Electric Review
Managed IT helpdesk plus laptop procurement and MDM, bundled for SMBs without dedicated IT.
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Live screenshot of www.electric.ai
Overview
What is Electric?
Electric (electric.ai) is a New York-headquartered managed IT services company founded in 2016 that operates as outsourced IT for sub-500-employee companies. The core product is a chat-based IT helpdesk staffed by Electric's own engineers, with hardware procurement, MDM, app management, and SOC 2 readiness bundled as additional services.
Capabilities
Key features, in detail
What you actually get when you turn Electric on for a distributed team.
Chat-based IT helpdesk
Slack-based or chat-based IT support staffed by Electric engineers - the core differentiator that justifies the per-seat fee.
Hardware procurement
Bundled laptop sourcing across Apple, Lenovo, Dell, HP - US-focused with limited international support.
Native MDM
Built-in MDM for Mac and Windows; less deep than Jamf or Intune but adequate for SMBs without complex requirements.
App and identity management
App provisioning, SSO, and license deprovisioning bundled with the IT subscription.
Asset & inventory tracking
Track devices in deployment, in storage, and in repair from the Electric admin console.
Security and SOC 2 prep
Security baseline configuration, vulnerability management, and SOC 2 evidence collection as part of the helpdesk service.
Onboarding/offboarding service
Electric engineers handle device dispatch, account setup, and offboarding tasks via the helpdesk workflow.
IT advisory and roadmap
Strategic IT advisory for companies past the point where one office manager can run IT but pre-dedicated-CIO scale.
Pricing
How Electric pricing works
Electric is priced per seat per month with the hardware itself quoted separately. The per-seat economics are designed to be competitive with hiring a junior IT manager at sub-500-employee scale.
Outsourced IT helpdesk for sub-100-employee SMBs
- Chat-based helpdesk
- Native MDM (Mac/Windows)
- Basic app provisioning
- Onboarding/offboarding workflows
- Standard SLAs
Full managed IT with hardware procurement
- Everything in Core
- Hardware procurement
- Asset tracking & inventory
- Security baseline
- SOC 2 evidence collection
- Priority SLAs
Custom SLAs, advisory, dedicated team
- Everything in Growth
- Dedicated account team
- Custom SLAs
- IT advisory and roadmap
- Compliance audit support
- Custom integrations
What you'll actually pay: Most buyers pay roughly $40-$100 per user per month for the managed IT service, with hardware costs quoted separately per device (typically with a small reseller margin). The per-seat fee is meant to be competitive against hiring a junior IT manager at $60K-$80K plus benefits - break-even is usually around 50-80 employees.
The trade-offs
Pros & cons
What we like
- Combines managed IT helpdesk and laptop procurement under one vendor
- Replaces the need for a dedicated IT manager at sub-500-employee scale
- Bundled MDM, identity, and SOC 2 prep - meaningful for compliance-driven SMBs
- Per-seat economics make budget conversations simpler than à la carte tools
- Chat-based helpdesk staffed by Electric employees (not outsourced overseas)
- Strong fit for series A-B SMBs that don't yet have a CIO
What to watch out for
- Primarily US-focused - international helpdesk and procurement coverage is thin
- Hardware sourcing is secondary to the helpdesk product; not as deep as Workwize/Deel IT
- Per-device economics higher than dedicated procurement platforms
- Less suited for companies that already have an IT lead and just need tools
Ideal Customer Profile
Who is Electric best for?
The teams that get the most ROI from Electric tend to share these characteristics.
US SMBs without dedicated IT
20-500 employees, no full-time IT manager, current IT handled by office manager or HR - Electric replaces the role.
Series A-B startups
Growing past 50 employees where DIY IT starts breaking but you're not ready to hire a CIO.
Compliance-driven SMBs
Need SOC 2 readiness for enterprise customer requirements but don't have the internal team to do it.
Companies between sizes
Too big for DIY IT, too small for an internal team - managed IT is the right scale for 50-300 employee range.
If not Electric
Top alternatives to consider
Electric sits in a competitive category. These are the platforms most often evaluated alongside it.
Workwize
Better if you only need procurement and have IT internally. Cheaper per-device, no helpdesk bundled.
Read review →Rippling IT
Better if you want HR + IT in one platform rather than outsourced helpdesk. Self-serve rather than managed.
Read review →Deel IT (Hofy)
Better for global laptop programs tied to Deel HR/EOR. Procurement-focused, not managed IT.
Read review →allwhere
US-led procurement-only with integrated ITAM. Cheaper for companies with IT internally.
Read review →Common questions
Electric FAQ
Typically around 300-500 employees when hiring an internal IT manager becomes cheaper than the per-seat fee, and around the point where you outgrow Electric's MDM customization (companies with complex Jamf setups, deep Intune configurations, or large international deployments often migrate off Electric at this scale).
Roughly $40-$100 per user per month for the managed IT service, with hardware costs separate. The break-even vs hiring a $60-80K junior IT manager (with benefits, roughly $90K all-in) is usually 50-80 employees. Below that, Electric saves money; above 300 employees, an internal hire is usually cheaper.
Not really. Electric is primarily US-focused - the helpdesk is US-staffed in US hours, procurement is US-sourced, and international shipping is via partners. For companies with significant non-US hiring, a dedicated procurement platform (Workwize, Deel IT) plus a separate global IT helpdesk is usually a better fit.
For most SMB needs, yes - Electric's native MDM handles Mac and Windows with security policies, app deployment, and remote wipe. For deep Jamf or Intune customization, you'd typically keep your existing MDM and use Electric for helpdesk and procurement only. Electric can integrate with both.
Slack-based or chat-based - your employees message Electric in Slack or via their app and an Electric engineer responds. Tickets are categorized and prioritized; SLAs vary by tier. Coverage is US business hours by default, with extended coverage available at higher tiers. The engineers are Electric W-2 employees, not offshore contractors.
Yes - SOC 2 evidence collection is bundled at the Growth tier and up. Electric configures security baselines, manages access provisioning/deprovisioning logs, and produces audit evidence on demand. This is one of the strongest reasons SMBs pick Electric over DIY managed-IT - SOC 2 prep is meaningful labor savings.
Bottom line
Our verdict on Electric
The category winner for SMBs that aren't ready to hire IT - pricier per-device than dedicated tools, but you're paying for the engineer time
Electric is the platform we recommend most often to US SMBs in the 20-500 employee range that have outgrown DIY IT but aren't yet at the scale of a dedicated team. The chat-based helpdesk, bundled procurement, and SOC 2 prep replace a junior IT manager at a comparable cost - with the advantage of immediate ramp-up vs a 2-3 month hire.