Total cost at a glance: in our engagements, a SOC 2 project usually costs $8,000 to $18,000 in total. That covers readiness consulting, the audit, and penetration testing and tools. Your team will also spend 30 to 50 hours on it. These are CyberWave GRC's own fees and what we see in our engagements, not universal market prices.
What makes up the cost
| Cost part | Our fees / what we see |
|---|---|
| Readiness and consulting, small company (under 50 staff) | $3,000 to $5,000 |
| Readiness and consulting, mid-size company (50 to 250 staff) | $5,000 to $10,000 |
| Type 1 audit fee | $3,000 to $5,000 |
| Type 2 audit fee | $3,000 to $5,000 |
| Penetration testing and tools | $2,000 to $3,000 |
| Internal staff time | 30 to 50 hours |
How company size and scope change the cost
Readiness work is the part that grows most with size. In our engagements, companies with fewer than 50 staff pay $3,000 to $5,000 for it, and companies with 50 to 250 staff pay $5,000 to $10,000. Scope matters as much as headcount: each extra system, cloud environment, location or vendor adds controls to design and evidence to collect. If you are still deciding between report types, our SOC 2 readiness assessment guide explains where to start.
What pushes the cost up
- More Trust Services Criteria. Adding Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity or Privacy on top of Security.
- A larger scope. More systems, cloud environments, locations and vendors.
- Missing policies and evidence at the start. This means more readiness work.
Mistakes that waste money, and how to keep the cost down
- Paying for a brand name. Every SOC 2 report is issued by a licensed CPA firm under the same AICPA standards, yet brand-name firms often charge $10,000 to $20,000 or more for the same audit.
- Hiring a firm that is not a licensed CPA firm. The report is not valid and the work has to be redone. You can check a firm's licence on CPAverify.
- Starting the audit before your controls are ready. This leads to exceptions in the report or a repeat audit.
To keep the cost down, start with Security only unless customers ask for more criteria. Keep the scope to the systems that serve your customers, and get your policies and evidence in place before the auditor arrives. Our buyer's guide to SOC 2 consulting services lists the questions to ask before you hire anyone.
Typical timeline
- Type 1: about 3 to 4 months from start to report.
- Type 2: Type 2 also includes an observation period of 3 months to 1 year, during which your controls must operate and be tested. The total time depends on the observation period you choose.
A typical engagement
*Illustrative scenario. This is not a specific client.*
A 40-person SaaS company needs a Type 2 report covering Security and Availability. Readiness costs about $4,000, the audit about $4,000, and penetration testing and tools about $2,500. That comes to about $10,500 in total. The project takes around 4 months and about 40 hours of the client team's time.
Get a SOC 2 quote
Tell us your company size, the systems in scope and the criteria you need, and we'll send you a quote. Request a quote or see our SOC 2 compliance consulting and penetration testing services.