How to Budget Monthly Cloud PCs for a Team

Count working desktops before multiplying prices

Make a short inventory with one row for each person or distinct project environment. Record who needs Windows at the same time, their primary device and location, the software they will install, and the expected running time. One active Windows user can use a Jump-Desk at a time, so three simultaneous workers need three suitable desktops.

For fictional Harbour Operations, Sam manages quotations and project documents while Jules works on a client application. Casey coordinates Team access. Casey being the Team Owner does not automatically mean a third paid desktop is needed: budget a desktop for the Windows work each person actually performs. Team membership, desktop assignment and a paid Windows environment are different things.

Use the complete formula

Hours estimate = compute rate × running hours + service rate × retained hours. Retained hours include time stopped. A desktop kept for 30 days is retained for 720 hours, even if the person only connects on weekdays. Closing Windows App does not necessarily stop the machine.

Months estimate = full monthly price × number of subscribed desktops. Each desktop includes up to 300 uptime hours in its monthly allowance. Do not divide the fee by 300 and charge only the hours you expect to work. A billing period and a calendar month are not always the same length, so check the actual renewal date.

Keep the plan price separate from software licences, applicable taxes, optional extras, backup arrangements and the people who support the environment. Do not treat a wallet top-up as a discount or assume that the Hours wallet pays a Months subscription.

A worked Netherlands Pro example

Rates rechecked in the public Jump-IT calculator on 3 November 2026: Netherlands Pro Hours is EUR 0.22 per running hour plus EUR 0.023282 per retained service hour; Months is EUR 59 for the full billing cycle with up to 300 uptime hours. Each example keeps one desktop for 30 days (720 retained hours) within one monthly billing cycle. All amounts are EUR and exclude VAT or other applicable taxes, discounts, software licences and optional extras. Confirm the final checkout total.

On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways to see every cost column.

Light use: 20 running hours, retained for 30 days. EUR 0.22 × 20 = EUR 4.40 compute; EUR 0.023282 × 720 = EUR 16.76304 retained service. Adding the unrounded amounts and rounding the total to two decimals gives EUR 21.16. Stopped hours still count towards retained service. Hours uses prepaid wallet credit; the amount you fund can differ from this consumption estimate. The Months charge remains EUR 59 even at this lighter use.

Recalculate 20 running hours and 30 retained days at current prices. If retention crosses a Months renewal, another full monthly charge applies; these examples assume one cycle.

At 160 hours the Hours estimate is lower by EUR 7.04. At 220 hours Months is lower by EUR 6.16. For these specific rates and 30-day retention, the arithmetic crosses at about 192 running hours. That is not a universal threshold: region, size, currency, retention and future prices change it.

Translate that into a three- or five-desktop budget

At the example EUR 59 rate, three Months Pro desktops total EUR 177 per full billing period and five total EUR 295, before applicable taxes, discounts and extras. Each desktop has its own up-to-300-hour allowance; do not treat those hours as a pooled bank shared across the Team.

A monthly desktop budget can help an owner plan for stable work, but it still needs a capacity check. A developer whose required tools exceed the chosen memory or processor capacity may need a different configuration. A colleague who only opens one Windows application occasionally may be better served by Hours. Use the current calculator for each actual configuration rather than copying one rate across a mixed team.

A budget worksheet an owner can use

In the first month, compare the estimates with the available actual billing and usage records. Do not judge a plan from login frequency alone: a desktop can continue running after a connection closes. Review lightly used subscriptions before renewal and review recurring Hours work when it becomes predictable.

Choose the plan alongside the access process

A sensible purchase decision combines the budget with a working test. For Sam’s quotation workspace, install the chosen licensed quotation, spreadsheet and document tools, then check a real proposal workflow. For Jules, install the chosen editor, Git and runtime, configure the project repository and rehearse a build with approved test data.

The demonstration screenshots show the product’s calculator and fictional Team setup, not completed remote application work. Before expanding, verify each person’s supported device and network, decide their Team role and Windows privilege separately, and make a handover plan for contractors. See the Months workspace guide for recurring development use.

Questions to settle before you choose

Plan your first working desktop

Choose the actual role, applications, device and working hours first. Then use the Jump-Teams guide to organise access and the current calculator to compare plans. A representative working test is more useful than buying capacity for an assumed workload.