Skie vs ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus

ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus is a broad MDM with public prices and a free trial. Skie is built for Android in schools and hostels.

Facts checked 12 November 2026 · ManageEngine (Zoho Corporation), India and United States

Summary

ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus, from Zoho's ManageEngine division, manages Android, Apple, Windows and Chrome OS devices. It lists public prices by edition, includes kiosk in Standard, and offers geofencing in Professional. Skie is narrower. It manages Android phones and tablets for schools, hostels and institutes at device-owner level, with a class-to-organisation hierarchy, schedules, night mode and alerts to the right role.

Skie brings school and hostel structure, schedules and role-based alerts to Android device-owner management, where ManageEngine offers a general IT toolkit.

Side by side

What you are comparing	ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus	Skie
What it is	Mobile device management product, also bundled in ManageEngine's Endpoint Central.	Android device management software for parents, schools, hostels and organisations.
Main audience	Businesses of many sizes with IT teams, including mixed fleets.	Schools, institutes, hostels, companies and families that run Android phones and tablets.
Platforms	Android, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, macOS, Windows and Chrome OS, per ManageEngine.	Any Android 12 or newer phone or tablet. No iOS or Windows.
Do you have to buy hardware from them	No. It is software.	No. Skie is software only. Customers use devices they already own or buy their own.
Works on devices you already own	Yes. It manages devices an organisation already owns.	Yes. Any Android 12 or newer phone or tablet, set up fresh or reset once to become managed.
Level of control on Android	Android management is supported. Whether the page describes device owner mode was not confirmed.	Runs as the Android device owner, so the rules are enforced by Android itself.
Can the user remove it or reset around it	Not publicly documented in the pages checked.	Built to be tamper-proof. Factory reset from Settings, safe mode, developer options, uninstalling Skie and force stop are blocked by default, and Factory Reset Protection ties a wiped device to the Skie admin account. If anything did get through, the admin is alerted down to the exact device.
App control	App distribution and blocklists.	Allowed apps are set per group from an organisation app store. An app installed outside the list is removed silently. Apps are hidden or suspended, not deleted, and an impact preview shows what a change will touch.
Web filtering and safe search	Not publicly documented as a school-style filter on the page checked.	Filtering DNS is locked on the device, so it works on any Wi-Fi or mobile data. Chrome SafeSearch and YouTube restricted mode are forced, incognito is blocked, and more than 50 alternative browsers, VPN and proxy apps are always blocked. Per-website allow and block lists are not available yet.
Schedules, school-hour and night modes	Not publicly documented as a school timetable feature.	Built in. Windows with days, start, end and allowed apps, including overnight windows, so devices switch between school hours, study block, break and night mode on their own. Hostel night mode can keep calls allowed.
Location and geofences	Geotracking in Standard and geofencing in Professional, per ManageEngine.	Live location, fresh location on request, geofences attached to groups and a go-to directions button.
Lost or stolen device handling	Not publicly documented on the page checked.	Lost mode locks the device, shows a contact message, tracks it and builds evidence for a police report. Remote erase is not available yet.
Replace or reassign a device	Not publicly documented on the page checked.	Replace a device keeps the student, group and history and frees the old seat. A reset device is recognised by IMEI or serial, so it does not take a second seat.
Alerts and who gets them	Admin alerts and reports. Routing to class teachers is not documented.	Breach centre at device, group, branch, school and organisation level, so the right person sees it. A missing check-in counts as a breach. Email alerts are not available yet.
Roles and organisation structure	Role-based device usage permissions and role-based access are described. No class model is documented.	Organisation, school, branch, group, student, device. Roles run from organisation admin and branch head to class teacher, plus read-only parents. Rules flow down and the most specific level applies last.
Kiosk or single-app lock	Kiosk mode in Standard to run a single app or a set of apps.	Full-screen kiosk mode, and a one-app allow list also locks a device to one app.
Screen time reports and per-app limits	Not documented as a student screen time product.	Not available yet: per-app time limits and screen time reports. The team is working on it.
Integrations, SSO and API	Integrates with other ManageEngine and Zoho products. Specific SSO and API details were not verified here.	SSO and an API are not available yet. Everything is run from a browser dashboard.
Pricing model	Per device. As of November 2026 the maker lists cloud Standard from 1.28 and Professional from 2.38 US dollars per device per month, and a second set at 9.9 and 17.9 per device per year. 30-day trial.	Seat-based licence, one device per seat. Pricing is on request.
Countries available	Worldwide. Data centre locations were not stated on the page.	Worldwide, subject to local law, wherever the device has Google Play services.
Setup effort	Self-serve console, cloud or on-premises. Suited to IT staff.	Guided Skie Provision app or a laptop with adb, one-time token per device, readiness check per model. The Skie team supports the rollout.
Data and privacy approach	Cloud or on-premises. Details are in ManageEngine's privacy documentation, which was not summarised here.	Data is stored in an India region (Mumbai). Skie does not read messages, and the device shows that it is managed, with no hidden mode.
Best suited for	Businesses wanting a low per-device price and a general MDM.	Schools, hostels, coaching institutes and Android-only fleets that want school-shaped rules and fast rollout.

