Intune manages devices inside one organization’s tenant; an RMM operates many clients’ endpoints from one console. Two gaps the ranking comparisons cite are contradicted by Microsoft’s current documentation: Remote Help has unattended remote sign-in for corporate-owned, Intune-managed Windows devices, and Enterprise App Management keeps Microsoft and non-Microsoft apps updated from a Microsoft-hosted catalog.
What remains is scope: Remote Help requires helper and user to be in the same organization. For MSPs, Microsoft offers Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, a multi-tenant portal for CSP partners.
- Remote Help includes unattended remote sign-in for corporate Windows devices
- Enterprise App Management auto-updates catalog apps when enabled
- Remote Help only works inside your own organization’s tenant
- Microsoft 365 Lighthouse is the multi-tenant portal for CSP partners
- Remote Help lists at $3.50, Enterprise App Management at $2.00 per user
On this page
What each managesWhat each one is built to manage
Intune manages devices for an organization. It is Microsoft's device management platform, an MDM and endpoint management service inside a Microsoft 365 tenant: enrollment, configuration and compliance policies, app deployment and updates, all tied to that organization's Entra identities. The MDM page covers what enrollment and compliance policy actually do.
An RMM manages endpoints for a service provider. It is a remote monitoring and management platform: an agent on every device reporting to one console that spans every client the provider supports, with monitoring, scripting, alerting, patching and remote access control built around working across all of them. The RMM page covers what the agent does and why its permissions matter.
The overlap is real and it is growing. Both tools deploy software, both push configuration, both report on device state and compliance, and both can now reach a Windows device with nobody at it. The part that does not overlap, and the part intune vs rmm actually turns on, is the shape of the platform: one tenant, or many clients.
Out of date claimsTwo limitations that are out of date
The comparisons that rank for this question repeat two limitations. Microsoft's current documentation describes both differently.
Intune does have unattended access, on Windows. Microsoft's Remote Help documentation lists unattended control through remote sign-in: an authorized helper signs in to a corporate Windows device with their own credentials and troubleshoots without an end user being present or signed in.
Microsoft is specific about the scope. Unlike attended control, it creates a separate authenticated Windows session governed by user authentication, Intune role-based access control and auditing, it is started from the Intune admin center, and it applies only to physical, corporate-owned, Intune-managed Windows devices.
Intune does have a third-party app catalog. Enterprise App Management is described by Microsoft as a way to discover, deploy and keep applications up to date from the Enterprise App Catalog, a collection of prepared Microsoft and non-Microsoft applications, packaged as Win32 apps and hosted by Microsoft.
For catalog apps with a required assignment, Intune applies new versions automatically when auto-update is turned on. Without auto-update, available updates are listed and an administrator creates the new version with a supersedence relationship.
Both are licensed separately. Enterprise App Management requires a subscription in addition to Intune Plan 1 or Plan 2, and can be bought as a standalone SKU or as part of the Intune Suite. So "Intune cannot do this" can really mean "the Intune license you have does not include this".
The tenantThe tenant is the real dividing line
Remote Help stops at the edge of the organization. Microsoft's documentation states that both the helper and the person sharing their screen must sign in with a Microsoft Entra account from the organization, and that Remote Help only works within that tenant: helpers cannot assist users in another tenant or an external organization. Remote Help is also off by default and, once enabled, is enabled tenant-wide.
For an internal IT team, that is not a limit. Everyone who needs help and everyone who gives it belongs to the same organization, and one tenant is the whole estate.
For MSPs, it is the whole question. A managed service provider supporting forty clients supports forty tenants. Intune policies, compliance reports and Remote Help sessions all live inside each one. Without management tools that span tenants, the provider signs into forty environments to do the monitoring and device management work an RMM does from one console.
Identity follows the same boundary. Remote Help's reports show who helped whom, on what device and for how long, inside the tenant. An RMM keeps its own record across all clients, in the RMM vendor's system. Which one an auditor asks for depends on whose environment was touched.
LighthouseWhere Microsoft 365 Lighthouse fits
Microsoft does address multi-tenant management, just not inside Intune itself.
Lighthouse is Microsoft's management platform for MSPs. Microsoft describes Microsoft 365 Lighthouse as helping managed service providers deliver services to customers at scale from a single portal. For MSPs with delegated access, it recommends security configuration baselines tailored to SMB customers and provides multi-tenant views across all customer environments.
It costs nothing extra, with conditions. Microsoft states there are no additional costs for using Lighthouse to manage Microsoft 365 services and connected devices, and that it is available to partners enrolled in the Cloud Solution Provider program, both direct-bill partners and indirect resellers. Microsoft also says MSPs and their customer tenants must meet the published Lighthouse requirements.
What that means in practice. A provider that sells Microsoft 365 through CSP can manage its clients' Microsoft environments across tenants with Microsoft's own tooling, and use Intune in each tenant for the device work. What Lighthouse does not change is that Intune itself, and Remote Help, remain tenant-scoped.
CostWhat it costs to add the missing pieces
Microsoft's Intune pricing page, read for the Intune pricing comparison, lists the add-ons per user per month when paid yearly.
The add-ons. Remote Help at $3.50, Enterprise App Management at $2.00, Endpoint Privilege Management at $3.00, Intune Plan 2 at $4.00 and Advanced Analytics at $5.00. Every figure carries Microsoft's note that prices may vary by agreement.
