MSP Backup Pricing Guide
What to Expect in 2026
The difference between a profitable backup service and a margin-killer often comes down to understanding pricing before you sign.
MSP backup pricing is notoriously opaque. You’ll find pricing ranges from $2 per endpoint to $25+ per endpoint, depending on features, storage, support, and vendor. Without a clear framework for comparison, it’s easy to accidentally sign a contract that leaves you with 20% margins when you should be at 60%.
This guide breaks down:
- How the four main pricing models work (and which fits your business)
- The hidden costs vendors don’t advertise (but should)
- A framework for comparing apples-to-apples across vendors
- Real-world pricing scenarios for different MSP sizes
- How to structure your own pricing to maintain healthy margins
The math starts here: Know your all-in platform cost. Make sure your client pricing covers at least 2–3x that number, if it doesn’t, you’re underpriced before you’ve even started. But 2–3x is the floor, not the target. Your billing model choice is what determines where your margins actually land. This guide walks you through each model so you can see the difference.
Common MSP Backup Pricing Models
Most vendors use one of four pricing models. Each has pros and cons depending on your client mix.
Per-Device Pricing (Most Common)
How it works: You pay a fixed fee for each protected device (laptop, desktop, server) per month. Typical vendor range: $3–15/device/month.
Pros:
- Predictable costs (easy to budget)
- Easy to quote clients (“$12 per laptop”)
- Minimal tracking overhead
- Scales simply (add device = add fixed cost)
Cons:
- Doesn’t account for data volume (a 100GB laptop costs the same as a 1TB laptop)
- Can lose money on heavy data users
- Doesn’t differentiate between endpoints (all devices = same price)
- May overpay for light users
Best for: MSPs with standardized client environments (SMBs with 10–50 laptops, predictable usage patterns)
Example: 50 client devices @ $5/device = $250/month vendor cost. You price at $15/device to clients = $750/month revenue (66% margin).
Per-GB Pricing (Data-Heavy Environments)
How it works: You pay based on protected data volume. Typical vendor range: $0.10–0.50/GB/month.
Pros:
- Fair for light users (don’t overpay for unused capacity)
- Scales with actual usage
- Encourages clients to manage data bloat
- No surprise overages if volume is predictable
Cons:
- Hard to predict costs upfront
- Storage creep can surprise you mid-month
- Clients see unpredictable invoices
- Requires ongoing monitoring
Best for: MSPs with highly variable client data volumes (mix of small and large users, video/media companies)
Example: 2TB protected data @ $0.20/GB = $400/month vendor cost. You price clients at $0.50/GB = $1,000/month revenue (60% margin). But if data grows to 3TB unexpectedly, your margin tightens.
What to charge clients per GB (retail ranges):
| Range | Retail Rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | ~$0.10/GB | High-volume clients (1TB+); competing against commodity products |
| Mid (most common) | ~$0.25/GB | Mid-range clients (100GB–1TB); competitive but profitable |
| Higher | ~$0.50/GB | Small clients (under 20GB); margin depends on selling your full managed service value |
Always set a per-endpoint minimum ($10–25/month) so you’re never locked into absurdly low bills on tiny clients. Consider adding a $1–5/machine fee on top, it builds in margin to cover the backup software cost and lets you offer a slightly lower per-GB rate to close deals.
Per-User/Seat Pricing (SaaS-Focused)
How it works: You pay per protected user account. Typical range: $5–20/user/month.
Pros:
- Aligns with how clients think (per employee)
- Works well for M365/cloud-first environments
- Simple counting (number of employees)
- Predictable for growth planning
Cons:
- Doesn’t account for multiple devices per user
- Doesn’t account for server data
- May overpay if users have limited devices
- Less suitable for on-premises infrastructure
Best for: MSPs specializing in cloud-first companies or M365 management
Package/Tiered Pricing (Predictability at Scale)
How it works: You define storage or device tiers (buckets with a flat price) and clients fall into whichever tier fits their size. Example: $20/month for 0–50GB, $40/month for 50–100GB, $80/month for 100–500GB. Price is fixed within the tier regardless of where in the range the client lands.
