Jamf vs Iru in 2026: depth or easy upkeep
Jamf gives more to configure, Iru asks for less upkeep and now covers Windows and Android, and Apple Business ships a free MDM. Prices, platforms and trade-offs.
TL;DR
- Jamf has the deeper Apple toolset: policies, scripting, smart groups, a CIS benchmark library and an app catalogue. Reviewers say it takes more expertise to run, and suits teams with a dedicated Mac admin (Siit; Kitecyber).
- Iru (formerly Kandji) has fewer configuration options, and reviewers who moved from Jamf call it close to "set it and forget it" (G2 reviews on AWS Marketplace).
- Jamf manages Apple devices and does not manage Windows PCs. Iru added Windows and Android management on 22 October 2025, and reviewers call that side newer and less mature (9to5Mac; DormyTech).
- Jamf for Mac costs $12.50 per device per month, billed annually, with a 25-device minimum. It bundles Jamf Pro, Jamf Connect and Jamf Protect. Iru does not publish a price.
- Since 14 April 2026, Apple Business includes a free MDM. It covers the basics at no cost.
Facts were checked on 16 October 2026. Caspian publishes this article and sells Mac management. Where we give an opinion, we say so.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
Kandji became Iru
Kandji renamed itself Iru on 22 October 2025 and added Windows and Android management. EDR, vulnerability management, workforce identity and compliance are sold as separate modules (9to5Mac). Kandji support says the move from Kandji to Iru completes by 1 December 2026.
Jamf went private
Francisco Partners announced its deal for Jamf on 29 October 2025 and closed it on 30 January 2026, at $13.05 per share and about $2.2 billion in enterprise value. CEO John Strosahl stays, and Jamf left Nasdaq (Business Wire; Jamf).
Apple shipped a free MDM
Apple Business was announced on 24 March 2026 and went live on 14 April 2026. It replaces Apple Business Manager, Business Essentials and Business Connect. It includes a free MDM with Blueprints, zero-touch setup, app deployment and Managed Apple Accounts, with no per-device fee (AppleInsider; 9to5Mac). Iru's own view is that Apple Business is a baseline, not a replacement (Iru).
Our view: a small office buying new Macs from Apple should try Apple Business before paying for anything.
Depth or easy upkeep
| Jamf for Mac | Iru Endpoint Management | Apple Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.50 per device per month | Price on request | Free |
| Billing | Annual, 25-device minimum | Annual, reported blocks of 25 | None |
| Platforms managed | Apple. No Windows PC management | Apple, Windows, Android | Apple |
| Setup style | Policies, scripts, smart groups, extension attributes | Blueprints, OS updates by date and version without scripts, Liftoff onboarding | Blueprints, zero-touch |
| App patching | Jamf App Installers (Jamf App Catalog) | Auto Apps | App deployment |
| Compliance benchmarks | mSCP with CIS Level 1 and 2 templates, monitor or enforce | CIS module | Not in our sources |
| Mac sign-in and EDR | Jamf Connect and Jamf Protect, in the bundle | Workforce Identity and EDR, separate modules | Managed Apple Accounts |
| Reported upkeep | More expertise, scripting | Less effort, less flexibility | Basics only |
Sources: Jamf Pro, Jamf Compliance Benchmarks, Siit, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider.
Jamf: more to configure, more to maintain
Jamf Pro covers policies and scripting, smart groups, extension attributes, Self Service, App Installers and Compliance Benchmarks built on mSCP with CIS templates (Jamf). Siit describes a steep learning curve and a dependence on scripting (Siit). Kitecyber, a vendor blog, writes that Jamf's flexibility can bring ongoing script maintenance, policy updates and troubleshooting (Kitecyber). TechnologyMatch puts Jamf Pro's ideal fleet at 500 to 50,000+ Macs, and Iru's at 50 to 5,000 devices (TechnologyMatch).
Iru: less to configure, less to tune
G2 reviewers who moved from Jamf write about "significantly more productivity with fewer administrators", Auto Apps that "saved us many hours" and OS upgrades with "no need to run scripts" (G2 reviews on AWS Marketplace). These are self-selected switchers. The same reviews report fewer built-in configuration options than Jamf, blueprints that cannot be nested or compared, and weaker reporting.
Our view: the split holds for Mac work. Jamf gives an admin more to configure. Iru asks for less of that admin's time. The old line that both are Apple tools no longer holds for Iru.
