In this guide
The pricing models
| Model | How it is charged | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Per user per month | A fixed fee for each member of staff, covering their devices and support. The most common model for managed support. | What "user" includes: how many devices, shared mailboxes, part-timers. |
| Per device per month | A fee per laptop, desktop, server and sometimes phone. | Businesses with many devices per person pay more; businesses with shared PCs pay less. |
| Block hours | Pre-paid hours used as needed. | It is break-fix with a discount; nobody is paid to prevent problems. |
| Break-fix | Hourly or per job, when something breaks. | Cheap in a quiet month, expensive in a bad one, and the incentive is backwards. |
| Fixed monthly with strategy | Managed support plus a virtual IT director. | Suits businesses where technology decisions carry real money. |
Reactive support (block hours, break-fix) and ongoing management are different products. One charges you when things go wrong; the other is paid to stop them going wrong. Comparing their prices directly is the most common budgeting mistake we see.
What drives the number
- What is bundled. Microsoft 365 licences, backup, email security, endpoint protection, monitoring tooling. A quote that includes them will look expensive next to one that does not, and be cheaper in total.
- Hours and response. Business hours, extended hours, or 24/7 monitoring and out-of-hours response. See the 24/7 SOC guide.
- On-site. Included, capped or chargeable.
- Complexity. Servers, multiple sites, specialist applications, compliance requirements (CQC, Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001), regulated data.
- Security depth. A managed antivirus, or managed detection and response with a SOC.
- Your own state. Old devices, unsupported software and an untidy tenant cost more to support; some providers price that in, some fix it first.
- Number of users. Per-user prices usually step down with volume.
What should be included, and the common exclusions
Should be in a managed support fee: helpdesk with phone access, proactive monitoring and patching, security baseline (MFA, endpoint protection, email protection), device and account lifecycle (joiners, leavers, new laptops), vendor management, reporting, a named contact.
Commonly excluded, sometimes reasonably: hardware and its installation, projects (migrations, office moves, new systems), out-of-hours emergency work, on-site beyond a cap, third-party software licences, Cyber Essentials assessment fees, backup storage above a limit.
Excluded unreasonably: "security" as a whole, anything that happens after 5:30pm, restoring from backup, onboarding a new starter.
Ask for the exclusions list in writing. A provider without one has not thought about it, or would rather you found out later.
Not sure which of these applies to your business? Ask an engineer.
Book a Discovery CallHow Black Sheep Support prices its service
We price per user per month, with security included as the baseline rather than an add-on, and we quote after a discovery call so the number reflects your business rather than a rate card. The quote itemises everything: support, security tooling, monitoring, backup, and Microsoft licences shown at Microsoft's price alongside ours. No lock-in contracts. [TO CONFIRM: whether to publish a starting per-user price, what it includes, and volume bands.]
What that buys is described in our outsourced IT support guide; how to compare it with other quotes is in how to choose an IT support company.
Want a second opinion before you buy licences?
We will look at your tenant, tell you who would actually benefit, and what needs fixing first. An engineer, not a salesperson.
Judging value rather than price
The cheapest support is the support you never need because nothing breaks. The expensive support is the cheap contract that leaves you paying for a ransomware recovery, a week of downtime, or a fraud that a £16.90 licence and a configured policy would have stopped.
The questions that separate value from price: what is done proactively, what is monitored and when, what is included when something goes wrong, and who owns your systems if you leave. A provider who answers those clearly is usually worth the difference.
Frequently asked questions
How much does IT support cost per user per month in the UK?
It depends on what is included: helpdesk hours, monitoring, security tooling, backup and licences all move the figure, which is why quotes vary so much. Compare itemised quotes, not headline numbers. We quote after a discovery call. [TO CONFIRM: whether to state a starting figure.]
Is per-user or per-device pricing better?
Per-user suits businesses where each person has one or two devices; per-device suits shared or device-heavy environments. What matters more is what each includes.
Why is one quote three times another?
Usually because one bundles licences, security and monitoring and the other does not, or because one is business-hours reactive support and the other is 24/7 managed service. Put both into the same itemised table.
Is break-fix cheaper?
In a quiet month, yes. Over a year, for a business that depends on its systems, usually no, and the downtime it tolerates is the hidden cost.
Do you include Microsoft 365 licences?
We can supply them or work with licences you already hold. Either way the quote shows Microsoft's price alongside ours so you can see what you are paying for.
Get a tailored support proposal
Tell us about your business on a discovery call and we will send an itemised proposal: what is included, what is not, and what it costs, with Microsoft licences shown at Microsoft's price.
- A price that reflects your business, not a rate card.
- Every inclusion and exclusion in writing.
- Licences itemised transparently.
- No lock-in.
What has changed on this page
- 10 September 2026Page published. Our pricing approach marked for confirmation.