Pros:
- Predictable revenue, no invoice changes every time a client adds a few GB
- Built-in minimum revenue floor (even the smallest client pays for their tier)
- Statistically favorable, clients average out to the middle of their tier, so you’re often collecting payment for more capacity than you’re actually storing
- Clean upsell path (client grows → moves to next tier naturally)
- Easy to explain: clients know their max cost upfront
Cons:
- Pricing cliffs if tiers aren’t designed well (a client at 49GB vs. 51GB sees a big jump)
- Requires thoughtful tier design upfront, wrong tier boundaries cost you margin
- Less precise than per-GB for very data-heavy clients
Best for: MSPs who want invoice simplicity without the risk of true unlimited pricing. Works especially well once you have a feel for your clients’ typical data sizes.
How WholesaleBackup fits here: On the platform cost side, WholesaleBackup is $30/month for the Web Console plus $3 per device (workstations and servers at the same rate). From 100 devices the per-device rate drops and the $30 Web Console fee comes off, so 100 devices is $240/month. Storage is yours. Many WholesaleBackup resellers still use storage tiers when billing their own clients: build tiers that match common client sizes, price each tier with healthy margin, and let clients self-select.
A note on “unlimited” pricing: True unlimited backup (one flat fee, no caps, no tiers) is a margin trap. Your storage, bandwidth, and support costs scale with data volume. One client who backs up 4TB at a $30/month flat rate wipes out the margin from ten smaller clients. Tiered pricing gives you the simplicity of flat fees without the unlimited liability.
WholesaleBackup Model: $30 Web Console plus $3 per Device
WholesaleBackup uses a simple all-in software price rather than a seat-block minimum. In practice:
- Web Console: $30/month, multi-tenant management, remote deployment, alerting, reporting
- $3 per device, workstations and servers at the same rate. Published volume rates from 100 devices, and the $30 Web Console fee comes off at 100 (100 devices = $240/month)
- All-in software, no separate infrastructure fee, no seat-block minimum
- Unlimited white-label brands included (no per-brand fee)
- Storage is separate, choose your own storage: Wasabi, Backblaze B2, AWS S3, GCP, Synology C2, or self-hosted. WholesaleBackup doesn’t mark up storage, you connect directly to your provider and get the lowest possible price straight from the source.
- No egress fees at the platform level
- No per-restore charges
- Free USA-based support included
How this helps your margins: Your platform cost is published and predictable: $30 plus $3 per device, with lower device rates from 100 devices. Because you choose your own storage, you control that cost too. Wasabi has no egress fees, so a large restore won’t spike your costs. You’re not locked into expensive bundled storage.
Hidden Costs to Watch For
This is where margins die. Vendors quote a base price, but the fine print hides costs that compress your margin dramatically.
Egress Fees
What they are: Charges for downloading or restoring data from the vendor’s cloud. These vary dramatically by cloud provider.
Why they matter: Egress fees hit your margins when you need them most, during a restore. A 500GB restore could cost anywhere from $0 (Wasabi or Backblaze) to ~$36 (AWS after 100GB free, @ $0.09/GB) to ~$25.50 (Google Cloud after 200GB free, @ $0.085/GB). On a larger restore (say 2TB) those costs scale to $0-$175 depending on your backend. Those fees come directly out of your margin.
Real cost impact by backend provider (500GB restore, North America pricing as of 2026):
- Wasabi: $0 (no egress fees)
- Backblaze B2: $0 (no egress fees; fair-use: 3x stored data free/month)
- Synology C2: ~$10-$25 (@ $0.02-0.05/GB)
- Google Cloud: ~$25.50 (500GB – 200GB free x $0.085/GB Standard Tier)
- AWS S3: ~$36 (500GB – 100GB free x $0.09/GB)
Red flags:
- Vendor won’t clearly disclose egress pricing upfront
- Bundled storage with hidden egress costs
- Egress charges that increase as data volume grows
Question to ask: “What are the exact egress fees per GB? Can I choose my cloud backend to control these costs?”
WholesaleBackup difference: WholesaleBackup applies zero egress fees at the platform level. Your choice of cloud backend (Wasabi, AWS, Google Cloud, Backblaze, etc.) determines your actual egress costs, giving you full transparency and control.
