How Much Does Cybersecurity Cost for a Small Business in Toronto?
Basic cybersecurity for a small business in Toronto costs $15-$50 per user per month, typically including endpoint protection, email security, and MFA. Comprehensive security with 24/7 monitoring, security awareness training, and compliance support ranges from $50-$100+ per user per month.
Written by Alex Dayan, Founder of King of IT | Toronto Managed IT Services
1Cybersecurity Pricing Tiers
Basic Security ($15-$30/user/month)
Business-grade antivirus/EDR
Email spam and phishing filtering
Multi-factor authentication setup
Basic security policies
Standard Security ($30-$50/user/month)
Everything in Basic, plus:
24/7 threat monitoring
DNS filtering (block malicious websites)
Security awareness training
Dark web monitoring
Quarterly security reviews
Advanced Security ($50-$100+/user/month)
Everything in Standard, plus:
SOC (Security Operations Center) monitoring
SIEM log analysis
Incident response retainer
Compliance reporting (PIPEDA, SOC 2)
Penetration testing
Cyber insurance support
2What Every Business Needs (Minimum)
Regardless of size, every Toronto business should have:
- Endpoint Protection - Modern antivirus/EDR on every device
- Multi-Factor Authentication - On email, banking, and critical apps
- Email Security - Spam filtering and phishing protection
- Backup - Tested, off-site backups of critical data
- Security Awareness Training - Employees are your biggest vulnerability
This baseline can be achieved for $20-$30/user/month through most MSPs, or through Microsoft 365 Business Premium ($22/user) plus basic monitoring.
The cost of NOT having security:
Average ransomware payment: $170,000+ (2024)
Average downtime from ransomware: 21 days
Cost of data breach for SMB: $120,000-$1.2M
Many businesses never recover from a major breach
3Bundled vs. Standalone Security
Bundled with Managed IT
Most MSPs include cybersecurity in their managed IT packages. This is usually the most cost-effective approach because:
Security tools integrate with your IT management
One vendor to hold accountable
No finger-pointing between IT and security vendors
Volume licensing reduces costs
Standalone Security Services
If you have internal IT or a non-security-focused MSP, you can add security separately through:
MSSPs (Managed Security Service Providers)
Direct vendor subscriptions (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, etc.)
Security-focused consultants
Standalone typically costs 20-30% more than bundled because of overlap and coordination overhead.