How much does IT support actually cost?
Real prices, what's included, and what moves the number.
Minimum £250 a month · 12-month contract, paid monthly · All prices plus VAT
So, how much does it cost?
From £45 per user and £125 per server a month, minimum £250, plus VAT, and every extra is listed below. Alex explains why it's based on users and servers, why the first year is 12 months, and what to check when you compare quotes.
Monthly IT support
From £45 per user and £125 per server, per month, with a minimum of £250 a month. Contracts run for a year, paid monthly.
Included
- Helpdesk your team can ring, Mon–Fri 9–5
- Monitoring
- Updates and patching
- Security settings and checks
- Setting up and removing users
- Backups checked
Not included
- Software licences (e.g. Microsoft 365)
- Antivirus licences (we use ESET, usually a yearly licence)
- Hardware
- Projects
Every computer we look after needs proper antivirus. If you don't have it, we'll supply ESET, our main partner, normally on a yearly licence. We manage it as part of your monthly support.
Work outside your plan
| Per hour | Half day | Full day | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remote, monthly clients | £50 | £200 | £400 |
| Remote, not on a plan | £60 | £240 | £480 |
| On site, monthly clients | £65 | £250 | £480 |
| On site, not on a plan | £90 | £350 | £600 |
Evenings and weekends: from £60 an hour remote and £85 on site for monthly clients, or £70 and £110 if you're not on a plan.
Two-hour minimum. Larger projects get a fixed quote up front. All prices plus VAT.
Business phones
Every plan includes UK landline and mobile calls. 12-month contracts. Per user, per month, plus VAT.
BT VoIP
Microsoft Teams calling
- Xeli AI assistant£400 to set up, then £20 a month
- WhatsApp in Xelion£450 to install · waived for 10+ users
- CRM integration (BT VoIP)£4 per user / month
Installation is charged at our day rate and quoted in full before we start. Most of it is done remotely.
Send us a recent phone bill and we'll show you what you'd pay →How it adds up
Three typical businesses. All per month, plus VAT.
| IT support | Phones | Monthly total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 people, Microsoft 365, no server, Teams calling | £270 | £138 | £408 |
| 15 people, 1 server, Xelion | £800 | £390 | £1,190 |
| 25 people, 2 servers, Xelion with Xeli | £1,375 | £670 | £2,045 |
One-off costs: installation, quoted in advance, and £400 to set up Xeli. WhatsApp included on the larger Xelion examples.
Comparing quotes
Seven things that explain why two prices for the same office are miles apart.
- Cover hoursWeekday 9–5 support costs less than round-the-clock cover. An international business may genuinely need 24/7, but a local business working 9 to 5 shouldn't be paying for hours it's closed. We work Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. If you really do need 24/7, we're probably not the right fit.
- How quickly they respondA contractual one-hour response costs more than "we'll get to it today". Ask what the provider actually commits to, not what they hope to manage.
- On site or remote onlyIf you have a server, networking kit, printers or the odd cabling job, you need someone who'll actually turn up, not just take remote tickets. Ask how far they travel and whether visits are included.
- What's bundled inBackup, antivirus and monitoring tools are sometimes in the price and sometimes extras, so a cheap headline figure can balloon. Ours covers the helpdesk plus the remote-support and monitoring tools, and antivirus is quoted separately.
- Users, devices and serversMost providers price per user. Check whether that covers servers and shared devices, or whether server support is billed on top. Our fee includes both.
- Minimum chargesMany providers set a monthly minimum, so a very small office still covers the cost of being looked after properly. Ask what it is before you compare per-user figures.
- Contract length and exit termsA rolling agreement and a multi-year lock-in change the real cost of switching if it doesn't work out. Know the term and the notice period going in, not when you want to leave. Ours is a 12-month contract, paid monthly.
Choosing on more than price? Read the questions worth asking any IT company before you switch.
Want a figure for your business?
It starts with a 30-minute call about how your business works. Before we give you a firm price, an engineer usually comes on site for a few hours to see what's actually there. Most owners find kit, software or licences they didn't know they had.