# MSP vs In-House IT: Which Fits a Canadian SMB?

Last reviewed: 2026-09-27

## Summary

An in-house IT employee gives you one person on site who knows your business; an MSP gives you a team, security tooling and coverage for vacations, nights and turnover for a predictable monthly fee. Most Canadian SMBs under roughly 50–75 staff get broader coverage from an MSP; larger teams often combine both (co-managed IT). The deciding factors are coverage hours, security depth and continuity, not salary alone.

Hiring your first IT person and signing with a managed service provider solve the same problem in different ways. This guide compares them on the things that actually break small businesses: coverage gaps, security, knowledge loss and cost predictability.

## MSP vs in-house IT at a glance
| Factor | In-house IT employee | Managed service provider (MSP) | Co-managed (both) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Coverage | Business hours of one person; gaps during vacation or illness | Team coverage, after-hours options by contract | Internal person days, MSP after-hours and backup |
| Skills | Generalist; depth depends on the hire | Specialists across networking, cloud, security | Internal context plus specialist depth |
| Security tooling | Must be bought and run separately | Usually bundled (EDR, patching, backups, monitoring) | MSP tooling, internal ownership |
| Cost structure | Salary, benefits, training, tools, recruiting | Predictable monthly fee plus scoped projects | Salary plus a smaller MSP fee |
| Continuity | Knowledge leaves when the person leaves | Documented environment, team memory | Documented and shared |
| On-site presence | Always on site | Remote-first; on-site when needed | On site daily |

## When in-house IT makes sense

Hire internally when you have enough daily hands-on work to fill a full-time role, specialized on-site equipment, or line-of-business systems that need someone physically present every day. Even then, pair the hire with external security tooling and after-hours coverage.

## When an MSP makes sense

An MSP fits when you need reliable coverage and security without building an IT department: most offices of 5 to about 75 people running Microsoft 365, cloud apps and a few line-of-business tools. You get a team, documented processes and predictable cost.

## Co-managed IT: the middle path

If you already employ an IT person, a co-managed agreement lets them focus on users and projects while the MSP runs monitoring, patching, backups, security and after-hours response. Write the split of responsibilities into the contract.

## Frequently asked questions

**At what size should a business hire in-house IT?**

There is no fixed number. Many organizations start considering an internal hire when daily hands-on work fills a full-time role, often somewhere past 50–75 staff, and keep an MSP for security tooling and after-hours coverage.

**Is an MSP cheaper than an IT employee?**

Often for small teams, because the fee includes tooling, security and backup coverage that an employee would still need. Compare total cost: salary, benefits, tools, training and coverage gaps.

**Can an MSP work with our existing IT person?**

Yes. Co-managed IT is common: the internal person handles day-to-day needs and the MSP provides tooling, security depth and after-hours support.

## Related
- [How managed IT pricing works](https://amensecurity.ca/en/guides/managed-it-pricing-canada.md)
- [Managed IT vs break-fix](https://amensecurity.ca/en/guides/msp-vs-break-fix.md)
- [Managed IT services](https://amensecurity.ca/en/services/managed.md)
- [Talk to an engineer](https://amensecurity.ca/en/contact.md)

## Sources
- [Canadian Centre for Cyber Security — Baseline cyber security controls for small and medium organizations](https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/baseline-cyber-security-controls-small-and-medium-organizations)
- [Get Cyber Safe (Government of Canada)](https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/en)

## Contact

- [Book Free Assessment](https://amensecurity.ca/en/contact?tab=consult)

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Source page: https://amensecurity.ca/en/guides/msp-vs-in-house-it
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Email: info@amensecurity.ca
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