How Much Does IT Support Cost in the UK? 2026 Prices Per User
· Updated
A slow laptop is frustrating. A failed backup, inaccessible customer records or a cyber incident can stop the business altogether. That is why the question “what does IT support cost?” is really about more than a monthly figure. It is about the cost of keeping people productive, protecting your data and knowing who will take ownership when something goes wrong.
This guide covers typical UK prices for 2026, the main pricing models, worked examples for different team sizes, and the questions to ask before you compare quotes.
Quick answer: IT support costs in the UK
- Managed IT support: typically £30 to £150 per user, per month, depending on how much is included.
- Pay-as-you-go IT support: typically £75 to £150 per hour.
- A 10-person business on fully managed support will usually pay somewhere between £500 and £1,500 a month plus VAT.
- My Tech Team: £110 + VAT per user, per month, including security, backups, a monthly on-site visit and unlimited remote support. See our pricing or work out your own cost with our calculator.
How much does IT support cost per user per month?
Published UK price guides for 2026 put managed IT support into three broad bands:
| Level of service | Typical price per user, per month | What it usually covers |
|---|---|---|
| Basic or reactive | £30 to £50 | Help desk when something breaks, with little proactive work |
| Proactive | £50 to £85 | Help desk plus monitoring, patching and basic security |
| Comprehensive | £85 to £150 | Fully managed IT including advanced security, backups, on-site support and IT planning |
Businesses with more complex systems, stricter compliance needs or 24/7 cover can pay more. London providers also tend to charge more than the national average.
The band matters more than the headline number. A £40 package and a £110 package are rarely the same service: the cheaper one often leaves out security tools, backups, on-site visits or planning, which you then pay for separately or go without.
What does IT support cost per month? Worked examples
At our price of £110 + VAT per user, per month, this is what a typical team would pay:
| Team size | Per month (ex VAT) | Per month (inc VAT) | Per year (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 users | £550 | £660 | £6,600 |
| 10 users | £1,100 | £1,320 | £13,200 |
| 20 users | £2,200 | £2,640 | £26,400 |
| 50 users | £5,500 | £6,600 | £66,000 |
A “user” here is someone who works at a computer every day. Many organisations also have staff who don’t: drivers, care workers, warehouse teams, technicians or volunteers. They still need email, apps and help when something goes wrong, but they don’t need a full user licence. That’s why we price those staff during a free IT audit rather than charging the full rate, which often brings the real cost per person well below the headline figure.
To see your own figures, including how they compare with what IT costs you today, try our IT support cost calculator.
IT support pricing models explained
Per user pricing
The most common model in the UK. You pay a fixed monthly fee for each person, covering their laptop, phone, applications and accounts. It’s easy to budget for and grows or shrinks with your team.
Per device pricing
Some providers charge for each computer, server, printer and mobile device instead. This can suit a business with shared workstations or more devices than people, but it is harder to predict and can make adding a new phone or laptop feel like a cost decision.
Pay-as-you-go and block hours
Pay-as-you-go support is normally charged by the hour or half-day, typically £75 to £150 an hour depending on the issue and whether an emergency visit is needed. Some providers sell blocks of prepaid hours at a lower rate.
This can suit a very small business with simple technology. The downside is that costs are unpredictable, and nobody is maintaining, monitoring or improving your systems between call-outs. You are paying to fix faults rather than to prevent them. It also puts you and your provider on opposite sides: the more things break, the more they earn.
Fully managed IT support
A fixed monthly fee for an agreed scope of service, usually including a help desk, remote support, monitoring, patching, security, supplier management and regular advice. The value isn’t simply having someone to call. It’s having a team responsible for spotting warning signs, keeping devices updated, checking backups and fixing small issues before they become a day of lost work.
Co-managed IT support
If you already have an in-house IT person or team, co-managed support can be a cost-effective middle ground. Your internal team keeps control of day-to-day priorities, while an external provider adds specialist skills, security tools, holiday cover and extra capacity for projects or major incidents. Pricing varies because the service is tailored.
What affects the cost of IT support?
Two businesses with the same number of staff can have very different needs. A 20-person office using cloud applications and standard laptops is not the same as a 20-person garage relying on specialist diagnostic equipment, or a charity working across several sites with sensitive data.
The biggest influences on cost are usually:
- Number of users and devices. More people, laptops, mobiles, printers and sites create more support demand and more systems to manage.
- Multiple sites. Each site has its own internet connection, network and equipment, and may need on-site visits.
- Your technology setup. Older servers, inconsistent devices, poor Wi-Fi or unsupported software increase the work needed to keep things stable.
- Cyber security requirements. Two-step sign-in (multi-factor authentication), email filtering, advanced threat protection on every computer, round-the-clock security monitoring and staff training all add protection, and affect the monthly fee.
- Backup and disaster recovery. A basic backup is not the same as a monitored, tested recovery plan that gets you working again after a serious failure.
- Support hours and response times. Business-hours support costs less than 24/7 cover, priority response or guaranteed on-site attendance.
- What’s included. Cloud management, phone systems, websites, supplier management and IT planning may be included or charged separately.
It’s also worth looking at the condition of your existing IT. A new provider may find overdue upgrades, unsupported operating systems, weak passwords or backups that have never been tested. Fixing those can create an initial project cost, but ignoring them simply moves the expense into the future, usually at a less convenient time.
What does our £110 per user include?
