---
title: "IT Unlimited vs a block of hours | DataRoad IT"
description: "Blocks of hours, capped retainers and resident engineers cost more than they seem. Compare them with DataRoad's IT Unlimited. Request a no-commitment proposal."
language: en
url: https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-unlimited-vs-hour-bank-costs/
source: https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-unlimited-vs-hour-bank-costs/
publisher: DataRoad IT (DataRoad - IT Services and Consulting), Portugal
---

> Blocks of hours, capped retainers and resident engineers cost more than they seem. Compare them with DataRoad's IT Unlimited. Request a no-commitment proposal.

# IT Unlimited vs a block of hours: what each model really costs

At a glance For decision-makers short on time.

- 01 Hour blocks and capped retainers pay the provider for every fault; IT Unlimited pays it to prevent them.
- 02 IT Unlimited from €395, €750 or €1,200/month + VAT, with no counting of requests.
- 03 Annual contract, automatic renewal, no lock-in and no tie-in.
- 04 Velv by OnRising grew from 90 to around 200 workstations; Uriach renewed.

**IT invoices that change every month, hours that run out mid-quarter and faults that drag on because the balance is used up: that is the hidden cost of a block of hours, a capped retainer or a resident engineer. In all three models, the provider earns more when your company has more problems. DataRoad's IT Unlimited reverses the incentive: a fixed monthly fee, requests that are never counted and prevention as our obligation, so the IT budget is predictable and your team keeps working.**

## What does each model actually cost you?

The price on the proposal is rarely the price of the year. Count what is left out and the downtime too.

- **Hour bank:** You pay for a package of 10, 20 or 50 hours. Each visit uses up balance. When it hits zero, you buy again.
- **Capped retainer:** A monthly fee covers a set number of hours or visits. The excess appears on the next invoice. Call-outs, servers and evenings are often excluded.
- **Resident engineer (outsourcing):** Someone from the provider is with you one or more days a week. You pay for presence, with or without failures.
- **IT Unlimited:** A fixed monthly fee, no cap on requests, with monitoring, patching, backups and security in the package. It is the only format DataRoad offers, for every client.

## Who profits when your network goes down?

With billed hours, a failure is paid for twice: the engineer's hour and the unproductive hour of whoever is waiting. The provider is paid for the repair, not for what it prevents. Monitoring, updating out of hours or replacing a disk before it fails earns it nothing.

Nobody is acting in bad faith. The incentive is simply skewed. The result: the provider only turns up after the problem.

### And with a resident engineer?

You gain presence and lose redundancy. Everything known about your infrastructure lives in one person's memory. If they go on holiday, fall ill or change jobs, a replacement arrives blind. On days when nobody is on site, requests pile up.

## How do the four models compare, criterion by criterion?

| Criterion | Hour bank | Capped retainer | Resident engineer | IT Unlimited |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Predictable monthly invoice | No | Only up to the cap | Yes, plus extras | Yes, fixed fee |
| The provider earns from | More hours | The excess | Time occupied | Zero incidents |
| Monitoring | None | Rare | On site only | Included (24/7 only in Premium 365) |
| Patching | Uses balance | Uses the cap | If there is time | Included, out of hours |
| Backups | Extra | Extra | Depends on who is there | Included, with tested restores |
| Firewall and antivirus | Extra | Extra | Extra | Managed in the Premium plans |
| Site visits | Billed | Counted or billed | Only on the scheduled day | Unlimited in Premium and Premium 365; Essential is remote and telephone |
| Absences | Not applicable | Not applicable | Nobody | The full team responds |
| Documentation | Scattered | Scattered | In one person's head | Recorded and shared |
| Accountability | Hours on the invoice | Hours on the invoice | Variable | Ticket portal and monthly report |
| Lock-in | None | 12 to 36 months | 12 months | None (annual contract, has no lock-in) |
| Suits | Micro-businesses with rare failures | Rare, predictable failures | Lots of physical on-site work | Companies that stop when IT stops |

## What is included in the IT Unlimited monthly fee?

Every plan includes uncounted requests by ticket, phone and remote access, monitoring, update management, managed and tested backups, a monthly report and the client portal. Immediate response times.

- **[Essential](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-unlimited-essential-remote-managed-it/):** From €395/month + VAT. From 10 workstations. Remote and telephone support only.
- **[Premium](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-unlimited-premium-on-site-support/):** From €750/month + VAT. Unlimited on-site support, managed firewall and antivirus, full estate management.
- **[Premium 365](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/premium-365-24-7-managed-it/):** From €1,200/month + VAT. Everything in Premium, plus nights, weekends and public holidays, 24/7 support and monitoring and a dedicated account manager.

The final amount follows from the scope and is set in writing. See [how we set the price](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-services-pricing-plans/) or read the [IT Unlimited overview](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-services/).

