Managed IT Services Pricing
Managed IT services typically cost $75 to $250 per user per month in 2026, depending on scope, company size and region. Use the calculator below to price your estate per user or per device, compare fully managed against co-managed, and see where the monthly fee goes. Then read the service tiers, the per-user economics by company size, per-device rates, and the in-house versus MSP break-even.
Managed IT Services (MSP) Cost Calculator
Estimate your monthly and annual managed IT cost from real inputs. Rates are typical 2026 US ranges verified against MSP pricing guides; get a quote for an exact figure.
Adds 24/7 monitoring, managed EDR and MFA, M365 and cloud admin, quarterly business reviews.
Estimated cost for 100 users, standard, fully managed
$15,000
Low ($150/user)
$17,500
Typical ($175/user)
$20,000
High ($200/user)
Low to high per user: $150 to $200/user/mo
Per month, all-in. Typical annual:
$210,000 / year
Where the typical monthly fee goes (indicative)
Fully managed (typical/mo)
$17,500
Co-managed (typical/mo)
$9,625
Break-fix alternative: $100 to $250 per hour with no monitoring, patching or security. Unpredictable, and most SMBs pass managed cost after a few incidents. Hidden costs (onboarding, projects, compliance) can add 30 to 50%.
Typical 2026 US ranges verified against MSP practitioner pricing guides. Estimates only, not a quote. See the methodology and sources below.
Per User Per Month
$75 - $250
Depending on scope and company size
In-house Break-even
50 - 150 FTE
First IT hire often justified above this band
Co-managed Premium
$40 - $100
Per user per month for MSP layer alongside in-house IT
The Four MSP Service Tiers
MSP offerings cluster into four tiers in 2026. Each is appropriate for different company sizes and risk profiles. The pricing ranges below are typical North American MSP rates; UK and European pricing is similar, with some compression in tier-1 and tier-2 markets.
Basic break-fix MSP
$50 - $100/user/moTypically Included
- +Help desk (business hours)
- +Patch management
- +Basic monitoring
- +Antivirus or EDR licence
- +Monthly reporting
Typically Excluded
Strategy, project work, security operations, after-hours, advisory.
Best For
10-50 user companies with low complexity, low compliance burden, predictable office-based work.
Standard managed IT
$100 - $180/user/moTypically Included
- +Help desk (8x5 or 24x7 small surcharge)
- +Patch and vulnerability management
- +Backup management
- +EDR + MFA management
- +M365 / Google Workspace admin
- +Identity and SSO administration
- +Asset inventory
- +Quarterly business reviews
Typically Excluded
vCISO services, deep cloud engineering, custom application support.
Best For
25-200 user companies. The dominant tier in the SMB and lower mid-market.
Fully managed (incl. security)
$180 - $300/user/moTypically Included
- +Everything in Standard
- +vCISO services
- +MDR / SOC services
- +Vendor management
- +Cloud engineering hours
- +Compliance support (SOC 2, HIPAA)
- +Quarterly strategy reviews
Typically Excluded
Custom development, business analyst time on internal projects.
Best For
Compliance-sensitive 50-200 user companies. Healthcare, fintech, professional services with strong client expectations.
Co-managed IT (hybrid)
$40 - $100/user/mo + baseTypically Included
- +Tier 1 help desk
- +After-hours coverage
- +Routine patching
- +Backup verification
- +Asset reporting
- +Joint strategy sessions
Typically Excluded
Strategy ownership, architecture, project leadership, custom application work.
Best For
150-1000 user companies with in-house IT leadership, where MSP fills capacity and after-hours gaps.
