Calculators tool
IT Budget Calculator
Build a ballpark annual IT budget for your business across hardware, software, security, and support, sized to your team and industry.
IT Budget Calculator
Budget categories (deselect to exclude)
Budget estimate, 20 employees
$60,520 – $81,880 / year
~$5,933/month, $3,560/user/year
Benchmarks from Gartner, CompTIA, and Elevate internal data (Los Angeles SMB market, 2025). Actuals vary by vendor selection, existing infrastructure, and contract terms. This is a planning range, not a quote.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of revenue should a mid-market firm spend on IT?
Industry benchmarks from Gartner and CompTIA place IT spending for professional services firms at 3–6% of annual revenue. Regulated industries (healthcare, legal, financial) trend toward the higher end due to compliance requirements. Firms relying on managed IT with a full security stack typically spend $1,800–$3,500 per user per year, depending on the service tier and your local labor market rates.
Is a managed IT provider (MSP) more cost-effective than hiring in-house IT?
For firms under 100 employees, a managed IT provider almost always delivers a lower total cost than a comparable in-house team when you account for salary, benefits, training, tool licensing, and after-hours coverage. An MSP also provides specialist depth, security engineers, compliance analysts, network architects, that a single in-house hire cannot. The break-even point varies, but most firms find MSP engagement cost-effective up to 150–200 employees.
Want this handled for you?
Elevate manages IT & security for regulated firms.
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