Helios vs ConnectWise
Helios vs ConnectWise: the whole stack, or the whole stack you use
Nobody chooses ConnectWise because it is simple. They choose it because it does everything, and for a large MSP with people to run it that is a real argument. The question worth asking is whether you are buying capability you will use, or capability you will pay to have configured.
What ConnectWise does well
ConnectWise has the deepest ecosystem in this market and it is not close. PSA, RMM, ScreenConnect, security services, documentation and a very large integration catalogue, plus IT Nation, which is a genuine community rather than a marketing programme. If your MSP has unusual processes, ConnectWise will almost certainly bend to fit them, and at several hundred seats that flexibility earns its keep.
What to look at closely before you buy
- You will not see a price. Everything is quote-only and scoped to your seat count and module mix. Public reporting puts PSA around $25 to $35 per user per month, and MSPs running PSA and RMM together commonly describe $150 to $200 or more per technician per month before Automate or security add-ons (last verified July 2026). Get the all-in number in writing.
- Implementation is a project, not an afternoon. Budget for onboarding time and quite possibly paid consulting. That cost is real even though it does not appear on the subscription line.
- Module sprawl. Automate is a separate licence from RMM, which is separate from PSA. Work out exactly which products you need before comparing anything, because the name covers several of them.
How Helios is different
Helios is one product with one price, published on the website, and every feature is on every plan. There is no module matrix to decode and nothing to configure for weeks before it does useful work: you sign up, send one installer per client, and devices appear in seconds. Helio then works the queue rather than sitting in it, investigating alerts on the machine itself, fixing what your guardrails allow, and answering routine tickets.
What we will not pretend: ConnectWise has more in it. If you need quoting, projects, procurement and contract billing today, that is theirs and not ours.
| Helios | ConnectWise | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat per MSP: £99, £199 or £399/month by device count (50 / 250 / unlimited). Every feature on every plan, monthly billing, cancel any time. | Quote only. PSA reported ~$25 to $35/user/month; PSA plus RMM commonly $150 to $200+/tech/month before add-ons (verified July 2026) |
| Buying process | Published pricing, self-serve trial, card-free | Sales-led, custom quote, module scoping |
| Time to useful | Minutes to a first enrolled device | Weeks to months, often with paid onboarding |
| Product shape | One product, every feature on every plan | PSA, RMM, Automate, ScreenConnect and security as separate licences |
| AI | Investigations, auto-healing and an AI service desk included | AI features arriving across the suite, positioned as assistance |
| Breadth | No quoting, projects, procurement or contract billing | Quoting, projects, procurement, contracts, the lot |
Where ConnectWise is the better pick
If you are big enough to have someone whose job includes owning the tooling, and you need procurement, projects and contract billing in the same system as your tickets, ConnectWise is built for exactly that and Helios is not. If you are a small team who would end up using a fraction of it while paying to have the rest configured, the maths stops working, and that is the gap Helios is built for.
Common questions
Is Helios a good alternative to ConnectWise?
For a small team, often yes. ConnectWise does more than Helios and always will, but a lot of that breadth needs configuring and paying for whether you use it or not. Helios is one product, one published price, every feature included, and useful the same afternoon you sign up.
What does ConnectWise cost compared to Helios?
ConnectWise is quote only. Public reporting puts PSA at roughly $25 to $35 per user per month, and MSPs running PSA and RMM together commonly describe $150 to $200 or more per technician per month before Automate or security add-ons. Helios is £99, £199 or £399 a month for the whole company with unlimited technician seats, published on the pricing page.
What does ConnectWise do that Helios does not?
Quoting, projects, procurement, contract billing and very deep workflow customisation. Helios does time tracking through to a QuickBooks invoice but not contract billing, rate cards or payment collection. If those are central to how you run, ConnectWise is genuinely ahead.
See it on your own fleet
Helios is the AI-native platform for MSPs: monitoring, patching, security, Microsoft 365, backup monitoring, remote access and an AI service desk in one product, at one flat price per MSP. Every feature is on every plan. 14-day free trial, card-free, set up in minutes, cancel any time.
Start freeCompetitor details on this page were last verified in July 2026 from public pricing pages, announcements and review sites, and may have changed since. They are provided in good faith for comparison; always confirm current pricing and features with the vendor. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@heliosmip.com and we will fix it.