The True Cost of Ownership
What a typical subscription stack costs a small business, what per-seat managed IT adds on top of it, and what the ownership path we recommend costs instead, at three company sizes.
A Lower Monthly Bill After Setup. A Gap That Widens Every Year.
On the figures below, the monthly cost of running the stack we recommend comes in lower than the subscription stack it replaces. When that turns into a saving overall depends on how it is built. On a private server we run for you there is nothing to buy, so savings can start soon after setup. Hardware in your own building is a real purchase that earns itself back over a longer time. Either way, your fee stays flat while subscription prices keep rising on the vendor's schedule. We also run managed IT for businesses that keep their current subscriptions; this page sets out the costs of the ownership path, because it is the one we recommend.
A Lower Monthly Cost After Setup
On the published figures here, the monthly fee after setup comes in below the subscription stack it replaces. Your exact figure comes out of your free assessment, because it depends on your environment, your headcount and the support your team needs.
A One-Time Setup Cost
The size of the setup cost depends on whether hardware is part of the build. On a private server we run for you there is nothing to buy, and moving several paid services onto one or two machines means savings can start soon after setup. Hardware in your own building is a real purchase, roughly five to eight months of your current subscription spend. Either way you pay it once, for infrastructure you own.
The Gap Grows Over Time
Subscription prices rise every year on somebody else's schedule. Your fee moves only when what we manage for you does, in steps you can see coming. On a private server, the gap opens soon after setup. With on-site hardware, the purchase has to earn itself back over a longer time before you are ahead overall. The calculator linked at the end of this page runs both paths on your own numbers.
Nobody gets to zero subscriptions. Some tools are worth renting. Some are written into a contract you cannot leave tomorrow. A few have no open alternative good enough to run a business on. What we do is cut the list down to the ones that earn their place: replace what has a solid open alternative, build a custom replacement where the numbers justify it, and leave the rest alone. The aim is a subscription bill you chose on purpose.
Not Per Seat, Not by the Hour.
Many managed IT providers bill per user, commonly somewhere between $100 and $150 per user per month, with emergency and project work often billed on top. We run managed IT too, and we bill it differently.
Monitoring and patching are automated and every environment we run is documented, so routine work takes less of our time and the fee reflects that. We do not price per user, because a bill that rises with every hire works against a growing business. What we do charge for is the work of running a larger environment, so the fee moves in bands rather than per head: one band covers roughly one to five people, then it steps at ten and by tens after that. Those bands are a starting point. Thirty people sharing a handful of machines is not thirty people's worth of work, and we price what we manage.
Your fee is based on how complex your environment is and how much of our time it takes. The same model applies whether you move to software you own or keep your current subscriptions and have us run them.
Subscriptions Alone, Per-Seat Managed IT, or the Ownership Path
Most businesses weigh two options: keep paying for software subscriptions, or hire a managed IT provider on top of them. Here are both next to the path we recommend, where most of the stack moves onto software you own. If you would rather keep your subscriptions, we run managed IT for that too, at a flat fee in bands rather than per seat.
Our monthly fee is based on how complex your environment is and the support your team needs. It steps up in bands as you grow rather than per head, and the bands bend where extra people do not mean extra work for us. The under $1,000/month figure shown here reflects a standard 10-user deployment with typical use cases. The one-time setup is typically five to eight months of your current monthly subscription spend where hardware is part of the build, and much less on a private server with nothing to buy. Your exact figures come out of your free assessment.
Our monthly fee is based on how complex your environment is and the support your team needs. It steps up in bands as you grow rather than per head, and the bands bend where extra people do not mean extra work for us. The under $1,800/month figure shown here reflects a standard 25-user deployment with typical use cases. The one-time setup is typically five to eight months of your current monthly subscription spend where hardware is part of the build, and much less on a private server with nothing to buy. Your exact figures come out of your free assessment.
Our monthly fee is based on how complex your environment is and the support your team needs. It steps up in bands as you grow rather than per head, and the bands bend where extra people do not mean extra work for us. The under $4,500/month figure shown here reflects a standard 100-user deployment with typical use cases. The one-time setup is typically five to eight months of your current monthly subscription spend where hardware is part of the build, and much less on a private server with nothing to buy. Your exact figures come out of your free assessment.
