Managed versus unmanaged packages
Key Takeaway
A managed package is locked but easy to upgrade. An unmanaged package can be customized, but it can't be upgraded in place: to get a newer version, you uninstall it and reinstall the new version.
A package is a container that installs apps, tabs, objects and other components into a Salesforce org. Solutions from AgentExchange are installed as packages. Packages come in two types, managed and unmanaged. The type decides whether you can change the contents, how upgrades arrive, and whether the contents count against your org's limits.
What a package can hold and who decides its type
A package can be as small as one component or as large as a set of related apps. A package can be distributed to other Salesforce orgs, including orgs outside the company that built it.
The solution provider decides whether a solution ships as a managed or an unmanaged package; the admin who installs it doesn't. The provider's choice shapes how the solution behaves in your org.