When John R. Salvatore at Salvatore & Morton, LLC switched to managed IT services with ForeverOn Technology Solutions, the cost wasn’t what surprised him. It was the predictability. “It makes our budget easier to manage because we know how much we need to spend each month,” he said.
That shift — from unpredictable IT expenses to a known monthly line item — is the single most common reason business owners make the switch. But the first question is always the same: what does it actually cost?
What to Expect: Managed IT Pricing in 2025
Most managed service providers price their services per user, per month. That per-user fee covers everything — monitoring, help desk, cybersecurity, backups, cloud management, and strategic planning — bundled into one payment.
For businesses in ForeverOn’s sweet spot of 5 to 25 workstations, comprehensive managed IT services typically run $150 to $250 per user per month. For most small businesses, that translates to $750 to $3,750 per month.
| Business Size | Monthly Per-User Range | Estimated Monthly Total |
| 5 employees | $150 – $250/user | $750 – $1,250 |
| 10 employees | $150 – $250/user | $1,500 – $2,500 |
| 15 employees | $150 – $250/user | $2,250 – $3,750 |
| 25 employees | $150 – $250/user | $3,750 – $6,250 |
Where your business lands in that range depends on several factors:
- Number of users and devices — more endpoints means more to manage and secure
- Cybersecurity requirements — businesses handling sensitive data (financial, medical, legal) require stronger protection
- Cloud-based vs. on-premises infrastructure — hybrid environments add complexity
- Backup retention and recovery time expectations — how fast you need to be back online after an incident
- Response time SLAs — guaranteed one-hour emergency response costs more than next-business-day
- Secure remote access needs — supporting remote or hybrid employees requires additional security layers
Businesses handling sensitive client data or working under tight deadlines often require higher service levels — and land toward the upper end of the range.
The Real Comparison: Managed IT vs. the Alternatives
Pricing only makes sense in context. Here’s how managed IT services stack up against the two most common alternatives:
| Managed IT Services | In-House IT Hire | Break-Fix (Hourly) | |
| Annual cost (15-person company) | $27,000 – $45,000 | $185,000+ (manager + tech) | Unpredictable — $150–$250/hr per incident |
| Coverage | 24/7 monitoring, full team of specialists | Limited to one person’s expertise and schedule | Only when something breaks |
| Cybersecurity | Layered: firewall, endpoint detection, email security, training, MFA | Depends entirely on one person’s skills | Not included |
| Scalability | Add or remove users as needed | Requires new hires as you grow | Doesn’t scale |
| Budget predictability | Fixed monthly fee | Salary + benefits + tools + training + turnover | Completely unpredictable |
| Strategic planning | Included — technology roadmaps, lifecycle planning, budget forecasting | If your IT person has time | Not included |
A basic two-person in-house IT team — one manager and one technician — runs roughly $185,000 per year in salary alone, before benefits, training, tools, and turnover costs. Managed services covering a 15-person company cost a fraction of that and provide access to an entire team of specialists rather than a single generalist.
Break-fix looks cheaper on paper until you need it. At $150 to $250 per hour, a single server crash or ransomware incident can cost thousands in emergency labor — and that doesn’t count the revenue lost while your systems are down.
The Costs You Don’t See Until It’s Too Late
The monthly fee on a managed IT contract is the easy number. The harder number is what you’re paying when you don’t have proactive management.
Downtime. 40% of small businesses that experience a cyberattack face at least eight hours of downtime. The average breach costs a small business $140,000. For context, preventive cybersecurity measures cost roughly $12,000 per year — an 11-to-1 return on investment.
Premature hardware replacement. When Salvatore & Morton was told their server needed immediate replacement, ForeverOn’s proactive maintenance extended its life by more than three years. “We have been able to use it longer than we ever thought we could because of ForeverOn’s diligent service,” Salvatore said. That’s thousands in capital expense deferred — money that stayed in the firm’s operating budget.
The hourly creep of break-fix. Every break-fix call is billed by the hour, and problems compound. An outdated firewall leads to a malware infection, which leads to a data recovery project, which leads to a compliance review. Under managed services, most of those problems never happen because someone is watching your systems around the clock.
What “Affordable” Actually Looks Like
Cost isn’t just about the invoice. It’s about whether your provider is recommending what you need or what makes them the most money.
Gregory Sowers described his experience onboarding with ForeverOn: “They always presented multiple options that are available to best service our team without trying to ‘upsell’ options that do not make sense for our business.” Scott Alan Morrison at Morrison & McGrew, P.A. said the same: “They always look for the best IT solutions for the firm at the best price available.”
When Elks Lodge #378 in Hagerstown needed a complete network overhaul, Chris Potter said ForeverOn “understood our requirements and offered the best technical approach while minimizing costs.” They set up the entire infrastructure — computers, backup, security, modem, router, switches, and wireless access points — without overselling.
James Marshall called ForeverOn’s pricing “very reasonable for the services they offer.” Penny Ambrose at Healthmed Realty Partners said simply: “The price we pay is very fair for the service received.”
Fair pricing isn’t about being the cheapest option. It’s about matching the right level of service to your business — and being honest about the difference.
Find Out What It Would Cost for Your Business
Every business is different. The number of users, the complexity of your network, your industry’s compliance requirements, and your current IT state all factor into what managed services should cost.
ForeverOn Technology Solutions has been helping businesses in Hagerstown, Frederick, and the surrounding Maryland region right-size their IT since 2002. If you want to know what managed IT would actually cost for your business — without the upsell — let’s talk.
Schedule a Free Consultation or call us at (301) 739-7311.