MSP pricing, honestly explained

Most MSP pricing is designed to be hard to compare on purpose. Proposals come in bundled tiers with vague scopes, and once you’re three months in, “out of scope” becomes the most-used phrase in the relationship. This post walks through the four pricing models actually in use, what each one incentivizes, and why we scope our work the way we do.

Model 1: Flat per-user or per-device

You pay $X per user per month, or $Y per device per month. Covers “all support.” Attractive because it’s predictable and scales linearly with headcount.

What it incentivizes: the MSP to minimize contact. Every ticket is a cost center for them. At scale, this works fine with a disciplined provider; at small scale, it tips toward slower responses and pushed-off work. “We’ll look at it next week” stops meaning “we’re busy” and starts meaning “this ticket is already expensive for us.”

Watch for: what’s actually in-scope. Sometimes “all support” means break-fix on endpoints but notMicrosoft 365 admin work, not onboarding, not security incidents. Read that scope document twice.

Model 2: Tiered bundles (Bronze / Silver / Gold)

The MSP publishes three tiers, each with a longer feature list. You pick your level.

What it incentivizes: tier upgrades. The most useful services are in Gold. The price jump between Silver and Gold is designed to look small enough that “we might as well get Gold.” After a year, you’re on Gold using maybe four of the eleven listed features.

Watch for: feature lists where the differentiator is “quarterly review” or “strategic consultation.” Those are usually not delivered unless you ask, and most clients never ask.

Model 3: Project + hourly

The MSP scopes projects individually (migrations, setups, rollouts) and bills hourly for ongoing work. No monthly retainer.

What it incentivizes: more hours. This is the most transparent model on paper and the easiest to abuse in practice. A 4-hour problem takes 7 hours; you don’t know, because you didn’t do the work. The incentive structure is the opposite of efficient.

Watch for: firms that use this model without a rate card or without written scopes before work begins. If there’s no way to say “this is over budget, stop,” you’re on a ride that doesn’t end until the invoice arrives.

Model 4: Value-based / flat retainer

The MSP charges a flat monthly fee scoped to deliverables, not hours or users. Something like: “$X/month for these five named responsibilities and this service level. Anything else is a separate scope.”

What it incentivizes: efficiency. The MSP has every reason to automate, document, and prevent issues — because their revenue doesn’t grow when you have problems. Done well, this is the most aligned model. Done poorly, it leads to providers who aggressively refuse new work.

Watch for: the named responsibilities. If they’re vague (“general IT support”), you’re back to Model 1 with a prettier name.

How we scope Reign Zero engagements

We don’t run a traditional tiered MSP. Our engagements are sized around what the environment actually needs:

• Projects (setups, migrations, security hardening, MDM rollout, identity cleanup) are fixed-bid whenever scope can be written clearly, or time-and-materials with a ceiling when the environment hasn’t been mapped yet. Either way, the ceiling is in writing.
• Managed services are priced per user or per device against a specific, written list of what’s included. If it’s not on the list, we’ll tell you and scope it separately. No “out of scope” surprises mid-ticket.
• Architecture and governance work (the “what should we do next?” work) is priced as its own engagement. It’s the most valuable thing we do, and pretending it’s free bundled with break-fix just means it doesn’t happen.

We also publish ranges on initial calls, not at the end. You should know by the end of a 30-minute clarity call whether we’re a fit for your stage and budget, without a sales cycle.

Three questions to ask any MSP before signing

1. “What specifically is out of scope, and how do those requests get handled?” If the answer is vague or “we handle it case by case,” you will find out what that means via invoices.
2. “If we leave in 18 months, what do we get to keep and what’s tied to your tenancy?” Good answer: you keep everything, here’s the transition plan. Bad answer: silence, or “we’d work something out.”
3. “How do you get paid if we have fewer tickets this month?” The answer tells you what the MSP is optimized for. Listen carefully.

If you want to see this applied to your environment specifically, the clarity call exists for exactly that. You’ll leave with a clearer read on what to pay for, what to delay, and what to stop paying for — whether or not we end up working together.

Pricing is never just about the number. It’s about what the number makes the other party want to do.