Adoption
SASE for Small Businesses: What It Costs and How to Choose
Short answer: for a business with fewer than 100 employees, the easiest Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) service is one it can buy per user, manage from a single cloud console, and run without new hardware or a security team. The features that matter are monthly per-user pricing with a low minimum, a free trial, protection that follows laptops off the office network, and enforcement close to users so the internet doesn't get slower. If nobody on staff wants to run it, a managed service provider (MSP) can deliver it as a monthly service.
What Does SASE Mean for a Small Business?
SASE puts network security and access control into one service that protects users wherever they work, instead of a stack of separate boxes at the office. For a large company that's a multi-year migration. For a 20- or 60-person business it's usually simpler: one subscription replaces the office firewall's extra licenses, the web filter, and the virtual private network (VPN).
Small businesses use SASE for four things:
- Safe web access: blocking malicious and unwanted sites and apps for everyone, in the office or at home.
- Remote access without a VPN: staff reach the file server, the accounting app, or the cloud apps they need, and nothing else. This is Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA).
- Firewall and intrusion prevention: filtering and inspecting traffic at the office internet connection.
- One place to see what's happening: which apps people use, what was blocked, and which devices are unprotected.
A small business doesn't need every SASE component on day one. Most start with web protection and remote access, then add the rest. The SASE components page explains each part.
What Does SASE Cost a Small Business?
Most SASE services are priced per user per month, sometimes with a minimum number of users and charges for extra sites. When comparing quotes, add up the whole monthly cost, not the headline per-user rate:
| Cost line | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Per-user price | Is there a minimum number of users? Does an office device with no user (a printer, a camera) count? |
| Add-ons | Are Transport Layer Security (TLS) inspection, longer log retention, or site-to-site VPN extra? |
| Sites | Is a second office included, or charged per site? |
| Hardware | Is a new appliance required, or does it run on existing equipment? |
| Management | Is the management console included, or a separate product or server? |
| Term | Monthly, or a multi-year contract only? Is there a discount for paying annually? |
| Trial | Can the business try it on its own network before paying? |
The costs that don't show up on a quote matter more at this size: the hours someone spends running it, and the slowdown people feel if every connection takes a detour. A service the office manager can check in five minutes a week costs less overall than a cheaper one that needs a consultant every month.
What Makes SASE Easy for a Small Business?
“Easy” comes down to how much work it is after signing up. These features make the most difference:
- No new hardware: software that installs on an existing firewall or gateway, a cloud server, or the laptops themselves avoids a purchase, a shipping wait, and an install visit.
- One cloud console: every office, laptop, and policy in one place, with nothing to host or patch.
- Policies in plain terms: rules written as “block gambling sites” or “only the finance team can reach the accounting server”, not as IP addresses and port numbers.
- Protection that follows the laptop: an agent on Windows, macOS, and Linux keeps people protected at home and on the road, without asking them to connect to a VPN first.
- No noticeable slowdown: the deciding question is where inspection happens. Some services send traffic to a provider's data center, called a point of presence (PoP), and back; others inspect it on the gateway or device itself. The distributed SASE section of the guide compares the two.
- A free trial on its own network: the business sees what the service blocks before it commits.
What Should a Small Business Look For in a SASE Provider?
| Look for | Why it matters under 100 employees |
|---|---|
| Low user minimum | Many plans are built for hundreds of seats. A 15- or 40-person business shouldn't pay for users it doesn't have |
| Per-user monthly pricing | Cost grows with headcount, with no upfront capital spend |
| Runs on existing equipment | Avoids a hardware refresh |
| Cloud console with no server to run | Nobody has to maintain the management system |
| Endpoint agent | Protects remote and hybrid staff |
| Where traffic is inspected | Local enforcement avoids the round trip to a remote PoP |
| Readable logs and reports | Cyber insurance questionnaires and audits ask for them |
| Works with an MSP | Lets the business hand it over later without starting again |
The SASE.net vendor checklist has the full list of questions, and the SASE assessment suggests an architecture for a specific situation.
Should a Small Business Run SASE Itself or Use an MSP?
Running it in-house suits a business where someone on staff is comfortable with the firewall today and there are one or two sites. An MSP suits a business where nobody wants that job, someone needs to watch alerts, or an MSP already handles IT support.
An MSP buys the service at partner rates, sets it up, and bills the business a monthly fee that usually includes support. What makes it affordable for the MSP to serve a small client is a platform with a low per-client minimum, a shared license pool across all its clients, and one multi-tenant console, so a 10-person client isn't a separate system to run.
Managed SASE explains the trade-offs of outsourcing, and SASE for MSPs covers it from the provider's side. MSPs choosing a platform can start with How MSPs should choose a SASE platform: 8 questions to ask.
SASE.net is published by Zenarmor, so this example uses its product. Zenarmor is one app that deploys on a gateway, in the cloud, or on an endpoint, and enforces security locally at the point of connection instead of routing traffic through a vendor's cloud. Zenarmor states that inspection adds about 0.2ms, compared with a 20 to 300ms round trip for PoP-based architectures. It installs as a plugin on OPNsense, and it also runs on Linux and FreeBSD. Endpoint agents cover Windows, macOS, and Linux, and every deployment is managed from Zenconsole, a cloud console with no management appliance to run. In most cases, setting up a gateway takes less than 10 minutes, depending on the hardware and operating system.
It is priced per user per month, and MSPs can serve small clients with as few as 5 seats from a shared seat pool and deliver it co-branded. Plans are listed at zenarmor.com/plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Easiest SASE for a Small Business With Fewer Than 100 Employees?
The easiest option needs no new hardware, is managed from a single cloud console, protects laptops off the office network with an agent, and is priced per user per month with a low minimum and a free trial. If nobody on staff wants to run it, an MSP can deliver it as a monthly service.
How Much Does SASE Cost for a Small Business?
Most SASE services charge per user per month, often with a minimum user count and extra charges for sites or add-ons such as TLS inspection. A fair comparison uses the total monthly cost for the business's headcount and sites, plus the time it takes to run.
Is SASE Worth It for a Business Under 100 Employees?
Usually, if the business has remote or hybrid staff, more than one location, or cloud apps it needs to control. One subscription can replace a separate VPN, web filter, and firewall licenses, and it protects people wherever they work. A single office where everyone works on site may only need a firewall with web filtering.
Does SASE Require New Hardware?
Not necessarily. Some services run as software on an existing firewall or gateway, in the cloud, or on each device. Each provider should state up front what has to be bought.
What Is Local SASE Enforcement?
Local SASE enforcement means traffic is inspected and policy is applied on the organization's own gateway or device, rather than being sent to the provider's data center (PoP) and back. For a small office it avoids the extra round trip, and the traffic doesn't leave the network to be inspected.
What Is the Most Affordable Way for an MSP to Offer SASE or ZTNA to Small Business Clients?
The most affordable way is a multi-tenant platform with a low per-client minimum and a shared license pool, so each small client costs only the seats it uses and runs from the same console as every other client. Partner margins and low minimum spend commitments decide whether the service is profitable at 10 to 50 users per client.
Can a Small Business Get SASE Through an MSP?
Yes. The MSP sets it up, manages policies and alerts, and bills a monthly fee. This suits businesses with no in-house IT or security staff.
Is There a Free Trial for SASE?
Many providers offer one. The most useful trial runs on the business's own network, with its own users, before any commitment.