Buyer's guide
How much should IT support cost per user, per month?
Most UK businesses pay between £50 and £85 per user per month for fully managed IT support, within a wider published range of £40 to £150. What moves a quote along that range is what it includes, not who is cheapest.
By Claire Donnelly · Last reviewed 11 August 2026 · 6 min read
The short version
- Most small businesses land somewhere between £50 and £85 per user per month for fully managed support
- Per user is usually fairer than per device once people carry a laptop and a phone
- Security tooling, on-site time and response targets are what move a quote up or down
- A cheap headline rate almost always buys a shorter inclusion list, not a better deal
- Compare the exclusions first - the monthly figure only means something once you have
The short answer
Published UK price guides put fully managed IT support at roughly £40 to £150 per user per month in 2026. Most small and medium businesses land in the middle of that, somewhere around £50 to £85, for an agreement that includes a helpdesk, monitoring, patching, endpoint protection and backup.
That spread is wide because the phrase “IT support” is doing a lot of work. At the bottom of the range you are buying someone to ring when something breaks. At the top you are buying a team that watches your systems round the clock, handles your security, and sits down with you twice a year to plan.
Neither is wrong. They are simply different purchases, and a price comparison that ignores the difference tells you nothing useful.
How it is counted
Per user
One fee per person, whatever they use
Per device
One fee per laptop, server or phone
Suits
Per user
Staff carrying a laptop and a phone each
Per device
Shift work where people share machines
Someone gets a second device
Per user
No change to the bill
Per device
The bill rises with each device added
Forecasting
Per user
Tracks headcount, simple to budget
Per device
Moves with every hardware change
Servers
Per user
Normally charged on top
Per device
Counted as devices within the fee
| Per user | Per device | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is counted | One fee per person, whatever they use | One fee per laptop, server or phone |
| Suits | Staff carrying a laptop and a phone each | Shift work where people share machines |
| Someone gets a second device | No change to the bill | The bill rises with each device added |
| Forecasting | Tracks headcount, simple to budget | Moves with every hardware change |
| Servers | Normally charged on top | Counted as devices within the fee |
Which should you choose?
Per user is normally fairer once people carry more than one device, and it is easier to budget because it follows headcount rather than hardware. Per device can work out cheaper in a shift-based business where several people share the same machine. Ask any provider to quote both ways against your real numbers - the model they lead with is often the one that flatters them.
What each price band actually buys
Roughly speaking, the market falls into three bands.
Around £40 to £55 buys business-hours helpdesk cover, remote monitoring, operating system and Microsoft 365 patching, antivirus and a basic backup. It is a genuine service, but security is thin by current standards.
Around £55 to £85 adds the things most businesses now need rather than want: endpoint detection and response, email filtering, multi-factor authentication management, network and server cover, and a regular review meeting. This is where most small businesses sensibly sit.
Above £85 buys out-of-hours cover, monitored threat detection, compliance work such as Cyber Essentials, a named account manager and someone thinking a year ahead on your behalf. Worth it when downtime stops the business entirely, or when a client or insurer is asking questions you cannot currently answer.
If a quote sits well below the band its inclusion list implies, the difference is in the small print rather than the service.
What to judge a quote on
-
1. What the fee covers, listed line by line
Two quotes at the same monthly price can differ by thousands a year once you count what each one leaves out. Ask for the inclusion list in writing, itemised, rather than a description of what the package is called.
Red flag: “Everything you need to stay running” with no itemised list, or a list that only appears after you have signed
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2. Whether security tooling is in the price or bolted on
Endpoint detection, email filtering and multi-factor authentication are standard in a mid-range agreement now, not extras. Forty-four per cent of micro businesses already use an external provider for security. If they are priced separately, the headline rate is not comparable.
Red flag: Security quoted as an optional add-on, priced only after you have chosen a base package
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3. Response targets, and what happens when one is missed
A response time tells you when someone acknowledges your ticket. It says nothing about when you are working again. Ask for a response target and a fix target as separate numbers, and ask what the agreement does when either is missed.
Red flag: A single blended “response time”, with no fix target and no remedy attached to it
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4. How on-site visits are charged
Remote-first providers price lower because sending a van costs money. If your team works from an office with servers, printers and desk phones, count how many visits a year you realistically need and get that priced before you compare.
Red flag: On-site attendance offered “as required”, with no included allowance and no day rate stated
-
5. Where support ends and a project begins
That boundary is where nearly every unexpected invoice comes from. A server replacement, an office move or a migration usually sits outside the monthly fee, and reasonably so. Ask for three worked examples on each side of the line.
Red flag: What counts as a project is left entirely to the provider’s judgement
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6. The minimum term, and what leaving involves
A low monthly rate on a three-year term with a painful exit costs more than a higher rate you can leave with ninety days’ notice. Ask who owns your documentation, your licences and your admin accounts at the end of it.
Red flag: Automatic renewal with a long notice window, or exit charges described only as “reasonable costs”
Budget for what sits outside the fee
Almost no agreement includes hardware. Microsoft 365 and other licences are typically billed at cost or with a small margin on top. Onboarding – the initial audit and getting your systems into the provider’s tooling – is often a one-off charge in the first month.
To get a figure you can actually put in a budget, take the monthly rate, multiply by your headcount and by twelve, then add your licence spend, an allowance for hardware replacement, and a sum for the one or two projects you already know are coming. That total is what you are comparing. The per-user rate on its own is only ever part of it.
Line these up before you compare two quotes
- The itemised inclusion list from each provider, side by side
- Response and fix targets, with the remedy for missing them
- Included on-site visits per year, and the day rate beyond that
- Whether endpoint protection, email security and MFA are in the fee
- Onboarding cost, minimum term and notice period
- Who owns documentation, licences and admin accounts if you leave
Common questions
Why is one quote half the price of another?
Almost always because it covers less. Check whether security tooling, on-site time and out-of-hours cover are in the fee or charged separately. Occasionally it reflects a genuinely leaner remote-only model, which suits some businesses perfectly well - but you should be choosing that knowingly.
Do smaller businesses pay more per user?
Usually, yes. There is a fixed amount of work in monitoring and protecting any business, so it spreads across fewer people. Many providers also set a minimum monthly charge, which bites hardest on the smallest teams.
Should we expect to pay extra for out-of-hours cover?
Yes. Cover outside business hours typically sits in the upper band, and it is worth paying for only if your business genuinely operates or loses money outside those hours. Ask what “out of hours” means in practice: monitored and acted on, or logged for the morning.
Is it cheaper to keep IT in-house?
It depends less on headcount than on what you need. One person cannot cover holidays, out-of-hours and every specialism. Co-managed arrangements, where your own person keeps the day-to-day and a provider covers the rest, often price better than either extreme.
Written by Claire Donnelly
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