IT Cost Calculator

The comparison models Managed IT with remote help desk, monitoring, patching, device support, staff setup and a named senior IT lead. Secure Essentials adds Microsoft 365 backup, email protection, multi-factor sign-in, password vaults and credential management. Secure Professional adds device threat detection and response, training with phishing tests, web and DNS filtering, identity protection and log retention. Secure Enterprise adds threat hunting, admin rights only when needed, vulnerability scanning and advanced DNS security. The plan table shows the reference rates used in the model. Your written quote confirms the services and current price for your business.

Microsoft 365 licenses, hardware and larger projects are separate. The licence and hourly figures in this comparison are reference assumptions; a written quote confirms applicable costs. Help desk Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern, excluding holidays Onward observes; after-hours and emergency work available at extra charge.

Pay defaults use U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wages for Cape Coral-Fort Myers, May 2025. IT support specialists averaged $59,380 yearly, or $28.55 hourly. Network and systems administrators averaged $90,210 yearly, or $43.37 hourly. Other staff roles use the same local data. Benefits and payroll taxes start at 42.9% of pay, based on BLS private-industry employer costs for June 2026: benefits were 30.0% of total costs. Training starts at $1,091 per IT employee yearly, from Training magazine's 2025 small-company average. Outside help starts at Onward's $295 hourly rate for work outside a plan. You can change these defaults.

No. This comparison uses your inputs and reference rates from the July 2026 service catalog. The rates are examples for comparison. Your written quote confirms applicable prices and contract terms. A positive difference means your setup costs more in this model; a negative difference means it costs less. The difference does not account for differences in services or predict future costs. A written quote following a free assessment confirms your services, price and contract terms.

The chart holds your setup's yearly cost fixed as office headcount grows. Dividing that cost among more office users lowers the cost per user. The model's assumed Onward rate stays flat. The crossing point is where your setup becomes cheaper per office user in this model. That assumes your setup can support the larger team without extra costs. If you would need more staff, tools or outside help, update your inputs. The chart compares costs; it does not show whether both options include the same services.

NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, lists eight cybersecurity basics for small businesses: multi-factor sign-in, strong passwords, backing up and testing data, changing default passwords, updated antivirus, software patching, learning about phishing and ransomware, and staff training. This tool counts whether a plan includes a service for each basic. Managed IT includes a service for 2 of 8, Secure Essentials 6, Secure Professional 8 and Secure Enterprise 8. Reviewing and updating device passwords is a one-time onboarding step; it does not include remediation unless the quote says so. A matching service does not mean every part of a basic is covered. For example, backup testing is not listed. Source: NIST Cybersecurity Basics for small businesses, updated August 2026.