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SD-WAN costs
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What makes up the cost of SD-WAN
SD-WAN is a modern way of running a wide area network across multiple sites, and the costs come from several layered components. It is not a single piece of hardware or software with a single price, but technology where each component carries its own cost.
If you are new to the technology, our SD-WAN explained guide covers how it works.
SD-WAN is usually sold on a subscription basis, so most costs are spread across a monthly or annual term rather than paid in one go. SD-WAN providers bundle the components in different ways. One might fold connectivity and management into a single per-site fee, while another itemises everything separately.
The five cost components below make up almost every SD-WAN quote.
Hardware
The physical appliances or edge devices installed at each of your sites.
Software licensing
The SD-WAN platform itself, usually charged per site or per device.
Connectivity
The underlying broadband, Business Ethernet or mobile links that carry your traffic.
Implementation and migration
The design, configuration and the work of moving your sites across.
Ongoing management
The monitoring, support and changes once your network is live.
Total SD-WAN costs for businesses
Pricing for SD-WAN solutions varies by business, but adding all the components together gives a realistic range per site. There are typically two elements of the cost, an upfront amount to set each site up, and an ongoing monthly fee covering licensing, connectivity and management.
| Business profile | Typical sites | Hardware / Configuration cost per site | Monthly cost per site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small business | 1 to 5 sites | £300 to £1,500 | £75 to £250 |
| Mid-market business | 10 to 20 sites | £500 to £2,500 | £150 to £400 |
| Larger deployment | 30+ sites | £800 to £3,500 | £100 to £300 |
Larger deployments often pay less per site each month than mid-market ones, because the cost of the platform and management is spread across more locations. The upfront cost per site tends to be higher, as bigger sites need more capable hardware and more resilience.
For a precise quote for your business, contact our experts today.
SD-WAN hardware costs
SD-WAN hardware is the physical appliance, often called an edge device, installed at each site. It connects your local network to the wider SD-WAN software that routes traffic across your connections.
Not every deployment needs new hardware. The SD-WAN itself is managed from a cloud platform, and at each site, the edge function can run as a physical appliance or as a virtual appliance on a server you already own.
Virtual deployment avoids the appliance cost below, though the software licence still applies.
What you pay per appliance depends on the following factors:
Throughput and connections
The amount of data the appliance can process, measured in Mbps or Gbps, is the biggest driver of hardware cost. The number of connections it supports adds to this, as devices handling multiple links for failover cost more than single-connection ones.
- A small site appliance handles light traffic and a single connection
- A larger site needs more throughput and multiple links for more users and heavier cloud use
Indicative cost: £300 to £1,500 per appliance for most business sites
Built-in security
Many appliances include security features such as a firewall, encryption and threat detection. The more built-in, the higher the cost, but it can remove the need for a separate kit.
- Basic appliances handle routing and encryption
- Advanced models add next generation firewall and threat detection on the device
Indicative cost: £500 to £2,500 plus for security-integrated appliances
Resilience
Some sites need a second appliance or a device with built-in redundancy so the site stays online if hardware fails.
- A single appliance suits sites that can tolerate brief downtime
- Critical sites use paired or redundant hardware
Indicative cost: A second appliance roughly doubles the hardware cost at that site
SD-WAN software and licensing costs
SD-WAN software licensing is the recurring cost paid to use a SD-WAN platform. It covers the software running on the edge device at each site, plus the central platform that handles management, orchestration and analytics across your whole network.
There are two main models for SD-WAN software and licensing costs:
Per site
You pay a fixed fee for each site connected to the network, whatever its size or number of users.
- Simple to budget, as the cost is the same per location
- Can work out expensive for small sites with only a handful of users
Per user
You pay based on the number of people using the network, rather than the number of sites.
- Fairer for businesses with sites of very different sizes
- Common with security-led platforms aimed at remote and hybrid workers
SD-WAN feature tiers
Most quotes also sit within a feature tier. The higher the tier, the more the licence costs per site or per user, and higher tiers build SD-WAN security into the platform rather than as a separate cost.
| Tier | What it adds | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Traffic routing, link failover, encryption | Smaller networks with straightforward needs |
| Advanced | Application-aware routing, performance monitoring, deeper analytics | Businesses running heavy cloud or voice traffic |
| Secure | Built-in firewall, threat detection, secure web access | Networks where security sits with the platform, not separate kit |
SD-WAN connectivity costs
A common question is whether SD-WAN includes the cost of connecting to the internet. It does not. SD-WAN is an overlay that runs across your connections, so you still pay for the underlying lines at each site, on top of the SD-WAN service itself.
The figures below cover the main connection types and where each one fits.
SoGEA business broadband
SoGEA business broadband is the most widely available connection across the UK. With speeds of up to 80Mbps. Suited to small sites with light use, as a low-cost link for a site that does not handle critical traffic, or as a basic failover connection for network disaster recovery.
Indicative cost: £25 to £35 per month
Full fibre business broadband
Full fibre business broadband has speeds up to 2Gbps. The default choice for most sites in 2026, especially with symmetrical speeds with the upload speed that cloud use and hosted phones need. Shared rather than dedicated, so no guaranteed performance, but a strong option paired with a mobile backup.