Subscription Costs Grow Every Year
Subscription prices do not stay flat. At 8.7 percent a year, a bill that looks manageable today is noticeably larger after a few renewals. The bars below show the five-year total for each option.
Subscription 5-year totals assume an 8.7% yearly increase on published 2025 vendor pricing. Per-seat MSP 5-year totals use an industry midpoint of $125/user/month plus the subscription stack, with the same 8.7% increase on the subscription portion. Viridian Guard 5-year totals use the ceiling monthly figures shown above, held flat for five years at a steady headcount, and do not include the one-time setup. On a private server that setup is small; with on-site hardware it is a real purchase that takes longer to earn back. Your own figures come out of your free assessment.
The Subscription Stack, Added Up
Per-seat subscriptions arrive on separate invoices, so few businesses ever see the total in one place. The table below is a modest example stack. Real totals are often higher once tools bought by individual teams are counted.
| Tool / Category | Per User / Mo | 10 Users / Mo | 25 Users / Mo | 100 Users / Mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Productivity Suite M365 Business Standard | $14.50 | $145 | $363 | $1,450 |
| Team Messaging Slack Pro/Business+ | $8.75-$18 | $88 | $219 | $1,800 |
| Video Conferencing Zoom Business | $18.33 | $183 | $458 | $1,833 |
| CRM HubSpot / Salesforce | varies | $90 | $250 | $2,500 |
| Endpoint Security Defender / CrowdStrike | $6-$8 | $60 | $150 | $800 |
| Cloud File Storage Dropbox / SharePoint | $15-$20 | $200 | $500 | $1,500 |
| Password Manager 1Password | $4-$7.99 | $40 | $100 | $799 |
| Cloud Backup Acronis / Backblaze | est. | $75 | $150 | $500 |
| Helpdesk / ITSM Freshdesk / Jira | $15-$22/agent | $60 | $45 | $110 |
| IT Support / Break-fix hourly avg. | est. | $300 | $750 | $2,500 |
| Monthly Total | $1,241 | $2,985 | $13,792 |
Find Out What You Spend Today and What You Could Save
In a free 30-minute assessment we go through your current systems and every subscription. You then get a written plan with the monthly fee, set against what you pay today.
The True Cost of Ownership
What a typical subscription stack costs a small business, what per-seat managed IT adds on top of it, and what the ownership path we recommend costs instead, at three company sizes.
A Lower Monthly Bill After Setup. A Gap That Widens Every Year.
On the figures below, the monthly cost of running the stack we recommend comes in lower than the subscription stack it replaces. When that turns into a saving overall depends on how it is built. On a private server we run for you there is nothing to buy, so savings can start soon after setup. Hardware in your own building is a real purchase that earns itself back over a longer time. Either way, your fee stays flat while subscription prices keep rising on the vendor's schedule. We also run managed IT for businesses that keep their current subscriptions; this page sets out the costs of the ownership path, because it is the one we recommend.
A Lower Monthly Cost After Setup
On the published figures here, the monthly fee after setup comes in below the subscription stack it replaces. Your exact figure comes out of your free assessment, because it depends on your environment, your headcount and the support your team needs.
A One-Time Setup Cost
The size of the setup cost depends on whether hardware is part of the build. On a private server we run for you there is nothing to buy, and moving several paid services onto one or two machines means savings can start soon after setup. Hardware in your own building is a real purchase, roughly five to eight months of your current subscription spend. Either way you pay it once, for infrastructure you own.
The Gap Grows Over Time
Subscription prices rise every year on somebody else's schedule. Your fee moves only when what we manage for you does, in steps you can see coming. On a private server, the gap opens soon after setup. With on-site hardware, the purchase has to earn itself back over a longer time before you are ahead overall. The calculator linked at the end of this page runs both paths on your own numbers.
Nobody gets to zero subscriptions. Some tools are worth renting. Some are written into a contract you cannot leave tomorrow. A few have no open alternative good enough to run a business on. What we do is cut the list down to the ones that earn their place: replace what has a solid open alternative, build a custom replacement where the numbers justify it, and leave the rest alone. The aim is a subscription bill you chose on purpose.
Not Per Seat, Not by the Hour.
Many managed IT providers bill per user, commonly somewhere between $100 and $150 per user per month, with emergency and project work often billed on top. We run managed IT too, and we bill it differently.
