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Government · head to head

Bonfire vs Jamf Pro

Bonfire logo

Bonfire

Government

Public sector sourcing and bid evaluation software with scored, auditable award decisions

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Jamf Pro logo

Jamf Pro

Cybersecurity

Apple-only device management for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, licensed per device by a public US vendor.

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bonfire it is a sourcing and evaluation tool rather than full procure to pay, so requisitions, purchase orders and invoicing stay in the finance system and the join between them is the agency's problem.; Jamf Pro it manages Apple hardware only, so any organisation with Windows or Android devices runs a second management platform and produces two sets of compliance evidence, and the two inventories disagree with each other more often than either vendor's documentation suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: Bonfire covers Solicitation posting, Jamf Pro covers Automated Device Enrolment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bonfire and Jamf Pro actually diverge.

Attributes where Bonfire and Jamf Pro differ
AttributeBonfireJamf Pro
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bonfire

  • Solicitation posting
  • Sealed submission intake
  • Scored evaluation workspace
  • Audit trail
  • Supplier portal
  • Requirement matrices

Only in Jamf Pro

  • Automated Device Enrolment
  • Configuration profiles
  • Policies and scripts
  • Smart groups
  • Self Service
  • Patch management
  • Extension attributes
  • Same-day OS support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bonfire

  • An agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation recordnot Jamf Pro
  • A procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and emailnot Jamf Pro
  • A university or health system applying public procurement rules without a public procurement systemnot Jamf Pro
  • An agency wanting suppliers to self register and receive addenda automatically rather than by mailing listnot Jamf Pro

Jamf Pro

  • An Apple-heavy workforce where devices ship directly to users and must configure themselves on first boot with no IT touchnot Bonfire
  • Education deployments managing shared iPads across classes with per-user app assignmentnot Bonfire
  • Developer organisations where engineers have administrator rights on their own Macs and management has to be achieved by policy and script rather than lockdownnot Bonfire
  • Organisations needing compliance evidence for Apple devices that a general-purpose endpoint manager cannot produce at the required depthnot Bonfire

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bonfire

  • It is a sourcing and evaluation tool rather than full procure to pay, so requisitions, purchase orders and invoicing stay in the finance system and the join between them is the agency's problem.
  • Since the acquisition path from GTY to GI Partners to Euna Solutions, Bonfire sits in a portfolio alongside products it once competed with, which narrows a shortlist that appears independent.
  • Suppliers must register on the portal to bid, and small local vendors reliably complain about the extra account, which can reduce responses on low value solicitations.
  • Pricing is quoted rather than published and scales with solicitation volume, so an agency with a few very large procurements pays a model designed around throughput.
  • Contract management after award is thin compared with dedicated contract lifecycle products, so agencies often buy a second system for the obligations the award created.

Jamf Pro

  • It manages Apple hardware only, so any organisation with Windows or Android devices runs a second management platform and produces two sets of compliance evidence, and the two inventories disagree with each other more often than either vendor's documentation suggests.
  • Licensing is per device per year with different rates for computers and mobile devices, so spare and shared hardware sitting in a cupboard continues to consume licences until somebody actively removes it from inventory, which is nobody's job by default.
  • Apple's frameworks set the ceiling: if Apple does not expose a setting through MDM or declarative device management, Jamf cannot manage it either, so requests that are a single Group Policy object on Windows are answered with a scripted workaround or with nothing.
  • Zero-touch deployment depends on devices being registered in Apple Business Manager, which generally means buying through Apple or an authorised reseller, so machines bought retail or inherited through an acquisition cannot be supervised without wiping and re-enrolling them.
  • Getting value from it requires an Apple platform specialist who can write shell scripts, read configuration profiles and design smart group logic, and a generalist team without that skill uses a fraction of the product while paying the full per-device rate.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bonfire

On request
  • Bonfire$undefined/year
    • Quoted by agency size and annual solicitation volume
    • Supplier side registration is free, which is how the vendor network grows
    • Implementation and training quoted separately from subscription

Jamf Pro

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Jamf Pro review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Bonfire if

  • You need solicitation posting.
  • You also want sealed submission intake.
Bonfire review

Choose Jamf Pro if

  • You need automated device enrolment.
  • You also want configuration profiles.
Jamf Pro review

Questions people ask

Is Bonfire or Jamf Pro better?
Neither clearly leads. Bonfire starts at On request and Jamf Pro at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bonfire or Jamf Pro?
Bonfire starts at On request and Jamf Pro at On request.
Does Bonfire or Jamf Pro run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Bonfire best used for?
Bonfire is most often used for an agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation record, a procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and email, a university or health system applying public procurement rules without a public procurement system, an agency wanting suppliers to self register and receive addenda automatically rather than by mailing list. Of those, an agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation record and a procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and email are not what Jamf Pro is typically brought in for.
What can Bonfire do that Jamf Pro cannot?
Bonfire covers Solicitation posting, Sealed submission intake, Scored evaluation workspace, Audit trail. Jamf Pro covers Automated Device Enrolment, Configuration profiles, Policies and scripts, Smart groups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bonfire: Who owns Bonfire?

Euna Solutions. Bonfire was acquired by GTY Technology in 2019, GTY was taken private by GI Partners in 2022, and the portfolio was rebranded Euna Solutions in 2023.

Jamf Pro: Does Jamf Pro include endpoint security?

No. Threat prevention, endpoint telemetry and compliance monitoring are Jamf Protect, a separate product and a separate licence. Jamf Connect for identity and password sync is also separate.

Bonfire: Is it full procure to pay?

No. It covers sourcing and evaluation through award. Purchase orders and invoicing remain in the finance system.

Jamf Pro: Can it manage Windows or Android?

No. Jamf manages Apple platforms only. A mixed estate needs a second management platform, and that is a deliberate product decision rather than a gap they intend to close.

Bonfire: What is the real value?

A defensible, time stamped evaluation record when an award is protested, which is the expensive failure mode in public procurement.

Jamf Pro: Do I need Apple Business Manager?

For zero-touch enrolment and volume app licensing, yes. You can enrol devices manually through a user-initiated flow without it, but you lose supervision, automatic enrolment and the ability to prevent a user removing management.

Bonfire: Can we see what other agencies pay?

Yes. These contracts are public records. Read several comparable awards before negotiating.

Jamf Pro: Can I host it myself?

Yes, Jamf Pro can be self-hosted, though Jamf Cloud is the default and receives new capabilities first. Self-hosting means you own the upgrade cadence, which matters because Apple's September releases set the timetable.

Jamf Pro: How does it compare to Microsoft Intune?

Intune manages Apple devices adequately and is often already paid for in an existing Microsoft agreement, which is the argument against Jamf. Jamf is deeper, supports new Apple releases faster, and has the local agent for scripting. Organisations with a few hundred Macs and a strong Apple culture generally choose Jamf; those with a handful of Macs in a Windows estate generally do not.

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