CORE Baseline — Pricing

Managed IT pricing,
explained honestly.

No published rate card gives you an accurate number — too much depends on user count, device mix, and compliance scope. Here’s how the pricing models actually work, and what drives cost up or down.

Why We Don’t Publish a Flat Rate

Managed IT Pricing Is a Function of Scope, Not Headcount Alone

Two 75-person companies can have wildly different managed IT costs depending on their device mix, compliance obligations, cloud footprint, and how much legacy infrastructure needs to be carried alongside modern systems. That’s true across the market, not just at Armorstack — which is why credible providers scope before quoting rather than publishing a single number that doesn’t hold up once a sales conversation gets specific.

What we can tell you honestly is how the market structures pricing, what typically drives cost, and how Armorstack applies CORE Baseline’s SLA on top of whichever structure fits your environment.

Pricing Models

How Managed IT Is Typically Priced

Industry pricing research (2025–2026) shows most managed IT contracts fall into one of three structures.

Per-User Pricing

The most common structure — roughly 80% of MSP/MIP contracts, by industry estimates. Entry-level tiers commonly run $100–$175 per user/month for small businesses, with mid-market and larger organizations often in the $150–$300+ range depending on scope, since more depth (EDR, 24/7 SOC, compliance management) adds cost per seat.

Per-Device Pricing

Common where device count matters more than headcount — manufacturing floors, multi-device users. Industry figures put this around $75–$150/month per device on average, though a workstation, server, and firewall are rarely priced the same within that range.

Per-Location / Flat-Fee

Used for multi-site organizations where a predictable monthly number matters more than granular per-seat tracking — common in retail, healthcare clinics, and manufacturing with distributed facilities.

What Moves the Number

Cost Drivers Worth Understanding Before You Get a Quote

01

Compliance Scope

Frameworks like HIPAA, CMMC, or PCI-DSS layer additional monitoring, documentation, and audit-support requirements on top of baseline IT — industry estimates put compliance add-ons in the $15–$60 per user/month range depending on framework.

02

Coverage Hours

Business-hours-only support costs meaningfully less than 24/7 NOC coverage with a contractually enforced response clock like CORE Baseline’s.

03

Legacy System Carry

Environments running end-of-life hardware, unsupported OS versions, or on-prem VMware nearing Broadcom’s licensing changes (see our VMware migration guide) typically cost more to support until modernized.

04

Security Depth

Basic remote monitoring and helpdesk sits at the low end of the range; adding endpoint detection and response, SIEM, and a 24/7 SOC pushes per-seat cost toward the top of the market range.

General Market Ranges by Organization Size

Directional figures from 2025–2026 managed IT services market research — not an Armorstack quote. Your actual number depends on scope.

FactorPer-User (Monthly)Typical Driver
Small business (10–50 users)$100–$175/userBaseline monitoring + helpdesk
Mid-market (50–250 users)$150–$250/userAdds security depth, compliance
Larger org (250+ users)$150–$300+/user24/7 SOC, multi-framework compliance

Frequently Asked Questions

Why won’t you just publish a price list?
Because a flat number would be misleading — two organizations with the same headcount can have very different costs depending on device mix, compliance scope, and legacy systems. We scope before quoting so the number you get is accurate.
Is per-user or per-device better for us?
It depends on your environment. Organizations where most staff use one device do well on per-user; environments with shared workstations, kiosks, or heavy server/firewall counts often do better on per-device. We’ll model both during a CORE assessment.
Are there hidden fees?
Armorstack structures pricing per-user, per-device, or per-location depending on your business model — one invoice, no surprise line items.
How do compliance requirements affect cost?
Frameworks like HIPAA and CMMC add monitoring, documentation, and audit-support work on top of baseline IT. We’ll scope that separately so you can see exactly what compliance adds versus core IT operations.

Get a Number That Actually Holds Up

A CORE assessment scopes your environment first, so the quote you get reflects your actual infrastructure — not a generic rate card.

Get a Scoped Quote →

Armorstack operates infrastructure for regulated industries: healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and defense contractors. One contract. 24/7.