How Much Does It Cost to Set Up Microsoft Intune?

Short answer: As of 2026, a professional Microsoft Intune setup for a small business is a fixed-price project that typically runs $1,100–$3,850, depending on device count, platform mix, and complexity. Intune itself usually adds nothing to that — the license (Intune Plan 1, about $8/user/month) is already included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, and E5, which most small businesses already have. What you're paying for is the one-time labor to configure it correctly across Windows, iOS, Android, and macOS — quoted as one fixed price before work begins, with no hourly meter and no retainer.

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The tool isn't the problem — the setup is. Watch: what Intune Ready does.

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Your Microsoft Intune is enabled. That's not the same as configured.

Most small businesses on Microsoft 365 already have Intune included in their licensing. The tool isn't the problem — the setup is. Windows laptops configured by hand. Phones and tablets managed inconsistently. And no documentation, so if the person who set it up leaves, nobody actually understands the environment anymore.

Intune Ready fixes that with fixed-price configuration and deployment across Windows, iOS, Android, and macOS. Tenant setup, device enrollment, Windows Autopilot, compliance policies, Conditional Access — built out and documented, so your team can manage it independently going forward.

Every engagement is fixed-price, quoted before work begins — no hourly meter, no scope creep. Everything is piloted on a small device group and verified before the full rollout, so your existing environment keeps running the whole time.

One real example: a regional ACH payment processor was running on inconsistent, undocumented device management. We migrated them to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, deployed a production Intune environment with Conditional Access and Autopilot, and handed over a full operations guide and admin training.

Backed by 40 years in Microsoft infrastructure and 24 years as a Microsoft Certified Trainer — with a public, verifiable certification record.

Start with a free 30-minute consultation. You'll leave knowing exactly what it costs — whether you hire us or not. Not ready for that yet? Send us a quick note with your question — we're happy to help before you book anything.

What "setting up Intune" actually involves

Intune shows up as a checkbox that's already been paid for and rarely gets used properly. A real deployment covers a lot more ground than flipping it on:

Tenant and enrollment configuration — deciding how Windows, iOS, Android, and macOS devices join and register.
Compliance and configuration profiles — the actual rules devices have to meet to be considered "managed."
Conditional Access integration — tying device compliance to what a user can actually access.
Windows Autopilot — zero-touch provisioning so new laptops arrive pre-configured instead of set up by hand.
Mobile application management — controlling corporate data on phones without necessarily managing the whole personal device.
Documentation and admin training — so the configuration doesn't live only in one person's head.

Skipping any of these is usually how organizations end up with Intune "turned on" but not actually managing anything consistently — which is the situation most small businesses are already in before they call anyone.

What drives the cost

Three things determine what a deployment actually costs, in roughly this order of impact:

Device count. The clearest, most honest cost driver. A 12-device single office is a fundamentally smaller project than a 60-device operation across two locations.
Platform mix. Windows-only is simpler than Windows plus a mix of company-owned and personal iOS/Android devices, which need separate compliance and app-management rules.
Existing mess. Devices that are already partially, inconsistently enrolled usually need cleanup before new policy can be applied cleanly — that's assessment work that has to happen before a quote can be firm.

Because of this, "how much does Intune cost" doesn't really have a single number attached to it industry-wide — which is exactly why a real quote should come after a short conversation about your specific environment, not off a generic price list.

Typical scope, by size

As a general shape (see the full service tiers for detail):

Single office, up to ~15 devices — tenant setup, enrollment, baseline compliance across all platforms, documentation.
Growing team, up to ~50 devices — everything above, plus Windows Autopilot, Conditional Access, mobile app management, and admin training.
Full fleet, 50+ devices — everything above, plus advanced Conditional Access design, multi-location profiles, and a full operations guide.

Tier	Typical scope	Estimated hours	Estimated cost
Starter	Small team, core setup	10–15 hrs	$1,100–$1,650
Growing Team	Broader device/policy scope	15–25 hrs	$1,650–$2,750
Full Fleet	Complex environments, larger orgs	25–35 hrs	$2,750–$3,850

Every engagement is quoted as one fixed price before work begins — no hourly meter, no surprise invoices. As a guide: most projects run 10–35 hours of work at a $110/hr baseline rate, which typically lands in the $1,100–$3,850 range depending on team size and complexity. Your exact number is confirmed during the free consultation.

Unusually complex environments — heavy compliance requirements, large multi-location fleets, or significant cleanup of existing partial enrollment — can fall outside these ranges. Anything like that is identified and quoted up front, never discovered mid-project.

For a deliverable-by-deliverable breakdown of what actually gets built at each of these tiers, see what's included at each Intune service tier.

Intune setup checklist for Windows, iOS, Android & macOS

Whether you hire this out or attempt it internally, this is roughly what "done" looks like:

Intune tenant and MDM authority configured
Windows Autopilot profile created and tested on at least one device
Compliance policies defined for each platform (Windows, iOS, Android, macOS)
Conditional Access rules tied to device compliance
Company Portal branded and enrollment instructions written for end users
Mobile application management configured for BYOD devices
Dynamic device groups set up for automatic policy targeting
A written operations guide covering how to maintain everything above

Do I need Microsoft 365 Business Premium for this?

Intune is included with Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, E5, F3, and standalone EMS E3/E5 — so if you're already on one of those plans, you likely have everything you need licensing-wise and just haven't configured it. If you're on a lower tier, that's a licensing conversation worth having up front, since it changes both the cost and the sequence of the project. (In one real deployment we handled, a client moved from E1 to Business Premium as the first step of the engagement, specifically to unlock Intune, Windows Autopilot, and Conditional Access — see the case study.) For the full breakdown of which plans qualify, see Do I need Business Premium for Intune?

Hiring someone vs. doing it yourself

Intune's admin console is genuinely usable — this isn't a tool that requires a specialist to click the buttons. What a specialist actually buys you is not repeating the industry's most common mistake: enrolling devices before compliance and Conditional Access policy are correctly designed, which usually means re-doing the enrollment later. Getting the design right the first time is where the real value is, not the clicking.

Common questions about Intune cost and licensing

Is Microsoft Intune expensive?

For most small businesses, no — the license is usually already paid for. Intune Plan 1 runs about $8/user/month as of 2026, but it's bundled into Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, and E5, so if you're on one of those there's nothing extra to buy to start using it. The real cost is the one-time labor to configure it properly, which for a small business is typically a fixed $1,100–$3,850 depending on device count and complexity.

Is Intune free to use?

No — Intune is a licensed Microsoft product, not a free tool. But it's very often already included in a plan you're paying for (Business Premium, E3, E5, F3, or Enterprise Mobility + Security), so in practice there's usually nothing new to buy. If your plan doesn't include it, Intune Plan 1 can be added for roughly $8/user/month.

Is Intune included with Office 365?

No. The "Office 365" plans (Office 365 E1, E3, E5) do not include Intune — only the "Microsoft 365" plans do (Business Premium, E3, E5, F3), along with standalone Enterprise Mobility + Security. The near-identical names are the single most common licensing mix-up we see; the full breakdown of which plans include Intune covers every variant.

What are the disadvantages of Intune?

The main one is that it's powerful but easy to misconfigure: enrolling devices before compliance and Conditional Access policies are correctly designed is the most common mistake, and it usually means redoing enrollment later. It also spans four platforms — Windows, iOS, Android, and macOS — that each behave differently, and it doesn't arrive pre-configured, so "enabled" is not the same as "set up." Done correctly, those are one-time setup considerations rather than ongoing drawbacks.

How much does it cost to set up Microsoft Intune for a small business?