Headwind MDM is a solid open-source choice if you want to run your own server. DockMDM is for teams that would rather not: we host everything, kiosk mode is included instead of paid, and your AI tools can operate the fleet over MCP.
Based on public information as of July 2026. If we got something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.
| DockMDM | Headwind MDM | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Fully hosted (Germany), nothing to install | Self-hosted: Ubuntu, Tomcat, PostgreSQL, your own domain and TLS. A hosted cloud edition also exists |
| Price | Free for 3 devices, then $5 per device per month or $50 per year | Community edition free and unlimited (self-hosted). Cloud $19 per device per year. Premium self-hosted $2,990 one-time up to 300 devices |
| Kiosk mode | Included in every tier | Paid editions only (Cloud, Premium, Enterprise) |
| Zebra configuration | Native MX from plain language, schema-validated, applied natively on-device | Zebra OEMConfig managed configurations (Android 10+), DataWedge profile push |
| AI | AI-native: built-in MCP server for Claude, Codex, or any agent | No admin-facing AI features |
| Remote screen control | Yes: live view and control from the device page | Paid add-on |
| Location tracking | Included: locate now, live tracking, fleet map | Paid editions |
| Open source | No | Server is Apache-2.0 on GitHub |
| Maintenance burden | None: updates, backups, and TLS are our job | Yours: server updates, database, certificates, monitoring |
You must self-host or run air-gapped. You want open-source code you can audit and modify. You have server admin capacity and a zero software budget.
You don't want to babysit a Tomcat server. You want kiosk mode without buying a license. You run Zebra terminals and want MX configs written for you. You want your AI tools operating the fleet.
Enroll 3 devices free and see the hosted difference. No Tomcat, no certificates, no card.
Start free →