Managed Services Pricing Guide 2025
What MSPs Charge and Why Prices Vary So Much
PRICING MODELS — HOW MSPS CHARGE
Per-user pricing (the dominant model)
What it includes: all services associated with one employee's technology — their workstation, their applications, their helpdesk tickets, their security. Simple, predictable, scales with headcount.
Market rates by service tier:
- — Monitoring only:$25-$45/user/month.What you get: proactive visibility but no helpdesk labor included.
- — Essential managed:$75-$110/user/month.What you get: monitoring + remote helpdesk + patching + basic security. The baseline for what most SMBs need.
- — Standard managed:$110-$155/user/month.What you get: essential + on-site visits + security stack + backup monitoring. The most common tier for 25-150 employee companies.
- — Premium all-inclusive:$155-$250/user/month.What you get: standard + MDR/SOC + compliance support + vCIO. Enterprise-grade security without building an IT department.
What drives per-user price up: regulated industry (HIPAA, PCI add 15-25%), after-hours SLA coverage (add $15-$30/user), compliance program management (add $10-$30/user), remote-first workforce (add $10-$20/user).
Per-device pricing (less common, still used)
- Desktop/laptop$40-$80/mo
- Server$150-$400/mo
- Network device$30-$80/mo
Advantage: straightforward. Disadvantage: doesn't account for the reality that managing a device for a power user vs a part-time employee is not the same effort.
PRICE RED FLAGS
- Under $50/user/month for "full managed services": almost always monitoring-only or a race-to-the-bottom provider with poor tooling and high turnover. Ask exactly what is included, what the helpdesk labor rate is for included tickets, and what triggers additional charges.
- No itemized pricing breakdown: a single number with no line items means you can't compare against other bids or identify what you're actually buying. Require itemization.
- Per-device pricing that excludes mobile devices: in 2025, most users have phones and tablets accessing company data. A managed services contract that covers only desktops leaves a significant management gap.
The Total Cost of Ownership Comparison
The question is not "can I afford managed services" but "what is the true all-in cost of my current approach?"
PROJECT WORK PRICING
Beyond monthly managed services, most MSPs charge separately for project-based work — migrations, deployments, infrastructure upgrades, and one-time implementations that fall outside the scope of day-to-day management.
Hourly rates for project work
MSP project engineers typically bill between $125 and $250 per hour, depending on the complexity of the work and the seniority of the engineer assigned. Expect the lower end for routine deployments and the higher end for architecture design, cloud migrations, or security remediation.
Common project types and typical costs
- — Office 365 / Google Workspace migration:$2,000 - $10,000depending on mailbox count, data volume, and complexity of shared resources.
- — Server-to-cloud migration:$5,000 - $25,000+per server, including planning, migration, testing, and cutover.
- — Network infrastructure refresh:$5,000 - $20,000for a typical SMB office including switches, access points, firewall, and cabling.
- — New office buildout / IT setup:$10,000 - $50,000+depending on office size, user count, and infrastructure requirements.
- — Security assessment / pen test:$3,000 - $15,000depending on scope, compliance requirements, and depth of testing.
T&M vs fixed-price projects
Time & Materials (T&M): you pay for actual hours worked. Best for projects with uncertain scope — discovery engagements, troubleshooting complex issues, or phased rollouts where requirements may shift. Ask for weekly hour reports and a not-to-exceed cap.
Fixed-price: the MSP quotes a total project cost upfront. Best for well-defined projects with clear deliverables — migrations, deployments, hardware installations. Get the scope documented in writing so change orders are clearly defined.
Block hour agreements
Some MSPs offer pre-purchased blocks of project hours at a discounted rate — typically 10-20% below standard hourly rates. Common blocks are 20, 40, or 80 hours. These work well for ongoing project work or when you anticipate multiple smaller projects over a quarter. Make sure unused hours roll over for at least 90 days and that you receive monthly utilization reports.
COMMON ADD-ON PRICING
Most managed services contracts have a base monthly fee, but several common services are frequently priced as add-ons. Understanding these costs upfront prevents budget surprises.
After-hours support surcharges
- — Extended hours (6pm-10pm):1.25x - 1.5x the standard hourly rate, or $15-$25/user/month for unlimited coverage.
- — Overnight / weekend:1.5x - 2x the standard rate, or $25-$40/user/month for 24/7 coverage.
- — Holiday coverage:2x - 2.5x the standard rate. Clarify which holidays are included.
On-site visit rates
Many contracts include a limited number of on-site visits per month (typically 1-2). Additional visits are billed separately:
- — Scheduled on-site visit:$150-$250/hour with a 2-hour minimum, plus travel time for locations outside the MSP's service area.
- — Emergency on-site dispatch:$250-$400/hour with a 4-hour minimum. Expect same-day response but confirm SLA terms.
Compliance add-ons
- — HIPAA compliance program:$10-$30/user/month covering risk assessments, policy management, training, and audit preparation.
- — PCI-DSS compliance:$500-$2,000/month flat fee for network segmentation, vulnerability scanning, and quarterly reporting.
- — SOC 2 readiness support:$1,500-$5,000/month for policy development, evidence collection, and audit coordination.
- — CMMC preparation:$2,000-$8,000/month depending on the target maturity level and current posture.
vCIO and vCISO add-ons
Virtual executive IT leadership is increasingly offered as a premium service layer:
- — vCIO (virtual CIO):$1,000-$3,000/month for strategic technology planning, budgeting, vendor management, and quarterly business reviews.
- — vCISO (virtual CISO):$2,000-$5,000/month for security program oversight, risk management, incident response planning, and board-level security reporting.
Some premium all-inclusive tiers bundle vCIO services into the per-user price. If you need both vCIO and vCISO, negotiate a combined rate — most MSPs will discount the pair by 15-20%.