We could not retrieve community threads from r/macadmins or r/sysadmin for this article, so we quote none.
What they cost
| Option | What we found | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Jamf for Mac | $12.50 per device per month, billed annually, 25-device minimum. Includes Jamf Pro, Jamf Connect and Jamf Protect. No standalone Jamf Pro price is published | Medium to high |
| Jamf for Mac, earlier | $10 per device per month around May 2026, which suggests a price rise | Medium |
| Jamf Now | From $4 per device per month, for small teams | Medium |
| Iru | Price on request, quoted per module. Reported macOS MDM prices range from about $3.20 to $8 per device per month (buyer reports on G2 and PeerSpot) and $4 to $15 (MDM Buyer). The sources disagree | Low |
| Apple Business | Free | High |
| Caspian Act | €10 per active user per month, Macs included | High (our own page) |
Jamf's price comes from secondary pages that cite jamf.com/pricing (Toolradar; Siit). We could not load Jamf's pricing page directly. Iru's ranges come from Costbench and MDM Buyer.
Our view: Jamf's $12.50 buys MDM, identity and EDR together. Caspian Devices is MDM only, so the two prices are not a like-for-like comparison.
Where Caspian fits
This section describes our own product.
Caspian Act costs €10 per active user per month, all their Macs included, and a founder sets it up with you. It runs its own MDM for Macs and covers:
- Enrolment: zero-touch through Apple Business, and enrolment links for Macs outside it.
- Migration: moving Macs from another MDM without a wipe, on macOS 26.
- Baseline: firewall, Gatekeeper and passcode, plus macOS update deadlines.
- Profiles: a profile library and custom profiles.
- Device actions: lock, erase and key rotation. Destructive actions need two owners to approve.
- Apps: installs from the catalogue, Installomator labels and the App Store.
- Scripts: scripts that run on the Mac.
What Caspian does not do, compared with Jamf: no CIS benchmark library, no Platform SSO, no EDR, and no Windows or iOS management.
Our view: we aim for Iru-like upkeep with more of Jamf's breadth. That is an aim, not a claim we can prove today.
Which one fits
Our view, not a sourced claim:
- Jamf fits a team with a dedicated Mac admin who wants deep configuration, CIS benchmarks and one bundle with identity and EDR.
- Iru fits a team that wants less upkeep, or needs Windows and Android in the same tool and accepts that side is newer.
- Apple Business fits a small office buying new Macs from Apple, with simple needs.
- Caspian Act fits a Mac-only company that wants Mac management billed per active user per month, with all their laptops included, and set up with a founder.
Questions to ask any MDM vendor
- What is the price per device per month, and is there a minimum?
- Is the contract annual, and what is the renewal uplift?
- Can you migrate our Macs without a wipe?
- Which features need scripts, and who maintains them?
- Which modules are in the price, and which are extra?
Sources
| Source | Publisher | Date | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Partners completes acquisition of Jamf | Business Wire | 30 Jan 2026 | High |
| Agreement with Francisco Partners | Jamf | 29 Oct 2025 | High |
| Kandji becomes Iru | 9to5Mac | 22 Oct 2025 | High |
| Apple Business goes free | AppleInsider | 24 Mar 2026 | High |
| Free Apple device management is a baseline | 9to5Mac | 18 Apr 2026 | High |
| Apple Business MDM updates | Iru | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Low (vendor view) |
| Jamf Pro | Jamf | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | High |
| Compliance Benchmarks now available | Jamf Community | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | High |
| Jamf pricing | Toolradar | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Medium to high |
| Jamf vs Kandji | Siit | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Medium |
| Jamf BYOD | Venn | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Medium |
| Jamf Pro pricing | SuperOps | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Medium |
| Kandji vs Jamf | Kitecyber | 2025 | Low (vendor blog) |
| Intune vs Jamf Pro vs Kandji | TechnologyMatch | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Medium |
| Iru reviews | G2, via AWS Marketplace | Undated reviews, checked 16 Oct 2026 | Medium (self-selected) |
| Iru review | DormyTech | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Medium |
| Kandji pricing | Costbench | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Low |
| Iru (formerly Kandji) | MDM Buyer | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | Low |
| Pricing | Caspian | Checked 16 Oct 2026 | High (our own page) |
