Kandji Review
Modern Apple MDM with the cleanest zero-touch provisioning experience for distributed Apple-first teams.
Transparency: PeopleOpsHQ may earn a commission when you click out to a partner. We only feature tools we have evaluated against a consistent rubric. Editorial policy.
Live screenshot of www.kandji.io
Overview
What is Kandji?
Kandji is the modern-Apple-MDM story - a 2018-founded competitor that took on Jamf Pro by building cleaner UX, opinionated zero-touch automation, and compliance frameworks built into the platform. It has become the default Apple MDM choice for distributed companies optimizing for end-user experience.
Capabilities
Key features, in detail
What you actually get when you turn Kandji on for a distributed team.
Liftoff zero-touch onboarding
Customizable first-run experience that orchestrates everything from sign-in to encryption to app installs without IT touching the device.
Auto Apps zero-touch deploy
Apps deployed automatically after enrollment with continuous version management. No IT click-through needed.
Compliance frameworks
CIS, NIST, HIPAA, SOC 2 compliance frameworks ship as templates - not just policies to write yourself.
Agent-based remediation
On-device agent enforces policies and remediates drift automatically (vs. polling-based MDMs).
Native Apple Business Manager
Tight ABM integration for automated enrollment, app purchase, and user assignment.
Self-service portal
End users can install approved apps, request help, and view device status without IT tickets.
Pricing
How Kandji pricing works
Kandji uses simple per-device monthly pricing, with three tiers based on capability depth.
Essentials for Apple device management.
- Apple Business Manager integration
- Liftoff zero-touch onboarding
- Standard policies
- Email support
Adds compliance frameworks and Auto Apps.
- Everything in Starter
- Auto Apps deployment
- Compliance frameworks (CIS, NIST)
- Self-service portal
- Standard support
Advanced compliance and SSO.
- Everything in Business
- HIPAA / SOC 2 templates
- SSO and SCIM provisioning
- Custom integrations
- Priority support
What you'll actually pay: Pricing is approximate based on published tiers and 2026 customer reports; actual pricing requires a quote. Most companies sit at the Business tier.
The trade-offs
Pros & cons
What we like
- Best-in-class admin UX in the Apple MDM category
- Liftoff is the smoothest zero-touch Apple onboarding available
- Built-in compliance frameworks reduce policy authoring time meaningfully
- Agent-based architecture provides better remediation than polling MDMs
- Strong Apple Business Manager integration
What to watch out for
- Apple-only - mixed-fleet companies need a second MDM
- Premium pricing makes ROI harder to justify for small teams
- Newer product than Jamf with smaller community/third-party ecosystem
Ideal Customer Profile
Who is Kandji best for?
The teams that get the most ROI from Kandji tend to share these characteristics.
Apple-first startups and scale-ups
Distributed companies 50-500 ppl on Apple with no plan to introduce Windows.
Compliance-driven Apple shops
Healthcare, fintech, and SaaS companies needing HIPAA or SOC 2 templated quickly.
Modern IT teams
Teams that value admin UX and developer-friendly workflows over legacy MDM depth.
If not Kandji
Top alternatives to consider
Kandji sits in a competitive category. These are the platforms most often evaluated alongside it.
Jamf Pro
Industry-standard Apple MDM with deepest ecosystem and largest community.
Read review →Mosyle
Apple-focused MDM popular for SMB and education at lower price points.
Read review →Addigy
Apple MDM designed for MSPs with multi-tenant management.
Read review →Microsoft Intune
Cross-platform UEM for mixed-fleet companies.
Read review →Common questions
Kandji FAQ
Kandji wins on admin UX, modern compliance frameworks, and zero-touch polish. Jamf Pro wins on ecosystem depth, third-party integrations, and the largest Apple admin community. For new Apple deployments at modern companies, Kandji is increasingly the default; established Jamf shops rarely migrate.
No - Kandji is Apple-only (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS). Mixed-fleet companies typically pair Kandji with Microsoft Intune for Windows or use a unified UEM like Workspace ONE.
Liftoff is Kandji's first-run automation that runs after Apple Business Manager enrollment. It handles everything from user sign-in to encryption to app installs in a single orchestrated flow - the result is a Mac that's fully ready to use without any IT touch.
Most companies pay $7/device/month for the Business tier. Enterprise tier ($9/device/month) is mainly used by compliance-heavy industries. Pricing requires a quote but generally tracks the published tiers.
Yes - HIPAA compliance frameworks ship as templates in the Enterprise tier. Combined with Kandji's strong encryption and policy enforcement, it's one of the easier-to-audit Apple MDMs for healthcare.
Bottom line
Our verdict on Kandji
The modern Apple MDM default for distributed teams
Kandji has carved out a clear position: if you're an Apple-first distributed team building a modern IT stack, Kandji should be at the top of your evaluation list. The zero-touch experience is the best in the category, the compliance frameworks are real time-savers, and the admin UX is in a different league from legacy Apple MDMs.