The first question in every first conversation is how much it costs. The honest answer is that it depends, and not because we are dodging. The same monthly amount can buy two completely different services. So instead of throwing out a random number, we explain how the price is built and how to tell whether the quote you received makes sense.
What you're actually buying with managed IT services
When a business asks how much IT costs, the answer depends on what goes into the package. A managed service is not just a technician who shows up when something breaks. It's monitoring of workstations and servers, security updates, user and subscription management, backups that are actually tested, and one point of contact responsible for all of it.
- Employee support. Phone, WhatsApp and remote control of the workstation, with no queue and no forgotten ticket.
- Proactive monitoring. A disk filling up, a failed backup or a server running hot gets caught before your staff ever notices.
- Information security. Protecting workstations and servers, managing permissions and verifying that the safeguards actually work.
- Vendor management. With the internet provider, the point of sale, the time clock or your business system vendor, one person picks up the phone for you.
Without this list, comparing prices is hard. Two quotes at the same amount can be two entirely different services, and you feel the difference on the day the server goes down.
It is also worth asking what is not included, because that is where the surprises hide. Setting up a new office, migrating to the cloud, replacing a firewall, or rolling out a new system are projects, not ongoing support. A reputable provider will say so up front, price them separately, and never send a surprise bill at the end of the month. We write that boundary into the agreement in a single line.
Three pricing models, and which fits whom
In Israel you'll see three models: per user, a fixed monthly retainer, or pay per call. There is no right model, only the one that fits your size and the risk you're willing to carry yourself.
| Pricing model | Typical range in ₪ | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Per user, monthly | 120 to 300 per employee | Businesses with 10 to 100 employees and cloud infrastructure |
| Fixed monthly retainer | 2,500 to 12,000 per month | Offices with an on-premises server or regulatory requirements |
| Per call or a bank of hours | 250 to 450 per hour of work | Up to 5 employees, no server, no SLA |
These are typical market ranges before VAT, not a quote. The real number depends on what you actually have, and comes only after we look at the infrastructure.
The practical difference between per user and a retainer is where the risk sits. Per user, you pay for volume, and as employees join the price rises with them. With a retainer, you pay for peace of mind, and the provider is the one who benefits from fewer problems. For businesses with an on-premises server we almost always recommend a retainer.
What moves the price up or down
Four things make most of the difference between a cheap quote and an expensive one. Know them before you compare numbers.
- Number of employees. More workstations, more passwords, more phones. The price per employee actually drops as the business grows.
- Servers and on-premises infrastructure. A network cabinet, virtualization and local backup need maintenance that a pure cloud setup does not.
- Regulatory and client requirements. A security standard, a large client's questionnaire or an audit all require documentation and controls, and that takes work hours.
- Availability. Business hours service costs less than 24/7 availability with a critical outage handled within 30 minutes.
Ask yourselves what an hour of downtime is worth to you. If the office grinds to a halt and every employee sits idle, full availability pays for itself in a single incident.
In-house IT employee vs. an external provider
Many managers compare a retainer to an IT employee's salary and get it wrong. Salary is not the cost. Add benefits, vacation, sick days, tools, training, and above all what happens when that person is not there.
One IT person is a single point of failure. When they are on vacation, on reserve duty or moving to a new job, the knowledge leaves with them. A provider works as a team, with documentation and a backup.
That does not mean an outside provider is always better. Above 70 or 80 employees, the model that works is usually one in-house IT manager focused on the business, plus a provider that brings the team, on-call coverage and tools. That is how we work with our larger clients.
There is another difference that is hard to put a number on. A provider serving dozens of offices is seeing the same problem for the fiftieth time, so it gets solved in 20 minutes instead of a day. An in-house employee, on the other hand, knows your people and your processes inside out. The question is not who is better, but which of the two you are missing right now.
How to read a quote, and what to demand in writing
A good quote also explains what is not included. These are the items you should insist on seeing in writing, with numbers.
- Response times. How many minutes until a service call is answered, and how long until a critical outage is handled. With us it is 10 minutes and 30 minutes.
- What the price covers. how many service calls, whether an onsite visit is included, and what counts as a project billed separately.
- Ownership of passwords and documentation. The accounts, the domain and the documentation belong to you. Insist on full access from day one.
- Exit terms. A notice period, and a commitment to hand over information and documents to your next provider without a fight.
- Who actually works on your account. Is it a dedicated team that knows your network, or whoever happened to be free that morning.
A provider who refuses to put response times in the contract has already told you what their response time is.
Pay attention to what is missing from the quote, too. A quote that is one line called technical support with a number next to it tells you nothing. Ask for a breakdown of what gets done each month, and who reports it to you. with managed service You should get a regular report you can read without being a technician.
The forgotten costs: licensing, backup and equipment replacement
Three costs fall through the cracks in almost every business we walk into. None of them shows up in the quote, and all of them arrive eventually.
Licensing and subscriptions. Microsoft 365, antivirus, cloud backup and AI tools add up quietly. We almost always find seats still being paid for employees who left long ago. in the IT management dashboard that we build for every client, you see subscriptions, seats and actual utilization, and that is where you save money without hurting anyone.
Backup and recovery. Backup is not a line item, it is insurance. Cut it to save 200 shekels a month and you pay for it at the first outage, usually many times over. This is the one item we insist on most.
Hardware refresh cycle. A business laptop lasts 3 to 5 years. Skip budgeting for replacements each year and you eventually hit the year when half the office needs replacing at once. We supply Laptops at importer prices, which helps spread the expense over time.
What we do before we give you a number
We do not price by gut feeling. Before you get a quote, we hold a 30-minute call and go over what you have. How many employees, which servers, what gets backed up, which subscriptions you pay for and what went down in the past 6 months.
By the end of the call you know two things you did not know that morning: what you are really missing, and what it costs. Even if you choose another provider, you walk away with a better list of questions. No commitment, and no hour-long sales pitch.
After that, you receive a single document with the price, what is included, and what requires a separate budget. If something does not work for you, we talk about it on the call, not after signing. We have been operating from Tel Aviv since 2008, and you can simply call 050-8271299.
FAQ
How much do managed IT services cost for a company with 20 employees?
In the Israeli market the typical range is ₪120 to ₪300 per employee per month before VAT, and for a business of this size a fixed monthly retainer is also a good option. The gap between the two ends comes down to availability, servers and security requirements. After a short call and a look at your infrastructure, we can give you a real number.
Retainer or pay per call: which is better?
Pay per call suits a small business with no server and no special availability needs. The moment a 2-hour outage starts to hurt financially, a retainer works out cheaper, because it motivates the provider to prevent problems instead of racking up hours. Your budget becomes predictable too.
What should you insist on having in the contract?
Response times in actual numbers, what's included and what's billed separately, your full ownership of passwords and documentation, and clear exit terms. A professional provider is happy to put all of this in writing. Our times are signed into the contract: response within 10 minutes, and a critical outage handled within 30 minutes.
What does an in-house IT person really cost?
Count the fully loaded cost, not gross salary, and add tools, training and time off. Beyond that, one employee can't cover 24/7 or hold every area of expertise the business needs. In most cases the cost-effective model is a provider, or an in-house IT manager combined with an external team.
Which costs usually get forgotten?
Subscriptions still running for employees who left, backup and recovery cut to save money, and equipment replacement that never makes the annual budget. All three come back later as one big bill. The dashboard we build shows subscriptions and seat usage precisely so this doesn't happen.
Related to: Managed IT services for businesses · IT management dashboard · What professional IT services include · Book a free IT assessment