Ask an IT company what support costs and you'll often get "it depends." That's true, but it isn't very helpful when you're trying to set a budget.
So here's a more useful answer. We'll walk through how IT support is usually priced, what pushes the number up or down, and how to compare quotes so you're looking at the same thing side by side. We'll use our own published prices as the example, because you can check them.
The three ways IT support gets billed
Most IT companies in the Phoenix area use one of three models, or a mix.
Hourly, sometimes called break-fix. You call when something breaks and pay for the time it takes to fix it. It's simple and there's no monthly commitment. The catch is that your bill is hard to predict, and nobody is paid to prevent problems before they happen.
Prepaid hour blocks. You buy a set number of support hours each month at a lower rate than straight hourly. This works well for small offices that need some help every month, but not a lot.
A flat monthly fee per user or per device. Often called managed IT. You pay one predictable amount and the IT company handles support, monitoring, updates and security. Because the price doesn't go up when something breaks, the provider has a reason to keep things from breaking.
What drives the price
Two offices with the same headcount can get very different quotes. These are the usual reasons.
- Number of people and devices. Most pricing scales with users, computers or both.
- Whether security is included. Some low quotes cover help desk support only. Security monitoring, email filtering and device protection get added later, or not at all.
- On-site help. Remote support is cheaper to deliver. A provider that will send someone to your office, and how quickly, affects price.
- After-hours coverage. Is help available nights and weekends, and does it cost extra?
- Compliance needs. Mortgage, banking, healthcare and legal offices have audit and documentation requirements that take real time to support.
- The shape your systems are in today. Old equipment, unpatched computers or a messy Microsoft 365 setup can mean cleanup work up front.
What's usually included, and what usually isn't
A monthly support plan typically covers the day-to-day: answering your team's calls, fixing problems, keeping computers updated and watching for trouble. Many plans include some level of security.
Things that are usually priced separately:
- New computers, servers and other hardware
- Software licenses, including Microsoft 365
- Backups for servers and Microsoft 365
- Larger projects, like an office move or a migration to a new system
None of that is a trick. It just means you should ask what's in and what's out before you compare totals.
Our prices, as a real example
We publish our pricing so you have a reference point.
Inventive Prime is $145 per user, per month. That includes unlimited remote support, on-site visits, 2 project hours a month for your company, 24/7 security monitoring, email protection, device protection, updates and patching, data-loss prevention, staff security training, and firewall and network security. After-hours work is included at no extra charge. For a 10-person office, that's $1,450 a month.
Pay as you go starts at $105 an hour with a prepaid 12-hour block, or $145 an hour billed in 15-minute increments. Every device also needs our security package at $55 per device, per month. For a 10-person office with 10 computers, that's $550 a month for security, plus whatever support time you use.
Hardware, licenses, backups and larger projects are quoted separately on both plans, and only with your approval. Neither plan has a contract.
How to compare quotes without getting burned
When you have two or three quotes in hand, ask each company the same questions:
- What exactly is included in the monthly price? Get the list in writing.
- What security is included? Ask specifically about 24/7 monitoring, email filtering, device protection and staff training.
- Do you come on-site, and how fast? Is that included or billed separately?
- How do we get help? Can your team just call, or do they have to submit a ticket and wait?
- What does after-hours help cost?
- Is there a contract? How long is it, and what does it take to leave?
- Is there an onboarding fee? Some providers charge to get you set up. We don't.
- What counts as a project? You want to know where support ends and extra billing begins.
- Who holds the admin passwords? You should always have access to your own accounts.
A few red flags
- A very low per-user price with almost everything billed as an add-on
- Long contracts that renew automatically
- No mention of security at all
- Vague answers about response times
- Reluctance to put pricing in writing
The bottom line
A fair IT price is one you can predict, that covers security, and that comes from a team you can actually reach. If you'd like a straight answer for your office, a free assessment starts with a 15-minute call. We'll tell you what we'd recommend and exactly what it would cost.