HP, Dell and Lenovo all sell PCs as a monthly service in the UK, and none of them publishes a standard UK price list for it, so the only fair comparison is three matched quotes. The real differences sit in what each bundle covers: support, security, management and what happens at the end of the term. For a UK reseller or MSP, these subscriptions are a practical route from one-off hardware margin to recurring revenue, provided the service you wrap around them is clearly scoped.
What HP, Dell and Lenovo PC subscriptions actually include
All three bundles pair devices with lifecycle services, but the wording differs. HP Managed Device Services is built around HP service experts who monitor, manage and support a multi-vendor PC estate, with options for device configuration, onsite support and hardware exchange. HP notes that the service includes hardware and services and may require financing, and that its Endpoint Management option needs separately purchased Microsoft 365 E3 or E5, Azure and Power BI licences.
Lenovo TruScale Device as a Service is sold as one subscription for device lifecycle management, security and sustainability, paid monthly. Lenovo describes five stages: advise, implement, support, manage (with patching, app packaging and privilege control) and retire and refresh, including data sanitisation and asset pick-up.
Dell APEX PC as a Service offers hardware and lifecycle options covering deployment, management, security, support and end-of-term retirement, paid monthly through Dell Financial Services. Dell's UK page says that at the end of the contract the customer may renew or return the equipment, and that offers depend on credit approval and may have a minimum transaction size.
| Vendor | UK offer | Lifecycle scope named by the vendor | End of term |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP | Managed Device Services | Configuration, proactive monitoring and management, onsite support, hardware exchange | Set by the contract and finance partner |
| Lenovo | TruScale Device as a Service | Advise, implement, support, manage, retire and refresh | Data sanitisation, asset pick-up, refresh |
| Dell | APEX PC as a Service | Deployment, management, security, support, retirement | Renew or return the equipment |
How HP, Dell and Lenovo compare on security and service
Each vendor puts security into the bundle in a different way. HP positions Wolf Pro Security as PC protection for small and medium firms without in-house security expertise. Lenovo offers a TruScale DaaS for Security option with bundled software licences and endpoint protection from deployment to retirement. Dell lists security as one of the lifecycle services you can configure into APEX.
On service, Lenovo's Premier Support Plus tier lists advanced technical support 24 x 7 x 365. Dell points to predictive, proactive support, and HP to proactive monitoring by its own service experts. The vendors also publish their own results. Dell cites a Forrester study it commissioned with Verizon, published in May 2025, which found a 30% return on investment over three years for a composite firm with 4,000 devices on a 36-month term. Lenovo's UK page quotes 22% lower total cost of ownership and a 70% cut in user downtime for its DaaS customers.
Treat those as vendor-reported figures, not a league table. The useful question for any of the three is who patches, who watches the alerts and who acts on them. A protected laptop is not the same as a monitored one.
Which PC subscription suits which UK buyer
On subscriptions, choose HP if you run a mixed estate, because its managed service covers multi-vendor PCs rather than HP devices alone. Choose Lenovo if you want one contract that runs from device advice to secure retirement, with security licences bundled in its security option. Choose Dell if you want to build your own mix of lifecycle services and keep a clear renew-or-return choice at the end of the term.
On security, all three build protection into the device, so compare the managed part: who monitors, who isolates a device and who reports. On service, compare support hours, onsite cover and hardware exchange times line by line. Ask each vendor or its UK partner to quote the same devices, the same users and the same service levels, then compare the total over the full term.
How a UK reseller moves from hardware sales to monthly services
The clearest UK example is Lenovo's BSL-IT case study. BSL-IT, a UK IT solution integrator, moved customers from capital purchases to TruScale DaaS, combining deployment, support, recycling and data destruction in one contract. Lenovo reports that the shift contributed to 30% year-on-year business growth for BSL-IT, and that one customer cut its total cost of ownership by around 15% while saving more than 380 hours a year on technology support.
The practical lesson is that the device subscription is the platform, not the whole product. A reseller earns the recurring relationship by owning onboarding, the asset register, support escalation and the retirement process. Price that work from your actual cost to serve, and keep the vendor's finance charge separate from your own service fee so the customer can see both.
Can cyber security help a UK reseller earn recurring revenue
Yes, if you sell the work as well as the licence. A reference point many UK SMEs already know is Microsoft 365 Business Premium, listed at £16.90 per user per month on an annual subscription, excluding VAT. The licence on its own is a thin resale line. The recurring value comes from configuring it properly, patching, reviewing alerts and reporting to the customer each month.
Public pricing shows what a scoped security service can cost at scale. DXC's G-Cloud 15 pricing document lists £27,015.33 for a two-month setup and £140,310.48 for 36 months of managed endpoint detection and response covering 1,000 workstations and 100 servers, with the customer supplying the CrowdStrike licences. Those prices exclude VAT and expenses. It is one service, not a whole IT department, which is exactly why it is useful as a benchmark.
