SOC 2 certification cost: what you will actually pay
Published
A first SOC 2 Type 2 costs a small or midsize company roughly $25,000 to $110,000 in the first year, all in. The CPA firm's audit fee is only part of it: readiness work, a compliance platform, a penetration test and your own team's hours usually cost as much as the audit or more. A Type 1 audit fee alone starts around $7,500.
Below is every line you will be quoted, with the ranges published by the people who sell them. We don't sell SOC 2 audits or compliance software, so we cite each figure to its source and say who that source is.
Type 1 vs Type 2 in one minute
- Type 1 answers “are the controls designed properly?” at one point in time. Faster and cheaper, but many enterprise buyers treat it as a stepping stone.
- Type 2 answers “did the controls actually work?” over an observation period, commonly 3 to 12 months. This is the report procurement teams ask for.
Both are performed by a licensed CPA firm under AICPA standards, against the Trust Services Criteria: Security (always included), plus Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy if you choose to add them. Every extra criterion adds scope, and scope is the biggest driver of price.
The audit fee alone
| Source | Company | Type 1 | Type 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drata (2026) | Small to midsize | $7,500–15,000 | $12,000–20,000 |
| Drata (2026) | Large | $20,000–60,000 | $30,000–100,000+ |
| Scrut (2026), auditor only, U.S. | Any | $5,000–25,000 | $7,000–50,000 |
| Scrut (2026), all-in audit | Any | $15,000–40,000 | $30,000–80,000 |
Boutique CPA firms that specialize in SOC 2 sit at the low end. A Big Four firm sits at the top and above it. Your customers' security teams accept reports from any licensed CPA firm; few ask which one unless they are in a regulated industry.
Everything else on the bill
Scrut published a line-by-line example for a first Type 2 at a 100-person U.S. company. It is the most complete public breakdown we found:
| Cost line | No platform | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Readiness assessment | $15,000–25,000 | $0–10,000 |
| Consultant prep and coordination | $16,000–30,000+ | usually not needed |
| Penetration test | $10,000–20,000 | $10,000–15,000 |
| Auditor fee (boutique CPA) | $20,000–50,000 | $15,000–35,000 |
| Compliance automation platform (yearly) | — | $10,000–30,000 |
| Device management (MDM) | $5,000–10,000 | $5,000–10,000 |
| Employee security training | $2,000–5,000 | usually included |
| Internal staff time | $10,000–30,000 | $5,000–10,000 |
| First-year total | $78,000–170,000+ | $50,000–110,000 |
Drata's own scenarios are lower: about $28,000 for a 25-person startup, $75,000 for a 100-person company and $180,000+ for 500 employees and up. Both vendors sell automation platforms, so read their “with a platform” savings as a sales argument that is also, broadly, true: the platform replaces most consultant hours.
What the compliance platform costs
None of the major platforms publishes prices. Vendr, which negotiates software contracts for buyers, publishes what its customers paid. As of February 2026, the median annual contract was $20,000 for Vanta, $24,934 for Drata and $20,000 for Secureframe, with small teams paying from roughly $7,500. We compare them in Vanta competitors: what buyers actually pay.
Five ways to pay less
- Scope only Security for your first report unless a customer contract requires another criterion. Add Availability or Confidentiality later.
- Skip the Type 1 if no deal depends on it this quarter. Start a Type 2 with a 3-month observation period instead of paying for two audits.
- Get three auditor quotes. Fees for the same scope vary by more than 2×, and many platforms have partner auditors with pre-negotiated rates.
- Negotiate the platform. Vendr reports buyers saving around 30% on Vanta against the first quote. Multi-year terms and end-of-quarter timing help.
- Fix the basics before the clock starts. MFA everywhere, device encryption, access reviews and written policies. Every gap found during the observation period costs auditor time.
Is it worth it?
If you sell software or data services to mid-market or enterprise buyers in the U.S., usually yes: without a SOC 2 report, security questionnaires stall deals for weeks. If your customers are small businesses that never ask for it, spend the money on the controls that actually stop attacks first. SOC 2 proves you have controls; it doesn't add them.
Sources: Drata, “How much does a SOC 2 audit cost” (March 2026) · Scrut, “How much does SOC 2 compliance cost in 2026?” (updated August 2026) · Vendr buyer data (February 2026) · AICPA, SOC 2.
Questions people ask
Is there such a thing as a SOC 2 certification?
Not formally. SOC 2 is an attestation: a licensed CPA firm examines your controls and issues a report with its opinion. People say “certification” because that is what customers ask for, but what you receive and share under NDA is the auditor's report.
How much does a SOC 2 Type 2 cost for a small startup?
Drata puts the auditor's fee for a Type 2 at $12,000 to $20,000 for small and midsize companies, and its own startup scenario at about $28,000 for the whole first year. Scrut's line-by-line example for a 100-person U.S. company lands at $50,000 to $110,000 with an automation platform. The gap is mostly scope, pen testing and how much the platform and your team carry.
How long does a SOC 2 Type 2 take?
Readiness work first, often a few weeks to a few months. Then an observation period, commonly 3 to 12 months, during which your controls must operate. Then the auditor's fieldwork and report. A first Type 2 usually takes six months to a year end to end.
Do I need Type 1 before Type 2?
No. A Type 1 is useful when a customer needs proof quickly and you cannot yet show months of operation. If nobody is waiting on you, going straight to a Type 2 with a short first observation period saves one audit fee.
How often do I pay for SOC 2?
Every year. Customers expect a report covering the most recent twelve months, so the Type 2 becomes an annual audit. Scrut puts Type 2 renewals at $20,000 to $40,000 and Drata puts annual maintenance at $15,000 to $40,000.