Storage backend selection by customer type:
- AWS S3 ($0.09/GB egress, first 100GB/month free): Enterprise customers expect it; proven reliability and 99.9% SLA justify the cost. Use for customers who prioritize solid redundancy.
- Backblaze B2 ($0 egress): Best balance for MSPs, zero egress charges with fair-use allowance (3x your stored data free per month; covers 95%+ of restore scenarios), fast (163.80 MB/s on small files), low cost, plug-and-play configuration with no optimization needed.
- Wasabi ($0 egress, ~$6.99/TB storage): Absolute lowest cost with zero egress fees. Works reliably out-of-box with WholesaleBackup’s block-level incremental architecture. Important: Wasabi has a 90-day minimum storage charge per object and a 1TB minimum monthly billing ($6.99/mo), best for clients keeping 90+ days of backups at meaningful data volumes.
- Google Cloud ($0.085/GB egress Standard Tier, first 200GB/month free): Fastest single-stream throughput (200+ MB/s). A natural fit for clients already integrated into the GCP ecosystem.
Real cost impact example: Across a portfolio of 50 customers with 2–3 incident restores per year (assuming 1TB average restore size, North America pricing):
- AWS S3: ~$247/year in egress costs (3 restores × ~$82 per 1TB after 100GB free @ $0.09/GB)
- Google Cloud: ~$204/year in egress costs (3 restores × ~$68 per 1TB after 200GB free @ $0.085/GB)
- Wasabi: $0/year in egress costs (same 3 restores)
- Difference: $200–250/year per portfolio, that compounds across multiple client bases and multiple restore events
Per-Restore Fees
What they are: Some vendors charge for every restore operation (per-file, per-server, per-day).
Why they matter: They punish you for doing your job well. Clients expect multiple small restores. Each one costs you.
Question to ask: “Is there a charge per restore? Per file? Per day?”
Support Tiers
What they are: Basic support often means email-only, 48-hour response. Priority support costs extra: 20–50% premium.
Why they matter: When your client has a backup failure at 4pm Friday, you need vendor support. Email-only isn’t enough. You’ll pay for priority.
WholesaleBackup difference: Free USA-based support included (no tier upsells).
Storage Overage Charges
What they are: “Included storage” limit with punitive overage rates (often 2–3x normal price).
Why they matter: Clients’ data grows. You’ll hit those limits. Overages are expensive.
Question to ask: “If I exceed my included storage, what’s the overage rate? Is it the same per-GB rate or higher?”
Minimum Commitments & Early Termination Fees
What they are: Annual contracts with penalties for canceling early. Also: minimum seat/device/storage counts.
Why they matter: You’re locked in even if the platform doesn’t work for you. If a better vendor appears, you’re stuck.
WholesaleBackup difference: Month-to-month agreements, no minimums, cancel anytime.
Training & Onboarding Fees
What they are: Some enterprise platforms charge $500–2,000 for onboarding. May require paid certification for your technicians.
Why they matter: They inflate your startup costs and ongoing training budget.
A Complete Cost Disclosure Checklist
Before signing any backup platform, ask for a complete cost breakdown:
Base platform fee: $______/month
Per-device cost: $______/device/month
Per-GB storage cost: $______/GB/month
Egress/restore fees: $______/GB (if any)
Support tier cost: $______/month (if not included)
Overage rates: ____________________
Minimum commitment: ______________ (months)
Early termination fee: $__________
Training/onboarding: $__________
Annual cost estimate: $__________Pricing Comparison Framework
Before you can compare vendors apples-to-apples, you need a standard methodology. Here’s the four-step framework:
Step 1: Build Your Client Profile
Define a standard client scenario you can use for every comparison:
- Endpoints protected (e.g., 25 devices)
- Data volume (e.g., 500GB total)
- Expected restores per year (e.g., 2 partial restores, 1 full restore)
- Restore data volume (e.g., 100GB per incident)
Using a standard profile lets you plug the same numbers into every vendor’s pricing calculator and get a true comparison.
Step 2: Calculate Your True Monthly Cost
True cost = Platform fee + Storage cost + Egress cost (annualized / 12) + Support cost
Most vendors will quote platform + storage but omit egress and support. Run the full formula. A vendor charging $4/endpoint with $0.09/GB egress may be more expensive than a vendor charging $5/endpoint with $0 egress once you factor in your annual restore volume.
