ManageEngine MDM Free Edition for Up to 25 Devices What a Small Office Gets
Up to 25 phones and tablets, managed with the full professional feature set, at zero licence cost. For a small office that is not a trial gimmick — it is the whole requirement. Here is exactly what the free edition includes and where its edges are.
🎥 Full video — the complete MDM setup a free-edition office can run
ManageEngine's editions for Mobile Device Manager Plus are Standard, Professional and a Free edition — and the free edition is defined precisely: it is the fully featured Professional edition, for up to 25 devices. That single fact shapes this whole guide. A small office does not get a cut-down demo; it gets the same console, enrollment methods, profiles, app management and security commands as paying customers, with a hard ceiling on device count. This page explains what that means in practice and the signs that you have outgrown it.
MDM Plus Editions — Where the Free Tier Sits
Free edition
Devices coveredUp to 25
Feature setProfessional edition features
Paid editions
StandardCore management, per device
ProfessionalEverything, incl. advanced features
The free edition's limit is the number 25 — not a reduced feature list. (Check ManageEngine's site for current edition details before planning a purchase.)
1
What the Free Edition Includes
Because it mirrors the Professional feature set, a free-edition office can run the complete programme from the other guides in this series:
All enrollment methods — QR/Zero Touch/Knox for company Android, ABM/Configurator and invite enrollment for iOS and BYOD
Profiles and policies: Wi-Fi, VPN, passcode, restrictions, email configuration, pushed to groups
App management: silent store and in-house app distribution, blocklists, app catalog
Kiosk mode for attendance and counter devices
Security commands: locate, lock, alarm, corporate wipe and complete wipe
Asset inventory and standard reports
2
The Real Limits to Plan Around
25 devices, total — phones and tablets both count. Count before you enroll the office printer-room tablet and the director's spare iPad
Growth is a step, not a slope — device 26 needs a paid licence covering your fleet; the free tier does not stretch
Advanced capabilities sit in the Professional tier of the paid lineup (things like OS update management, geofencing and location history, content management and remote control, per ManageEngine's edition comparison) — if you come to depend on a specific advanced feature, verify which paid edition holds it
Prices change and are quoted per device on ManageEngine's site — deliberately not stated here, because a printed price in a guide goes stale and misleads. Check the current figure when you are ready to buy.
3
A Sensible Free-Edition Plan for a Small Office
Enroll the devices that carry company data first: staff phones with email, the billing/attendance devices, field tablets
Use groups and profiles from day one (Office Staff, Field Team, Kiosk) — restructuring later costs more time than the licence ever will
Turn on the APNs certificate renewal reminder and calendar entry now, while the fleet is small enough to fix by hand if something lapses
Run the 30-day unlimited trial only if you want to test a fleet bigger than 25 before committing — day-to-day, the free edition is the permanent tool
4
Signs You Have Outgrown the Free Edition
You are choosing which devices NOT to enroll because of the count — security coverage should never be rationed by a licence ceiling
A second branch or a delivery fleet is about to add 15 more devices
You need an advanced Professional capability (scheduled OS updates, geofence-based actions, content distribution) as a daily workflow rather than a nice-to-have
🟢 Bottom line: for an office with 25 or fewer phones and tablets, the free edition of MDM Plus is a complete, legitimate long-term setup — not a demo. Spend your effort on good groups, profiles and the APNs calendar reminder; move to a paid edition the day the device count, not the feature list, forces the question.
🎥 Watch the Complete MDM Setup in the Video
Every step shown live in the ManageEngine MDM console — enrollment, profiles, apps and security commands, in full detail.
Is the free edition of ManageEngine MDM really unlimited in features?
Per ManageEngine, the free edition is the fully featured Professional edition limited to 25 devices. You get the same enrollment, profiles, app management, kiosk and security commands. What you do not get is capacity beyond 25 devices.
What happens when I try to enroll a 26th device?
Enrollment beyond the licensed count is blocked until you move to a paid edition covering your fleet size. Existing devices keep working; the ceiling applies to adding more. When your count approaches 25, plan the upgrade instead of rationing security.
Should a small office choose cloud or on-premises MDM?
For most small offices, the cloud version — no server to maintain, reachable from anywhere, and updates are handled for you. On-premises suits organisations that must keep management traffic inside their own network and have someone to maintain the server.
This guide is based on the ManageEngine MDM video by Technical Anshu • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — that is where answers come fastest 🙏