The short answer
Most small businesses pay $100 to $250 per user per month for fully managed IT in 2026, and the most common range is $150 to $200. At industry rates, a 20-person office would see a monthly bill somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000, depending on how much security and on-site work is included.
That range is wide on purpose. Two quotes for the same office can differ by thousands a month, and the cheaper one is not always cheaper once the year is over. This guide explains what sits behind the number, so you can read an MSP proposal and know what you are actually buying.
One thing to be clear about: these are industry-wide ranges from 2026 MSP pricing guides, not Sarwz Technology’s prices. Our plans are priced below these ranges. We have written the guide we would want to read if we were on the other side of the table.
What small businesses typically pay: industry ranges
The table below applies the common $100 to $250 per-user range to a few team sizes. These are market averages, not our rates. Use them as a planning range, not a quote.
| Team size | Monthly range | Yearly range |
|---|---|---|
| 5 people | $500 to $1,250 | $6,000 to $15,000 |
| 10 people | $1,000 to $2,500 | $12,000 to $30,000 |
| 25 people | $2,500 to $6,250 | $30,000 to $75,000 |
| 50 people | $5,000 to $12,500 | $60,000 to $150,000 |
Larger teams often get a lower per-user rate, because some costs (like the network and the firewall) are shared across more people. Very small offices can see the opposite: some providers set a monthly minimum, so a five-person firm may pay more per head.
A few things push Houston quotes around more than in a compact city. The metro is spread out, so a provider based in The Woodlands may charge more to drive to Pearland. Hurricane season makes tested backups and a recovery plan more than a nice extra. And many local firms run yards, warehouses or field offices, where the network work is harder than in a single office suite.
The four ways MSPs price their work
| Model | Typical 2026 range | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Per user, per month | $100 to $250 per user | Most offices; easiest to budget as you hire |
| Per device, per month | $50 to $150 per device | Shops with shared machines or few staff per device |
| Co-managed | $65 to $120 per user | Firms that already have an IT person |
| Hourly or block hours | $150 to $250 per hour | Occasional projects, not day-to-day support |
Per user is now the most common model. Each employee is covered across their laptop, phone and accounts, so the bill moves only when headcount does.
Per device can work for a fabrication shop where five people share one terminal. It gets messy in offices where each person carries two or three devices.
Co-managed suits a company that already has an internal IT lead. The provider covers the network, security tooling and after-hours work, and your person handles what they know best: the business.
Hourly looks cheap until something breaks. You pay the most at the worst moment, and nobody is watching the systems between calls.
What pushes the price up or down
The per-user number is mostly a reflection of how much risk the provider is taking on. These are the factors that move it most:
- Security depth. Basic antivirus and patching sits at the low end. Managed detection and response, email filtering, security awareness training and a monitored firewall push you toward the top of the range.
- Support hours. Business-hours help desk costs less than 24/7 coverage. If your warehouse runs a night shift, you need the second one.
- On-site work. Remote support handles most tickets. If your plan includes someone driving out, expect that to be priced in, especially across a metro as large as Houston.
- Servers and network gear. On-premises servers, multiple sites and warehouse Wi-Fi add work. Many providers charge per server on top of the per-user fee.
- Compliance. Law firms, healthcare offices and companies handling financial data need documentation and controls that a general office does not.
- The state of what you have now. An ageing firewall, unlicensed software or backups nobody has tested all mean more work in the first months.
Costs that often sit outside the monthly fee
The monthly number is the easy part to compare. These are the lines that make two similar-looking quotes very different over a year:
- Onboarding fee. A one-time charge to document your environment, install tools and fix urgent problems. Ask what it covers and whether it is fixed or open-ended.
- Projects. Office moves, new sites, server replacements and Microsoft 365 migrations are usually quoted separately.
- Hardware and licences. Laptops, firewalls and software subscriptions are almost always billed on top, sometimes with a markup.
- After-hours and out-of-scope rates. Find out the hourly rate for anything the contract does not cover, and what counts as out of scope.
- Contract length and exit terms. A three-year contract with a steep cancellation fee is a cost, even if you never use it. Ask how you get your passwords, documentation and configurations back if you leave.
How to compare MSP quotes fairly
Put every proposal into the same shape before you compare prices. Ask each provider the same questions:
- What exactly is included in the monthly fee, and what is billed separately?
- Are servers, firewalls, switches and Wi-Fi covered, or charged per device?
- What security tools are included: endpoint protection, email filtering, backup, monitoring?
- What are the support hours, and how fast do you respond to an urgent problem?
- Is on-site work included, and which parts of Houston do you cover?
- What is the onboarding fee, and what does it pay for?
- How long is the contract, and what happens to our documentation if we leave?
Then work out the first-year total: twelve months of fees, plus onboarding, plus any projects you already know you need. That number, not the per-user rate, is the one to compare.
Frequently asked questions
How much do managed IT services cost per user in Houston?
Industry-wide, most small businesses pay $100 to $250 per user per month in 2026, with $150 to $200 the most common range for fully managed support. Security depth, support hours and on-site needs decide where you land. Sarwz Technology’s plans are priced below that range.
Is managed IT cheaper than hiring an IT person?
For most companies under 100 people, yes. One in-house hire costs a full salary plus benefits, and no single person covers networking, security, cloud and after-hours work. Managed IT also works well alongside an internal IT person through a co-managed plan.
What should be included in a managed IT plan?
At minimum: help desk support, patching and updates, endpoint security, backup with tested restores, and monitoring of your network and devices. Ask for the full list in writing.
Why are some MSP quotes so much cheaper?
Usually because something is left out: security tools, after-hours support, servers, or on-site visits. Compare first-year totals with the same scope, not the headline rate.
Can I get a price without a sales pitch?
A fair quote needs someone to look at what you have. That is why we start with a free on-site assessment, and you keep the written findings whether or not you hire us.
Get a real number for your business
Ranges are useful for budgeting, but your price depends on what is actually in your building. We start every new client relationship with a free on-site assessment: an hour looking at your network, backups, licences and security, then written findings ranked by risk and cost. No charge, no obligation to hire us afterwards, and a monthly price below the industry ranges in this guide.
Request a free assessment or call 409-937-3818.