Step 3: Project Growth Costs
Run your cost formula at 2x, 5x, and 10x your current client count. Some vendors look cheap at small scale but have punitive pricing at volume. Others negotiate volume discounts that make them far more competitive at scale. WholesaleBackup publishes its volume rates up front: $3 per device under 100, then $2.40 at 100, $2.10 at 250, and $1.80 at 500, with the $30 Web Console fee waived from 100 devices on. You can run the 2x, 5x, and 10x math before you sign.
Step 4: Factor Operational Costs
Add 30 minutes of admin time per client per month at your internal labor rate. If a platform requires more manual intervention (no automated alerting, complex console, poor documentation), your operational cost per client rises. Platforms with strong management consoles, automated alerting, and remote deployment can reduce operational overhead by 50% compared to manually managed alternatives.
For non-pricing evaluation criteria (management console quality, support responsiveness, white-label capabilities), see our MSP Backup Platform Selection Guide.
Real-World TCO Scenarios
Numbers make the abstract concrete. All three scenarios below use WholesaleBackup with Backblaze B2 as the storage backend (zero egress, $0.006/GB/month). The platform cost stays identical across tabs, what changes is how you bill your clients. Use the tabs to see how each pricing model affects your revenue and margin at the same scale.
A note on storage volumes: These scenarios use realistic SMB data sizes based on industry averages, roughly 75–120GB per workstation plus 200–400GB per server with standard retention policies applied. Actual backup storage varies significantly depending on data type (documents vs. databases vs. VM images), retention period, deduplication ratios, and whether you’re protecting servers alongside workstations. Your numbers will differ, use these as ballpark benchmarks, not guarantees.
Scenario 1: Small MSP, Getting Started
Platform cost: ~$117/month (WholesaleBackup + Backblaze B2)
5 clients · 25 endpoints · 2TB total (avg ~80GB/workstation + 1 small server per client) · Web Console + devices: $105/mo ($30 + $3 × 25) · Storage: $12/mo · Egress: $0
Billing clients $15/endpoint/month across 25 devices.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (25 × $15) | $375/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$117/mo |
| Gross margin | ~69% |
Platform cost is $30 Web Console plus $3 per device, so 25 endpoints is $105 before storage. Per-device is the safest model at this stage because your revenue doesn't depend on how much data each client is pushing.
Billing clients $0.25/GB/month across 2TB total (avg ~400GB per client including server data).
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (2,000GB × $0.25) | $500/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$117/mo |
| Gross margin | ~77% |
At realistic data volumes, per-GB is already profitable from day one. The risk at this stage isn't margin, it's unpredictability. If one client's server backup doubles unexpectedly, your revenue goes up but so does your storage cost. Set a per-endpoint minimum ($15–20/month) as a revenue floor before you're confident in your clients' data habits.
5 clients billed at a flat $60/month (per-client tier: up to 500GB). Average client uses ~400GB, sitting comfortably within the tier with room to grow.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (5 × $60) | $300/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$117/mo |
| Gross margin | ~61% |
Thinner margin at this stage, but invoices are locked and clients know exactly what they'll pay. The real upside: you have 25 unused seats. Add 5 more clients at $60/mo and your margin jumps to ~68% with almost no increase in platform cost. Tiered pricing rewards growth fastest.
Scenario 2: Growing MSP, 50 Endpoints
Platform cost: ~$216/month (WholesaleBackup + Backblaze B2)
10–12 clients · 50 endpoints · 6TB total (avg ~120GB/workstation + servers per client) · Web Console + devices: $180/mo ($30 + $3 × 50) · Storage: $36/mo · Egress: $0
Billing clients $15/endpoint/month across 50 devices.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (50 × $15) | $750/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$216/mo |
| Gross margin | ~71% |
The sweet spot for per-device billing: 50 endpoints at $3 each plus the $30 Web Console, every device earning its keep. Note that even at 6TB of protected data, your storage cost is only $36/mo with Backblaze B2. That's choose-your-own-storage: storage cost almost disappears relative to what you're charging clients.
Billing clients $0.25/GB/month across 6TB total (avg ~500GB per client including servers).
