal Mac compliance-policy engines, or anyone budgeting off the $1.50 headline.

12. Rippling: Device Management on the Same Bill as HR and Payroll

Rippling takes the least Jamf-like approach here: device management as one module inside a broader HR, IT, and finance platform, so a new hire's laptop gets configured the moment they're added in the HRIS, not as a separate onboarding step. For a company already running payroll through Rippling, adding device management removes an integration rather than adding a console.

Pricing: Rippling's pricing page requires a custom quote: "Tell us what services you need, and we'll send you a custom quote." No per-employee figure for Device Management is published. Third-party sources report a base platform starting around $8 per employee per month plus a platform fee, with a fully built HR-plus-IT configuration landing between $20 and $38 per employee per month (reported). Treat both as unverified until your own quote arrives. Best for: Companies already running or evaluating Rippling for HR and payroll that want device management folded into the same onboarding workflow. Not ideal for: Teams wanting Mac-specific policy depth, or anyone trying to buy device management as a standalone line item at a known price.

13. Miradore: A Real Free Tier Across Apple and Windows

Miradore is the quiet budget option here, earning its place with the most generous verified free tier: 50 devices, free, after a 14-day trial that unlocks Premium+ features. It covers both Apple and Windows from one console, which most free or near-free Apple specialists here don't attempt.

Pricing: Free up to 50 devices after the trial, community support only. Premium is $2.75 per device per month annual / $3.30 monthly, with email support. Premium+ is $3.95 annual / $4.75 monthly, adding chat, phone, and native remote support. Paid tiers carry a 15-device minimum; fleets over 500 devices should request volume pricing. (Miradore) Best for: Small and mid-size fleets mixing Apple and Windows that want a genuinely free starting point with room to grow into a published paid tier. Not ideal for: Larger fleets needing MSP-grade multi-tenancy or Jamf-level Apple scripting depth.

14. Apple Business: Apple's Own MDM Is Now Free

The newest entrant here isn't really new, it's Apple's own device management, and it just got a lot more relevant. On 14 April 2026, Apple retired Business Essentials, Business Manager, and Business Connect, replacing all three with a single platform called Apple Business, and made built-in device management free for every customer in over 200 countries. Business Essentials used to charge $2.99 to $12.99 per user per month depending on device count and storage. That fee is gone.

Pricing: Device management is free. Optional add-ons: additional iCloud storage from $0.99 per user per month (up to $9.99 for 2TB), and AppleCare+ for Business from $6.99 per month per device or $13.99 per month per user for up to three devices. (Apple Newsroom) Best for: Small, all-Apple shops that only need enrollment, supervision, and basic configuration profiles, and don't want to pay anything for it. Not ideal for: Any organization needing Mac-specific automation, third-party patching, or a single console that also covers Windows.

How to Choose: Decision Framework

A useful shortlist starts with fleet mix and device-to-user ratio, then tests the need for Apple depth, identity, patching, on-premises control, HR automation, or multi-tenancy.

Device management touches identity, security, and compliance at once, so run the shortlist through a structured evaluation rather than a feature checklist. Negotiating a SaaS contract matters more here than in most categories, since half this list won't give you a number until you're already in a sales conversation.

What Leaving Jamf Actually Costs

Nobody switches MDM for free, and Apple's own machinery makes this category harder than most. A Mac can only be supervised by one MDM at a time, so every device needs re-enrollment, not a config push. If your Macs are in Apple Business Manager (or its Apple Business successor), reassigning the MDM server through Automated Device Enrollment is unpleasant but tractable. If not, budget hands-on time per device, plus re-issuing FileVault escrow keys, certificates, and VPN profiles that don't survive the move.

The part that catches teams off guard is the workflow logic, not the licence. Jamf's extension attributes feeding Smart Groups feeding scoped policies have no direct equivalent on most alternatives here, and that automation has to be rebuilt as configuration profiles, compliance policies, and scripts, usually undocumented until someone goes looking for it mid-migration. Budget one to three months running both platforms in parallel, and treat the reported $8 to $20-plus per device Jamf has likely charged you as the number to beat, not the number you're definitely paying. Switching SaaS vendors covers sequencing this without a coverage gap, and if the asset side of your estate needs a home too, Best IT Asset Management Software is the next read.

What to Do Next

Count your devices and your users, then divide. If the ratio is close to 1.0, per-device tools like Mosyle, Hexnode, and Scalefusion beat Jamf-class pricing easily, and if you're all-Apple and small, price Apple Business's free tier first. If the ratio is 2.0 or higher, a per-user platform like Intune or JumpCloud is more competitive than it looks. Then pilot two tools, not five, against thirty real devices for two weeks: test zero-touch enrollment, an OS update policy, a third-party app patch, and one remote support session. If you're weighing whether to leave Jamf at all, the direct capability breakdown lives in Jamf vs Intune. For adjacent purchases in the same budget cycle, see Best Intune Alternatives, Best Freshservice Alternatives, and Best SaaS Management Software.