Monitoring and patching are automated and every environment we run is documented, so routine work takes less of our time and the fee reflects that. We do not price per user, because a bill that rises with every hire works against a growing business. What we do charge for is the work of running a larger environment, so the fee moves in bands rather than per head: one band covers roughly one to five people, then it steps at ten and by tens after that. Those bands are a starting point. Thirty people sharing a handful of machines is not thirty people's worth of work, and we price what we manage.
Your fee is based on how complex your environment is and how much of our time it takes. The same model applies whether you move to software you own or keep your current subscriptions and have us run them.
Subscriptions Alone, Per-Seat Managed IT, or the Ownership Path
Most businesses weigh two options: keep paying for software subscriptions, or hire a managed IT provider on top of them. Here are both next to the path we recommend, where most of the stack moves onto software you own. If you would rather keep your subscriptions, we run managed IT for that too, at a flat fee in bands rather than per seat.
Our monthly fee is based on how complex your environment is and the support your team needs. It steps up in bands as you grow rather than per head, and the bands bend where extra people do not mean extra work for us. The under $1,000/month figure shown here reflects a standard 10-user deployment with typical use cases. The one-time setup is typically five to eight months of your current monthly subscription spend where hardware is part of the build, and much less on a private server with nothing to buy. Your exact figures come out of your free assessment.
Our monthly fee is based on how complex your environment is and the support your team needs. It steps up in bands as you grow rather than per head, and the bands bend where extra people do not mean extra work for us. The under $1,800/month figure shown here reflects a standard 25-user deployment with typical use cases. The one-time setup is typically five to eight months of your current monthly subscription spend where hardware is part of the build, and much less on a private server with nothing to buy. Your exact figures come out of your free assessment.
Our monthly fee is based on how complex your environment is and the support your team needs. It steps up in bands as you grow rather than per head, and the bands bend where extra people do not mean extra work for us. The under $4,500/month figure shown here reflects a standard 100-user deployment with typical use cases. The one-time setup is typically five to eight months of your current monthly subscription spend where hardware is part of the build, and much less on a private server with nothing to buy. Your exact figures come out of your free assessment.
Subscription Costs Grow Every Year
Subscription prices do not stay flat. At 8.7 percent a year, a bill that looks manageable today is noticeably larger after a few renewals. The bars below show the five-year total for each option.
Subscription 5-year totals assume an 8.7% yearly increase on published 2025 vendor pricing. Per-seat MSP 5-year totals use an industry midpoint of $125/user/month plus the subscription stack, with the same 8.7% increase on the subscription portion. Viridian Guard 5-year totals use the ceiling monthly figures shown above, held flat for five years at a steady headcount, and do not include the one-time setup. On a private server that setup is small; with on-site hardware it is a real purchase that takes longer to earn back. Your own figures come out of your free assessment.
The Subscription Stack, Added Up
Per-seat subscriptions arrive on separate invoices, so few businesses ever see the total in one place. The table below is a modest example stack. Real totals are often higher once tools bought by individual teams are counted.
| Tool / Category | Per User / Mo | 10 Users / Mo | 25 Users / Mo | 100 Users / Mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Productivity Suite M365 Business Standard | $14.50 | $145 | $363 | $1,450 |
| Team Messaging Slack Pro/Business+ | $8.75-$18 | $88 | $219 | $1,800 |
| Video Conferencing Zoom Business | $18.33 | $183 | $458 | $1,833 |
| CRM HubSpot / Salesforce | varies | $90 | $250 | $2,500 |
| Endpoint Security Defender / CrowdStrike | $6-$8 | $60 | $150 | $800 |
| Cloud File Storage Dropbox / SharePoint | $15-$20 | $200 | $500 | $1,500 |
| Password Manager 1Password | $4-$7.99 | $40 | $100 | $799 |
| Cloud Backup Acronis / Backblaze | est. | $75 | $150 | $500 |
| Helpdesk / ITSM Freshdesk / Jira | $15-$22/agent | $60 | $45 | $110 |
| IT Support / Break-fix hourly avg. | est. | $300 | $750 | $2,500 |
| Monthly Total | $1,241 | $2,985 | $13,792 |
Find Out What You Spend Today and What You Could Save
In a free 30-minute assessment we go through your current systems and every subscription. You then get a written plan with the monthly fee, set against what you pay today.