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (6,000GB × $0.25) | $1,500/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$216/mo |
| Gross margin | ~86% |
At realistic data volumes, per-GB delivers the highest absolute revenue of the three models. The catch: that $1,500 fluctuates every month as clients add data. A client who onboards a new server mid-month is a pleasant surprise, but it also means your invoicing requires active monitoring. Most MSPs running per-GB at this scale automate their reporting through the WholesaleBackup console.
~12 clients billed at a flat $80/month (per-client tier: 250GB–750GB). Average client uses ~500GB, sitting squarely mid-tier.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (12 × $80) | $960/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$216/mo |
| Gross margin | ~78% |
Strong margin with zero invoice variability. Clients never get a surprise bill when they add a few GB. The statistical favorability is real here: you're billing for up to 750GB per client but your actual average storage cost is based on ~500GB, that gap between tier ceiling and actual usage is your built-in margin buffer.
Scenario 3: Established MSP, 100 Endpoints
Platform cost: ~$339/month (WholesaleBackup + mixed backends)
20+ clients · 100 endpoints · 12TB total (avg ~120GB/workstation + servers; mixed Backblaze B2 + AWS S3 for 2 enterprise clients) · Web Console + devices: $240/mo (100 × $2.40, Web Console included at 100+) · Storage: $72/mo (B2) + $11.50/mo (AWS) · Egress: ~$15/mo (AWS clients)
Billing clients $15/endpoint/month across 100 devices.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (100 × $15) | $1,500/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$339/mo |
| Gross margin | ~77% |
Margin improves at scale. At 100 devices the rate drops to $2.40 and the $30 Web Console fee comes off, both well below your client billing rate. Per-device is highly defensible here, simple to manage, easy to audit, completely predictable. At this size, the operational simplicity of per-device billing saves meaningful admin time every billing cycle.
Billing clients $0.25/GB/month across 12TB total (avg ~600GB per client including server data).
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (12,000GB × $0.25) | $3,000/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$339/mo |
| Gross margin | ~89% |
Per-GB delivers the highest revenue at scale, $3,000/mo vs. $1,500/mo for per-device with the same client base. The tradeoff is operational: at 20+ clients you need reliable automated reporting to invoice accurately every month. A data-heavy client (video production, SQL-heavy database) can move your numbers significantly. Most established MSPs running per-GB at this scale combine it with a per-endpoint minimum to protect against low-data outliers.
~20 clients billed at a flat $100/month (per-client tier: 400GB–900GB). Average client uses ~600GB, comfortably mid-tier, with headroom before hitting the ceiling.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client revenue (20 × $100) | $2,000/mo |
| Platform cost | ~$339/mo |
| Gross margin | ~83% |
Strong margin with zero monthly invoice variability. At 20+ clients, the administrative simplicity of tiered billing compounds, no per-client storage calculations, no fluctuating invoices, no client calls about why their bill changed. You're billing each client for up to 900GB but averaging ~600GB in actual cost. That 300GB gap per client is your structural margin buffer, and it holds as long as clients stay within the tier.
The key insight on platform cost: your WholesaleBackup cost is the same published recipe regardless of which billing model you use with clients: $30 Web Console plus $3 per device under 100 devices, then a lower device rate with the Web Console included from 100 devices (100 devices = $240/month). Your choice of client-side billing model determines revenue ceiling and invoice predictability, not your platform cost.
Quick margin comparison across all three scenarios:
| Scenario | Per-Device margin | Per-GB margin | Tiered margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 endpoints, 2TB | 69% | 77% | 61% |
| 50 endpoints, 6TB | 71% | 86% | 78% |
| 100 endpoints, 12TB | 77% | 89% | 83% |
At realistic data volumes, all three models are profitable. Per-GB delivers the highest revenue ceiling at scale, but requires the most active monitoring. Per-device is the most operationally predictable. Tiered sits in between: strong margins with zero invoice variability, and it rewards client growth more than per-device does as clients move up tiers naturally. Most MSPs start on per-device for simplicity, then consider tiered packaging once they understand their clients' data patterns well enough to design tiers that work in their favor.
How WholesaleBackup Pricing Works
WholesaleBackup uses a flat monthly plan structure that’s worth understanding in detail, because it differs from how most backup vendors charge.
