Pricing for IT support is one of those topics that is surprisingly hard to find straight answers on. Most providers are vague until you speak to someone, and that can make it difficult to budget or compare your options sensibly.
Here is an honest breakdown of how IT support pricing works and what you should expect to pay.
How IT support is usually priced
Most managed IT support providers charge on a per-user, per-month basis. This means the price scales with the number of people in your team rather than the number of devices or the amount of support you use.
It is a model that works well for small businesses because costs are predictable. You know what you are paying each month before the invoice arrives.
What does it cost in practice?
For small businesses in 2026, you can typically expect to pay somewhere between £40 and £90 per user per month for a fully managed IT support plan. Where you land in that range depends on what is included.
At Matthew Temple Consulting, our plans are priced as follows:
- Essential IT: £45 per user per month. Covers remote helpdesk support, Microsoft 365 management, Windows updates, device monitoring, and basic security tools including multi-factor authentication and ransomware detection.
- Advanced IT: £65 per user per month. Adds Microsoft 365 backup, staff security awareness training, a password manager, and extra protection for email and cloud files.
- Complete IT: £85 per user per month. The full package, with AI-powered endpoint protection, phishing simulations, smart sign-in rules, web content filtering, and a quarterly IT review to keep everything aligned with your business goals.
Microsoft 365 licences are quoted separately on all plans, as the right licence tier varies from business to business.
What drives the cost up or down?
A few factors tend to affect where your costs land:
- Number of users: more users means a higher total, but the per-user rate stays the same
- Security requirements: businesses handling sensitive data or working toward certifications like Cyber Essentials will need the higher tiers
- Your existing setup: if your devices and software are already well-maintained, onboarding is quicker and smoother
- Level of support needed: businesses with less technically confident teams often benefit from more comprehensive plans
What does cheap IT support actually cost you?
It is tempting to go with the cheapest option available. But IT support is one of those areas where cutting corners has a habit of catching up with you.
A ransomware attack on a small business can cost thousands in recovery, downtime, and lost data. A data breach can trigger regulatory penalties and reputational damage. An unmanaged device can be compromised without anyone realising.
The monthly cost of good IT support is almost always lower than the cost of a single serious incident.
What about per-incident or ad-hoc support?
Some businesses still use pay-as-you-go IT support, where you call someone when something breaks and pay by the hour. Rates for this kind of work typically range from £75 to £150 per hour depending on the provider and the work involved.
For businesses that rarely need support and have low risk exposure, this can work. But for most small businesses, the unpredictability and lack of ongoing monitoring make it a false economy.
Not sure which plan is right for your team?
At Matthew Temple Consulting, we are happy to have a straightforward conversation about what your business needs and what would genuinely make sense for your budget. No hard sell, just honest advice.
Get in touch and we can talk through the options together.
