Short answer: Fully managed IT in Australia typically costs A$100–A$250 per user per month, excluding GST, in 2026. Most small and mid-sized businesses land between A$120 and A$220, so a 20-person business usually pays A$2,400–A$4,400 a month. Microsoft 365 licences, hardware, one-off projects and after-hours work are usually billed on top.
Typical monthly cost by business size
| Staff covered | At ~A$120 / user | At ~A$180 / user | At ~A$250 / user |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 people | $1,200 | $1,800 | $2,500 |
| 20 people | $2,400 | $3,600 | $5,000 |
| 50 people | $6,000 | $9,000 | $12,500 |
| 100 people | $12,000 | $18,000 | $25,000 |
Figures are monthly service fees in AUD ex GST, before licences and hardware. A 25-person Sydney business with a full security baseline and Microsoft 365 administration commonly pays around A$3,500–A$6,000 a month all-in.
Published price points from Australian providers
Most providers don't publish prices, but some do, and they're a useful reality check:
- Telstra Business Managed Services lists managed IT tiers at A$90.91, A$136.36 and A$181.82 per user per month ex GST (rate card current as of February 2026).
- Stanfield IT advertises bundled plans at A$119, A$179 and A$264 per person per month, plus a co-managed option at A$85.
- Nexcentric charges A$115 per user per month with a five-user minimum.
What's usually included, and what isn't
| Usually included | Usually extra |
|---|---|
| Helpdesk support during business hours | Microsoft 365 licences (passed through near cost) |
| Monitoring and patching of devices and servers | Laptops, servers and network hardware |
| Endpoint security and email protection | Projects: migrations, office moves, network rebuilds |
| Backup monitoring | After-hours support (often 1.5–2× standard rates) |
| Regular technology reviews | Onboarding and documentation fees |
Per user, per device or co-managed?
- Per user is now the most common model. One price covers everything a person uses, which is predictable and easy to budget.
- Per device suits sites with shared devices or many servers. Rates vary widely by device type, from workstations to firewalls.
- Co-managed suits businesses with internal IT staff who want monitoring, patching, after-hours cover and senior escalation without outsourcing everything. It usually costs less per user.
Seven questions to ask before you sign
- Is the price per user or per device, and what is the monthly minimum?
- Are Microsoft 365 licences and security tools included or billed separately?
- What are the response times for critical, high and normal priority issues?
- Is after-hours support included, and at what rate if not?
- How does onboarding work, and is there a one-off fee?
- What is the minimum contract term, and what happens at exit? Who keeps documentation and admin credentials?
- Which security baseline is included: MFA, endpoint detection, backup, Essential Eight alignment?
Is managed IT cheaper than break-fix?
Often, yes, once you count downtime. Australian providers report that SMBs relying on reactive break-fix support commonly spend A$2,000–A$6,000 a month with no proactive monitoring or security. A managed plan at a similar price includes patching, monitoring and a security baseline that insurers increasingly ask for.
How Kodeclust prices managed IT
We start with a short discovery of your users, devices, cloud services and security requirements, then quote a fixed monthly fee with licences, hardware and projects itemised separately so you can compare like for like. See our managed IT services for SLAs and what's covered.
Get a managed IT quote you can compare
Tell us your headcount, devices and current setup, and we'll send an itemised monthly price.