Web Console plus Per Device, Not a Seat-Block Minimum
The software price is $30/month for the Web Console plus $3 per device. A device is a unique backup client installation: one laptop, one server, one workstation. Workstations and servers are the same rate. That is the list price under 100 devices. From 100 devices the per-device rate drops and the $30 Web Console fee comes off (volume table below). No seat-block minimum.
The $30 Web Console covers the multi-tenant management console, remote deployment, alerting, and reporting. There is no separate infrastructure add-on on top.
Effective cost: $30 + $3 per device, all-in. White-label software, USA-based support, unlimited brands, and the full management console are included. Storage is yours. Month-to-month.
Volume Rates from 100 Devices
List price is $30/month for the Web Console plus $3 per device. At 100, 250, and 500 devices the per-device rate drops, and the $30 Web Console fee comes off.
| Devices | Device rate | Web Console | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 100 | $3 | $30/mo | 50 devices = $180/mo |
| 100+ | $2.40 | Included | 100 devices = $240/mo |
| 250+ | $2.10 | Included | 250 devices = $525/mo |
| 500+ | $1.80 | Included | 500 devices = $900/mo |
Example: 100 devices is 100 × $2.40 = $240/month for the software, plus the storage you choose. Every band is the same all-in rate: bare-metal restore, SQL, Exchange, support, and unlimited brands are included. Storage is yours. Month-to-month. See current pricing or start a free trial.
Unlimited White-Label Brands
There’s no per-brand fee. Whether you run one backup brand or twenty (e.g., for different verticals or client segments), your platform cost doesn’t change. This matters for MSPs who operate multiple brands or want to test different positioning for different markets.
Choose Your Own Storage
WholesaleBackup doesn’t bundle storage, you connect your own cloud backend. This means:
- You control storage costs directly (choose Wasabi at $0.0068/GB, Backblaze B2 at $0.006/GB, or AWS at $0.023/GB)
- No markup on storage passing through the platform
- No egress fees at the platform level (only what your cloud provider charges)
- Freedom to switch backends if pricing changes or a better option emerges
MSPs who self-host can further reduce per-client costs, see the self-hosted online server backup setup guide for the technical path.
No Restore Fees. No Per-File Charges. No BMR Surcharges.
Some platforms charge per restore, per file accessed, or per recovery operation, and some charge a premium for bare metal restores. WholesaleBackup doesn’t. File restores, full system restores, bare metal recovery, no additional platform charges regardless of restore type or frequency.
Full Disaster Recovery Included (2025)
WholesaleBackup’s 2025 releases added a complete disaster recovery stack, included at no extra cost per seat:
- Bare Metal Restore (BMR): Restore a complete disk image (VHD) to any physical hardware. Web portal-initiated: browse available VHDs, generate a restore code, boot from WholesaleBackup’s WinPE USB, restore over the internet. Full machine recovery, not just file recovery.
- Image to Physical Disk: Restore virtual disk images (VHDs) back to real physical hardware. Critical for clients who’ve virtualized workloads and need a physical fallback.
- AWS Disk Image Restore: Cloud-native disk image restore for AWS S3-backed clients.
Platforms that offer BMR as a separate add-on (or only through expensive BCDR appliances) charge significantly more. WholesaleBackup includes it in the per-device rate. For SMB clients who need whole machine recovery capability without Datto-tier pricing, this changes the competitive math entirely.
Free USA-Based Support
Support is included with unlimited training. New partners get onboarding sessions at no extra cost, and ongoing training is always available as your team grows. No tiered support levels. No “priority support” add-on. USA-based support is available to MSP partners without additional cost. When you have a client issue at 4pm on a Friday, you have someone to call.
Month-to-Month Flexibility
No annual contracts required. No minimum commitments. You can scale up or down as your client base changes. This matters during business transitions, client churn events, or when you’re evaluating the platform before committing.
See current pricing: WholesaleBackup Pricing Page, the published rate is $30 Web Console plus $3 per device, with volume rates from 100 devices. Storage is yours.
Ready to test the economics yourself? Start a free trial and set up your first white-label brand at no cost.