### What is not in the monthly fee

Hardware and licences: quoted separately, or bought directly by the client. Projects such as cabling, new Wi-Fi or large migrations: quoted separately, with priority for those already under contract. Software development is not included either. And no ad hoc call-outs: the model only holds because every client is inside it.

## Which questions should you ask any provider before signing?

Ask each provider for written answers. Vague ones say more than good ones.

- **Once the hours run out, what do I pay?** If the answer is "by the hour", the advertised monthly fee is only the minimum.
- **A server fails at three in the morning. Who knows?** Without monitoring, only your staff, the next morning.
- **When did you last test a backup restore?** Without a specific date, assume they do not test.
- **How many engineers know my network?** Just one is a single point of failure.
- **How do I leave the contract?** A provider confident in its service does not tie the client down.

Add our [guide to choosing an MSP in Portugal](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/best-msp-portugal-8-criteria/) and the [external IT department](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-department-portugal/) page, for those weighing an in-house hire.

Chosen by respected and international companies

★★★★★ 5,0 · 52 Google reviews

★★★★★ 5,0 · 52 Google reviews

## What should you demand in the contract, whoever the provider?

- **Perimeter:** Which machines, people and sites are covered, and which are not.
- **SLA:** Response and resolution times by priority, and the penalty if they are missed.
- **Extras:** What is billed outside the monthly fee: site visits, evenings, projects.
- **Exit:** Notice period, lock-in and handover of credentials and documentation.
- **Reporting:** What is reported, when and to whom.

At DataRoad, these five points are published for each plan and stated again in the proposal.

## Who has already moved to IT Unlimited, and why do they renew?

A model is judged at the end of the contract. [Velv by OnRising grew with us from 90 to around 200 workstations](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/velv-onrising-managed-it-200-workstations/), with firewall, wireless network, servers and connectivity included. [Uriach signed IT Unlimited again in Portugal](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/uriach-portugal-renews-it-unlimited/). Neither is held by a lock-in. They stay because they do the maths, including the outages they no longer have.

- **11 years** In the market and **232 clients**.
- **Top 5% PME** In Portugal, according to scoring.pt.
- **No security incidents** At DataRoad in 11 years.

This is the model through which we deliver all our [managed IT services](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-services-networks-security-cloud/).

## Frequently asked questions: hours or a fixed monthly fee?

### Is a fixed monthly fee more expensive than paying by the hour?

No, for companies with more than 10 workstations where IT is critical, a fixed monthly fee usually works out cheaper. Paying by the hour only makes sense for micro-businesses with rare faults, which is why we only work from 10 workstations upwards. Once you add up hours, site visits, extra backups and your team's downtime, the fixed IT Unlimited fee normally comes in below the total.

### Does unlimited mean no limits at all?

Unlimited means requests are not counted: tickets, calls and remote sessions do not use up a balance, and neither do site visits on Premium and Premium 365. Essential is remote and phone only. Hardware, licences, projects such as cabling or new Wi-Fi, and software development sit outside the monthly fee, as explained above.

### What contract do I sign, and can I change plan?

The IT Unlimited contract runs for one year, renews automatically, with no tie-in and no joining fee. You can move up or down a plan in either direction. Hotels, healthcare providers and multi-site companies receive a proposal sized to their scope, with the final price fixed in writing before signing.

### We have an in-house engineer. Do we still need an MSP?

Yes, and it is a common combination in companies with an internal team. Your engineer handles users day to day; DataRoad takes care of monitoring, backups, security, servers and cover during holidays and absences. The company stops depending on a single person. See how the [hybrid model](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-department-portugal/) works.

### Do you take on one-off projects outside a contract?

No, DataRoad does not do one-off jobs or ad hoc call-outs. Networks, Wi-Fi, cabling and migrations are for IT Unlimited clients, or they open the door to a contract, because whoever installs is responsible for maintaining and managing what was installed. We explain in detail [why we turn down one-off support](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-services-contract-no-one-off-callouts/).

### How do we move from our current provider to DataRoad without downtime?

The handover happens without a single uncovered day: the audit, credentials and documentation are collected before the old contract ends. We switch on monitoring and backups in parallel and, at the end of the first month, hand over portal access and the first report. See the full process in [how to switch provider without downtime](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/switch-it-provider-portugal/).

### Can each employee ask for help directly?

Yes, each employee asks for help directly by email, phone or portal, with no middlemen and no limit on requests. There is no need to go through management or an internal contact. Management sees every request, who opened it and its status, and receives a monthly report summarising the service delivered.