Published cost of a managed endpoint security service
DXC's listed setup and 36-month run prices for managed EDR on 1,000 workstations and 100 servers, excluding VAT and licences
View the data
| Category | £ excluding VAT |
|---|---|
| Two-month setup | £27,015.33 |
| 36 months of service | £140,310.48 |
What a UK MSP contract costs in 2026
No public source gives a reliable typical contract value for a UK mid-market firm, because scope varies so much. Published public-sector contracts give real reference points instead. The British Business Bank contracts register, with data as of 7 August 2026, lists a managed security service contract with CYSIAM at £463,841 over 36 months and a managed print contract with XMA at £34,164.76 over 60 months. At the small end, Stowmarket Town Council's 2026 tender for ICT managed services and consultancy has an estimated total value of £27,500 excluding VAT, from January 2027 with a possible extension to December 2031.
| Published contract | Value | Term |
|---|---|---|
| British Business Bank, managed security service (CYSIAM) | £463,841 | 36 months |
| DXC, managed EDR for 1,000 workstations and 100 servers | £140,310.48 plus £27,015.33 setup | 36 months |
| British Business Bank, managed print (XMA) | £34,164.76 | 60 months |
| Stowmarket Town Council, ICT managed services | £27,500 excluding VAT | Up to 5 years |
A CFO benchmarking against peers should split every quote into the same parts: recurring service fee, setup, licences passed through, hardware finance and exit costs. Then divide by users or devices.
Outcome, consumption and per-user pricing for UK MSP contracts
What you can compare across UK MSPs is the charging structure. Per-user or per-device fees give clear unit costs. Consumption fees move with measured use, such as tickets or users. Outcome-linked fees tie part of the payment to an agreed result.
Which UK partners deliver outcome-based pricing? Few publish it in plain terms. CGI's UK application services page is one that does, describing a "predictable, measurable, transparent and outcome-based pricing model". If you want that model, ask every bidder for the baseline, the measure, who owns the data and how much of the fee is genuinely at risk.
Consumption pricing is easier to find on G-Cloud 15, where suppliers publish their pricing documents. One supplier's consumption unit pricing model charges £1 per unit and converts agreed metrics into units, for example 3 units per active user per month and 3 units per resolved service desk ticket, with the rates fixed for the contract. For device subscriptions, the partner is usually a vendor-authorised reseller: HP delivers Managed Device Services through authorised partners, and BSL-IT is a UK integrator selling Lenovo TruScale DaaS.
Renewal terms matter as much as the starting price. Some UK managed-service terms link annual rises to inflation plus a fixed margin. BT's published managed services schedule, dated 30 January 2026, sets recurring charges to rise each year by CPI plus 3.9%, from bills dated on or after 1 April. Model three years of rises before you compare quotes.
Reducing suppliers without losing control
An SME can cut its supplier count by putting devices, support and security under one lead provider. The aim is fewer hand-offs and clear accountability, not just one invoice. Keep admin access to your own core systems, and ask for an asset and configuration record you can take with you at exit.
The UK government is also tightening rules on the providers themselves. Its factsheet on relevant managed service providers, updated 3 November 2026, sets out plans to bring medium and large MSPs into the NIS Regulations through the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. It cites Operation Cloud Hopper as an example of one attack on MSPs reaching many customers, which is a good reason to check how a provider handles privileged access.
HP print subscriptions for small UK offices
Print is the one area where a vendor publishes clear UK monthly prices. HP Instant Ink plans run from £1.79 a month for 10 pages to £28.99 a month for 700 pages, which HP labels best for small business, with extra sets of 10 to 15 pages at £1.50. HP says there is no cancellation fee, but Instant Ink cartridges stop working after the billing cycle in which you cancel, so keep standard cartridges ready.
HP Instant Ink monthly plan prices in the UK
Published monthly price of each HP Instant Ink plan by pages included per month
View the data
| Category | £ per month |
|---|---|
| 10 pages | £1.79 |
| 50 pages | £4.49 |
| 100 pages | £6.49 |
| 300 pages | £13.49 |
| 700 pages | £28.99 |
Sources
- HP, Managed Device Services, UK
- HP, Wolf Pro Security for PCs, UK
- HP, Instant Ink plans, UK
- Lenovo, TruScale Device as a Service, UK
- Lenovo, Premier Support and Premier Support Plus, UK
- Lenovo, BSL-IT case study
- Dell, APEX PC as a Service, UK
- Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, UK
- DXC Technology, Managed Endpoint Threat Detection and Response pricing, G-Cloud 15, 2026
- CGI UK, Application services
- BT Business, Managed Services Schedule, 2026
- British Business Bank, Contracts register, 2026
- Find a Tender, Stowmarket Town Council ICT Managed Services and Consultancy Support, 2026
- G-Cloud 15, Consumption Unit Pricing Model, 2026
- GOV.UK, Relevant managed service providers factsheet, 2026