MSP Cost by Company Size
Per-user pricing falls as headcount grows. The dominant explanation is operational leverage on the MSP side: a 25-user company and a 250-user company both consume similar onboarding and management overhead, and that overhead amortises across more users. Below is the typical 2026 cost curve for the standard managed-IT tier.
| Company Size (FTE) | Per-User Per Month | Annual Cost | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 - 25 users | $200 - $400 | $24k - $120k | High per-user. Often basic break-fix tier. |
| 25 - 50 users | $150 - $300 | $45k - $180k | Standard managed IT tier becomes affordable. |
| 50 - 100 users | $120 - $230 | $72k - $276k | In-house break-even appears in this band. |
| 100 - 250 users | $100 - $200 | $120k - $600k | Many companies move to co-managed in this band. |
| 250 - 500 users | $80 - $150 | $240k - $900k | Co-managed dominates here. Pure MSP rare. |
| 500+ users | $40 - $100 | $240k - $720k+ | MSP layer is supplement, not primary IT operations. |
Pricing benchmarks cross-checked across 2026 MSP practitioner guides (Corsica Technologies, CloudSecureTech metro data, Flamingo, Get Flexpoint, Scopable, Dataprise), the ConnectWise MSP benchmark surveys, the ChannelE2E MSP 501 list, and Service Leadership Index data. Figures are typical ranges; real quotes vary and hidden costs can add 30 to 50%.
Per-Device MSP Pricing
Per-user pricing dominates in 2026 because most workplaces are cloud-first and one user carries several devices. Per-device pricing still suits server-heavy or shared-device environments (manufacturing floors, labs, kiosks). Switch the calculator to per-device mode to price by asset count. Typical 2026 monthly rates:
| Device type | Per Device Per Month | Typically Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Workstation / laptop | $50 - $100 | Monitoring, patching, EDR, help desk for that device |
| Server | $200 - $500 | Monitoring, patching, backup management, updates (lower end from ~$100 to $150) |
| Network device (firewall, switch) | $25 - $75 | Monitoring, firmware, configuration management |
| Mobile device | $15 - $40 | MDM enrolment, security policy, basic support |
How the calculator works: it applies these typical per-user and per-device bands, then adjusts the per-user rate for company size (rates compress as headcount grows), region (high-cost metros run about 1.3x, lower-cost about 0.85x), 24/7 coverage (about a 15% premium), and delivery model (co-managed runs roughly 45% below fully managed because in-house IT carries Tier 1). It is an estimate for planning, not a quote.
MSP vs In-House IT: The Break-even Math
The decision to retain an MSP versus build an in-house IT function is the most common IT budget question for 50 to 200 person companies. The break-even depends on three variables: company size, scope of work expected, and the cost of a comparable in-house hire.
For a 50-person company, the math is generally favourable for an MSP:
- Standard MSP cost: $90,000 to $150,000 per year. Covers help desk, patching, security, M365 admin, vendor management, monthly reporting.
- Single in-house IT generalist: $95,000 to $140,000 fully loaded. Covers similar scope but with much narrower skills depth and single point of failure (vacation, illness, leaving).
- MSP wins on skills breadth and resilience. A 50-person company that needs occasional security expertise, cloud architecture review, or compliance advice gets it from the MSP without hiring those specialties.
For a 250-person company, the math typically flips:
- Standard MSP cost at 250 users: $360,000 to $720,000 per year. That covers the same scope at scale.
- In-house IT team of 4-6 FTEs: $400,000 to $800,000 fully loaded. Plus MSP retainer for after-hours and specialty work ($60,000-$150,000) brings total to $460,000-$950,000.
- In-house wins on responsiveness and strategic alignment. An MSP cannot drive an internal ERP migration or ride-along on M&A integration the way an in-house team can.
Between 50 and 250 employees the right answer depends on industry, compliance scope, and the leadership profile of the company. Most companies in the 100-200 employee band pick co-managed (in-house IT lead plus MSP for operational depth), which is why this is the dominant model in 2026.
Related Pages
IT Budget for 50 Employees
Where MSP economics are most favourable.
IT Budget for 250 Employees
Co-managed IT becomes dominant.
IT Staffing Costs
In-house IT salary benchmarks for break-even math.
Cybersecurity Budget
MSSP and managed detection pricing.
Small Business IT Budget
SMB IT planning, MSP fits naturally.
Full Budget Breakdown
Five-category context for MSP costs.
Calculate your IT budget with MSP costs
Enter headcount and choose the MSP tier in the calculator to see how managed services fit your budget.
Use the IT Budget Calculator