IT Spending Benchmarks 2026

Comprehensive IT spending data by industry and company size. Based on Gartner, Avasant, and IDC research. Global IT spending: $6.31 trillion in 2026, up 13.5%.

IT spend benchmarking by industry: the short answer

To benchmark IT spend by industry, measure your IT budget as a percentage of revenue, then compare it to your sector. The cross-industry average is 5.7% of revenue in 2026, with most companies between 2% and 10%. Industry sets the band and company size shifts you within it. Ranked highest to lowest, IT spending as a percentage of revenue by industry:

7-10%

Financial services

6-9%

Healthcare

6-9%

Technology

4-7%

Professional services

4-7%

Media/entertainment

3-6%

E-commerce/retail

3-6%

Education

3-5%

Logistics/transport

2-5%

Manufacturing

2-4%

Non-profit

Company size splits each band further: see the by industry detail, the by company size breakdown, or the full industry x size matrix below.

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.

$6.31T

Global IT Spending 2026

up 13.5% YoY (Gartner, Apr 2026)

5.7%

Average IT/Revenue Ratio

All industries, all sizes

+55.8%

Data Centre Growth

$788.0B in 2026

+47%

AI Spending Growth

To $2.59T (Gartner, May 2026)

IT Budget as % of Revenue: Industry x Company Size Matrix

Industry	Startup (1-50)	SMB (51-250)	Mid-market (251-1K)	Enterprise (1K-5K)	Large Enterprise (5K+)
Financial Services	8-10%	7-9%	6-8%	5-6%	4-5%
Healthcare	7-9%	6.5-8%	5.5-7%	4.5-6%	4-5%
Technology	7-9%	6.5-8%	6-7.5%	5-6%	4-5%
E-commerce/Retail	5-7%	4-6%	4-5%	3.5-4.5%	3-4%
Professional Services	5.5-7%	4.5-6%	4-5.5%	4-5%	3.5-4.5%
Manufacturing	4-6%	3.5-5%	3-4%	2.5-3.5%	2-3%
Education	5-7%	4-6%	4-5%	3.5-4.5%	3-4%
Logistics/Transport	4-6%	3.5-5%	3-4%	2.5-3.5%	2-3%
Media/Entertainment	6-8%	5-6.5%	4.5-5.5%	4-5%	3.5-4.5%
Non-profit	3.5-5%	3-4.5%	2.5-3.5%	2-3%	1.5-2.5%

Global IT Spending by Segment 2025-2026

Segment	2025 Spend	2025 Growth	2026 Spend	Growth 2025-2026
Data Centre Systems	$505.6B	+51.6%	$788.0B	+55.8%
Devices	$791.7B	+9.7%	$856.2B	+8.2%
Software	$1,254.4B	+12.8%	$1,443.6B	+15.1%
IT Services	$1,715.7B	+6.2%	$1,870.2B	+9.0%
Communications Services	$1,296.4B	+3.3%	$1,358.6B	+4.8%
Overall IT	$5,563.8B	+10.5%	$6,316.6B	+13.5%

Source: Gartner Worldwide IT Spending Forecast, April 2026 press release. 2025 figures are Gartner's revised actuals from the same release.

IT Budget by Industry

Detailed breakdown for each vertical with cost drivers and priorities.

IT Budget by Company Size

Per-employee costs, team sizing, and priorities for each growth stage.

IT Spending Forecast 2026-2027

AI, data centres, security driving above-average budget growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you benchmark IT spend by industry?

IT spend benchmarking compares your IT budget against peers on two dimensions at once: industry and company size. Start with IT spend as a percentage of revenue, then locate your sector and size band in the matrix. Industry sets the band (financial services 7-10%, healthcare and technology 6-9%, professional services and media 4-7%, retail and education 3-6%, logistics 3-5%, manufacturing 2-5%, non-profit 2-4%), and company size shifts you within it (smaller firms higher, large enterprises lower). The cross-industry average is 5.7% of revenue in 2026. Ranges are compiled from Gartner IT Key Metrics Data, Avasant Computer Economics, and IDC; the global growth figures come from Gartner's April 2026 Worldwide IT Spending Forecast.

What is the average IT spending as a percentage of revenue in 2026?

The global average is 5.7% of revenue across all industries and company sizes in 2026. This represents total IT expenditure including personnel, software, hardware, cloud, and security. The figure varies widely: financial services and technology companies spend 6-10%, while manufacturing and logistics companies typically spend 2-5%. Company size also matters significantly, with small businesses (1-49 employees) averaging 6.9% compared to large enterprises (5,000+ employees) at 3.7%.

How fast is IT spending growing in 2026?

Global IT spending is growing at 13.5% year-over-year in 2026, reaching $6.31 trillion (Gartner, April 2026 revision). This is well above historical averages of 4-6% annually. The acceleration is driven by AI infrastructure investment (data centre systems at $788.0 billion, up 55.8%), worldwide AI spending growing 47% to $2.59 trillion (Gartner, May 2026), and continued cloud adoption. Software spending is growing at 15.1% as GenAI and the shift from perpetual licences to SaaS subscriptions compound.

Which industry spends the most on IT?

Financial services consistently spends the highest percentage of revenue on IT, typically 7-10% for smaller firms and 4-6% for large enterprises. This reflects the sector's digital-native business model, strict regulatory compliance requirements (PCI-DSS, SOX, GDPR), and high cost of outages. Healthcare is a close second at 6-9%, driven by EHR implementation, HIPAA compliance, and connected medical devices. Technology companies themselves spend 6-9%, while manufacturing and logistics spend the least at 2-5%.

Why do smaller companies spend a higher percentage of revenue on IT?

Smaller companies face higher per-unit costs because they cannot amortise fixed IT costs (infrastructure, licences, minimum seat counts) across as many employees. A 50-person company pays almost the same base costs for cloud infrastructure and software licences as a 200-person company, but divides those costs across four times fewer revenue-generating staff. As organisations grow, economies of scale reduce the IT spend percentage, though the absolute dollar amount increases substantially.

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