## Read before you sign

- [30 workstations: in-house engineer or external contract?](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/in-house-it-technician-vs-managed-services/)
- [In-house, external or mixed team](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/co-managed-it-in-house-lead-msp/)

## Where does DataRoad provide the service?

Headquartered in Alfragide with support nationwide. Remote support for companies in Europe and the USA. Local pages: [Lisbon](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/lisbon-msp-managed-networks-it/), [Cascais](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-networks-it-cascais/), [Oeiras](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-networks-it-oeiras/), [Sintra](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/sintra-msp-managed-networks-wifi-it/), [Leiria](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/industrial-networks-managed-it-leiria/), [Coimbra](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-networks-it-coimbra-central-portugal/) and [Porto](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-networks-it-porto/). Full map in [service areas](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-support-coverage-portugal/).

## Next step: send us the proposal you have on the table

We read your current provider's proposal and send back the cost of IT Unlimited for your number of workstations. Request a no-commitment proposal. We work only under contract and directly with the end client.

**More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and telephone support.** +351 211 459 950 * (weekdays, 9:00–13:00 and 14:00–18:30) · sales@dataroad.pt

**Call to a Portuguese landline.*

One Step Ahead of IT.

News

## Projects delivered and news from DataRoad.

[See all news →](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/news/)

[NewsFrance Affiches: three sites, no single point of failureA French group founded in 1984 hands a Portuguese MSP the infrastructure of Antony, Wissous and Vialonga: high-availability firewalls, fibre…25 October 2026 · 4 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/france-affiches-it-three-sites-paris-lisbon/)[NewsSSAP: a managed business wireless network with 14 access pointsA sixth project for the same public body since 2019: when a tender goes to the same company again, it is the previous network doing the talk…12 October 2026 · 6 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/ssap-managed-wireless-network-14-access-points/)[NewsManaged cybersecurity: one architecture, no incidents in 11 yearsThe same security architecture for every client, operated rather than merely installed. In 11 years, DataRoad has never suffered a security …12 October 2026 · 8 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-cybersecurity-single-architecture/)[NewsManaged Ubiquiti UniFi: more than 138 sites and 1321 devicesA network made of different brands and installers fails at the joins. DataRoad has managed more than 138 Ubiquiti UniFi sites on the same te…10 October 2026 · 3 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-ubiquiti-unifi-networks/)[NewsFrance Affiches: an on-site IT audit in ParisA premium Portuguese MSP at a French group's headquarters: the audit of France Affiches' network and systems was done on site in Paris and d…10 October 2026 · 4 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/france-affiches-it-audit-paris/)[NewsManaged remote support for companies without a fixed officePaying for a provider's offices speeds nothing up. Immediate remote support, an in-house datacentre and on-site work only when the network c…8 October 2026 · 5 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-remote-companies-europe-usa/)[News24 public IT contracts: the standard of RTP, Técnico and SSAPA public tender gives no second chances. Since 2017, eight public bodies, from RTP to SSAP, have awarded DataRoad 24 IT contracts, all verif…3 October 2026 · 5 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/public-contracts-it-partner-rtp-tecnico-ssap/)[NewsEmbassies and international groups: why they choose DataRoadEmbassy of Korea, Consulate of Brazil, DCIAP, Reltio by SAP, beQom, Mitrelli Group: organisations that demand written guarantees chose DataR…12 September 2026 · 4 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/embassies-international-groups-msp-portugal/)[NewsDataRoad in five languages: managed IT for overseas head officesWhoever chooses the IT partner for a subsidiary in Portugal is often in Geneva or New York. DataRoad's website now speaks the language of th…12 September 2026 · 4 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-services-five-languages/)

Numbers you can verify

**11** years in business

**232** clients

**< 10 min** average response time

**15+** IT vendor certifications

**10+** Countries with clients supported

**5.0 ★** 52 Google reviews

Transparency

## What many providers hide, we publish.

[See plans and prices →](https://www.dataroad-it.com/it-unlimited/)

- **Prices upfront** Essential from €395/month + VAT, Premium from €750 and Premium 365 from €1,200.
- **No lock-in** Annual contract, no lock-in and no joining fees.
- **Everything in writing** What is included, the scope and the price, before you sign.
- **Support without counted hours** Remote and phone in every plan; on-site support from Premium.

Partners and certifications

DataRoad · IT Unlimited

## One StepAhead of IT.

Predictability is a service: the same fee every month, requests without counting hours and an SLA written into the contract.

- **232** clients under management
- **5 ★** on Google · 52 reviews
- **10+** workstations: our minimum per client

We do **IT** right.

Contact

## An internet outage should not stop your office.

Redundant access, automatic failover and continuous monitoring.

Phone +351 211 459 950 * *Call to a Portuguese landline

Sales email sales@dataroad.pt

Headquarters Avenida dos Moinhos 12 B, 2610-119 Alfragide, Portugal

More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and phone support

DataRoad works only for companies under an IT Unlimited contract. We do not take subcontracted work or one-off call-outs.

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