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Security Compliance Cost & Readiness Index

Updated Last verified

In short: published SOC 2 audit fees run from about $5,000 for a small Type 1 to $150,000 or more at the top of the market, and one vendor puts all-in first-year costs at $25,000 to over $200,000. Published ISO 27001 figures range from a few thousand for a very small company's certification audit to $75,000+ across a three-year cycle. 0 of 9 compliance platforms we track publish a price.

How to read these numbers. Every figure below was published by the firm named, and is labelled as a third-party estimate. The firms include CPA firms, certification bodies and compliance-platform vendors, some of which sell the services they are pricing. Ranges differ in what they include (audit fee only, or all first-year costs) and in company size, as noted on each row. Baseline Ready does not estimate prices; where nobody publishes one, we say so.

SOC 2

Published byWhat the figure coversRangeSource typePublished
Linford & Company LLP
auditor
audit fee
SOC audit fees (SOC 1 & SOC 2) from a specialist CPA firm; median ~$30,000; Big 4 'low six figures' upward. Excludes readiness/tooling.
$20,000 – $150,000
USD
Third-party estimate4 February 2026
checked 25 September 2026
The Pun Group
auditor
audit fee
Type I base audit fee only.
$5,000 – $20,000
USD
Third-party estimate1 December 2025
checked 24 September 2026
The Pun Group
auditor
audit fee
Type II base audit fee only.
$20,000 – $50,000
USD
Third-party estimate1 December 2025
checked 24 September 2026
A-LIGN
auditor
audit fee
SOC 2 audit (Type I or II), open-ended upper bound ('or more'); depends on size, complexity, scope.
$20,000 – $150,000
USD
Third-party estimate13 March 2026
checked 24 September 2026
Drata
compliance vendor
audit fee
Type 1 audit fee, small to midsize companies (large orgs quoted $20,000–$60,000).
$7,500 – $15,000
USD
Third-party estimate25 March 2026
checked 24 September 2026
Drata
compliance vendor
audit fee
Type 2 audit fee, small to midsize companies (large orgs $30,000–$100,000+).
$12,000 – $20,000
USD
Third-party estimate25 March 2026
checked 24 September 2026
Drata
compliance vendor
all-in first year
Audit fee plus readiness, security tools and internal team time; upper bound 'over'.
$25,000 – $200,000
USD
Third-party estimate25 March 2026
checked 24 September 2026

ISO 27001

Published byWhat the figure coversRangeSource typePublished
Vanta
compliance vendor
certification fee
Stage 1 + Stage 2 initial certification audit; recertification similar; surveillance ~$6,000–$7,500.
$14,000 – $16,000
USD
Third-party estimateNot stated
checked 24 September 2026
Vanta
compliance vendor
certification fee
Annual surveillance audit.
$6,000 – $7,500
USD
Third-party estimateNot stated
checked 24 September 2026
Drata
compliance vendor
other
Total over full 3-year cycle: preparation, implementation, initial audit, surveillance, recertification.
$10,000 – $75,000
USD
Third-party estimate24 February 2026
checked 24 September 2026
High Table
publisher
all-in first year
Combined expenses (preparation, implementation, internal audit, certification audit, ongoing); UK consultancy/publisher.
£5,000 – £50,000
GBP
Third-party estimate14 September 2026
checked 24 September 2026
High Table
publisher
certification fee
By organisation size: 1–10 employees to 8,500+ employees.
£6,250 – £36,875
GBP
Third-party estimate14 September 2026
checked 24 September 2026
Advisera
publisher
certification fee
Point estimate: certification audit for a very small US company.
$7,500 – $7,500
USD
Third-party estimate9 November 2023
checked 24 September 2026

High Table publishes in pounds sterling; other figures are in US dollars. Currencies are not converted.

Compliance platform pricing

Of the 9 platforms we track, 0 publish a price on their own website; the rest ask you to contact sales or show plan names without prices. The full list, with the frameworks each one lists, is on compliance automation platforms.

Typical timelines

FrameworkWhatTypical durationPublished by
SOC 2Type 2 observation period3–12 monthsA-LIGN; Compass IT Compliance
ISO 27001Journey to certification3–12 monthsI.S. Partners; Vanta
ISO 27001Certificate cycle3 years, with surveillance audits in years two and threeTÜV Rheinland; Schellman

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Cost figures (CSV) · Platform pricing status (CSV). Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page. Data last checked 25 September 2026; cost and vendor facts are re-checked at least every 45 days. How we collect them: sources & methodology.

Cite this index

Baseline Ready, "Security Compliance Cost & Readiness Index", https://baselineready.com/costs/, data checked 25 September 2026. Spotted an outdated figure? See corrections.