What should a managed services contract cost a company of 50?
IT operations are priced individually and nobody knows what their neighbour pays. That makes it one of the categories with the widest spread.
Why nobody knows what their neighbour pays
IT operations are priced individually. There's no price list, no comparison site and no industry standard for what a managed services contract should cost. Every quote is bespoke, which sounds good but in practice means you have nothing to compare against.
That makes it one of the hardest categories to assess on your own — and therefore one of the ones with the widest spread. We see companies of the same size with similar needs paying several hundred kronor per user apart.
The four pricing models
Almost all contracts are built on one of them. Knowing which one you have is the first step, because they can't be compared directly.
| Model | How it works | Suits you when |
|---|---|---|
| Per user | Fixed price per employee per month | Headcount is stable |
| Per device | Price per computer, server and network device | Few devices per person |
| Fixed monthly fee | Everything included for one sum | You want budget certainty |
| Hour bank | You buy a number of hours in advance | Small and sporadic need |
The model determines what happens as you grow. Per user scales linearly; a fixed fee doesn't until the contract is renegotiated.
What drives the price
Four things explain most of the difference between two quotes:
- Response time and availability. A guaranteed response within an hour costs considerably more than within the next working day. Many pay for a level they've never needed.
- What counts as included. Are projects, office moves and new installations included, or billed separately? This is where the surprise invoices sit.
- Number of devices per user. A person with a laptop, phone and tablet costs more than one with just a laptop, in some models.
- Whether licences are included. Many managed services contracts include Microsoft licences with a margin on top. It's convenient but rarely the cheapest.
Ask your supplier to split the invoice into operations, licences and additional work. If they can't do it easily, you're probably paying a margin you can't see — and the contract can't be compared with anyone else's either.
What you can do yourself
- Work out what you pay per user per month in total. It's the only figure that can be compared between suppliers.
- Go through how many tickets you actually had over the past year, and against which response time.
- Find out whether licences sit inside the operations contract and what the margin is.
- Check the notice period. IT operations often has three to six months, which determines how early you need to start.
Last reviewed 3 August 2026. The figures are based on negotiated contracts and quotes gathered for Swedish companies with 20–100 employees. They are typical ranges, not guarantees — your cost depends on volume, contract length and the requirements you set. We update them when we see the market has moved.
Are you paying the right price?
Estimate your potential in thirty seconds, or get in touch and we'll look at your actual contracts. If we find nothing, it costs nothing.