Break-fix IT support looks cheaper on the surface - you only pay when something breaks, instead of a fixed monthly fee. Compare invoices, downtime, maintenance, security, and backup coverage over the same period. The result depends on your systems and business needs.
How Each Model Actually Works
Break-fix: you call a provider when something goes wrong, they bill by the hour (often at a premium for urgent callouts), and fix the specific issue. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance require a separate agreement; check who owns those tasks between incidents.
Managed IT: a fixed monthly fee covers ongoing monitoring, patching, helpdesk support, and typically cybersecurity tools, with the provider financially incentivised to keep things running smoothly rather than waiting for something to fail.
The Real Cost Comparison
What Break-Fix Actually Costs
- Agreed hourly or project charges, plus any call-out, emergency, or after-hours fees
- Full cost of downtime while waiting for a technician to become available - no guaranteed response time
- No patching or monitoring between visits, meaning problems are usually found after they've already caused damage
- No cybersecurity coverage unless separately and explicitly arranged
What Managed IT Actually Costs
- Our Managed IT Support starts from $99 and Managed IT & Security Complete from $199 per user/month + GST, with scope confirmed in your quote - see our full managed IT cost breakdown
- Proactive patching and monitoring reduces how often something actually breaks in the first place
- Defined response times, so downtime is minimised rather than open-ended
- Security controls matched to your agreed package, with separately scoped additions identified
Build a Like-for-Like Annual Comparison
Use the same users, devices, support hours, security controls, and backup requirements in both proposals. Total recurring fees, separately charged projects, licences, onboarding, and additional devices over 12 months. Then estimate downtime separately using your own staff costs and business impact.
At the published starting rates, 10 users cost from $990/month ($11,880/year) for Support or $1,990/month ($23,880/year) for Complete, plus GST and separately scoped items. This is an example using our rate, not a Perth market average. Minimum commitments and actual coverage are confirmed in your quote.
Both plans cover one supported desktop or laptop per user. Support includes next-generation antivirus; Complete upgrades protection to managed detection and response and includes Microsoft 365 cloud-data backup, security awareness training and phishing simulations, and managed email signatures. Endpoint backup is separately quoted for both plans.
For service responsibilities rather than budgeting, see IT support versus managed IT.
The Hidden Cost Break-Fix Doesn't Show You
The sticker price comparison misses the biggest factor: the real cost of IT downtime. Every hour staff can't work while waiting for a break-fix technician to respond is lost productivity, and for client-facing systems, potentially lost revenue too. Managed IT's proactive model exists specifically to reduce how often that happens, not just to respond faster when it does.
Where Break-Fix Falls Short on Security
This is the sharpest difference in 2026's threat environment. Security tasks need an explicit owner under either model. Include patching, identity controls, endpoint protection, and backup checks in your comparison. Confirm which controls are included and which require a separate service. Given how common ransomware and business email compromise have become for SMBs, this gap alone is often reason enough to move away from break-fix.
When Break-Fix Can Still Make Sense
It's not always the wrong choice. A very small business - one or two people, minimal sensitive data, genuine tolerance for occasional downtime - may not need the full scope of managed IT. The calculation changes quickly once a business has staff depending on systems being available, holds client data, or simply can't absorb a day of downtime without real cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is break-fix ever the right choice for a small business?
It can suit a very small, low-tech-dependency business with minimal sensitive data and tolerance for occasional downtime - a single-person operation with basic needs, for example. Once a business has more than a handful of staff, holds client data, or depends on systems being up during the day, the risk profile shifts firmly toward managed IT.
How do I compare the full cost of each model?
The hourly rate is only one part of the comparison. Include support invoices, staff downtime, emergency charges, and the cost of maintaining security and backups. Managed IT is not automatically cheaper; compare the same coverage over the same period.
Do break-fix providers do any preventative work at all?
Preventative tasks can be commissioned separately, such as patching or backup checks. With an incident-based arrangement, those tasks need a named owner and an agreed schedule; do not assume they happen between callouts.
Can I mix the two - managed IT for critical systems, break-fix for the rest?
Some businesses do this, though it's less common in practice since it usually complicates support (which provider handles which issue) more than it saves. Most businesses find it's simpler to have one arrangement, and increasingly one that includes basic cybersecurity protection given how common attacks targeting SMBs have become.
We'll show you a straight cost comparison between what you're currently paying for break-fix support and a proactive managed plan.
Managed IT Services →Tired of paying emergency callout rates?
Call 0433 087 091 - we'll work out what a managed plan would actually cost against your current break-fix spend, no obligation.
Compare Your IT CostsFor related reading, see our guides to how much managed IT costs in Perth and the real cost of IT downtime.