Model Your Own MRR Growth
The TCO scenarios above use fixed assumptions. Your numbers will be different, your pricing, your client size, your growth rate. Use the calculator below to plug in your own inputs and see how backup MRR compounds over 8 quarters at your scale.
Adjust four inputs: your per-endpoint price, average endpoints per client, new clients added per quarter, and quarterly churn rate. The model updates instantly and shows cumulative MRR, annualized run rate, and compounding effect quarter by quarter.
Want to save your scenario? 📥 Download the MSP MRR Growth Model (Excel), same model, fully editable, with an Assumptions tab and a How The Math Works explainer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the average cost per endpoint for MSP backup platforms?
Platform fees typically range $3–15/endpoint/month depending on the vendor and pricing model. WholesaleBackup is $30/month for the Web Console plus $3 per device (workstations and servers at the same rate), with lower rates from 100 devices. Add storage ($0.006–0.023/GB/month depending on backend), and most resellers land well under $5 all-in per endpoint per month at typical SMB sizes, leaving room to charge clients $12–20/endpoint at healthy margins.
Per-device vs. per-GB pricing: which should I choose?
Per-device pricing wins for predictability and simplicity. Per-GB pricing wins for fairness at extreme data volumes. For most MSPs with SMB clients, per-device (or per-connection) pricing is easier to manage and easier to explain to clients. Switch to a per-GB component only if you consistently have clients with data volumes that break the per-device economics (e.g., video production studios, large databases).
How much should I charge my clients for backup?
A 2–3x markup on your all-in platform cost is the standard starting point. If your total cost is $5/endpoint (platform + storage), charge clients $12–15/endpoint. If your market and positioning support it, $20/endpoint is achievable, especially in regulated verticals (healthcare, legal, financial) where clients understand the compliance value. Avoid pricing below $10/endpoint for managed backup; at that price point, support costs erode your margin quickly.
What hidden costs should I ask vendors about?
Ask every vendor for a complete cost disclosure covering: base platform fee, per-device or per-GB costs, egress fees per GB restored, per-restore charges, support tier costs (and what’s included vs. add-on), storage overage rates, minimum commitments, and early termination fees. Any vendor who won’t provide this clearly upfront is a red flag.
Is white-label backup more expensive than reselling?
No, white-label backup is typically the same cost or cheaper than branded reselling, because you’re buying directly from the platform provider at wholesale rates rather than through a channel markup. The branding is a configuration, not a cost adder. The additional investment is time (brand setup, typically 2–3 hours once) rather than money.
How do I calculate backup TCO accurately?
TCO = (Platform cost × 12) + (Storage cost × 12) + (Egress cost × expected restores) + (Support time × hourly rate × 12) + (Onboarding/setup cost). Run this calculation for a standard client scenario and then for your realistic portfolio growth at 2x, 5x, and 10x. The vendor that looks lowest-priced at a single client often stops being lowest-priced at scale, especially if they have punitive overage rates or egress fees that compound with data growth.
Backup pricing isn’t complicated
But it requires discipline. The MSPs who build profitable backup practices are the ones who understand their true cost, price at a sustainable markup, and choose platforms that give them cost control rather than locking them into opaque structures.
The framework is simple:
- Know your per-connection cost (platform + storage + egress amortized)
- Confirm your pricing covers at least 2–3x that cost, that’s your viability floor, not your ceiling
- Choose the billing model that fits your client mix and your operational capacity
- Use backends with zero or low egress fees to protect your margins during restores
- Track your actual margins monthly and adjust pricing as your portfolio grows
Transparency in pricing protects you from surprises. Ask every vendor for a complete cost disclosure before you sign. The ones who can’t or won’t answer clearly are the ones most likely to surprise you mid-contract.
WholesaleBackup’s pricing is simple by design: $30/month for the Web Console plus $3 per device, with published volume rates from 100 devices (100 devices = $240/month, Web Console included). Storage is yours. Zero platform egress fees, zero restore charges, free USA-based support, and month-to-month flexibility. You control your costs because you control your storage.
Ready to run the numbers?
- See current pricing, calculate your cost for your current client base
- How to Start an MSP Backup Business, the complete operational guide
- MSP Backup Platform Selection Guide, evaluate and compare backup platforms before you commit
Your margins are set the day you choose your platform. Choose carefully.