[2025] Top 9 Open Source MDM Solutions and Their Comparison

It is one more excellent tool for managing mobile devices in different enterprises. A significant part that you can see with Zentral is that it uses technologies like osquery, Santa, and Kolide...

Key Features

Availability of GitOps for your MDM configuration.	✔️
Customization for extra features.	✔️
Software update enforcement is there.	✔️
Recovery lock management is present.	✔️

Who It’s For?

• SaaS or Private Cloud
• Custom

Pros & Cons

• An ideal combination of flexibility and automation
• It may seem expensive.
• With this solution, you can protect your main branch with mandatory code reviews.
• There is slight complexity, as you need familiarity with GitOps and advanced IT management concepts.
• Easy troubleshooting of the issues.
• Limited to macOS and iOS devices.

4. Commandment

Commandment is the next open-source MDM solution for Apple devices. This platform provides an interface for the Apple MDM protocol to enable administrators to manage their devices remotely...

Key Features

It effectively supports Apple's Device Enrollment Program.	✔️
Proper app management via Apple's Volume Purchase Program.	✔️
There is certificate-based authentication.	✔️
Seamless enforcement of security policies.	✔️

Who It’s For?

• Businesses
• Educational institutions
• Other organizations

Pros & Cons

• Excellent centralized control over Apple devices.
• There is a limitation to active development.
• Better facilities for profile and configuration deployment.
• You can see incomplete documentation.
• Zero-Touch Enrollment.
• The user base of this MDM solution is small.

5. HeadwindMDM

HeadwindMDM is an open-source Mobile Device Management solution that is effective for Android devices. This particular tool brilliantly offers group-based policy management. A positive part about this solution is that it can run on-premises without cloud services. So, businesses handling large-scale Android devices can get the best benefits by using this open-source MDM solution.

Key Features

An efficient group-based policy management.	✔️
There is a device enrollment facility via a QR Code.	✔️
Kiosk Mode helps you restrict the single-task operation.	✔️
Availability of Samsung Knox integration.	✔️

Who It’s For?

• Small and medium businesses
• IT startups
• Field services
• Corporate IT management
• Mobile app developers
• Industries using rugged devices

Pros & Cons

• It is open-source and standalone.
• There is limited platform support.
• You can use it to manage lost devices effectively.
• You may face on-premise complexities.
• Secure data transfer is also a plus point.
• Advanced features will demand an enterprise plan.

6. OneMDM

The next well-known open-source MDM solution that can help your organization manage its operations better is OneMDM. This tool offers excellent features like database schema design and customizable pages to enable businesses to manage their data better. OneMDM is also working on many advanced AI capabilities for Excel/Google Sheet conversion.

Key Features

Excellent database schema design.	✔️
Workflow automation to integrate different data processes.	✔️
Data migration and cataloging are available.	✔️
Facility of AI-powered enhancements.	✔️

Who It’s For?

• Enterprises & Corporations
• Small & Medium Businesses
• Data Teams & Analysts
• IT & Compliance Departments
• Decision Makers

Pros & Cons

• It is a simple low/no-code platform.
• There are limited MDM features.
• You can use it for rapid deployments.
• You can see a lack of detailed security features.
• The users can leverage the AI-powered insights.
• The pricing part is unclear for this solution.

7. FleetDM

Fleet is the next open-source device management solution on the list. It supports macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and cloud environments. This tool effectively integrates with GitOps for version-controlled device configurations and provides a robust API for automation. It helps IT teams effectively handle large-scale deployments.

Key Features

There is an excellent multi-platform support.	✔️
Remote orchestration using run scripts, enforce configs, set webhooks, etc.	✔️
Seamless integration of API & GitOps.	✔️
Effective security compliance and auditing.	✔️

Who It’s For?

• IT Teams & Security Professionals
• Enterprise Organizations
• Developers & Engineers
• Compliance & Risk Teams
• Companies with Diverse OS Environments

Pros & Cons

• It has brilliant compatibility for cross-platforms.
• There are limited Apple-specific features.
• You can notice a comprehensive device inventory.
• You will need technical knowledge to use it.
• There is complete transparency in open-source.
• The complexity of self-hosting can be seen.

8. Flyve MDM

Flyve MDM is an open-source Mobile Device Management solution. Flyve MDM tool is specifically designed to help businesses manage their mobile Android devices remotely. With its excellent offerings, any business can use it for efficient control and protection of their mobile gadgets.

Key Features

It has excellent security policies and compliance enforcement.	✔️
Geolocation and excellent tracking are integrated.	✔️
Brilliant facility of role-based access control.	✔️
Efficient app deployment and updates for businesses.	✔️

Who It’s For?

• IT administrators
• Educational institutions
• Companies with a mobile workforce

Pros & Cons

• There is excellent cross-platform compatibility.
• There may be the complexity of self-hosting.
• Businesses can benefit from cloud and on-premise deployment.
• You can notice limited enterprise features.
• Easy scalability option for the organization with it.
• A few scalability concerns are also there.

