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Cybersecurity · head to head

Microsoft Intune vs Tilt

Microsoft Intune logo

Microsoft Intune

Cybersecurity

Manage and protect cloud-connected endpoints across device platforms, apps and operating systems

From
$8/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Tilt logo

Tilt

Developer Tools

Local Kubernetes development loop that rebuilds and live-updates containers on save

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tilt has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Microsoft Intune individual add-ons at $2-5/user/month can become expensive when deploying multiple modules; Tilt docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Intune and Tilt actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Intune and Tilt differ
AttributeMicrosoft IntuneTilt
Starting price$8/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: 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 Microsoft Intune

Nothing recorded that Tilt does not also cover.

Only in Tilt

  • Live update
  • Tiltfile as code
  • Unified web UI
  • Selective rebuilds
  • Local and remote clusters
  • Resource dependencies
  • Extensions registry
  • Custom buttons and triggers

What people use each for

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

Microsoft Intune

  • Mobile device and endpoint managementnot Tilt
  • Enterprise device compliancenot Tilt
  • Privilege access managementnot Tilt
  • Remote device supportnot Tilt

Tilt

  • A team of ten or more engineers whose application is fifteen microservices on Kubernetes and who currently wait on CI to test a changenot Microsoft Intune
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot Microsoft Intune
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot Microsoft Intune
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot Microsoft Intune

Where each one falls short

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

Microsoft Intune

  • Individual add-ons at $2-5/user/month can become expensive when deploying multiple modules
  • Full Intune Suite at $10/user/month becomes better value when deploying two or more modules

Tilt

  • Docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • The Tiltfile is Starlark, a Python dialect, so non-trivial setups become real programs that need reviewing and maintaining, and the person who wrote yours becomes a single point of failure.
  • Live update only works when the running container can accept synced files and restart the process; compiled languages, distroless images and read-only filesystems often force you back to a full image rebuild, which removes the main benefit.
  • It assumes Kubernetes. If your development target is plain Docker Compose or serverless functions, Tilt adds a cluster you did not need and a layer of abstraction with no payoff.
  • There is no commercial support contract, no SLA and no paid tier, so when a Kubernetes version upgrade breaks something you are dependent on GitHub issues and a Slack channel rather than a vendor you can escalate to.

Pricing, plan by plan

Microsoft Intune

$8/month
  • Microsoft Intune Plan 1$8/month
    • Device management
    • Mobile device management
    • Basic compliance policies
  • Intune Suite (Full)$10/month
    • Endpoint Privilege Management
    • Enterprise Application Management
    • Advanced Analytics
  • Intune Suite Add-on: Remote Help$2/month
    • Remote device support
  • Intune Suite Add-on: Endpoint Privilege Management$2/month
    • Privilege access control

Tilt

Free
  • TiltFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All features, no paid tier
    • Community support via the Kubernetes Slack #tilt channel

Which should you pick?

Choose Microsoft Intune if

Nothing in the data separates Microsoft Intune from Tilt on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Microsoft Intune review

Choose Tilt if

  • You need live update.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want tiltfile as code.
Tilt review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Intune or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Intune starts at $8/month and Tilt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Intune or Tilt?
Tilt has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $8/month for Microsoft Intune and Free for Tilt.
Does Microsoft Intune or Tilt run on more platforms?
Microsoft Intune runs on Web. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Tilt for free?
Yes. Tilt has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Microsoft Intune starts at $8/month.
What is Microsoft Intune best used for?
Microsoft Intune is most often used for mobile device and endpoint management, enterprise device compliance, privilege access management, remote device support. Of those, mobile device and endpoint management and enterprise device compliance are not what Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Intune do that Tilt cannot?
Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Microsoft Intune: How much does Microsoft Intune cost?

Microsoft Intune Plan 1 costs $8/user/month for basic device management. The full Intune Suite costs $10/user/month including endpoint privilege management, enterprise application management, advanced analytics, remote help, Intune Plan 2, and Microsoft Cloud PKI.

Source
Tilt: Is Tilt free?

Yes, entirely. It is Apache 2.0 open source with no paid tier and no licence fee.

Microsoft Intune: What add-ons are available for Microsoft Intune?

Individual Intune Suite add-ons range from $2-5/user/month and include Endpoint Privilege Management, Enterprise Application Management, Advanced Analytics, Remote Help, Intune Plan 2, and Microsoft Cloud PKI. Microsoft recommends the full Intune Suite at $10/user/month when deploying two or more modules for better value.

Source
Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

Docker, which acquired it in May 2022. It remains open source and the repository is still actively maintained.

Microsoft Intune: Is Intune included in Microsoft 365 E5?

Starting in CY26 Q3, Intune Suite capabilities are included with Microsoft 365 E5 and E7 subscriptions, with select capabilities also in Microsoft 365 E3. These bundled versions do not have separate additional pricing.

Source
Tilt: Do I need a remote cluster?

No. It works against a local cluster such as kind, minikube or Docker Desktop, and also against a shared remote development cluster if your services are too heavy to run locally.

Tilt: How is it different from Skaffold?

Both automate the build-deploy loop. Tilt puts more weight on the live-update path and a multi-service dashboard; Skaffold is more configuration-driven and closer to Google's tooling.

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