Esper Review, Pricing & Features

Esper manages Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux dedicated devices at scale with blueprints, kiosk mode, and remote control, from $2 per device monthly.

Category
Hosting
Pricing
Subscription, from $2/device/month
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 20, 2026
Founded
2018
Headquarters
Bellevue, Washington
WindowsWeb AppiOSAndroidAPI

What Is Esper?

Esper is a device management platform purpose-built for what the industry calls dedicated devices: kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, handheld scanners, digital signage, and other hardware that runs a single app or a narrow set of apps for a specific business purpose, as opposed to a general-purpose employee phone. Founded in 2018 by Yadhu Gopalan and Shiv Sundar, both veterans of large cloud and hardware companies, Esper built its platform around the idea that these fleets need DevOps-style tooling, including version control and staged rollouts, rather than the simpler mobile device management tools designed for BYOD employee phones.

The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, with additional offices in the Bay Area and India, and has raised more than 100 million dollars from investors including Amazon, Insight Partners, and Scale Venture Partners. Esper works across Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux, though its deepest feature set and hardware partnerships are on the Android side, where it partners directly with manufacturers like Zebra, Lenovo, and Intel to validate devices for enterprise use.

Key Features

Esper's core concept is the blueprint, a declarative definition of a device's desired configuration, apps, and settings that can be versioned and rolled out gradually, similar to how software engineers manage infrastructure as code. Drift management continuously checks whether a device has fallen out of compliance with its blueprint and can automatically remediate it, which matters for fleets spread across thousands of physical locations that IT staff cannot visit in person.

The platform includes an unbreakable kiosk mode that locks a device to a single app or a curated set of apps and prevents end users from escaping into the underlying operating system, touchless zero-touch provisioning so new devices can be shipped directly to a store or warehouse and configure themselves on first boot, and remote access and control tools that let support staff view and operate a device's screen from anywhere to troubleshoot problems without a truck roll.

Esper Pricing

Esper sells three subscription tiers priced per device per month: Genesis at roughly 2 dollars for smaller deployments that need core management and provisioning, Bridge at roughly 4 dollars for scalable fleet management with more automation, and Architect at roughly 6 dollars for large, complex enterprise fleets that need advanced APIs, geofencing, and deeper app deployment controls.

Esper does not offer a free tier; pricing scales with the number of managed devices, and larger deployments typically negotiate custom enterprise agreements directly with Esper's sales team rather than paying the published per-device rates.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Purpose-built for dedicated device fleets rather than a generic MDM afterthought
  • Blueprint and drift-management model brings DevOps-style version control to hardware fleets
  • Strong kiosk lockdown reduces device misuse and support tickets in public-facing deployments
  • Deep Android hardware partnerships with major device manufacturers
  • Backed by significant venture funding, suggesting continued product investment

Cons

  • No free tier; per-device pricing adds up quickly for very large fleets
  • Deepest functionality is on Android; iOS, Windows, and Linux support is comparatively less mature
  • Overkill for companies managing only general employee smartphones rather than dedicated devices
  • Enterprise sales process for larger tiers means pricing isn't fully transparent upfront

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Esper different from a typical MDM tool?

Esper is built specifically for dedicated, single-purpose devices like kiosks and scanners, with blueprint-based version control and drift management, rather than for managing general employee smartphones.

How much does Esper cost?

Esper's published tiers run from about 2 dollars per device per month for Genesis up to about 6 dollars for Architect, with custom enterprise pricing available for large deployments.

Which operating systems does Esper support?

Esper manages Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux devices, with the most extensive feature set and hardware validation on Android.

Does Esper offer a free plan or trial?

Esper does not offer a permanent free tier; interested companies typically request a demo or trial through its sales team.

Who are Esper's typical customers?

Retail, restaurant, healthcare, logistics, and field service companies that operate large fleets of dedicated devices across many locations.

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