The short answer
Managed IT services in Houston from Preactive IT Solutions cost $160 to $180 per user per month. That fee covers the whole job: 24/7 help desk, on-site visits, security tools, backup, patching, Microsoft 365 administration and account management. Hardware, software licenses and projects are the only extras, quoted separately.
The help desk is staffed by our own local technicians. On-site visits carry no extra charge. Security tools go on every device and mailbox. Backup is monitored and restores are tested. Our technical standards staff helps by building a roadmap and budget each year to ensure your technology supports your business goals.
That matters because “managed IT” means different things at different providers. Two quotes can look $30 apart per user and be $80 apart once the add-ons show up. This post lists what is in our fee line by line, marks what is commonly an extra elsewhere and gives you the questions to ask before you sign with anyone, including us. For how the price itself is built, see what managed IT really costs in Houston.
What is included in managed IT services at $160 to $180 per user?
Here is the full list. “Included” means no hourly billing, no ticket caps and no surprise line items.
| What you get | What it means in practice | Add-on elsewhere? |
|---|---|---|
| 24/7 help desk | Phone support is always immediate. A technician answers around the clock. Q3 2026: 9 minute average response in business hours, 90.9% closed same day. | Yes |
| Unlimited remote support | No cap on tickets, calls or users helped. | Sometimes |
| On-site support at no extra charge | When remote work cannot fix it, a local employee drives to your office or jobsite, dispatched within 4 hours and immediately for emergencies. | Yes |
| Security tools on every device | Endpoint detection and response, application control, DNS filtering, multi-factor authentication enforced, identity monitoring on Microsoft 365, email protection and DMARC. | Yes |
| 24/7 monitoring | Servers, workstations and network gear watched around the clock, with alerts worked by a person. | Sometimes |
| Patching | Windows, macOS and common applications updated on a schedule, with failures chased down. | Rarely |
| Backup and recovery testing | Cloud backup of servers and Microsoft 365, with restores tested, not assumed. | Yes |
| Microsoft 365 administration | User setup, licensing management, security configuration and mailbox changes. | Sometimes |
| Onboarding and offboarding | New hires set up before day one. Departing staff locked out the day they leave. | Sometimes |
| Security awareness training | Short, regular training for staff, built around the scams contractors actually see, such as pay app fraud. | Yes |
| Vendor management | We work with your internet provider, phone vendor and software vendors so you do not have to. | Yes |
| Account management and standards | A named account manager, an annual assessment, a roadmap and a budget, with quarterly reviews. Purchases follow the standards, not a sales quota. | Yes |
| Compliance support | Guidance on NIST, CMMC, TX-RAMP or cyber insurance requirements when a contract calls for it. Compliance projects, and bringing in a compliance expert, are quoted separately. | Yes |
Where “Yes” appears, the extra usually shows up as hourly after-hours calls, hourly on-site visits, a separate “security package,” per-gigabyte backup, patching that is never verified or a “strategic” tier for planning. Ask for each in writing.
What is not included in the monthly fee?
Three things, and we say so up front.
- Hardware. Laptops, servers, firewalls and switches are bought at cost plus a disclosed margin, or leased. Installing desktops and laptops is included, within limits that depend on the size of the company and the agreement. Switches, firewalls and other network devices are quoted and billed separately as a project.
- Software licenses. Microsoft 365 seats and line-of-business software are passed through at the vendor’s price. The fee covers managing them.
- Projects. An office move, a server replacement or a cloud migration is scoped and quoted separately so you see the number before work starts. Day-to-day changes, new users and small fixes are not projects. They are support.
Why is the price $160 to $180 and not $120?
Because the list above costs money to deliver, and most of it is people. Service Leadership’s 2024 benchmark puts the average fee at $149 per user for the least mature providers and $224 for providers at Operational Maturity Level 4, where Preactive sits. A $120 quote in Houston is not a bargain version of the same thing. It is a different thing: fewer technicians per user, remote or offshore staff, antivirus instead of a security stack and hourly billing for everything the base fee does not cover.
