Business IT support in Australia usually costs between $90 and $300 per person a month, ex GST, for a managed service. Published guides put most businesses that include security in the $140 to $180 range. At Austin Technology our plans run from $20 to $160 a person a month, and every price is on our website, so you can work out your own number in about two minutes with the pricing calculator.
Want your own number first? See your price in two minutes, with no email or phone number needed, or call a technical consultant on 1300 787 429.
What does IT support cost per person a month?
Most managed IT providers in Australia charge per person or per device each month. That fee covers the help desk, monitoring, patching and a set amount of support, and it is the easiest way to compare quotes.
Published guides give a useful range. One Australian guide puts Perth at $90 to $220 per user a month (Matrix Solutions, 2025). Another, from May 2026, puts small and medium businesses at $100 to $300, with most landing between $140 and $180 once security and support are included (Tech Seek, 2026).
The spread is wide because “IT support” means very different things. At the low end you get monitoring and some remote help. At the top end you get an outsourced IT department with unlimited support, a named engineer, a roadmap and round the clock cover for critical problems.
What you get at each price point
These are our published prices, per person per month, ex GST. Plans start from 10 people, or 20 on Partner, and you can move between them as you grow.
| Plan | Price a person a month | Best for | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Monitoring | $20 | Businesses with their own IT person | 24/7 monitoring, patching on Essential Eight timeframes and 1 hour of remote support per 10 people a month |
| Austin Essentials | $45 | Small offices that want a service desk with set hours | Everything in Monitoring, plus device, Microsoft 365 and everyday app support with 1 hour per 5 people a month |
| Austin Managed | $95 | Businesses that want IT fully looked after | Everything in Essentials, plus unlimited remote support, a service delivery manager and an annual roadmap |
| Austin Partner | $160 | Businesses that want an IT department without hiring one | Everything in Managed, plus 7am to 7pm weekday cover, 24/7 critical cover, scheduled onsite time and a primary engineer |
The full list of inclusions, plan by plan, is on our IT support page.
What does cyber security add to the cost?
Security is usually priced separately, and it is where quotes differ most. Some providers fold it into one figure. Others list it as an extra line, which makes it easier to see what you are paying for.
We price it on its own. Every managed device runs our 24/7 endpoint protection, at $6 a device, as the minimum on any plan. On top of that, SecureShield adds security in three levels, priced per person per month, ex GST:
- Core, $25 a person: the recommended minimum. A 24/7 security operations centre, detection and response on every device and Microsoft 365 account, security awareness training and vulnerability scanning.
- Control, $60 a person: for businesses with an insurer, client or tender asking for evidence. Adds email filtering, a Microsoft 365 baseline, application control, logging, a password manager and policies, maintained at Essential Eight Maturity Level One.
- Command, $100 a person: for businesses with a board, a compliance obligation or a certification target. Adds a virtual CISO, maintained at Essential Eight Maturity Level Two.
A 25 person business on Austin Managed with SecureShield Core would pay $95 plus $25, so $120 a person a month, or $3,000 a month in total, ex GST. Microsoft 365 licences sit on the same invoice at the published price.
Three worked examples
Our pricing calculator shows three typical businesses, all ex GST:
- Small office: 15 people on one site, Essentials with Core security, from $1,130 a month.
- Growing business: 40 people across two sites, fully managed with Control security, from $6,500 a month.
- Established organisation: 120 people across three sites with two servers, Partner with Control security, from $27,490 a month.
Put in your own head count, sites and servers and the price updates as you go.
What changes the price?
Six things move a quote more than anything else.
- How much you want handled. Monitoring only costs far less than a service desk with unlimited support.
- Security level. Insurers and clients increasingly ask for evidence of controls such as the Essential Eight. More controls means more tools and more work.
- Servers and sites. We charge $150 a month for each managed server and $95 for each additional site, because each one needs its own monitoring, patching and support.
- Support hours. Business hours cover is standard. Extended hours add 15% on Managed and are included on Partner.
- Onsite time. Remote support fixes most problems. Scheduled onsite visits start from $750 a month on Managed and are included on Partner.
- Backups. Microsoft 365 backup is $5 a user, and an immutable offsite copy is $30 a TB a month.
What is usually not in the monthly price?
Ask any provider what sits outside the fee. Common extras are:
- Hardware and software licences, including Microsoft 365
- Projects such as migrations, new offices or a server replacement
- Onboarding or setup fees
- After hours call out rates
- Exit fees, or charges to hand over your passwords and documentation
We publish our add ons and quote projects as a fixed price. New managed clients pay no onboarding fee, and if we have not earned your trust in the first 90 days you can walk away with nothing owing on the rest of your agreement. Admin accounts, passwords and documentation are handed over at no charge. The terms are on our Proven in 90 page.
Is managed IT cheaper than hiring an IT person?
For most businesses under about 100 people, yes. One in house IT person brings a salary, super, leave, training and tools. When they are sick or on holiday you have no cover, and no single person can be expert in support, networks, cloud and security at once.
A managed service gives you a team with all of those skills, available every business day. If you already have an IT person, Austin Monitoring gives them monitoring, patching and backup from our team without replacing them.
How do you compare IT support quotes?
Line the quotes up on the same terms before you compare the totals.
- Convert every quote to a price per person per month, ex GST.
- Check how much support is included: a set number of hours, or unlimited.
- Check whether security is included, and at what level.
- Ask for the response targets in writing, and what happens if they are missed.
- Ask what you pay to leave and how long the contract runs.
- Ask how long a switch takes. Ours takes about four weeks for a business of 10 to 50 people.
Regency Partners, an accounting firm, used its switch to move off an ageing office server. The server was switched off 18 days after the first PC moved to the cloud. Read the Regency Partners story.
Frequently asked questions
How much does IT support cost for a small business?
On our plans, a business of 10 to 30 people with a service desk pays $45 a person a month on Austin Essentials or $95 on Austin Managed, ex GST, plus security and licences. Published Australian guides put most managed services between $90 and $300 a person a month.
Are your prices ex GST?
Yes. Every price on our website, and in this article, is per person or per device per month, excluding GST.
Do you charge an onboarding fee?
No. New managed clients pay no onboarding or setup fee. You pay your monthly plan from day one.
Is there a minimum number of users?
Our plans start from 10 people, or 20 on Austin Partner. Smaller businesses can use prepaid support hour packs instead.
Can we change plans later?
Yes. You can move between plans as the business grows or your needs change.
Get your price
The quickest way to see what IT support would cost your business is the pricing calculator. It takes four questions and shows the monthly price on screen. If you would rather talk it through, call 1300 787 429 or send us a message. A technical consultant replies within two business hours. If you are moving from another provider, our guide to switching IT provider shows how the handover works, and our managed IT services page covers what fully managed IT includes.
