ITBudgetCalculator.com is an independent reference tool. Benchmark data sourced from Gartner, Avasant, and industry reports. Always validate with your own CFO or IT leadership.
Free IT Budget Planning Tool

IT Budget Calculator

Enter your revenue, headcount, and industry to get a recommended IT budget with category-level breakdown. Benchmarked against 2026 industry data.

Global IT spending: $6.15 trillion in 2026, up 10.8% (Gartner). Average spend across all industries: 5.7% of revenue.

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Explore IT Budget Benchmarks

IT Spending Benchmarks 2026

Industry x company size matrix. Global IT spending $6.15 trillion, up 10.8%.

IT Budget by Industry

From financial services (7-10%) to manufacturing (2-5%). 10+ industries covered.

IT Budget by Company Size

Startup through large enterprise. Per-employee costs and team sizing benchmarks.

IT Budget as % of Revenue

How your revenue band affects the right percentage. Factors that move it up or down.

Small Business IT Budget

4-7% of revenue. $1,000-$3,500 per employee. Managed services vs in-house.

Cybersecurity Budget Guide

10-15% of IT budget. SMBs now averaging 14.8%. Includes mini calculator.

Cloud Spending Benchmarks

45% of IT budgets going to cloud. SaaS $299B, IaaS $182B, PaaS $198B.

IT Budget Breakdown

Personnel, software, infrastructure, security, support. Recommended allocations.

IT Budget Optimization

10 proven strategies. SaaS audits save 5-15%. Cloud rightsizing saves 20-35%.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of revenue should be spent on IT?
The average across all industries is 5.7% of revenue in 2026. However, this varies significantly by sector: financial services and healthcare companies typically spend 6-10%, while manufacturing and logistics companies spend 2-5%. Technology companies themselves often invest 6-9% of revenue in IT. Your company's digital maturity, growth stage, and regulatory requirements all influence the right number for you.
How much should a small business spend on IT?
Small businesses with 1-49 employees typically spend 6.9% of revenue on IT, which translates to roughly $1,000-$3,500 per employee annually. A 20-person company with $3 million in revenue should budget approximately $150,000-$207,000 per year. Cloud-first approaches and managed services (MSPs) help small businesses achieve enterprise-grade IT at lower per-unit costs without requiring a full-time IT team.
What is the average IT budget for a company?
The global average is 5.7% of revenue across all industries and company sizes. Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) average 3.7% of revenue, while small businesses (1-49 employees) average 6.9%. The difference reflects economies of scale: larger organisations spread infrastructure and licensing costs across more users. Mid-market companies (251-1,000 employees) typically fall between 6-8% of revenue.
How do you calculate an IT budget?
Start with your annual revenue and apply your industry benchmark percentage to get a baseline. Then adjust for company size (small companies spend proportionally more), growth plans (scaling up requires investment), and compliance requirements (regulated industries spend more on security). Allocate the total across five categories: personnel (28-32%), software and SaaS (26-30%), infrastructure (20-24%), security (10-14%), and support (7-10%). Use this calculator to get a starting point, then validate with your current spend.
What percentage of IT budget should go to cybersecurity?
Industry best practice is 10-15% of total IT budget for most organisations. Regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, and government should target 15-18%. SMBs are now averaging 14.8% on security (up from 10.2% in 2022) driven by rising threat levels and cyber insurance requirements. Of the security budget, approximately 40% goes to software and platforms, 30% to personnel, 15% to hardware, and 15% to outsourced services.
What is the IT spending forecast for 2026?
Global IT spending is projected at $6.15 trillion in 2026, up 10.8% year-over-year (Gartner, February 2026). Data centre systems are the fastest-growing segment at $582.4 billion (+19.0%), driven by AI infrastructure investment. AI-specific spending is growing at 80.8% year-over-year. The top CIO priorities for 2026 are AI scaling (76% of CIOs expect agentic AI investment), security, and FinOps cost optimisation.

Updated 2026-04-27