The simplest check is the staffing. We run one technician for every 150 users, measured October 2026. Low-bid providers often run 350 or more, which is why their help desks slow down six months into the contract and why Houston businesses keep switching IT providers.
What does $160 to $180 per user come to for a Houston firm?
We price by computer user, not by headcount. A 400-person construction company may have only 20 people who sit at a computer.
- 20 users: roughly $3,200 to $3,600 a month.
- 40 users: roughly $6,500 a month.
- 100 users: roughly $16,000 to $18,000 a month.
Compare that to one in-house IT person, who works one shift, takes vacation and cannot cover security, backup, help desk and planning at once. We run those numbers side by side in a post later this week.
How do you compare managed IT services in Houston on what is included?
Put both quotes next to the table above and ask each provider these questions in writing:
- Is after-hours support included, and who answers at 2 AM?
- Are on-site visits included, or billed hourly?
- Which security tools are in the base fee, and which are an add-on?
- Is backup included, and when was the last restore tested?
- How many users does each technician support?
- What were your help desk response and resolution times last quarter?
A provider that cannot answer the last two is not tracking them. We publish ours every quarter, starting with our Q3 2026 help desk numbers. For the four questions that separate providers before you ever get to price, see how to compare managed IT providers in Houston.
What else comes with the fee?
- Client satisfaction of 99.59% across 972 surveys over the last 12 months.
- Help desk and account management staffed in the Houston area, with on-site response within a few hours in Houston, Austin and Beaumont.
Frequently asked questions
What is included in managed IT services?
At Preactive IT Solutions the monthly fee includes a 24/7 help desk, unlimited remote and on-site support, security tools on every device and mailbox, 24/7 monitoring, patching, backup with tested restores, Microsoft 365 administration, employee onboarding and offboarding, security awareness training, vendor management, account management with an IT roadmap and compliance support. Hardware, software licenses and large projects are quoted separately.
How much do managed IT services cost per user in Houston?
Most Preactive IT Solutions clients pay $160 to $180 per user per month depending on complexity. Service Leadership’s 2024 data puts the average fee at $149 for the least mature providers and $224 for providers at Operational Maturity Level 4. A 40-user firm pays roughly $6,500 a month.
Are on-site visits included in managed IT services?
At Preactive, yes. When a problem cannot be fixed remotely, a local employee is dispatched within 4 hours, immediately for emergencies, at no extra charge, to your office or your jobsite. At many Houston providers on-site visits are billed hourly, so ask before you sign.
Is cybersecurity included in managed IT services or extra?
At Preactive the security stack is in the base fee: endpoint detection and response, DNS filtering, enforced multi-factor authentication, identity monitoring on Microsoft 365, email protection and security awareness training. Many low-priced quotes include antivirus only and sell the rest as an add-on, which is one reason they look cheaper.
What is not included in a managed IT services fee?
Hardware, software licenses such as Microsoft 365 seats and projects such as an office move, a server replacement or new network equipment. Those are quoted separately so you see the cost before work starts. Day-to-day support, new users and small changes are covered by the fee.
Does Preactive IT Solutions publish its service numbers?
Yes. Preactive publishes its help desk response and resolution numbers every quarter and tracks client satisfaction, which was 99.59% across 972 surveys over the last 12 months.
About Preactive IT Solutions
Preactive IT Solutions is a Houston managed IT services provider specializing in construction and engineering firms, serving Texas businesses since 2003. We support organizations of 40 to 250 users with a 24/7 help desk staffed by our own technicians in our Houston-area office, one technician per 150 users and an average client relationship of more than eight years. See the full managed IT services in Houston offering, or ask us for a quote.
Sources
- Service Leadership Index, 2024 average managed services fee per user by Operational Maturity Level, as cited in MSP Pricing in Houston.
- Preactive IT Solutions help desk metrics, Q3 2026 (4,674 tickets, July 1 to September 30, 2026).
