2026 IT Spend Benchmarks

IT Spend Benchmarks 2026: Per Employee and % of Revenue

The average IT budget is 5.7% of revenue, with industry ranges of 2 to 10% and per-employee spend of roughly $9,000 to $14,000. Compare your company to 2026 Gartner and Avasant benchmarks by industry and size, then run the calculator.

Global IT spending: $6.31 trillion in 2026, up 13.5% (Gartner, April 2026). Average spend across all industries: 5.7% of revenue.

What percentage of revenue should an IT budget be?

5.7% of revenue on average across all industries in 2026, with most companies between 2% and 10%. Where you sit is driven mainly by industry: financial services and technology run at 7-10%, healthcare 6-9%, while manufacturing, logistics and non-profits sit at 2-5%. Company size shifts the ratio within each band: smaller firms spend a higher percentage (startups ~6.9%), large enterprises lower (~3.7%) on economies of scale.

% of revenue guide By industry By company size

Source: Avasant Computer Economics IT Spending & Staffing Benchmarks, Gartner IT Key Metrics Data, and IDC Worldwide IT Spending Guides; cross-referenced with Spiceworks Ziff Davis State of IT. Ranges compiled and verified June 2026. Full methodology and source list.

IT budget as % of revenue by industry, 2026. Bands show the small-to-enterprise spread; dashed line is the 5.7% cross-industry average.

Your Company Details

Annual Revenue (USD)

Number of Employees

Industry

Company Size Tier(auto-detected: SMB)

Peer benchmark

Are you overspending vs your peers?

Enter your numbers. We'll plot you on the 2026 distribution for your industry — p10 through p90, anchored on Gartner / Avasant / Spiceworks data.

Industry

Employees

Annual IT spend (USD)

Your $/employee

$24k

Industry median

$24k

Technology · $/employee/year distribution · 2026

p10-p90 distributions: Avasant Computer Economics, Gartner IT Key Metrics and Spiceworks State of IT. Compiled June 2026. Methodology.

Within typical range · 50th percentile

In line with peers. Focus on allocation quality (security %, cloud %, vendor concentration) over total spend.

At the median you'd spend $2.4M/year total. You're effectively at the median.

Explore IT Budget Benchmarks

IT Spending Benchmarks 2026

Industry x company size matrix. Global IT spending $6.31 trillion, up 13.5%.

IT Budget by Industry

From financial services (7-10%) to manufacturing (2-5%). 10+ industries covered.

IT Budget by Company Size

Startup through large enterprise. Per-employee costs and team sizing benchmarks.

Average IT Spend Per Employee

$9,000-$14,000 per employee globally. Full per-FTE map by size, industry and category.

IT Budget as % of Revenue

How your revenue band affects the right percentage. Factors that move it up or down.

Average IT Budget

5.7% of revenue on average. Typical IT budget in dollars by revenue and size, and how much to spend.

Small Business IT Budget

4-7% of revenue. Around $150k-$250k for a 20-person firm. Managed services vs in-house.

Cybersecurity Budget Guide

10-15% of IT budget; measured average 10.9% in 2025. Includes mini calculator.

Cloud Spending Benchmarks

45% of IT budgets going to cloud. Public cloud spend $723.4B in 2025, up 21.5%.

IT Department Budget Structure

2026 structure benchmarks by category: personnel 28-32%, software 26-30%, infrastructure 20-24%, security 10-14%, support 7-10%.

IT Budget Optimization

10 proven strategies. SaaS audits save 5-15%. Cloud rightsizing saves 20-35%.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of revenue should be spent on IT?

The average across all industries is 5.7% of revenue in 2026. However, this varies significantly by sector: financial services and healthcare companies typically spend 6-10%, while manufacturing and logistics companies spend 2-5%. Technology companies themselves often invest 6-9% of revenue in IT. Your company's digital maturity, growth stage, and regulatory requirements all influence the right number for you.

How much should a small business spend on IT?

Small businesses with 1-49 employees typically spend 6.9% of revenue on IT. A 20-person company with $3 million in revenue should budget approximately $150,000-$207,000 per year, which works out to roughly $7,500-$10,500 per employee. Very small, early-stage teams on lean SaaS-only stacks can run as low as $1,800-$4,000 per employee. Cloud-first approaches and managed services (MSPs) help small businesses achieve enterprise-grade IT at lower per-unit costs without requiring a full-time IT team.

What is the average IT budget for a company?

The global average is 5.7% of revenue across all industries and company sizes. Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) average 3.7% of revenue, while small businesses (1-49 employees) average 6.9%. The difference reflects economies of scale: larger organisations spread infrastructure and licensing costs across more users. Mid-market companies (251-1,000 employees) typically fall between 6-8% of revenue.

How do you calculate an IT budget?

Start with your annual revenue and apply your industry benchmark percentage to get a baseline. Then adjust for company size (small companies spend proportionally more), growth plans (scaling up requires investment), and compliance requirements (regulated industries spend more on security). Allocate the total across five categories: personnel (28-32%), software and SaaS (26-30%), infrastructure (20-24%), security (10-14%), and support (7-10%). Use this calculator to get a starting point, then validate with your current spend.

What percentage of IT budget should go to cybersecurity?

Industry best practice is 10-15% of total IT budget for most organisations. Regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, and government should target 15-18%. Measured security spend averaged 10.9% of IT budget in 2025, down slightly from 11.9% in 2024 (IANS / Artico Security Budget Benchmark), the first decline in five years as overall IT budgets grew faster than security spend. Of the security budget, approximately 40% goes to software and platforms, 30% to personnel, 15% to hardware, and 15% to outsourced services.

What is the IT spending forecast for 2026?

Global IT spending is projected at $6.31 trillion in 2026, up 13.5% year-over-year (Gartner, April 2026 revision). Data centre systems are the fastest-growing segment at $788.0 billion (+55.8%), driven by AI infrastructure investment. Worldwide AI spending is growing 47% year-over-year to $2.59 trillion (Gartner, May 2026). The top CIO priorities for 2026 are AI scaling (76% of CIOs expect agentic AI investment), security, and FinOps cost optimisation.

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