Your managed service provider sends you a monthly invoice for $150 per user. You have 25 employees. That's $3,750 every month, or $45,000 per year. The invoice lists "comprehensive IT management and security" as if they're the same thing.
They're not. And that confusion is costing small businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars annually while still leaving them vulnerable to attacks.
Let's break down the actual math of security versus bundled IT services, and why specialized protection costs far less than you think.
What You're Actually Paying For in MSP Bundles
Traditional managed service providers bundle everything together: help desk support, hardware procurement, software updates, printer management, phone system support, and yes, security. The typical small business pays between $100 and $300 per user per month for these comprehensive packages.
Here's the problem: most small businesses don't need all of those services.
You probably already have someone internally who can reset passwords and troubleshoot basic issues. You might order your own hardware when needed. Your software updates can be automated. The printer, well, everyone hates printers, but do you really need to pay $1,800 annually per employee for someone to manage yours?
Yet MSPs bundle these services together because it maximizes their revenue and locks you into comprehensive contracts. They're selling you the entire toolkit when you really only need specialized expertise.
The Real Cost of "Security Included"
Let's look at what happens when security is just another line item in a bundled package.
Your 25-person firm pays $150 per user monthly to your MSP. That's $45,000 per year. Security is "included," which sounds great until you consider what "included" actually means:
- Basic antivirus software that 58% of small businesses rely on as their primary defense
- Automated vulnerability scanning that checks boxes but misses actual attack vectors
- Generic security awareness emails that employees ignore
- Reactive incident response when (not if) something goes wrong
Here's how you know this model doesn't work: "32% of small business security operations are supported by managed security providers, yet 66% still experienced cyberattacks and 63% had data breaches" (Source: Ponemon Institute 2019)
The average security breach costs $4.4 million and takes 241 days to recover from. Your $45,000 annual MSP bill didn't prevent that because general IT management and specialized security are completely different skill sets.
What Specialized Security Actually Costs
Secure Point Solutions charges $17 per user per month for direct clients on annual contracts. For that same 25-person firm, that's $425 monthly or $5,100 annually.
Read those numbers again. $5,100 per year for specialized security versus $45,000 for bundled services that still result in breaches.
That's not a typo. Specialized security costs 88% less than bundled MSP packages while delivering better protection.
How is this possible? Because we're not selling you help desk services you don't need. We're not marking up hardware. We're not managing your printers or resetting passwords. We focus exclusively on security, using military and cyber threat intelligence expertise and adversarial testing approaches that actually prevent attacks.
Breaking Down What You Get for $17/Seat
Let's be specific about what specialized security includes at the $17 per user monthly rate:
24/7/365 Security Monitoring: Our security operations center watches for threats around the clock. Not just automated alerts, but actual human analysts who understand attacker tactics and can respond immediately when something looks wrong.
Next-Generation Endpoint Protection: Machine learning-based detection that goes far beyond traditional antivirus, catching ransomware, credential theft, and malicious behavior that signature-based tools miss completely.
Adversarial Testing: We think like attackers. We use their actual tactics to find vulnerabilities in your defenses before criminals do. This approach has delivered zero repeat incidents for breach victims we've worked with.
Compliance Preparation: Whether you need HIPAA, FTC Safeguards, or other regulatory compliance, we prepare and maintain the documentation, security controls, and evidence auditors require.
Cloud Security Integration: Monitoring and response for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, where most small businesses now store their sensitive data.
Domain Monitoring: We track whether your employee credentials or company data appear in breach databases, giving you early warning when passwords are compromised.
Incident Response: When attacks happen, you get immediate access to specialists who know how to contain threats, not generalists who need to escalate to someone else.
All of that for less than you're probably spending on coffee each month per employee.
The Services You Don't Need (and Shouldn't Pay For)
Most small businesses handle these functions themselves or through occasional break-fix support:
- Password resets and basic troubleshooting
- Software installation and updates
- Hardware procurement and setup
- Printer and phone system management
- General "help desk" questions
These tasks don't require specialized expertise or monthly retainers. They certainly don't require paying $100 to $300 per user monthly.
The MSP model made sense 20 years ago when businesses needed comprehensive technical support. Today, with cloud-based systems and more tech-savvy employees, what you actually need is specialized security expertise that most MSPs don't truly have.
Why MSPs Bundle Services
Let's be honest about why bundling exists: it's more profitable for providers.
By forcing you to buy help desk, hardware management, and security together, MSPs maximize their monthly recurring revenue and create switching costs that lock you in. You can't easily leave because you'd need to replace multiple services simultaneously.
Some MSPs genuinely believe the bundled model serves clients better. Others know it's more about their business model than your actual needs. Either way, the result is the same: you overpay for services you don't need while security becomes just another checkbox in a long list of "included" features.
Comparing Real Costs for Your Business
Let's run the numbers for businesses of different sizes:
10-person firm:
- Traditional MSP bundle: $1,000-$3,000/month ($12,000-$36,000/year)
- Specialized security: $170/month ($2,040/year)
- Savings: $9,960-$33,960 annually
25-person firm:
- Traditional MSP bundle: $2,500-$7,500/month ($30,000-$90,000/year)
- Specialized security: $425/month ($5,100/year)
- Savings: $24,900-$84,900 annually
50-person firm:
- Traditional MSP bundle: $5,000-$15,000/month ($60,000-$180,000/year)
- Specialized security: $850/month ($10,200/year)
- Savings: $49,800-$169,800 annually
These aren't marginal differences. You could save enough to hire another employee, invest in business development, or simply improve your bottom line while getting better security than bundled packages provide.
Transparent Pricing in an Industry That Hides Costs
Notice how we're showing you exact numbers? That's intentional.
Most security providers and MSPs make you jump through hoops to get pricing. "Call for quote" leads to discovery calls, proposals, and final numbers that somehow never match initial estimates. Hidden fees appear. Surprise charges happen.
We show you $17 per user per month because we respect your intelligence and your budget. That's our annual contract rate. Month-to-month is $20 per user monthly if you want flexibility. Either way, you know exactly what you're paying.
This transparency reflects our Iowa roots and our belief that businesses deserve honest pricing, not pricing games designed to maximize provider profit at your expense.
The Question You Should Ask Your Current MSP
If you're currently paying for bundled services, ask your provider this: "Can I get just the security monitoring and incident response without paying for help desk and general IT management?"
Most will say no. Their business model requires the bundle. That answer tells you everything about whose interests they're optimizing for.
When Bundled Services Make Sense
To be fair, some businesses genuinely need comprehensive MSP support. If you have complex on-premise infrastructure, no internal IT capability, and truly need 24/7 help desk support, bundled services might be appropriate.
But if you're like most small businesses with 1 to 50 employees, using cloud-based systems, with employees who can handle basic technical tasks, you don't need to pay for comprehensive bundles. You need specialized security expertise.
Ready to see what you'd actually pay for real security? Email sales@secureps.net with your employee count for an exact quote with no hidden fees. We'll show you the math and explain exactly what you get for specialized protection that costs a fraction of bundled MSP packages. No pressure, no gimmicks, just transparent pricing from specialists who focus exclusively on keeping you secure.