Android Management
Android Management API is Google's free, Android Enterprise-native API that EMM/MDM vendors build their consoles on top of — not a standalone product you buy. Maintained by Google; no licensing fee to call the API directly. Hard limits as of 2026: 3,000 apps per policy, 100 compliance rules per policy, default quota 1,000 queries/100 seconds per project (60/min per-resource), and an initial cap of 500 managed devices before Google requires a business-justification form. Recent changes: SHA-256 signing-certificate hashing (May 2026), an autofill-disable policy plus AMAPI SDK 1.8.0 (April 2026). It underpins most Android Enterprise Recommended solutions — Intune, Workspace ONE, MaaS360, Hexnode, Scalefusion all route through it. Current version/status: rolling API, no version numbers — last documented change SHA-256 cert hashing (May 2026). License: proprietary Google API (Google APIs Terms of Service), free to call. Pricing: The API itself is free to call; EMM vendors built on it charge separately — Hexnode UEM from $2.20/device/mo, Scalefusion from $2.00/device/mo, IBM MaaS360 $4-$9/device/mo (Essentials to Enterprise), Microsoft Intune Plan 1 $8/user/mo (Plan 2 add-on $4/user/mo, Intune Suite $10/user/mo), Omnissa Workspace ONE UEM from $5.40/user/mo (Mobile Essentials). Maintained by Google (Android Enterprise team).
Call the raw API yourself only if you're a software vendor building an MDM console, or you're running a lean internal fleet under 500 devices and want zero per-seat cost — otherwise you're reinventing a console for no reason. Already paying for M365 E3/E5? Ride Intune Plan 1 ($8/user/mo) instead of building. For pure cost-per-device on Android-only fleets, Hexnode ($2.20/device/mo) or Scalefusion ($2/device/mo) undercut everyone. Google's own docs admit the catch: that 500-device starter quota needs a business-justification form to raise — self-building has a real onboarding wall vendors absorb for you. Known weakness: Google caps the initial device quota at 500 and requires a business-justification form (with a separate application to Android Enterprise to go higher) before you can scale past it — a real onboarding wall that certified EMM vendors absorb on your behalf.