Why SA MSPs are ditching per-device bills: per-technician pricing in rand keeps software cost aligned with headcount — and puts monitoring, tickets, and patches in one dashboard.
If you only need the deep forex / break-even spreadsheet, see Per-device vs per-technician RMM pricing: which is cheaper for a South African MSP?. This guide is the practical ZAR cost picture: what you actually pay, where Solo caps bind, and when unlimited endpoints on Growth+ win.
What RMM costs look like when the invoice is in ZAR
Most global RMM tools quote in USD (or EUR). Your clients pay you in rand. That gap is not theoretical — exchange-rate swings, card forex fees, and VAT handling all move the real monthly number.
A local per-technician model flips the unit of cost:
- You pay for seats on your team, not every laptop under management
- On Growth and Scale, adding endpoints does not raise the base plan bill
- The price is published in ZAR, so finance can budget without converting every month
Live bands always live on /pricing. The snapshot below uses published monthly MSP list prices (annual billing is lower per month — check the pricing page before you quote a client).
MSP plans at a glance (ZAR, monthly list)
| Plan | Per technician / month | Clients | Endpoints | Core ops included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | R700 | Up to 3 | Up to 150 | Monitoring, tickets & SLA, remote control, on-demand reports |
| Growth | R1,400 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Everything in Solo + patching, smart alerts, SLA contracts, discovery, scheduled reports |
| Scale | R3,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Everything in Growth + scripts/automation, API, SAML SSO |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | High-touch onboarding, bank/EFT invoicing, compliance review |
Annual billing is typically 11 × monthly (one month free). Allocentra issues standard invoices (not VAT-registered at time of writing) — confirm on /pricing when you buy.
Solo vs Growth: the endpoint limits that decide the plan
When Solo is enough
Solo fits a single IT pro or a very small book:
- 3 clients and 150 endpoints max
- Tickets, monitoring, and remote control without a separate RMM bill
- Useful while you prove the stack — risky if you are about to win a 200-seat client
Hit either cap and you are not "optimising Solo." You need Growth.
When Growth+ (Growth and Scale) wins
Growth and Scale include unlimited clients and endpoints. Your bill changes when you hire a technician, not when a client buys more laptops.
That is the moment most SA MSPs ditch per-device pricing: fleet growth stops being a software tax.
Scale adds an automation library, API, and SSO when you outgrow self-serve ops — still per technician, still unlimited endpoints.
One dashboard, not four invoices
Per-technician pricing only helps if the platform replaces the pile of tools that usually sit next to the RMM:
- Monitoring and alerts — fleet health without a second alerter
- Tickets and SLA — queue and client context without a bolted-on PSA for day-to-day work
- Patching — policies and maintenance windows on Growth+
That bundle is the point of Allocentra for MSPs: cost model and ops model match. Tool sprawl is how a "cheap" per-device quote becomes four line items.
A simple ZAR cost-modelling checklist
Before you renew or switch, write down:
- Endpoints under management today
- Endpoints you expect in 12 months
- Technician seats today and the next hire date
- Whether Solo's 150-endpoint / 3-client cap will bind this year
- Every invoice that touches monitoring, tickets, patches, remote access, and the client portal
- Whether finance needs a ZAR invoice / EFT path vs USD card-only vendors
Then price forward on headcount, not on last month's device count. For the USD-vs-ZAR break-even maths, use the August comparison as the supporting worksheet — not a second homepage for the same keyword.
FAQ
How much does RMM cost in South Africa?
It depends on the model. Per-device USD tools scale with fleet size and exchange rate. Per-technician ZAR plans (like Allocentra's) scale with seats: Solo from R700/tech/month (capped endpoints), Growth from R1,400/tech/month with unlimited endpoints. Always confirm live numbers on /pricing.
Is per-technician RMM pricing always cheaper?
No. It usually wins when you have few technicians and many endpoints — the common SA MSP pattern. A huge team with a light fleet may still prefer a negotiated per-device deal. Run both models with your own numbers.
Do Growth and Scale charge per endpoint?
No. Unlimited endpoints and clients. You pay per technician. Solo is the exception (150 endpoints / 3 clients).
Should I start on Solo?
Yes if you will stay under the caps. Plan the Growth move before a big logo lands — switching after you are already over 150 endpoints is a scramble, not a strategy.
Next step
See current ZAR plans, annual vs monthly, and trial terms on /pricing. Built for South African MSP and IT teams — solutions for MSPs.
