IT support pricing models in the UK: per user vs per device vs hourly
Short answer: most UK IT support is sold per user per month, at a median of £49 (n=170). Per-device plans have a median of £25 per device a month (n=13), and pay-as-you-go support £80 an hour (n=11). Per user suits teams with several devices each; per device suits one computer per person; hourly suits businesses that rarely need help.
Published 31 Oct 2026. Provider prices fetched 21 and 26 Oct 2026.
n = number of published tiers or rates. IQR = interquartile range, the middle half of published prices. All prices are in GBP.
How is IT support priced in the UK?
Mostly per user per month. 210 of the 292 UK price points in our data use that unit, against 24 per device, 8 flat monthly fees and 14 hourly rates.
| Stated pricing unit (all UK price points, all service types) | Price points |
|---|---|
| Per user per month | 210 |
| Per device per month | 24 |
| Flat monthly fee | 8 |
| Hourly | 14 |
| Other units (per user per year, per endpoint, per server, size-banded flat fees and more) | 36 |
Counted from the “Pricing model” column exactly as each provider states it, across managed IT, security, Microsoft 365, cloud and break-fix. Fetched 21 and 26 Oct 2026. The medians below use the narrower sets shown in the next table, so their n is smaller.
| Model | UK median | n | IQR | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per user | £49 / user / month | 170 | £35–£65.50 | General managed IT, rate cards and G-Cloud |
| Per device | £25 / device / month | 13 | £15.75–£35 | General managed IT; thin sample, indicative |
| Hourly | £80 / hour | 11 | £60–£90 | Break-fix and pay-as-you-go rate cards; thin sample |
| Flat monthly fee | no median | 3 | £249–£750 | General managed IT; too few prices for a median |
How much does per-user IT support cost?
A median of £49 per user per month. Half of published tiers sit between £35 and £65.50.
We collected 170 published per-user tiers for general managed IT from 80 UK providers (rate cards and G-Cloud listings). A per-user fee usually covers everything that person uses, whatever the number of devices. The range runs from £5.99 to £155, mostly because of what is included. For budgets at 10, 25 and 50 users, see the IT support cost guide.
How much does per-device IT support cost?
A median of £25 per device per month for general managed IT, from a small sample of 13 tiers.
The 13 tiers come from 7 providers, with an interquartile range of £15.75–£35 and a range of £10–£85. A device is usually a computer or laptop; check whether phones, tablets and servers count. Foresight adds £125 a month per organisation to each of its three device prices. Security tools priced per device are a separate market: managed security per device has a median of £8 (n=11), so do not mix the two.
How much does hourly IT support cost?
A median of £80 an hour on published UK rate cards (n=11, range £45–£100).
Hourly, break-fix or pay-as-you-go support means you pay only when you ask for help. Some rates are for onsite visits and some for remote help. If we also count 3 rates quoted in aggregate price guides, the median is £85 (n=14); we use rate cards only for the headline. Some providers publish day rates instead: ATS charges £340 for a half day and £650 for a day.
What does a flat monthly fee cost?
There are too few published flat fees for a typical figure. The 3 general managed IT flat fees in our data run from £249 to £750 a month.
- Guard IQ: from £249 a month. The tier text says: “IT + Security + Compliance: CE support built in”.
- INNOSEC: from £500 a month for up to 5 users (about £100 per user if you have 5). The tier text says: “Managed IT incl. M365 Business Premium, 24/7 security, backup, network (~£100/user)”.
- Little Big Tech (via ITPros list): from £750 a month for up to 10 users (about £75 per user if you have 10). The tier text says: “Resilience-Fixed: flat up to 10 users, 24/7 SOC backed”.
Listed by price only: sponsors never get a higher ranking. “From” means the provider publishes a starting price.
Which pricing model suits my business?
Per user if your staff each use several devices, per device if most use one computer, a flat fee if you are a very small team that wants one fixed price, and hourly if you rarely need help.
| Model | Usually suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Per user | Teams where each person uses several devices (laptop, phone, tablet), and businesses that want a predictable bill that grows with headcount. | Minimum user numbers or minimum monthly fees; shared or unassigned devices may not be covered. |
| Per device | Businesses where most people use one computer, or with shared, shift or front-desk PCs. | Phones and tablets each add a charge; some providers add a fixed fee per organisation (one adds £125 a month). |
| Flat fee | Very small teams that want one fixed monthly price and expect their headcount to stay inside the provider’s size band. | The size cap (for example up to 5 or 10 users) and what happens when you grow. |
| Hourly | Businesses that rarely need help, want no contract, or need one-off fixes or projects on top of a plan. | No monitoring or patching between calls; call-out, mileage and minimum charges; costs are hard to predict. |
This is general guidance, not advice for your business. Many providers mix models, for example a per-user plan with hourly rates for projects.
Is per-user or per-device pricing cheaper?
At the medians they cost the same when each person uses about two devices. With fewer devices per person, per-device is likely to cost less; with more, per-user usually does.
When is hourly support cheaper than a monthly plan?
When you use very little support. At the medians, one user’s monthly fee buys about 37 minutes of hourly time.
Are there minimum users or contract terms?
Sometimes, but most published prices do not say. Only 22 of the 170 per-user tier descriptions mention a minimum or a contract term at all.
- Minimum users: 10 of 170 per-user tiers mention one (5, 10 or 20 users).
- Minimum monthly fee: 5 per-user tiers mention one; the amounts stated are £250 and £850 a month.