The base plan is not on the page. Intune Plan 1 has no published price there, because Microsoft expects most organizations to get Intune inside a Microsoft 365 bundle. The same page states that select advanced Intune capabilities are now included in Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, so a client on those bundles may already own add-ons a comparison would count as extra.
The honest comparison is per client. RMM pricing is set by each vendor and paid by the provider, as the NinjaOne pricing breakdown shows for one of them.
Intune and its add-ons are priced per user for each client organization. Adding Remote Help and Enterprise App Management to a client's licenses is a line on that client's Microsoft bill, not on the provider's tooling budget.
PitfallsWhere people go wrong
Repeating limitations the documentation contradicts. Unattended access on Windows and a third-party app catalog with automatic updates are both documented Intune capabilities, behind the right licenses.
Assuming Remote Help works across clients. It requires both people to be in the same organization, which is a security control rather than a missing feature. A provider's technicians are not in their clients' tenants unless the provider has arranged accounts or delegated access there.
Counting the add-ons that the client already owns. Check the client's Microsoft 365 bundle before pricing Remote Help or Enterprise App Management, because Microsoft says select advanced capabilities are included in E3 and E5.
Treating it as either-or. Intune can own enrollment, compliance and Microsoft-side policy while an RMM owns cross-client operations, as the MSP software comparison sets out on the RMM side. The design question is which tool owns patching and remote access, so that two tools are not both doing it.
Forgetting who owns the tenant. If the provider manages a client entirely through Intune and Lighthouse, the client's tenant still belongs to the client, and so do the device records. That is usually the right arrangement, and it should be written into the contract.
Ignoring non-Windows devices. Remote Help's unattended remote sign-in applies only to corporate-owned, Intune-managed Windows devices, so Mac device management and remote access need their own tools. Macs need their own plan, which RMM for Mac covers.
ComparisonWhat each one does across clients
| Criterion | Microsoft Intune | RMM platform |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | One organization's tenant | Many clients in one console |
| Unattended remote access | Remote sign-in, corporate Windows, Remote Help license | Agent-based, per vendor |
| Remote support across clients | No, same organization only | Yes |
| Third-party app updates | Enterprise App Catalog, auto-update when enabled | Per vendor |
| Multi-tenant view | Through Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, CSP partners | Built in |
| Identity | Entra accounts in the tenant | The RMM's own accounts |
| Priced | Per user, per client organization | Set by each vendor, paid by the provider |
The first row decides the rest: a tool built around one tenant answers different questions from a tool built around many clients.
FAQFrequently asked questions
Can Intune replace an RMM?
For an internal IT team managing one organization, much of the device management work can move to Intune, given Remote Help and Enterprise App Management. For a managed service provider supporting many clients, not on its own, because Intune and Remote Help are scoped to a single tenant. Microsoft 365 Lighthouse covers part of the multi-tenant gap for CSP partners.
Does Intune have unattended remote access?
Yes, on Windows. Remote Help's remote sign-in lets an authorized helper sign in to a physical, corporate-owned, Intune-managed Windows device with their own credentials, with no end user present, under role-based access control and auditing.
Can Remote Help support users in another company?
No. Microsoft states that the helper and the user must both sign in with an Entra account from the same organization, and that helpers cannot assist users in another tenant or external organization.
Does Intune patch third-party applications?
Through Enterprise App Management. Its catalog holds prepared Microsoft and non-Microsoft Win32 apps hosted by Microsoft, and Intune applies new versions automatically for required assignments when auto-update is enabled. It needs a subscription beyond Intune Plan 1 or Plan 2.
What is Microsoft 365 Lighthouse?
Microsoft's portal for managed service providers, giving multi-tenant views across customer environments and security baselines tailored to SMB customers. Microsoft says it carries no additional cost for managing Microsoft 365 services and connected devices, for partners in the Cloud Solution Provider program.
How much does Intune Remote Help cost?
Microsoft's pricing page lists it at $3.50 per user per month, paid yearly, with a note that prices may vary by agreement. Check whether the client's Microsoft 365 bundle already includes it.
How much does Enterprise App Management cost?
$2.00 per user per month on Microsoft's pricing page. It can also come as part of the Intune Suite.
Is Remote Help turned on by default?
No. Microsoft's documentation says Remote Help is not enabled for Intune tenants by default, and that turning it on enables it tenant-wide.
Should an MSP run Intune and an RMM together?
They can, with the responsibilities split deliberately: Intune for enrollment, compliance and Microsoft policy in each client tenant, and the RMM for cross-client monitoring and operations. Decide which tool owns patching and remote access so they do not overlap.
Does Remote Help unattended access work on Macs?
Microsoft describes remote sign-in as applying only to physical, corporate-owned, Intune-managed Windows devices. Mac support needs separate planning.
What does an RMM do that Intune does not?
Work across many client organizations from one console with one set of technician accounts, which is the part Intune's tenant model does not provide by design.
Where do I start comparing prices?
With the client's existing Microsoft 365 licenses, then the Intune add-ons they would still need, then the RMM's cost for the provider. The Intune pricing comparison sets out what Microsoft publishes and what it leaves out.
What is Intune Enterprise App Management?
Intune Enterprise App Management is a paid Intune add-on, also included in the Intune Suite, that provides a catalog of prepackaged third party Windows applications and keeps them updated. It covers part of what an RMM's third party patching does. It does not add remote control, scripting across clients, or ticketing.
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