In-house IT support vs. outsourcing: how much does a technician cost for 30 positions?

8 min read · DataRoad

In-house IT support or outsourcing? For a SME with 30 employees, the answer starts with a calculation that almost no one does until the end: the total cost of an in-house technician. It’s not the salary — it’s the salary, plus allowances, TSU, insurance, meals, training, tools, and the cost of being left without anyone when they’re on vacation. In our example, that figure falls between €30,300 and €40,700 per year. This is the number you should compare any offer of advancement to.

We calculate this below, with assumptions already in place.

The total cost of an in-house technician, line by line

The salary negotiated in the interview is only the starting point. In Portugal, the company pays:

• 14 salaries per year: 12 months more holiday allowance and Christmas bonus.
• TSU of the employing entity: 23.75% on remuneration, in most cases.
• Accident insurance: mandatory by law (Law No. 98/2009); the amount depends on the insurer.
• Meal allowance for each day of work.
• Continuing education: The Labor Code gives every worker the right to a minimum of 40 hours of training per year. In an IT technician, the useful training — certifications in networking, security, Microsoft — usually goes beyond that.
• Tools: laptop, mobile phone, remote support, inventory and monitoring software licenses, and travel expenses.

Example: two salary scenarios

Illustrative example. TSU and the rules for holidays and training are those provided for by law; salaries and the other lines are assumptions that must be replaced by the actual values of your market and your company. It does not include recruitment costs.

For reference: according to the INE, the average monthly gross remuneration per worker in Portugal was €1,694 in 2025. Distributed over 14 months, this value is close to the base salary of scenario A; scenario B represents a more experienced profile.

The cost that does not appear in the table: the days without anyone

A technician is entitled to 22 working days of vacation per year. If they complete the 40 hours of mandatory training, that’s an extra five days off. Total: 27 working days — more than five weeks — during which the 30-person company is without its technician. Not to mention the sick leave or the departure of the technician himself, which requires recruiting and rebuilding knowledge from scratch.

And breakdowns don't mean a vacation. When the server fails in August, either there's no one there, or the company hires someone from the outside who doesn't know the network — and pays for it. We calculate how much each hour of downtime costs. How much does an hour of downtime cost in a 20-station company?.

One person, many specialties

A 30-station company today almost always has:

• a network with switches, Wi-Fi access points and a firewall;
• Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, with accounts, licenses, and security rules;
• a server or cloud services, and backups that need to be tested;
• protection of equipment against attacks, two-factor authentication and password policies;
• printers, phones, sometimes Apple equipment alongside Windows.

It is rare for a person to master all of this at the same level. The most common is a strong technical support team, less so in security or networking — precisely where a mistake costs more. In outsourcing, you have a team of experts in each area, who have already seen the problem in other companies.

In-house technical vs. outsourcing advancement: comparison for 30 positions

When is the in-house coach useful?

There are cases where they do. If the company has very specific internal applications that require someone dedicated, if it needs permanent physical presence for operational reasons, or if it already has the capacity for a small IT team, having someone on board is an advantage. Even then, the most common is to combine that internal person with an external partner for security, networks, and coverage. For companies with 50 to 200 seats, we explain this model in In-house IT department vs. outsourcing.

For a 30-person company without these needs, the avenue tends to gain in coverage, specialization, and predictability.

How to compare with a proposal for a settlement

1. Calculate the total annual cost of the technician with the above table and its actual values.
2. Request a proposal for a solution based on an assessment of your infrastructure — not a price per seat taken from a table. At DataRoad, the proposal IT Unlimited It is closed after this diagnosis, so that the value corresponds to what actually exists.
3. Compare what is included: travel, security, monitoring, schedules. In the Essential tier, travel to the site is budgeted separately; in the IT Unlimited Premium, On-site assistance is included.
4. Read the exit conditions. The DataRoad contract is annual, with automatic renewal, 60 days' notice, and no commitment period.

For an overview of market values, see How much does IT support for companies cost?. And if you are preparing the budget for next year, use our guide IT budget for 2027.

A real case: PTR Pharma Consulting

PTR Pharma Consulting, a healthcare and pharmaceutical consulting firm, chose DataRoad for all monthly IT support under an annual IT Unlimited contract with a fixed up-front payment. The scope covers workstation support, wireless network, printers, server administration and backups, internet connection, firewall and VPN. The corporate website and professional email are hosted on DataRoad’s servers, with redundant backups and protection against spam and phishing.

Instead of a technician trying to cover everything, the company has a team with responsibility over the whole thing — and a single contract. Read more the case of PTR Pharma Consulting.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does an in-house computer technician cost a company?

In our example, between about €30,300 and €40,700 per year, with base salaries of €1,400 and €2,000. The bill includes 14 salaries, TSU of €23.75%, occupational accident insurance, meal allowance, training and tools. It does not include recruitment nor holiday cover and sick leave.

Is computer outsourcing cheaper than hiring an in-house technician?

Often it is when comparing the total cost of the coach and not just the salary. A fair comparison also includes what each option covers.

How much does DataRoad's IT Unlimited plan for 30 seats cost?

It depends on the servers, the network, the locations, and the tier chosen. The proposal is finalized after a diagnosis of your infrastructure, with a fixed monthly fee.

Can I keep my in-house technician and also have a referral?

Yes. It’s a common model: the internal technician handles day-to-day operations and the external partner provides security, networks, monitoring, projects, and coverage when the internal technician is not available.

Internal technical comparison vs. advancement, with proposal within 10 working days

We perform the diagnosis of your infrastructure, calculate the total cost of the internal model with you, and deliver an IT Unlimited proposal with a fixed monthly value, for you to compare side by side. For companies with more than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site, and telephone support.

Sources

• PwC Fiscal Guide 2026 — Social Security (contributory rates: 23.75% employer entity, 11% worker)
• Labour Code (Law No. 7/2009), Diário da República — art. 131.º (40 hours of continuous training) and art. 238.º (22 working days of vacation)
• Government of Portugal — “Real wages grew by 3.2% in 2025” (INE data: average monthly gross remuneration of €1,694)
• Law No. 98/2009 of September 4 — regime of compensation for work-related accidents (compulsory insurance)