MSP Pricing and Profitability

Most MSP pricing advice comes from vendors selling you a tool. This hub collects the public survey data on what MSPs charge and earn, discloses who published it, and gives you free tools to check your own numbers.

MSPCoach Research · Updated 11 Oct 2026· Figures are vendor-published and labelled with who owns the publisher.

What MSPs actually charge

The only large public price survey we could verify is Kaseya's 2023 benchmark survey. It is three years old and published by a software vendor, so treat it as context for the shape of the market, not as a price list.

21%

of MSPs bill mainly per user (all-in seat) 26% combine per-user and per-device; per-device fell to 13% from 17%.

Kaseya, 2023 Global MSP Benchmark Survey (as published on Kaseya MSP pricing resource), 2023Vendor surveyn=1,091Verified 2026-10-11

22%

of MSPs charge $50-$100 per user per month 17% charge $101-150; 11% $151-200; 16% under $50; 28% do not offer per-user pricing.

Kaseya, 2023 Global MSP Benchmark Survey (as published on Kaseya MSP pricing resource), 2023Vendor surveyn=1,091Verified 2026-10-11

28%

of MSPs charge $50-$100 per device per month 20% charge under $50; 30% do not offer per-device pricing.

Kaseya, 2023 Global MSP Benchmark Survey (as published on Kaseya MSP pricing resource), 2023Vendor surveyn=1,091Verified 2026-10-11

For the full billing-model breakdown and when each model fits, read MSP pricing models explained. If your prices have not moved in years, how to raise MSP prices without losing clients shows how many clients an increase can absorb, and packaging and pricing managed security services covers the security layer of a tiered price.

What MSPs actually earn

Profitability data is thin and mostly vendor-owned. Kaseya's 2026 survey reports a distribution of net profit bands. Service Leadership, which ConnectWise owns, publishes a best-in-class adjusted EBITDA line. These measure different things, which is why published margin targets conflict.

10%

of MSPs report managed services are "not profitable yet", double the 5% of a year earlier A further 6% are breaking even.

Kaseya, 2026 State of the MSP Report, 2026Vendor surveyn=1,061Verified 2026-10-11

19%+

adjusted EBITDA: the best-in-class IT solution provider line, held for a sixth consecutive year 2025 data, 104 countries. Service Leadership is owned by ConnectWise.

Service Leadership, 2026 Annual IT Solution Provider Industry Profitability Report (press release, 2026-06-23), 2026Vendor-owned indexVerified 2026-10-11

The full distribution, with 2025 beside 2026, is in MSP profit margins. If you are thinking about an eventual sale, see MSP valuation by deal size.

Deal sizes are shrinking

Kaseya's 2026 survey shows customer spend and MRR per client moving down. Lower revenue per client means cost per seat and tool sprawl matter more to margin.

41%

of MSPs say their typical customer spends $25,000+ a year on managed services (2025), down from 75% the year before 55% now report a typical customer spending under $25K.

Kaseya, 2026 State of the MSP Report, 2026Vendor surveyn=1,061Verified 2026-10-11

30%

of MSPs report average MRR per client of $1,000 or less, up from 24% The largest single band in the survey.

Kaseya, 2026 State of the MSP Report, 2026Vendor surveyn=1,061Verified 2026-10-11

Calculate your price

Build a floor price, a target price per user and the margin on what you charge today from your own cost base. The KPI checker then shows where your net margin sits against the survey distribution. Neither needs an email address.

MSP pricing calculator

Build a floor price and a target price per user from your own costs. Free, no signup.

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MSP KPI benchmark checker

Compare your net margin, MRR per client and growth with published survey distributions. Free, no signup.

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Guides in this series

Packaging and Pricing Managed Security Services
Four ways to package MSP security, a cost worksheet, how to price tiers from your own numbers, and where security margin leaks. Vendor ownership disclosed.
How to Raise MSP Prices Without Losing Clients
How much churn an MSP price increase can absorb, which clients to raise first, how to structure notice and contracts, and what to say. Break-even table included.
MSP Profit Margins: 2026 Benchmarks From Survey Data
What net profit do MSPs really make? The 2026 distribution from 1,061 MSPs, the best-in-class EBITDA line and how to calculate your own margin.
How to Price MSP Services: Cost-Plus Math + Calculator
Price managed services from your real cost per user: fully loaded labour, tool stack, overhead and target margin. Worked example plus a free calculator.
Break-Fix vs Managed Services: Why the Transition Is Worth It
A detailed comparison of break-fix and managed services business models. Learn why MSPs outperform break-fix shops and how to make the transition without losing clients.
MSP Pricing Models: Per-User vs Per-Device (Survey Data)
Per-user, per-device, tiered, all-you-can-eat or value-based? How MSPs actually bill (survey data), what each model does to margin, and when to switch.

Frequently asked questions

What should an MSP charge per user?

It depends on your cost base, not a market average. For context, in Kaseya's 2023 survey the largest group of MSPs (22%) charged $50-$100 per user per month, but that is a three-year-old vendor survey, not a quote. Build your price from fully loaded labour, tool cost per user and overhead, then add your target margin. The pricing calculator does this.

How do I calculate my cost per user?

Add three parts: labour per user (technicians multiplied by their fully loaded annual cost, divided by 12 and by managed seats), tool cost per user (your whole stack, divided across seats) and overhead per user (non-delivery costs, including a market salary for the owner, divided across seats). The sum is your full cost per user and your breakeven price.

What margin should an MSP target?

There is no single neutral target. Published figures differ because they use different denominators (net profit, gross margin or adjusted EBITDA). Two sourced reference points: in Kaseya's 2026 survey 10% of MSPs said managed services were not profitable yet, and Service Leadership puts best-in-class at 19%+ adjusted EBITDA.

How much can I raise prices without losing money?

Use break-even retention. If your current price is c, your delivery cost per seat is v and the new price is p, you keep today's gross profit as long as you retain at least (c - v) / (p - v) of your seats. The difference is the share of seats you can lose. The pricing calculator computes this for you.

Per-user or per-device pricing?

Neither is universally better. In Kaseya's 2023 survey 21% of MSPs billed mainly per user, more combined per-user and per-device pricing, and per-device had fallen to a smaller share than the year before. Per-user is simpler for the client to predict; per-device maps more directly to your monitoring and licence cost. Read the full comparison in the pricing models guide.

Sources

2023 Global MSP Benchmark Survey (as published on Kaseya MSP pricing resource) Kaseya, 2023. Publisher owner: Kaseya (software vendor). Vendor survey Accessed 2026-10-11
2026 State of the MSP Report Kaseya, 2026. Publisher owner: Kaseya (software vendor). Vendor survey Accessed 2026-10-11
2026 Annual IT Solution Provider Industry Profitability Report (press release, 2026-06-23) Service Leadership, 2026. Publisher owner: ConnectWise (software vendor). Vendor-owned index Accessed 2026-10-11

Most MSP survey data is published by software vendors. We label who published each figure and never present it as neutral. How we source and check figures: Methodology.

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More sourced data: MSP statistics, how we verify.