Indicative cost: £30 to £60 per month
Leased line business broadband
Leased line business broadband is a dedicated, uncontended circuit with symmetrical speeds and an SLA backed uptime guarantee. The choice for head offices, data centres and any site that cannot tolerate downtime or variable performance.
Indicative cost: £180 to £400 per month for 1 Gbps, rising for higher speeds
Redundant and failover connections
A backup link keeps a site online when its main connection fails, and SD-WAN switches traffic across automatically. 5G business broadband is the most common choice, as it needs no fixed line and follows a separate path to the site. Some sites instead use a second fixed line from a different network.
Indicative cost: £20 to £40 per month per site for a mobile backup
Direct site to site links
A private Business Ethernet circuit connecting two of your sites directly, rather than routing between them over the internet. A point-to-point leased line gives a dedicated path with guaranteed speed, suited to sites that constantly move large volumes of data between each other, such as an office and a data centre. Pricing depends on the distance between the sites as well as the speed.
Indicative cost: £250 to £600 per month, depending on distance and speed
SD-WAN implementation and migration costs
Implementation is the one-off cost of designing, deploying and commissioning your SD-WAN network. Providers usually quote it as professional services, covering all the work needed to get every site live and traffic running across the new network.
Professional services usually cover:
- Network design and planning: Mapping your sites, traffic and priorities, and designing how the network will route and fail over.
- Site surveys: Checking each location for its connections, equipment and any constraints before deployment.
- Device staging and configuration: Setting up and pre-configuring each appliance before it ships, a process known as zero touch provisioning.
- Connectivity coordination: Ordering the underlying broadband and Ethernet lines at each site and scheduling install dates.
- Deployment and testing: Installing the appliances, bringing each site onto the network and testing failover before going live.
- Staff training: Showing your team how to use the management platform and handle day-to-day changes.
Implementation is normally priced as a percentage of the first year cost, typically 10 to 20%, rather than a flat fee. The final figure depends on how many sites you have and how complex the deployment is.
Managed SD-WAN and self-managed costs
Who runs the network is the biggest single influence on what you pay. Be aware that “managed” covers a wide range of service levels. Some SD-WAN providers bundle hardware, connectivity and management into one monthly fee, while others charge for management only.
Support ranges from 24/7 monitoring with guaranteed response times to business-hours-only, so check exactly what each quote includes.
Managed SD-WAN
The provider designs, monitors and maintains the network for a monthly fee, usually £75 to £400 per site, depending on business size. You need little or no in-house networking expertise.
Self-managed SD-WAN
You pay for hardware, licences and connectivity, then your own IT team runs the network. Monthly costs are lower, but your team takes on the workload of monitoring, changes and fixes.
Co-managed SD-WAN
A middle option where the provider handles monitoring and major faults while your team makes day-to-day changes. Pricing sits between the two, and it suits businesses with some networking capability in-house.
Hidden costs of SD-WAN spend
SD-WAN quotes don’t always include everything you will actually pay. The costs below are usually excluded, so check each one against your quote and budget for anything missing.
| Hidden cost | What to budget for |
|---|---|
| Connectivity circuits | The broadband or Business Ethernet lines at each site are rarely in the SD-WAN quote and are often the highest single cost. |
| MPLS early exit penalties | Leaving an existing MPLS contract before it ends usually triggers termination fees, sometimes the full remaining contract value. |
| Hardware refresh cycles | Appliances last around five to seven years, so a replacement cost falls within most contract lifetimes. |
| Licence renewal increases | Renewal pricing is often higher than the initial term, as first contracts are discounted to win the business |
| Security integration | Integrating existing SD-WAN-compatible firewalls and security tools can need extra licences or professional services. |
| Additional sites | New locations added after deployment are priced individually and often cost more per site than the original rollout. |
| Headcount growth | On per-user licensing, every new starter increases the monthly bill. |
| Support tier upgrades | Basic support is often business hours only, and moving to 24/7 cover with response guarantees costs more. |
SD-WAN Costs – FAQs
Below, our experts answer the most commonly asked questions about SD-WAN costs.
Is SD-WAN always cheaper than MPLS?
Usually, but not always.
Businesses typically save 20 to 45% on monthly costs when moving from MPLS to SD-WAN, because internet circuits cost far less than private MPLS circuits.
SD-WAN can cost more for businesses with very few sites, large MPLS exit penalties, a lack of cloud usage, or performance needs that require premium connectivity.
How much does it really cost to self manage SD-WAN internally?
Lower licence and hardware costs, but the real cost is staff time and expertise. Monitoring, changes and fault fixing can take up a significant part of a network engineer’s role, and for smaller teams, that time often costs more than the managed service fee it replaces.
How do I judge SD-WAN quotes from different providers fairly?
Break each quote into the same five components. Then check the support level and what is excluded. Only line up the headline figures once both quotes cover the same scope.
Is it cheaper to buy SD-WAN hardware outright or lease it?
Buying costs less over the life of the appliance. Leasing through a NaaS-style subscription costs more overall but spreads payment into the monthly fee and includes replacement when hardware fails or reaches end of life.
How does zero-touch provisioning reduce SD-WAN deployment costs?
Appliances are configured remotely and only need to be plugged in on site, which removes the cost of sending an engineer to every location.