IT Support Cost Calculator
Estimate your monthly managed IT costs in under 60 seconds. Enter your team size, devices, and industry to get instant AUD pricing across three service tiers.
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Staff who use a computer or device (1-200)
Laptops, desktops, servers, and tablets (1-500)
How IT Support Pricing Works in Australia
If you run a small business in Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, or the Surf Coast, understanding IT support costs is essential for budgeting and planning. The Australian managed IT market has matured significantly over the past decade, and pricing models have become more transparent - but there are still important differences between providers that can affect your bottom line.
Per-user managed IT pricing
The most common pricing model for managed IT services in Australia is per-user or per-device billing. Under this model, you pay a fixed monthly fee for each employee or device that your IT provider manages. This fee covers day-to-day support, monitoring, patching, security tools, and administration. The typical range for managed IT in Australia is $100 to $250 per unit per month, with the exact price depending on the scope of services, your industry, and the provider you choose.
At Better Networks, our managed IT plans start from $160 per unit per month for our Essential plan and scale up to $220 per unit for Premium, which includes advanced cybersecurity, compliance alignment, and strategic IT planning. The billable unit count is based on whichever is higher - your number of employees or your number of devices.
Break-fix vs. managed IT
The alternative to managed IT is break-fix support, where you call a technician only when something breaks. Hourly rates for break-fix work in the Geelong area typically range from $150 to $250 per hour. While this may seem like the cheaper option, break-fix support is reactive rather than proactive. Without ongoing monitoring, small problems often escalate into major outages that cost far more in downtime and emergency repair fees than a managed plan would.
For businesses with more than five employees, managed IT almost always delivers better value. You get predictable monthly costs, faster response times, proactive maintenance that prevents problems, and access to a full team of specialists rather than a single technician.
What affects your IT support costs?
Several factors influence how much you will pay for managed IT services:
- Team size and device count - More users and devices means more to manage. Most providers offer volume discounts for larger teams.
- Industry and compliance needs - Healthcare, legal, and financial services businesses face stricter data protection requirements, which typically means higher service costs to maintain compliance.
- Complexity of your environment - Businesses running on-premises servers, custom applications, or hybrid cloud setups generally require more hands-on management than those running purely cloud-based stacks.
- Level of support - Basic plans cover remote helpdesk and monitoring. Higher-tier plans add onsite visits, after-hours support, advanced cybersecurity tools, and strategic IT consulting.
- Current state of your IT - If your systems are outdated or poorly configured, there may be initial project costs to bring everything up to a manageable standard before ongoing support begins.
What is included in a typical managed IT plan?
A well-structured managed IT plan should include, at minimum: remote helpdesk support, device monitoring and automated patching, antivirus and endpoint protection, basic Microsoft 365 administration, and regular reporting on the health of your IT environment. More comprehensive plans add network monitoring, backup management, onsite support visits, advanced cybersecurity tools (such as EDR and SIEM), compliance documentation, and strategic planning sessions with a virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO).
The goal of managed IT is to give your business the same level of IT capability that large enterprises enjoy, without the overhead of a full in-house IT department. For most small businesses in Geelong and surrounds, this means better uptime, stronger security, and more predictable costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does IT support cost for a small business in Australia?
Managed IT support in Australia typically costs between $100 and $250 per user per month, depending on the level of service, industry compliance requirements, and the size of your business. For a team of 10-20 people, you can expect to pay roughly $1,600 to $4,400 per month for a fully managed service.
What is the difference between per-user and per-device pricing?
Per-user pricing charges a flat rate for each employee, regardless of how many devices they use. Per-device pricing charges for each individual laptop, desktop, server, or tablet. Most managed service providers bill based on whichever number is higher - users or devices - to ensure full coverage of your environment.
Is managed IT cheaper than hiring an in-house IT person?
In most cases, yes. A full-time IT employee in Australia typically costs $80,000 to $120,000 per year in salary alone, plus superannuation, leave, training, and tools. A managed IT service for a 20-person business might cost $38,000 to $53,000 per year, and you get an entire team of specialists rather than a single generalist.
What is included in managed IT support?
A typical managed IT plan includes helpdesk support, device monitoring and patching, antivirus and endpoint protection, backup management, Microsoft 365 administration, and regular reporting. Higher-tier plans add onsite visits, cybersecurity tools like EDR and SIEM, compliance alignment, and strategic IT planning (vCIO services).
Why do healthcare and legal businesses pay more for IT support?
Healthcare and legal businesses handle sensitive personal data and are subject to strict regulatory requirements such as the Privacy Act, Australian Privacy Principles, and industry-specific standards. IT providers need to implement additional safeguards - encrypted communications, audit trails, data retention policies, and compliance documentation - which increases the cost of service delivery.
How does break-fix IT compare to managed IT services?
Break-fix IT means you call a technician only when something goes wrong, and you pay hourly rates - typically $150 to $250 per hour in Australia. Managed IT is a proactive, flat-rate service that monitors and maintains your systems continuously to prevent problems. While break-fix may seem cheaper upfront, unexpected bills and longer downtime often make it more expensive over time.
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