How much does a cybersecurity audit cost? (2026)

“Cybersecurity audit” covers a wide range of very differently-priced engagements, so a single number is misleading. A lightweight risk assessment can run a few thousand dollars; a full SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 certification, with the readiness work that comes before it, can reach the mid five figures or more. The right budget depends entirely on which audit you mean and how prepared you already are.

Here’s what the common cybersecurity audits and assessments actually cost in 2026, and what drives the number.

Audit and assessment costs at a glance

Engagement	Typical annual/one-time cost	What it is
Security risk assessment	$5K–$30K	A review of your controls, gaps and risk exposure
Gap assessment (pre-audit readiness)	$5K–$20K	Finds what’s missing before a formal audit
SOC 2 (Type I / Type II)	~$20K–$80K, ~$40K typical	Auditor attestation for SaaS/B2B trust
ISO 27001 certification	~$25K–$100K, ~$40K typical	Internationally recognised ISMS certification
PCI DSS assessment	~$5K–$50K, ~$20K typical	Required for handling card data (scales with scope/level)
HIPAA compliance assessment	~$4K–$30K, ~$15K typical	Required for US healthcare / PHI
Penetration test	$5K–$50K, ~$18K typical	Simulated attack to validate controls

These are ranges from public compliance-cost guides and buyer data; your actual quote depends on scope, evidence readiness, and firm.

What drives the cost

Four factors move an audit quote more than anything else:

1. Scope. The number of systems, locations, data types and controls in scope is the single biggest driver. PCI in particular swings enormously — a small e-commerce shop that outsources card handling pays a fraction of a merchant processing millions of transactions in-house.
2. Readiness. An audit prices the attestation. If you show up with messy evidence, no policies, and untested controls, you’ll pay for a gap assessment, remediation, and a longer audit. Getting ready is often the larger cost — and it’s where compliance-automation platforms earn their keep.
3. Type I vs Type II. A SOC 2 Type I is a point-in-time snapshot; Type II observes controls over a period (typically 3–12 months) and costs more but carries far more weight with customers.
4. Recurring vs one-time. Certifications like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 recur annually (surveillance audits), so budget them as an ongoing line, not a one-off.

Readiness costs more than the audit

A recurring surprise for first-timers: the auditor’s fee is often the smaller part. Writing policies, implementing controls, collecting evidence, and running the program day-to-day — usually with an internal owner plus tooling — frequently exceeds the audit invoice itself. Budget for the readiness work explicitly, or the “audit cost” you planned for will be a fraction of what you actually spend.

Where audits fit in the wider budget

Compliance and testing are two line items in a complete security program, and for most organisations they’re modest relative to staffing and detection tooling. Security spend overall clusters around 11% of the IT budget (IANS/Artico), and compliance is a slice of that.

To see how audit, compliance and penetration-testing costs sit alongside the rest of a defensible program for your industry and size, run the cybersecurity budget calculator — it’s free and ungated — or read our penetration testing and compliance cost guides for the deeper breakdowns.