MSP pricing calculator
What should you charge a client? Not what the MSP down the road charges: what your own costs and the margin you need say. Put in your numbers and see the monthly price, per device and per user. Nothing is stored.
Written with respect. We ran an MSP on several of the products we compare, we rate them, and without them Helios would not exist. These pages are here because buyers deserve the facts, not because we want a fight.
The short answer
- Price from your costs up, not from a competitor's rate card: tools per device plus technician time, then your margin on top.
- Margin is on price, not cost: a 55% margin means cost divided by 0.45, not cost plus 55%.
- Example: 40 devices, 25 users, £5 of tools a device, 8 hours at £40, 55% margin gives £1,156 a month: £28.89 a device or £46.22 a user.
- Per device suits clients whose estate drives the work; per user suits clients whose people do.
- Your tool cost per device is the number you control most. Fewer, broader tools lower it.
Your numbers
| Your monthly cost for this client | £520.00 |
| Monthly price at your target margin | £1,155.56 |
| That is, per device a month | £28.89 |
| Or per user a month | £46.22 |
| Your gross profit a month | £635.56 |
Tools means everything you pay per device to manage and protect it: RMM, security, backup, documentation. Technician hours means the time this client takes in a normal month, and the hourly cost is what that time costs you, not what you bill for it.
Per device, per user, or flat
- Per device tracks your costs closely when most tools bill per device. It punishes a client for adding a printer, so agree which devices count.
- Per user is easier for a client to budget and fits Microsoft 365 work, where the user is the unit. Check that heavy device estates still pay their way.
- Flat per client is simplest to sell and riskiest to hold: price it from the calculation above and review it every year.
Margin, done properly
A target margin is a share of the price. If your costs are £520 and you want 55% margin, the price is £520 divided by 0.45, which is £1,156, and the profit is £636. Adding 55% to cost gives £806, a margin of only 35%. The calculator uses the correct version.
Review the inputs when a client grows, when a tool renews at a higher price, or when their hours creep up. A price set once and left for three years is how margins disappear.
Lower the tools line
The tools line is where most small MSPs lose margin: an RMM, a PSA, remote access, a documentation tool and add-ons, each billed separately. Helios puts the service desk with SLAs, patching including third-party apps, remote access, Microsoft 365 and Defender checks, backup monitoring, a client portal, billing into Xero or QuickBooks, and Helio, the AI technician that investigates problems, writes the fix and runs it into one product, priced by fleet size rather than per technician: £4 a device on Launch up to 25 devices, from £20 a month, then £99, £199 or £399 a month.
Common questions
How much should an MSP charge per device?
Work it out from your own costs: tools per device plus the technician time the client needs, then divide by one minus your target margin. The calculator above does it, and shows the per-device and per-user price.
How do I calculate MSP pricing?
Monthly cost equals devices times tool cost per device, plus technician hours times your hourly cost. Price equals cost divided by one minus your target margin. Divide by devices or users for a unit price.
What margin should an MSP target?
Set it from your own business plan. Whatever you choose, apply it to the price, not the cost: a 50% margin means doubling your cost, not adding half.
Should an MSP charge per device or per user?
Per device tracks tool costs closely; per user is simpler for clients and fits Microsoft 365 work. Many MSPs use per user with a device allowance.
How can an MSP lower its tool costs?
Consolidate. Every separate tool adds a per-device or per-seat line. Helios combines the RMM, service desk, patching, remote access and more in one product priced by fleet size: £4 a device on Launch, or £99 a month for up to 50 devices.
Sources
Prices and terms come from the linked pages, and from our own pricing pages, which date each figure. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it.
Why MSPs choose Helios
One platform that does the work, at a price that stays put
Helio fixes, not just flags
When an alert fires, Helio, the AI technician built into Helios, investigates it, writes the fix and runs it once you approve. It keeps what works, so the next one is quicker.
Everything in one product
RMM, a service desk with SLAs, patching including third-party apps, remote access, Microsoft 365 and Defender checks, backup monitoring, a client portal and billing into Xero or QuickBooks.
Priced by fleet, not by people
£4 a device on Launch up to 25 devices, from £20 a month, then £99, £199 or £399 a month by fleet size, with any number of technicians and every feature on every plan.
A price that stays put
Your price is locked for as long as you stay subscribed, and that is written into our terms. Monthly billing, cancel any time.
Bring your clients across
Import your clients and machines from another RMM's CSV export, then roll the Helios agent out at your own pace, with a count of how many have arrived.
14 days free, no card
The full platform from the first minute, on your own machines. No sales call, no feature held back for the trial.
See it on your own fleet
Helios is the AI-native platform for MSPs: monitoring, patching, security, Microsoft 365, backup monitoring, remote access, client billing and an AI service desk in one product, at one flat price per MSP. Contracts and logged time become invoices in Xero or QuickBooks without leaving the platform. Every feature is on every plan. 14-day free trial, card-free, set up in minutes, cancel any time.
Start freeDetails of other products on this page were checked on or before 28 September 2026 against public pricing pages, documentation and named third-party buyer data, and may have changed since. Always confirm current pricing with the vendor. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@heliosmsp.io and we will fix it.