Introduction
DMARC pricing is one of those areas where most MSPs leave money on the table. Hourly billing undervalues the work; bundling into "managed IT" makes the value invisible. This article covers the three-tier pricing structure that captures the value cleanly.
Why this topic matters
DMARC has unusual unit economics — high upfront work, low recurring effort, durable monthly revenue. Pricing that respects this shape is profitable; pricing that doesn't is a charity case.
The three-tier pricing structure
Tier 1: Audit
Range: $500-1,500 fixed (or free as sales tool).
Time investment: 2-3 hours.
Margin: 80-90% if charged, sales tool if free.
Tier 2: Rollout
Range: $3,000-15,000 fixed, depending on sender complexity.
Time investment: 20-40 hours over 8-12 weeks.
Margin: 50-70%.
Tier 3: Monthly monitoring
Range: $50-300/month per domain.
Time investment: 1-2 hours/month per client.
Margin: 70-90% — the profitable recurring tier.
Step-by-step approach to setting your prices
- Calculate your loaded hourly cost. Engineer salary + benefits + overhead ÷ billable hours.
- Multiply by hours per tier. Audit, rollout, monthly.
- Apply target margin. 60-80% on the rollout, 70-90% on monitoring.
- Round to clean numbers. $4,995 reads better than $4,832.
- Test with 3 clients. Adjust based on conversion.
Pricing by client size
A rough heuristic:
- <25 employees: Audit free, rollout $3-5K, monthly $50-100/domain.
- 25-200 employees: Audit $500, rollout $5-10K, monthly $100-200/domain.
- 200-1000 employees: Audit $1-2K, rollout $10-25K, monthly $200-400/domain.
- >1000 employees: Custom, multi-domain.
Volume discount on monthly tier past 5 domains.
Best practices
- Don't bundle into "managed IT." Separate line item.
- Price the rollout above your cost confidently. It's specialty work.
- Use the audit as the sales close, not a profit center. Free or near-free.
- Annual prepay discount. 10-15% off for annual on monitoring.
- Productize remediation overruns. Define what's included, what's extra.
Recommended next step
Calculate your costs for each tier this week. If your current pricing doesn't yield 60%+ margin, raise prices. DMARC is specialty work; price like it.
FAQ
What's a good "free audit" loss leader?
Free if it converts >40% of audits to rollouts. Charge if conversion drops below.
Can I bill the rollout hourly?
You can, but clients prefer fixed-scope. Fixed-scope also forces you to scope tightly.
What about white-label costs?
Add your platform license to the cost basis. Most platforms are $5-50/domain/month wholesale.
Should I charge for BIMI setup separately?
Yes — BIMI is a distinct SKU. $1,500-3,000 for setup plus the VMC pass-through.
How do I handle multi-domain enterprise clients?
Negotiated pricing. Use per-domain unit economics as the floor.
Final thoughts
Three tiers, three prices, predictable margin per tier. DMARC pricing works when you respect the shape of the work — finite rollout, recurring monitoring.
Price intentionally. Raise prices when audits are converting at high rates; lower if conversion drops. The data tells you the answer.