If you’ve ever Googled “how much does IT support cost,” you’ve probably walked away more confused than when you started. Vague ranges. Hidden fees. Packages that seem designed to upsell you rather than serve you.
You’re trying to run a business with 5, 10, maybe 20 employees. You don’t have time for mystery pricing. You need a straight answer — and you deserve one.
The Real Problem With “Just Call for a Quote”
Most IT companies hide their pricing because they’re afraid of losing you before the sales call. That’s not how we operate. When pricing is opaque, small business owners end up making one of two bad decisions: they overpay for services they don’t need, or they underpay for “IT support” that disappears when things get serious.
Both outcomes cost you more in the long run.
What IT Support Actually Costs — and Why
For small businesses, IT support typically falls into one of three models:
1. Break-Fix (Pay When Something Breaks)
You call someone when your computer dies or the internet goes down. They fix it. You pay by the hour — usually $100–$175/hour.
This sounds affordable until you realize: you’re paying for problems after they happen. There’s no monitoring, no prevention, no one watching out for you. One ransomware incident or server failure can cost $5,000–$50,000 under this model — and your IT person may have no idea how to respond to it.
2. Managed IT Services (Flat Monthly Rate)
A managed service provider (MSP) monitors and maintains your entire IT environment for a predictable monthly fee — usually $75–$150 per user per month for comprehensive coverage.
At Business Simple IT, our rate is $95/user/month with a $500/month minimum. That covers:
- 24/7 monitoring and remote support
- Help desk for your team
- Cybersecurity (endpoint protection, email filtering, patch management)
- Microsoft 365 management
- Backup and disaster recovery
- Proactive maintenance so problems don’t happen in the first place
For a 10-person team, that’s $950/month — or about $4.30 per employee per day to keep your entire business running securely.
3. Part-Time or “IT Guy” Support
Some small businesses rely on a freelancer, a family member, or a part-time tech person. This can work — until it doesn’t. When your “IT guy” is on vacation, sick, or simply overwhelmed, your business waits. And this model almost never includes proactive security, which is where most small business disasters come from.
The Question Isn’t “What Does IT Cost?” — It’s “What Does IT Downtime Cost?”
Here’s a number most small business owners never calculate: the cost of a bad IT day.
If your 10 employees average $25/hour and your internet goes down for 4 hours, you’ve lost $1,000 in productivity before anyone’s even diagnosed the problem. Add lost revenue, customer frustration, and potential data risk — and a single incident costs far more than a month of managed IT.
Managed IT doesn’t cost money. Unmanaged IT costs money. The monthly fee just makes the math obvious.
What You Should Expect from Any IT Partner
Regardless of who you choose, here’s the minimum your IT support should include for a business your size:
- A response time guarantee. If something breaks, how fast will someone pick up? 15 minutes? 4 hours? The answer matters enormously when your team is dead in the water.
- Proactive monitoring. You shouldn’t hear about problems from your employees. Your IT team should catch issues before they become outages.
- Cybersecurity included. Antivirus alone isn’t enough. Real protection means layered security — endpoint protection, email filtering, firewall management, and user training.
- Flat, predictable pricing. No surprise invoices. No “that’s not covered.” You need to know exactly what you’re paying each month.
- A team that answers the phone. When your office manager can’t print and has a client in 20 minutes, “leave a voicemail” is not an acceptable answer.
Here’s the Simple Version
For a small business with 3–35 employees, well-managed IT support typically runs $75–$150 per user per month. If you’re paying significantly less, you’re probably getting significantly less. If you’re paying more and can’t articulate exactly what you’re getting, it’s worth a second look.
The goal is simple: IT that works, security that protects you, and a team that answers when you call. That’s what you should be paying for. That’s what you should expect.
Business Simple IT is a flat-rate managed IT provider serving small businesses with 3–35 employees in Las Vegas, Henderson, Mesquite, Cedar City, and St. George. We believe pricing should be transparent, service should be proactive, and your IT should never be the reason your business slows down.
Get a straightforward quote for your team — we’ll tell you exactly what it costs and exactly what you get. No fluff, no pressure.