As of November 2026, ManageEngine lists cloud Standard from 1.28 and Professional from 2.38 US dollars per device per month, up to 20 percent less on annual billing, and a second set at 9.9 and 17.9 per device per year, with a 30-day trial. Third-party sites show conflicting figures, so confirm with the maker. Skie is priced per seat, one device per seat, and pricing is on request. Contact us for a quote.

Where ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus is strong

Public per-device prices and a 30-day trial.
Manages Android, Apple, Windows and Chrome OS from one product, and bundles with Endpoint Central.
Kiosk mode included in the Standard edition, geofencing in Professional.
Part of a large IT management suite that many IT teams already use.

Where Skie stands out

A hierarchy for institutions: organisation, school, branch, group, student and device, with teacher and read-only parent roles.
Native schedules with overnight windows and hostel night mode that keeps calls on.
Breach alerts routed by role at each level.
Android device-owner enforcement with student-ready switches and Factory Reset Protection tied to the Skie admin account.
Locked filtering DNS on the device and forced Chrome SafeSearch.
Rollout support from the Skie team and replacement of broken tablets that keeps student, group and history.

What ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus is

Mobile Device Manager Plus is ManageEngine's MDM product. It covers Android, Apple, Windows and Chrome OS, and it is also part of the Endpoint Central bundle. ManageEngine publishes per-device prices, which makes it one of the easier platforms in this group to budget for.

For an IT department with laptops, iPads and Android devices, that breadth at a published price is a real advantage over Skie, which manages only Android phones and tablets.

Kiosk, location and Android control

ManageEngine states that kiosk mode is included in the Standard edition and can lock a device to one app or a set of apps. Geotracking is in Standard and geofencing in Professional. The page we read did not mention Android device owner mode or education.

Skie runs as the Android device owner on Android 12 or newer and treats kiosk, geofences and live location as part of the same product, along with a switch list tuned for students: safe mode, developer options and adb blocked, Skie protected from uninstall and force stop, VPN setup blocked and date and time forced to automatic.

Education structure, schedules and alerts

ManageEngine describes role-based device usage permissions, which helps IT assign access. A class and student model is not described. In Skie, a teacher sees only their class, a branch head their branch, and parents have read-only visibility of school devices.

Schedules are native. Windows with days, start, end and allowed apps can run overnight, so a hostel can run night mode with calls allowed, and a school can switch between school hours, study block and break. Breaches are shown at the level of the person responsible.

Cost and setup

ManageEngine's cloud prices start lower than Skie is likely to be per device, if the lowest edition does what you need, and it is a fair reason to choose it. Skie is licensed per seat, one device per seat, on request, and the Skie team supports rollout through the Skie Provision app or a laptop and a command. Devices need a fresh setup or reset once. Skie has no SSO or API yet.

Who should pick which

Choose ManageEngine for a price-led, mixed-platform fleet managed by IT. Choose Skie for Android tablets and phones in schools, hostels and institutes, where class structure, schedules and alerts to the right role matter more than extra platforms.

Choose ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus if

You want the lowest published per-device price and a 30-day trial.
You manage Windows, Apple and Chrome OS alongside Android.
You already use ManageEngine tools.
You want an on-premises option.

Choose Skie if

You run Android tablets or phones for students or hostel residents.
You want teachers and wardens to manage their own groups.
You want school-hour and night schedules out of the box.
You want help with rollout.
You want alerts that reach the right person.

Verdict

ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus is a good choice for IT teams that want a published low per-device price, a long trial and one tool for Android, Apple, Windows and Chrome OS. Skie is the better fit for schools, hostels and institutes with Android devices, because device-owner enforcement comes with classes, native schedules, filtering and role-based alerts, and the Skie team helps you roll out.

Questions people ask

Skie vs ManageEngine MDM: which is better for schools?

ManageEngine is a general MDM with public prices. Skie is built for Android in schools and hostels, with classes, schedules and role-based alerts.

How much does ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus cost?

As of November 2026 the maker lists cloud Standard from 1.28 and Professional from 2.38 US dollars per device per month, plus yearly options. Skie is per seat and on request.

Does ManageEngine MDM have kiosk mode?

Yes, in the Standard edition. Skie has full-screen kiosk and a one-app allow list.

Does ManageEngine MDM support geofencing?

The maker lists geofencing in Professional. Skie has geofences attached to groups.

Is there a free trial?

ManageEngine lists a 30-day trial. Ask Skie about a pilot.

Sources

Not publicly documented when we checked: Android device owner mode and education features were not described on the product page checked.; Data centre locations were not stated.; Lost device actions, school timetable and web filtering features were not found..

This comparison was prepared from publicly available information and was last checked on 12 November 2026. Product features, prices and availability change, and anything we could not find is marked as not publicly documented. ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus and other product names belong to their owners and are used here only to identify their products. Skie is not affiliated with or endorsed by ManageEngine (Zoho Corporation). If something here is out of date or wrong, email contact@knowphone.in and we will check and correct it promptly.