We publish our price because we think you should know it before you call us. For £110 + VAT per user, per month, you get:
- Unlimited remote support for day-to-day issues
- A monthly on-site visit
- Device monitoring and patching
- Advanced virus and threat protection on every computer, with security monitoring around the clock
- Backups for computers and Microsoft 365, with recovery support
- Microsoft 365 administration, email signature management, and SharePoint and OneDrive support
- Device management, including mobile device management where needed
- Supplier management, so you have one number to call
- IT planning, a technology roadmap, reporting and quarterly reviews
There’s no set-up fee, no pay-as-you-go, and no lock-in for your first year. Microsoft 365 licences and new hardware are separate. Full details are on our IT support pricing page.
What should be included in a good IT support contract?
A support agreement should be clear enough that you know what happens when someone can’t log in at 9am, your internet connection fails or you suspect a phishing email has been opened. Be wary of vague promises of “unlimited support” without a written explanation of what is and isn’t covered.
At a minimum, most businesses should expect remote help desk support, monitoring of managed devices, routine updates and patching, documented systems, and a route for escalating urgent problems. You should also know the service hours, expected response times and whether on-site visits are included, chargeable or emergency-only.
Security needs careful attention. A provider may manage the technical basics, but that doesn’t automatically mean your business is properly protected. Ask whether the fee covers email filtering, multi-factor authentication, endpoint security, backup monitoring, staff awareness and support after a suspected incident. Each layer addresses a different risk.
Backups deserve the same scrutiny. Ask what is backed up, where it is stored, how long copies are kept and how often recovery is tested. A backup that can’t be restored when you need it isn’t business continuity.
The hidden cost of cheap IT support
Low-cost IT support isn’t always poor, and a high monthly fee isn’t automatically good value. The question is whether the service matches the risk your business carries.
The real cost of IT is rarely just the invoice. It also includes:
- Staff time spent sorting IT. Many small businesses have an “accidental IT person” who spends hours each month fixing problems, setting up accounts and chasing suppliers instead of doing their real job.
- Time lost to problems. Ten issues a month, each costing someone an hour and a half, adds up to two full working days.
- Downtime. If 10 people can’t work for a day, that’s 75 hours of wages before you count lost sales or recovery costs.
A provider that only responds when people report a problem may look cheaper than one that monitors and maintains your systems, until you add those costs in. Our calculator lets you put your own figures in and see the full picture.
Fragmented suppliers create hidden costs too. If one company provides your broadband, another your phones, a third manages Microsoft 365 and nobody owns the overall picture, you spend valuable time chasing answers. A single accountable IT partner won’t stop every problem, but it makes fixing them much simpler.
How to compare IT support quotes fairly
Don’t start with the monthly number. Start with the scope. Check whether each quote covers the same users, devices, sites, hours and security services. One proposal may look cheaper because it leaves out security tools, backup checks, onboarding, on-site work or project time.
Ask how the provider handles work outside the agreement. New starters, office moves, hardware replacements, cloud migrations and major upgrades are often separate projects. That’s normal, as long as the charging method is clear from the start.
Ask about the contract, too. Long minimum terms with no way out are a warning sign; a provider confident in its service shouldn’t need to lock you in.
Finally, ask how success will be measured. Good signs include regular service reviews, a documented technology roadmap, reports on recurring issues and practical recommendations that fit your budget.
IT support costs in London and across Sussex
Location affects price mainly through on-site work: travel time, parking and congestion all add cost, which is one reason London rates tend to be higher. For Sussex businesses, a local provider means on-site help is quicker when a problem is physical, though most issues are fixed remotely within minutes.
We support businesses across Sussex from our offices in Burgess Hill, Hailsham and East Grinstead, and we’re in London regularly, at the same £110 per user.
Frequently asked questions
How much does IT support cost per user in the UK?
Typically £30 to £150 per user, per month in 2026. Basic, reactive support sits at the lower end; fully managed support with security, backups and on-site visits sits at the upper end. We charge £110 + VAT per user, per month.
How much does IT support cost for a business with 20 employees?
On fully managed support, usually £1,000 to £3,000 a month plus VAT. At our rate, 20 users would be £2,200 + VAT a month. If some of those staff don’t work at a computer, the cost is usually lower, which we work out during a free IT audit.
How much does IT support cost per hour?
Pay-as-you-go IT support in the UK typically costs £75 to £150 an hour, with emergency call-outs often costing more.
Is managed IT support worth it for a small business?
If your business relies on computers, email and data to operate, usually yes. Fixed monthly pricing gives you predictable costs, proactive maintenance that prevents problems, and security that pay-as-you-go support rarely includes. Add up the staff time your team spends on IT and the cost of downtime, and managed support often costs less overall.
How do I estimate IT support costs for a company with multiple sites?
Start with the number of people who use a computer at each site, then add any servers, network equipment and site-specific systems. Multiple sites usually add cost through extra network management and on-site visits. The most accurate way is an IT audit, which looks at every site and gives you a single, clear quote.
Getting a price that reflects your real needs
The most reliable way to budget is to start with an IT audit. This should cover your people, devices, software, connectivity, data, security, backups and the problems that are costing you time today. A good provider will explain the findings in plain English, including what needs urgent action and what can be planned over time.
Our free IT audit takes around half a day. We give you a simple red, amber and green report and a clear monthly quote, with no obligation. Book your free IT audit, or use our calculator to get a first estimate now.
Before accepting the lowest quote, ask one final question: if our systems fail on a busy day, who is responsible for getting us working again? The answer is often worth more than the monthly price.
