Pricing for managed IT is intentionally hard to find online. Most IT companies won't publish a number — and there's a reason for that, though it's not the reason they'll tell you.
The reason they'll tell you: "every business is different, so pricing varies." That's true.
The reason they won't tell you: most IT companies aren't confident their pricing will win on a comparison. Publishing rates invites scrutiny.
This post gives you the honest framework for understanding managed IT pricing, so you can evaluate any quote you receive — including IDN's — with your eyes open.
How managed IT is priced
The most common pricing model for managed IT is per device, per month. You pay a monthly rate for each device on your network that your IT company manages. The rate varies by device type and by service tier.
Device types are priced differently because they have different support complexity. Servers carry the highest per-unit rate — they're mission-critical, they require more monitoring, and when they fail, everything downstream fails with them. Workstations and laptops are the most common device type and typically drive the largest portion of your monthly bill — not because the per-unit rate is high, but because most businesses have more of them than anything else. Network equipment (firewalls, switches, wireless access points) is typically priced at a flat per-device add-on.
Your total monthly cost is the sum across all your devices, at the tier you choose.
What affects the price
Number and type of devices. This is the primary driver. A business with 10 workstations pays significantly less than one with 40. Add servers and the bill increases substantially — server management is more intensive and the risk of a server failure is higher.
Plan tier. Most managed IT providers offer tiers — Basic, Standard, Premium, or equivalent names. Basic typically covers monitoring and patching. Standard adds cybersecurity layers — email gateway, endpoint protection, web filtering. Premium adds backup, training, simulated phishing, and strategic planning. The tier you need depends on your risk tolerance and compliance requirements.
On-site vs. remote-only support. A plan that includes on-site visits when needed costs more than remote-only support. For businesses where hands-on work is frequent — manufacturing environments, multi-location setups, businesses without IT-savvy staff — on-site capability matters.
Coverage hours. 24/7 monitoring and support costs more than business-hours coverage. For businesses where systems need to be available around the clock — or where a Monday morning startup could be the first time someone notices Friday night's problem — 24/7 coverage is worth the premium.
Add-on services. Physical security monitoring (cameras and access control), VoIP phone support, and web management can be bundled or added separately. Some IT companies offer these. Most don't.
The real comparison: managed IT vs. break-fix
This is the calculation most businesses never run — but should.
Break-fix IT costs you nothing per month. You call when something breaks, pay by the hour, and move on. The appeal is obvious: no monthly commitment.
The hidden cost is what you don't see on the invoice.
A typical break-fix rate in SE Wisconsin runs $125–$250/hour for an IT technician. Many providers charge a 2-hour minimum. Emergency calls — nights, weekends, critical failures — are often billed at double the standard rate. Parts and hardware replacement are separate.
Now add the cost of downtime. When your server fails and you're waiting for a break-fix technician to become available, your business doesn't stop running costs — it stops generating revenue while costs continue. For a business with 20 employees, every hour of downtime that stops work is 20 hours of paid labor producing nothing.
Here's a realistic annual comparison for a business with 25 workstations:
A business with 25 workstations running on break-fix might experience one major outage per quarter — a server crash, a networking failure, a ransomware event that requires remediation. At $150/hour with a 2-hour minimum, plus downtime costs and lost productivity, that's a realistic $8,000–$15,000 per year in unplanned IT spending. That doesn't count routine support calls for workstation issues, password resets, software problems, and email issues.
A managed IT plan for the same 25-workstation setup provides monitoring, patching, endpoint protection, email gateway, helpdesk support, and backup — for a predictable monthly rate, with significantly fewer emergencies because problems are caught before they become outages.
The break-fix illusion is that you're saving money by not paying monthly. The reality is that you're paying more — in emergencies, in downtime, in the compounding cost of a system nobody is actively maintaining.
Technology is an investment, not a cost. The businesses that treat IT as a reactive expense pay more, lose more, and recover slower.
What you get for the price at IDN
IDN's managed IT plans include 18 services across monitoring, security, backup, and strategic planning. When you sign with IDN, you get:
18 services included
24/7 monitoring
Every server and workstation, every hour. Events trigger tickets automatically. You don't discover problems at 9am Monday.
10-minute response SLA
Guaranteed. No other IT company in SE Wisconsin publishes this number, because most can't back it up.
Monthly patch management
OS updates and security patches deployed on schedule — not whenever someone gets around to it.
Endpoint protection
Real-time malware, ransomware, and spyware defense on every managed device.
Email gateway defense
Advanced Threat Protection, anti-phishing, anti-malware, and email encryption. Not a spam filter — a security layer.
Web security filtering
Blocks known malicious sites before employees can reach them.
Cybersecurity training
Annual online training for all employees with updated content.
Simulated phishing
Monthly tests that identify vulnerable employees and deliver immediate training.
Daily server backup
Encrypted, with onsite and cloud storage. Monitored daily. 500 GB compressed storage per server included.
Loaner equipment
A loaner workstation or server during hardware failures, so your team doesn't stop working while a device is repaired.
Quarterly technology reviews
Strategic planning meetings covering infrastructure lifecycle, security posture, and upcoming needs.
Dedicated team
The same people every time — they already know your network, your staff, and your setup.
This is what managing IT actually means. Not a monitoring dashboard nobody looks at. Not a helpdesk you wait on hold for. A team actively working to keep your business running.
IDN has served 1,000+ clients across SE Wisconsin since 2004. Veteran-owned. MBE certified. Racine-based. Not a franchise, not a 29-state corporation. Your neighbors.
How to get IDN's price for your specific setup
IDN doesn't publish a rate card for one reason: your price depends on your device count, your device types, your location, and the tier that matches your needs. A 10-workstation business pays a very different monthly rate than a 50-workstation business with three servers.
The free IT assessment includes a cost comparison built specifically for your setup. IDN will show you what your current IT is actually costing you — including the hidden costs of downtime, emergency calls, and unmanaged risk. What a managed IT plan for your specific device count and needs would cost. And the delta. In most cases, businesses are surprised by how close the numbers are — or by how much they're already spending without knowing it.
No vague estimates. No "call for a quote." A real number, for your real setup, in writing.
- Clients served
- 1,000+
- Response SLA
- 10 min
- Services included
- 18
- Years in SE Wisconsin
- 20+
Get a real number for your specific setup.
The assessment is 60 minutes. You'll walk out with a Technology Risk Report, a Prioritized Action List, and a cost comparison built for your device count. Value: $1,500+. Cost: $0.