- Fixed term: 5 per-user tiers mention a 12-month term, a one-year minimum or annual billing; 5 of 13 per-device tiers mention a 3-month term or annual billing.
- No fixed term: 4 per-user tiers say monthly rolling, month-to-month or no contract.
- Per-organisation fee: 3 per-device tiers (one provider) add £125 a month per organisation on top of the device price.
- Hourly: 8 of 11 hourly rates are described as pay as you go, ad hoc, no contract or no retainer; 1 says “no minimum”. ACS Technology charges £50 for the first hour and £40 an hour after that, plus mileage; ATS publishes £340 for a half day and £650 for a day.
Counted from the free-text “Tier / included” column. Silence does not mean there is no minimum or no term, so treat these as minimum counts. Ask every provider for the minimum, the term and the notice period in writing.
How reliable are these figures?
The per-user median is based on a large sample. The per-device, hourly and flat-fee figures are small samples, so treat them as indicative.
- Thin samples. Per device n=13, hourly n=11, flat fee n=3 (no median). Per user is n=170.
- Different tiers. Each median comes from a different set of tiers, so comparing models at the medians is a rule of thumb, not a like-for-like test.
- Contract terms are mostly missing. Few published prices state a minimum, a term or a notice period, and we have no data on notice periods or exit fees.
- VAT. 49 of 170 per-user tiers, 6 of 13 per-device tiers and 3 of 11 hourly rates say the price is ex VAT. The rest do not say, and we have not assumed a basis.
- Published prices only. Only about 1 in 7 UK MSPs publish any price (13.5%, n=141), and many prices are “from” prices, so medians lean low.
- A snapshot. Prices were fetched on 21 and 26 Oct 2026 and may have changed. This guide is not a quote or advice. Read the full methodology and limitations.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common way UK IT support is priced?
Per user per month. Of 292 UK price points in our data, 210 are priced per user per month, 24 per device per month, 8 as a flat monthly fee and 14 by the hour, across all service types. Data fetched 21 and 26 Oct 2026.
How much does per-user IT support cost in the UK?
UK managed IT providers publish a median of £49 per user per month (n=170 published tiers from 80 providers, interquartile range £35–£65.50). Many are “from” prices, so the median leans low.
How much does per-device IT support cost?
The median published price is £25 per device per month for general managed IT (n=13 tiers from 7 providers, interquartile range £15.75–£35). That is a small sample, so treat it as indicative.
What is the typical hourly rate for IT support in the UK?
Published pay-as-you-go and break-fix rates have a median of £80 an hour (n=11 rate cards, interquartile range £60–£90, range £45–£100). The sample is small.
Is per-user or per-device pricing cheaper?
It depends on how many devices each person uses. At the medians, £49 per user costs the same as about two devices at £25 each. If most staff use one computer, per-device is likely to cost less; if each person has a laptop, a phone and a tablet, per-user usually does. The two medians come from different tiers, so this is a rule of thumb.
When is hourly IT support cheaper than a monthly plan?
When you need very little help. At the medians, one user’s monthly fee (£49) buys about 37 minutes of hourly time at £80 an hour, and a 10-user plan buys about 6.1 hours a month. Monthly plans usually also include monitoring, patching and security tools, so they are not like for like.
Do IT support contracts have a minimum number of users?
Some do. Of the 170 UK per-user tiers in our data, 10 mention a minimum number of users (5, 10 or 20) and 5 mention a minimum monthly fee (for example £250 a month). Most tier descriptions say nothing either way, so ask.
How long are IT support contracts in the UK?
Our data rarely says. Only 5 of the 170 per-user tiers mention a 12-month term, a one-year minimum or annual billing, and 4 say monthly rolling or no contract. 5 of the 13 per-device tiers mention a 3-month term or annual billing. Ask for the term and notice period in writing.
Do sponsors get a better place in this guide?
No. Sponsors never get a higher ranking. Examples are listed by price or by row order, and the medians use every qualifying published price.
Sources
All figures come from the PriceMarketplace UK MSP pricing dataset: 292 UK price points, each linked to the provider’s own page, fetched 21 and 26 Oct 2026. Medians use the midpoint of each published range. See the methodology.
Rows quoted by name in this guide:
- INNOSEC (row 382, flat/month (≤5 users)): Managed IT incl. M365 Business Premium, 24/7 security, backup, network (~£100/user). Fetched 21 Oct 2026.
- Foresight (row 400, per device/month): Co-managed IT (+£125/month per organisation). Fetched 21 Oct 2026.
- Foresight (row 401, per device/month): Essential: unlimited helpdesk 9–5, endpoint protection (+£125/org). Fetched 21 Oct 2026.
- Foresight (row 402, per device/month): Advanced IT & Cyber Security: + 24/7 automated response, phishing protection (+£125/org). Fetched 21 Oct 2026.
- ATS (row 416, hourly): Ad hoc work (£340 half day, £650 day). Fetched 21 Oct 2026.
- Guard IQ (row 454, flat/month): IT + Security + Compliance: CE support built in. Fetched 21 Oct 2026.
- Little Big Tech (via ITPros list) (row 455, flat/month (≤10 users)): Resilience-Fixed: flat up to 10 users, 24/7 SOC backed. Fetched 21 Oct 2026.
- ACS Technology (row 527, hourly): Business callout/onsite (non-affiliated): £50 first hour, £40/hour thereafter; mileage extra. Fetched 21 Oct 2026.
Check your own quote
Whatever the model, convert the quote to a monthly cost per user and compare it with £49.