Why Are MSP Prices Hidden?

You're researching managed IT providers. You visit the first MSP website. Nice testimonials, some logos, a services page. You click "Pricing" and find... nothing. Just a contact form asking for your name, email, phone number, and company size. "Request a custom quote," it says.

You try another provider. Same thing. And another. Same thing. Five MSP websites later, you've learned nothing about what managed IT actually costs. But you have learned something: this industry doesn't want you to know.

That's not an accident. Hidden pricing is a deliberate strategy, and it doesn't serve buyers. Here's why most MSPs hide their prices, what it actually costs you (beyond money), and how to protect yourself when comparison shopping feels impossible.

(For actual pricing benchmarks, see our complete guide to managed IT costs where we break down the $100-$250/user range and what drives pricing up or down.)

Why Most MSPs Use "Contact Us for Pricing"

Let's be fair: MSP pricing isn't as simple as "Medium Pizza: $15.99."  Your business isn't a pizza. An MSP quoting your 30-person company needs to understand your server setup, compliance requirements, and current infrastructure. A one-size-fits-all price could be wildly inaccurate.

That's the legitimate reason. Now for the others.

Lead qualification disguised as customization. Before revealing prices, MSPs want to know your budget. That "discovery call" isn't just about understanding your needs - it's about figuring out what you're willing to pay. Armed with that information, they can tailor the quote to extract maximum revenue rather than giving you their standard rate.

Avoiding comparison shopping. If you can't see prices, you can't compare prices. Every MSP becomes a black box. You'd need to schedule five sales calls, sit through five discovery meetings, wait for five proposals, and then try to compare apples to oranges because each proposal is structured differently.

Psychological anchoring. When pricing is revealed during a sales call (after they've spent an hour building rapport and demonstrating value), it lands differently than if you saw it cold on a website. You've invested time. You like the salesperson. The number feels more reasonable because of the context they've created.

Flexible pricing by buyer.  Without public prices, there's no accountability. Different companies can pay different rates for identical services. The sophisticated buyer who pushes back gets a discount. The buyer who doesn't know to negotiate pays full price (or more).

None of this is illegal. Some of it is reasonable business practice. But let's not pretend it's all about "customization."

The Hidden Costs of Hidden Pricing

When MSPs hide pricing, you pay for it - even before you sign anything. Here's what that "free consultation" actually costs:

Your Time (Hours of It)

The average MSP sales process requires 2-3 meetings before you see numbers. Multiply that by 3-5 providers you're evaluating, and you've spent 10-15 hours just learning what things cost. That's time your CFO, IT manager, or office administrator isn't spending on actual work.

For a 30-person business where everyone's time is valuable, those 15 hours of meetings represent real money. And that's before evaluating proposals, negotiating terms, or making a decision.

Decision Paralysis

When you can't easily compare options, decisions stall. We've talked to business owners who spent six months "evaluating MSPs" because the process was so painful they kept putting off the next meeting. Meanwhile, their current IT problems continued costing them money.

If you could see that Provider A charges $150/user and Provider B charges $175/user with additional security tools included, you could make an informed decision in days, not months.

Proposal Fatigue

By your third discovery call, every MSP starts blending together. They all claim "24/7 support," "comprehensive security," and "strategic partnership." Without pricing as a differentiator, you're left comparing vague promises. The provider with the best salesperson wins, not the one that's actually the best fit.

Bait-and-Switch Risk

When pricing isn't public, there's no baseline to hold providers accountable. That $125/user quote you got during the sales process? It might turn into $185/user once you realize security, backup, and after-hours support weren't included. To add insult to injury— good luck going back to the competitor you rejected three months ago.

How Hidden Pricing Benefits Sellers (Not Buyers)

This system exists because it works - for MSPs. Here's what they gain:

Price discrimination. Enterprise-looking companies get quoted higher rates than scrappy startups, even for identical services. There's no published price to call them on it.

