Managed Services
How much do managed IT services cost in Canada?
Managed IT is priced per user, per device, or as a flat tier — and the same company can get quotes that differ several times over. Here are the pricing models, what actually drives the price, and our own published numbers for comparison.
The three common pricing models
Most Canadian managed service providers price in one of three ways. Per user: a monthly fee for each employee, covering their devices and accounts — simple to budget and the most common model for office-based businesses. Per device: a fee for each computer, server and network device — useful when many people share equipment. Tiered or flat: a fixed monthly fee for an environment up to a certain size, with a defined service level. Each can be fair; what matters is that you can predict next year's bill from this year's headcount.
What drives the price up or down
The biggest factors are coverage hours (business hours versus 24/7), response and resolution commitments, how much security is included (endpoint protection, monitoring, a security operations centre), the number of locations and cloud environments, compliance requirements such as PHIPA, PCI DSS or SOC 2 evidence, and whether on-site visits are included. Two quotes for "managed IT" can describe very different services, so compare them line by line: hours, response targets, security tooling, backup testing and what is billed as extra.
One-time costs to expect
Expect an onboarding or assessment fee in the first month, because the provider has to document your environment, install monitoring and fix the most urgent risks before it can commit to service levels. Projects — a cloud migration, a new office network, a compliance program — are normally quoted separately at a fixed price or day rate. Ask for those rates up front so the monthly fee is not your only point of comparison.
Our published pricing, as a reference point
We publish our prices so buyers have a real number to compare against. As of October 2026, Aethon Core managed plans start at $299 per month for a very small business with up to 25 machines and email support, with higher tiers adding faster response, more locations and a named engineer. Hourly help is $75 per hour; fixed-price work such as an Infrastructure Health Check is $1,900, and ongoing management services start at $449 per month. The full breakdown, including what each tier covers, is on our pricing page.
How to compare quotes fairly
Build a one-page comparison: monthly fee, what is included, coverage hours, response and resolution targets per priority, security services included, backup and recovery testing, on-site visits, out-of-scope rates, contract length and exit terms. The cheapest quote often excludes the items that cost the most when something goes wrong. The most expensive one may include 24/7 coverage you do not need. Price the service you actually require.
Frequently asked questions
- Is per-user or per-device pricing better?
- Per-user pricing suits businesses where each employee has their own laptop, phone and cloud accounts. Per-device pricing suits environments with shared machines, kiosks or many servers. Ask the provider to quote both for your environment and compare the totals.
- Does managed IT include cybersecurity?
- Usually some of it — patching, antivirus or endpoint protection and backups are common. Round-the-clock security monitoring and incident response (a SOC or MDR service) is often a separate line item. Check the quote.
- Are there setup fees for managed IT?
- Most providers charge for onboarding: documenting your systems, installing monitoring and fixing urgent risks. It may be a separate fee or spread over the first months of the contract.
Related reading
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