1,000+ devices, heavy Windows shop, already using Microsoft 365 E3/E5.
DevOps-heavy teams, security researchers, startups with strong engineering talent. alternative to hexnode
Free self-hosted; Cloud from $2/device/month. Category 4: The Modern Cloud-Native (If Hexnode feels “legacy” to you) ManageEngine MDM Plus The irony: ManageEngine is older than Hexnode, but its MDM Plus cloud offering has leapfrogged Hexnode in several ways, especially for Windows and Android. 1,000+ devices, heavy Windows shop, already using Microsoft
It doesn’t compete with Hexnode on pushing profiles. Instead, it focuses on visibility and control via osquery (SQL-based endpoint telemetry). You can ask: “Show me all devices with Chrome version < 120 and without disk encryption” – then remediate via Salt, Ansible, or custom scripts. Category 4: The Modern Cloud-Native (If Hexnode feels
Hexnode UEM has carved out a strong reputation as a mid-market favorite. It balances comprehensive features (MDM for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux) with a relatively intuitive interface and transparent pricing. However, as organizations scale, their device fleets diversify, or their compliance requirements become more stringent, the limitations of Hexnode can become friction points.
Pick two alternatives from different categories (e.g., Intune and ManageEngine). Run a 14-day trial with 20 real devices. Test the one workflow that breaks most often in Hexnode – for most, that’s Windows patching or macOS app updates . The one that survives that test wins.
Mixed fleets (Windows + Android + iOS) with moderate size (200-5,000 devices) that need robust reporting and remote control.