9. Relution

Relution is the final open-source MDM solution for companies. It is focused on secure and efficient device administration for organizations. With this solution, you can easily centralize the management for iOS, Android, and Windows devices. It makes different tasks easier, including app distribution, compliance enforcement, and data security.

Key Features

Better facility for content management.	✔️
A superb API support and automation for IT workflows.	✔️
Excellent app management, distribution, updates, and more.	✔️
Seamless multi-platform support.	✔️

Who It’s For?

• Education
• Business
• Public
• Healthcare
• NGO

Pros & Cons

• You can easily manage mobile devices using this single platform.
• There is a limitation on third-party integration.
• It makes device setup easy with automation.
• This may create issues for enterprise scalability.
• You can ensure security with data privacy and GDPR compliance.
• Details for pricing are not transparent to the users.

A Brief introduction about Open Source MDM Work?

Here is a simple breakdown that will help you easily understand the actual working steps:

1. Device Enrollment: The first step is super simple, as the devices will get enrolled here into the MDM system. There are two ways to do it. The administrator either does it manually or simply automates enrollment using zero-touch provisioning techniques.
2. Policy Configuration and Enforcement: Now, the security policies will be pushed to the devices through an MDM server. It will ensure compliance with necessary enterprise security standards.
3. Application Management: After the successful implementation of the policies, the organizations will properly control all the activities on the smart mobile devices.

Now, the companies are all set to perform various actions to maintain a smooth workflow in the organization. Some actions that can be well-managed are:

• Overall security and compliance monitoring
• Proper remote device control
• Seamless data and network management

Open Source MDM vs Commercial MDM: Which Solution is Best for You?

• Introduction of Commercial MDM

Before checking the comparison, please have a quick understanding of commercial MDM. It is an enterprise-level solution that is carefully designed to align the deployment, monitoring, and security of mobile devices. These solutions basically manage mobile gadgets, whether they are company-owned or part of a BYOD policy.

AirDroid Business

Free Trial for 21 Days

This device management solution can be used to enroll, manage, and monitor large fleet devices. With the centralized platform, organizations are able to deploy smartphones, tablets, rugged devices and others dedicated devices like kiosks and digital signage.

It's available for Cloud Deployment & On-Premises Deployment. Key features include: remote access & control, Google Play apps & enterprise's apps management, policy, single & multi-apps kiosk mode, alerts & automated workflows, geofencing & location tracking, file transfer, notification, user management, reports, etc.

With the impeccable facility of centralized control over wide mobile endpoints, a commercial MDM system simplifies device management.

The following are a few exciting features that you can get with this solution:

• It will provide you with the freedom to enroll your devices with automation.
• With this spectacular tool, you can properly manage security and compliance.
• Seamless application management is obviously there.
• The users will get effortless network and connectivity control.
• Another fruitful feature is real-time monitoring and reporting.

• How Open Source MDM Differs from Commercial MDM Solutions

• Open Source MDM vs Commercial MDM: pros and cons

• Who Should Consider Using Open Source MDM or Commercial MDM?

Further Research

• How do open-source MDM solutions comply with compliance in different industries?

An open-source MDM solution has to align with the regulations in different industries. It is required to ensure businesses like yours about data security, privacy, and operational integrity. A few compliance features of an open-source MDM solution to check are:

• Easy to customize the compliance policies per industry rules.
• These must generate logs for accurate audits and regulatory checks.
• An open-source MDM must securely do the remote management, etc.

Moreover, the following information will tell you how they comply across different industries:

HEALTHCARE

In the healthcare industry, a practical MDM solution helps to maintain data encryption. It will protect the patient records when they are saved and also when they need to be shared. Another factor of compliance here is the right access control to prevent any type of unauthorized access. Along with this, MDM will also do justice by consistently tracking all the device activities.

FINANCE

The next significant industry to talk about is finance. It is an area where protection is necessary for making lots of transactions. So, the right MDM implementation will take care of encrypted communication for mobile banking applications. It will also ensure that only your compliant devices will access the financial networks. Besides, MDM will also block any unauthorized sharing of sensitive financial information.

There are many other industries like these two where MDM plays the best role by complying with industry regulations.

• What indicators show strong community activity and support for an open-source MDM project?

Here are the key indicators that you can see:

• The first point you can notice is the active development and code contributions.
• Another factor to consider is the robust documentation.
• Community engagement and support are also a plus.
• Security and compliance readiness are also indicators.
• Lastly, well-defined guidelines must be present.

• How can open-source MDM integrate with identity management systems like Active Directory?

The integration of open-source MDM solutions is possible with identity management systems using mechanisms like:

• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), or
• Single Sign-On (SSO) mechanisms

It helps the MDM solutions to unite with systems like Active Directory. With AD group policies, IT teams can automate the part of enrollment, apply role-based access controls, and ensure compliance.