· Managed IT · Comparison
Managed IT vs. In-House IT: A Practical Comparison for Small Teams
Below roughly 40 staff, a managed provider usually costs less than one full-time hire and covers more ground. Here is the honest breakdown.
Managed IT means a provider runs your helpdesk, devices, patching, backups, and security for a predictable monthly fee. In-house IT means you employ that capability directly.
Cost
One mid-level internal IT hire in the Greater Toronto Area carries a salary plus benefits, tooling, and training. A managed plan for a team of 25 typically costs less and includes monitoring and backup tooling in the fee.
Coverage
A single internal hire cannot cover vacation, illness, after-hours incidents, and specialist areas like cloud architecture or security compliance at the same time. A provider spreads that across a team.
When in-house wins
Once you pass roughly 40 to 60 staff, or if your product itself is technical and needs daily internal engineering context, an internal team starts to pay for itself. A hybrid arrangement — internal lead plus managed overflow and after-hours — is common at that stage.
How to decide
Count your monthly ticket volume, your tolerance for downtime, and your compliance obligations. If downtime costs real revenue and your compliance requirements are documented, buy coverage rather than headcount.
Author
Aimlet Editorial Team
Aimlet's managed services team supports small and mid-size businesses across the Peel Region and the Greater Toronto Area.