By: Ben Z. | Posted: June 10, 2026 | 5 min read
How much should you pay for IT support? The honest answer is the same as when you ask a doctor what the right amount of exercise is, or a mechanic how much a car will cost to maintain “it depends”. Which is annoying, but just as true for IT services. Businesses come in all different sizes, with different systems, processes, needs, and people. So the real question isn’t how much does IT support cost, it’s what does the right IT support cost for my business?
The key is to assess your needs with a realistic mindset: IT systems are not perfect and will break, people are not perfect and will break things, being tech-savvy does not automatically mean knowing everything about every IT system, and core systems being broken stops work.
With that in mind, ask yourself:
Break-fix - also referred to as “Time and Materials” or “T&M”; no contract; all work is billed hourly and initiated by you or your employees contacting the IT provider. Hourly rates in Calgary range $120 – $200 per hour, with extra fees or higher rates for site visits or after-hours support.
Managed IT Services - a support contract with a set monthly per-user fee. Standard contracts are around $130 – $200 per user per month and include IT support helpdesk during standard business hours, 24/7 monitoring, patching, and security software. Add-ons for additional fees often include 24/7 after-hours on-call support, advanced security stacks (staff security awareness and phishing training, SIEM, and SOC services), and vCIO services.
Co-managed IT Services - a support contract with a set monthly per-user fee, meant for businesses that already have internal IT staff and are looking to expand support. In Calgary, these contracts usually cost $80 – $130 per user per month and provide similar services as a managed IT services contract, except without tier 1 of the IT support helpdesk.
Full in-house IT Services - no support contract with an external IT vendor. You take on the responsibility of staffing your own IT department. Most businesses require a minimum of 2 senior analysts, then an additional technician for every 100 employees above 200. For an IT department to provide full support, they need enough staff to cover an on-call rotation, sick/vacation days, all support requests from employees within a timely manner, daily checks and maintenance, meetings, projects, and new product research and testing – all within standard working hours. The average salary range for a senior systems analyst in Calgary is around $90k – $110k.
There is no single amount that can be applied to all businesses. Each business is going to have its own unique needs.
That said, there are two “rules” for IT support budgeting that can be almost universally applied:
For most small and medium businesses, starting at a standard managed IT services contract is usually the best option. Then adding tiers or packages based on additional needs such as 24-hour on-call support or vCIO services.
For larger businesses that already have their own IT staff, starting at a co-managed IT services contract is likely a good option – it allows you to keep your internal staff along with all their institutional knowledge, which is especially valuable if you ever need to switch providers.
Full in-house IT services come with a significant cost increase if you’re hiring appropriately qualified staff in large enough numbers for all your business needs, with coverage for on-call and sick/vacation days. The most important thing to keep in mind when you’re paying for a managed services contract is that your contract doesn’t include just one person – it’s a whole team.
The best approach for any business is to reach out to your local managed service provider(s) for a consultation after identifying what your IT support needs are and will be in the near future. The more you’re able to share about your business, the more the MSP will be able to work out a package that works for you.