Per-device vs per-technician RMM pricing: which hurts less?
How per-endpoint RMM bills punish growth for MSPs — and why per-technician pricing in ZAR keeps software cost aligned with your team, not client fleet size.
Most RMM vendors charge per device (or per endpoint). Land a 40-seat client and your software bill jumps — even if your team size stayed the same. That model is easy for vendors to explain and hard for growing MSPs to absorb, especially when the invoice is in USD.
Per-technician pricing flips the unit of cost: you pay for seats on your team. Your bill scales when you hire, not when a client buys more laptops.
Where per-device quietly eats margin
- Every onboarded endpoint is a recurring tax on the contract
- Seasonal or project fleets inflate the bill for weeks you barely touch them
- USD subscriptions vs ZAR client revenue add exchange-rate risk
- Separate PSA, portal, and reporting tools stack on top of the RMM line item
When per-technician fits better
Per-tech models tend to suit MSPs who:
- Want predictable software cost as client count grows
- Run dense fleets per technician (common in SMB MSP work)
- Prefer one platform bill instead of RMM + PSA + portal + patcher
They are less ideal if you have almost no devices and many idle technician seats — but that is rarely the SA MSP reality.
A simple way to compare
For your next quote, write down:
- Endpoints under management today
- Expected endpoints in 12 months
- Technician count today and next hire date
- All tool invoices that touch monitoring, tickets, patches, and the client portal
Then price both models forward. The “cheaper” per-device quote often loses once growth and USD are honest.
How Allocentra prices it
Allocentra plans are flat monthly bands in ZAR via Paystack — Solo from R700/mo, Growth at R3,500/mo with unlimited endpoints for up to five technicians. Details live on the pricing page. You can also try the platform for 30 days.