Managed IT vs In-House IT for a 20-Person Firm

Key takeaways

A 20-person office usually needs a reliable help desk and a security baseline more than a full-time IT hire.

Most managed plans cost about $100 to $300 per user per month, roughly $2,000 to $6,000 a month for 20 people.

On NexJen Essentials, 20 users is $2,980 per month plus a one-time $499 setup fee.

Twenty people is a common tipping point. It is too many for a part-time volunteer to support well, but usually not enough to justify a full-time IT employee. Here is what a 20-person office typically needs, and what that support costs.

What 20 people generate

A 20-person office produces a steady stream of small requests: password and MFA resets, new-hire and leaver setups, printer and Teams issues, permission requests, and the occasional failed laptop. On top of that sits the work nobody sees: patching, security alerts, backup checks and Microsoft 365 housekeeping.

The baseline every 20-person business needs

• A help desk staff can reach during business hours, with clear response targets.

• Endpoint protection with detection and response on every computer.

• Automated monitoring and patching for Windows, macOS and applications.

• Multi-factor authentication on every account.

• Microsoft 365 backup with a separate service.

• A documented onboarding and offboarding process.

• Someone accountable for Microsoft 365 licensing, settings and sharing.

In-house hire or managed service: the short answer

A full-time IT employee brings salary, benefits, training and tool costs, and covers one person's skills, hours and vacations. A managed service spreads tooling, monitoring and expertise across many clients for a predictable monthly fee. For most 20-person offices, a managed service with a strong help desk is the more cost-effective option; some larger teams pair an internal coordinator with an MSP.

How the two options compare

Coverage

An in-house hire covers one person's hours, skills, sick days and vacations. A managed service covers the help desk, monitoring and patching through a team and automated tools.

Skills

One employee rarely covers help desk, security, Microsoft 365 administration and networking equally well. A managed service brings a wider set of skills, but less day-to-day presence in your office.

Tools

An in-house hire still needs security, monitoring, patching and backup tools, which are paid for on top of salary. A managed plan usually includes them.

On-site presence

An employee can walk to a desk. Many managed providers, including us, work remotely. When on-site help is needed, we refer you to an independent local technician you hire directly.

Cost

An employee brings salary, benefits, training and tools. A managed plan is a predictable per-user monthly fee.

Some firms use both: an internal coordinator who knows the people and the office, backed by a managed service for the technical work and security. That can make sense once a firm is larger or has specialized systems.

Take a hypothetical 20-person engineering firm. Its office manager handles printer jams and new-starter paperwork, while password resets, laptop setups, patching and security alerts go to a managed provider. Nobody has to be the IT expert, and nobody is the single point of failure.

What it costs

Industry pricing guides published in 2026 put most small-business managed IT between about $100 and $300 per user per month. On NexJen Essentials, a 20-person team pays 20 x $149 = $2,980 per month on a 12-month agreement, plus a one-time $499 setup fee. That includes everything in the baseline above.

Signs you are under-covered

• Tickets wait days, or people stop asking for help and work around problems.

• You cannot confirm every device is patched and protected.

• Leavers still have access weeks after they go.

• Nobody has tested a backup restore.

Signs you may be over-paying

• You pay for hours or services you never use.

• Security and backup are billed as separate add-ons on top of a high base fee.

• Every small change turns into a project quote.

Common questions

How much does IT support cost for a 20-person company?

Industry guides put most managed plans between about $100 and $300 per user per month, so roughly $2,000 to $6,000 per month for 20 people. NexJen Essentials would be $2,980 per month plus a $499 setup fee.

Does a 20-person company need a full-time IT person?

Usually not. Most 20-person offices are better served by a managed service with a reliable help desk, which costs less than a full-time salary and covers more skills.

What response times should a 20-person business expect?

Ask for written targets. NexJen's target for an active security incident is one support hour; requests received before 3:00 PM have a same-business-day response target, otherwise by noon the next business day; low-priority requests within three business days. These are targets, not guarantees.

Sources

Managed IT Services Cost in 2026: A Per-User Pricing Guide (Unio Digital)

See what managed IT costs for your team

NexJen Essentials is $149 per user per month with a five-user minimum, and the pricing page shows exactly what is included.

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Managed IT or an In-House IT Hire for a 20-Person Business?