Higher close rates. After investing hours in meetings, buyers feel committed. Walking away means admitting you wasted your time. This sunk-cost psychology benefits the seller.

Competitive insulation.  When competitors can't see your pricing, they can't undercut you strategically. Everyone competes in the dark.

Upselling opportunities. Discovery calls reveal your pain points, which become ammunition for selling you additional services you may or may not need.

Again, nothing illegal here. But this is a system designed to benefit sellers at buyer expense. If it benefited buyers, MSPs would be racing to make it easier for you to compare options. They're not.

What Transparent Pricing Actually Looks Like

At NOC, we publish our pricing.  Not because we're morally superior (we're running a business too), but because we think the traditional model wastes everyone's time - including ours.

Here's what transparency actually means:

You know the range before the first call. Our small business pricing guide explains that 10-50 employee companies typically pay $150-$200 per user per month. A 25-person company should budget roughly $3,500-$5,000 monthly. You know that before we talk.

You can self-qualify. If our pricing doesn't fit your budget, you don't waste an hour learning that. If it does fit, our first conversation is about fit and specifics - not playing 20 questions to figure out your willingness to pay.

No pricing games. The quote we give matches what we publish. There's no "special discount" that's really just the rate we'd quote anyone. No manufactured urgency. No "let me talk to my manager."

Accountability. When pricing is public, we can't quietly charge one client 40% more than another for identical services. That's a feature, not a bug.

Does this cost us some deals? Probably. But it attracts clients who value honesty over negotiation games - and those tend to be better long-term relationships anyway.

How to Evaluate MSPs When Pricing Is Hidden

Not every MSP publishes pricing (in fact, no one else in STL does based on our research), and you may still need to evaluate providers who don't. Here's how to protect yourself:

Demand Itemized Proposals

Don't accept a single monthly number.  Request line-item breakdowns: help desk support, security tools, backup services, monitoring, vCIO hours. When everything is bundled into one opaque number, you can't tell what you're paying for or where they might be padding margins.

Ask These Specific Questions

●      "What would a 30-person company similar to ours typically pay?" (Force them to give a ballpark)

●      "What's NOT included in your standard package?" (Find the hidden add-ons)

●      "What do after-hours incidents cost?" (The answer reveals whether "24/7" is real)

●      "Can you send me your standard service agreement before our next meeting?"

●      "How do you answer support calls at 3 AM?" (Reveals if you'll get a person or a voicemail)

Watch for Red Flags

●     Multiple discovery calls before seeing numbers. One meeting to understand your environment is reasonable. Three meetings of "building understanding" before pricing is manipulation.

●     Vague proposals. If the proposal says "comprehensive security package" without listing specific tools, that's intentional obfuscation.

●     Pressure to decide quickly. "This pricing is only valid for 30 days" is artificial urgency. Good MSPs don't need pressure tactics.

●     Unwillingness to provide references. If they won't connect you with current clients similar to your business, ask yourself why.

Compare Apples to Apples

Create your own comparison spreadsheet. List what you need: help desk, monitoring, security (specify tools), backup, on-site support, after-hours coverage, vCIO hours. Then fill in what each provider includes and what costs extra. This forces transparency even when providers aren't offering it voluntarily.

Making a Better Decision

Hidden pricing is an industry standard, but it's not an immutable law. Some MSPs - including us - have decided transparency serves everyone better. When you're comparing providers, pay attention to who makes the process easy and who makes it difficult. That tells you something about how they'll treat you as a client.

The $100-$250/user industry benchmark exists. What drives you higher or lower in that range (complexity, compliance, support levels) is predictable. You shouldn't need three meetings to learn what thousands of businesses already pay.

If an MSP won't tell you what their services cost until they've qualified your budget, they're optimizing for their revenue, not your outcome. That's their right. It's also your right to work with someone who respects your time enough to be upfront.

Want to see what transparent MSP pricing looks like?  We publish our rates because you shouldn't need a sales process to learn what something costs. Get straightforward pricing for your business →