Hire, outsource, or do both?

A free Excel calculator that compares the real cost of an in-house IT hire, an outsourced provider, and a co-managed mix, so you can see which one fits your headcount.

A free Excel calculator comparing in-house, outsourced and co-managed IT costs for a 10-75 person business, including the coverage gaps a hire leaves.

3 models
in-house, outsourced, co-managed
10 to 75
sized for your headcount
$0
free, no strings, yours to keep

What you'll get

A practical, ready-to-use resource you fill in with your own numbers and keep. No expiring trial, no strings.

In-house vs Outsourced vs Co-managed Cost Calculator
Excel workbook, yours to keep
Preview

What the IT Cost Calculator does

“Should we just hire someone?” is one of the most common IT questions a growing business asks, and the answer is rarely as simple as comparing a salary to a monthly fee. A single internal hire costs far more than their paycheck once you add benefits, tools, and training, and they still cannot be in two places at once when something breaks while they are on vacation.

This workbook runs the honest math on all three options. You enter your headcount and a few numbers, and it builds a true annual cost for hiring in-house, outsourcing to a provider, and a co-managed mix of the two. A break-even view shows which model fits as you grow.

Count the true in-house cost

Salary is only the start. The model adds benefits, payroll tax, tools and licensing, training, and turnover risk, so you see what one IT hire really costs you per year.

Compare all three side by side

In-house, fully outsourced, and a co-managed mix of a leaner internal role plus an outside team, all on the same page with the same assumptions.

Price the coverage gap

One person cannot cover vacations, sick days, or a 2 a.m. outage. The calculator puts a number on that single-point-of-failure risk most spreadsheets ignore.

Find your break-even

A break-even view against employee count shows where outsourcing or co-managing starts to make more sense than hiring, given your specific numbers.

What is inside the workbook

  • An in-house cost model: salary, benefits, payroll tax, tools and licensing, training, turnover risk, and a coverage-gap factor for PTO and single-point-of-failure
  • An outsourced model: a per-user fee across your headcount
  • A co-managed model: a reduced internal salary plus an augmentation fee
  • A break-even view that charts the three models against employee count
  • Inputs sized for a 10 to 75 person business, with a short instructions tab

There is no single right answer

The best model depends on your size, your risk tolerance, and whether you already have an IT person you want to keep. Use this to frame the conversation, not to settle it. We are happy to walk through your numbers.

Want to think it through, not just price it?

Numbers are half the decision. Our comparison guide on in-house vs outsourced vs co-managed IT covers the trade-offs beyond cost, and our co-managed IT hub explains how a shared model works if you already have someone on staff.

How it works

1

Tell us where to send it

Fill in the short form. Just enough so we know who we're helping and can tailor any follow-up, only if you want it.

2

Check your inbox

We email your copy right away, and the download is yours to keep. No expiring trial, no login.

3

Put it to work

Use it on your own, or ask us for a second set of eyes. No pressure either way.

We do not sell your information

You get the file and an email copy for later. That is it. No third-party sharing, ever.

Real local humans built this

Vicinity is a genuinely local IT provider with people in Alaska and Hawaii. The model reflects what staffing IT actually costs here.

No sales theater

The workbook is a working tool, not a brochure. Use it whether or not we ever talk.