Flat per-tenant vs per-user, for MSPs
Most Microsoft-cloud management tools bill per user, so your cost climbs with every seat a client adds. rugged.sh charges one flat fee per customer tenant — which means the more a client grows, the better the deal gets.
Per-user tools
You pay for every user in every tenant, every month. Onboarding a bigger client, or a client that grows, directly raises your bill — the tool takes a cut of your own margin as your customers scale. Budgeting means counting seats across the whole fleet.
rugged.sh: flat per tenant
One predictable fee per customer tenant — $10 for Microsoft 365, $50 for Azure (AVD / Windows 365), $60 for both — regardless of user count. A 5-seat client and a 500-seat client cost the same to manage, so growth is pure upside.
Monthly management cost as a client grows
One AVD / Windows 365 client, priced both ways. The per-user column assumes a typical ~$12/user management fee; rugged.sh stays flat at $50/tenant/month.
| Users in tenant | Typical per-user tool | rugged.sh | You save / mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | ~$120 | $50 | ~$70 |
| 25 | ~$300 | $50 | ~$250 |
| 50 | ~$600 | $50 | ~$550 |
| 100 | ~$1,200 | $50 | ~$1,150 |
| 200 | ~$2,400 | $50 | ~$2,350 |
Illustrative of the two pricing models, not a specific competitor's published price. Microsoft license and Azure consumption costs are separate and identical either way.
Flat vs per-user, answered
Is flat per-tenant pricing actually cheaper than per-user?
For any client past a handful of seats, yes. A per-user management tool bills more as a client adds users; rugged.sh charges a flat $10/tenant/month for Microsoft 365 or $50/tenant/month for Azure (AVD / Windows 365) no matter how many users that tenant has. A 100-user AVD client that might cost over $1,000/month on a per-user tool is still $50/month on rugged.sh.
What am I comparing, exactly?
The management-platform fee, not Microsoft's own license or Azure consumption costs (those are the same whichever tool you use). The per-user figures shown are illustrative of a typical management tool, to compare the two pricing models rather than any one competitor's quote.
Does the flat fee mean fewer features?
No. The flat per-tenant fee covers one-click AVD and Windows 365 deployment, autoscaling, Microsoft 365 governance and drift detection, an automation catalog, client-ready QBRs, and a multi-tenant console with hard tenant isolation. The autoscale savings are modeled to more than cover the fee itself.
Can I try it before switching?
Yes. The free tier is free forever for 1 tenant and 5 users, running against your own Azure subscription. Connect one client and see the flat-fee math on your real fleet before moving the rest.
Run the numbers on your own fleet
Start free on one tenant, then see the flat-fee savings on your real clients.