SOC 2 Audit Cost: Two Itemized First-Year Builds

Thoropass puts a first-year SOC 2 for a 15-engineer company at $40,000 to $100,000. That build covers the Security criterion only and a Type 2 report. Scrut puts a first-year SOC 2 for a company of 50 to 100 people at $50,000 to $110,000, with three criteria and a platform. Both sell compliance platforms. Thoropass’s lines are a readiness assessment, a platform subscription, the auditor’s fee and staff time. Scrut’s lines are readiness, a penetration test, the auditor’s fee, a platform, an MDM tool and staff time. The auditor’s fee is $15,000 to $40,000 in the first build and $15,000 to $35,000 in the second. Linford and Co puts SOC audit fees, SOC 1 and SOC 2 together, at $20,000 to $150,000 with a median near $30,000.

The two builds use different company sizes and criteria, so the totals stay separate. The audit itself is a SOC 2 examination by a CPA firm.

What a SOC 2 costs in total

Each first-year total below carries the scope its publisher states.

Source	Scope	First-year total
Thoropass	15 engineers on AWS, Security only, Type 2, short observation window	$40,000 to $100,000
Scrut	50 to 100 employees, three criteria, Type 2, with a platform	$50,000 to $110,000
Scrut	Same company, no platform	$78,000 to $170,000+
Zipsec	Small company	$20,000 to $80,000
TrustNet	Up to 50 employees	Around $40,000
Drata	Small startup	From $25,000
Vanta	First SOC 2, size not stated	$10,000 to $80,000 or more

StrongDM publishes a $147,000 all-in figure for a Type 1 that counts lost productivity and tool purchases, which puts it outside these scopes.

Audit fees by type and size

The audit fee is the CPA firm’s invoice. Linford and Co, A-LIGN and TrustNet publish their own ranges.

Source	Scope	Audit fee
Linford and Co	SOC audits (SOC 1 and SOC 2), all sizes	$20,000 to $150,000, median around $30,000
A-LIGN	SOC 2, Type 1 or Type 2	$20,000 to $150,000 or more
Drata	Type 1, small to midsize	$7,500 to $15,000
Drata	Type 2, small to midsize	$12,000 to $20,000
Drata	Type 2, large organizations	$30,000 to $100,000+
Thoropass	Type 1	$5,000 to $40,000
Thoropass	Type 2	$15,000 to $100,000+
TrustNet	Type 1	$7,500 to $35,000
TrustNet	Type 2	$15,000 to $60,000+

Linford’s range is for SOC audit fees, which cover SOC 1 and SOC 2. A-LIGN’s range covers Type 1 and Type 2. Neither splits the two.

Vanta publishes two ranges that differ. One page says audit fees usually run between $10,000 and $50,000. Another says a Type 2 audit costs roughly $30,000 to $60,000.

Big Four firms sit above these ranges. Linford says Big Four SOC fees start in the low six figures. Scrut puts a Big Four audit for a 100-person company at $50,000 or more for the audit alone. Secureframe says at least $150,000.

Readiness and pen test

A readiness assessment finds control gaps before the audit starts. Published ranges disagree.

• Drata: $5,000 to $25,000 for a gap assessment.
• Scrut: $5,000 to $15,000 for a consultant-led assessment.
• Thoropass: $0 when done internally, up to $25,000 with a consultant.
• Secureframe: about $15,000.
• Sprinto: $10,000 to $40,000.

Linford says some firms price readiness assessments separately from audits while others lump them together.

A penetration test is its own line. Zipsec says SOC 2 audit quotes do not automatically include one. Drata says SOC 2 does not always require one, and many customers ask for one in due diligence.

• Blaze Infosec: $8,000 to $25,000 for a standard SaaS scope, with focused tests from $4,999.
• Invadel: a focused web application test from $5,200.
• Scrut: $10,000 to $20,000 for two products tested externally and at the application level.
• Drata: $5,000 to $15,000.

Compliance platform cost

Starting prices for the six ranked SOC 2 platforms come from AWS Marketplace listings and secureframe.com, as recorded in the compliance software pricing study, in rubric order.

Platform (rubric total)	Published starting price	Covers	Where
Sprinto (84)	$7,500 a year, plus a first framework from $2,000	Up to 100 employees	AWS Marketplace
Vanta (82)	$14,000 a year, Essentials	1 to 20 employees	AWS Marketplace
Drata (76)	$15,000 a year, Foundation Package	1 to 50 employees	AWS Marketplace
Drata (76)	$25,000 platform fee plus $7,500 per framework	100 employees	AWS Marketplace
Secureframe (75)	$7,500 a year, Fundamentals	Up to 100 employees	secureframe.com
Scrut (72)	$15,000 a year	Up to 20 employees	AWS Marketplace
Thoropass (52)	$8,700 a year including a first framework	No band stated	AWS Marketplace

Secureframe is the only one of the six that prints a price on secureframe.com. The rubric credits Pricing transparency only for prices on the vendor’s website. Secureframe earns 2 of 5. Sprinto, Vanta and Drata earn 1. Scrut and Thoropass earn 0.

With SOC 2 as the first framework, the listings cover up to 100 employees at $32,500 a year on Drata’s $25,000 platform fee plus a $7,500 framework, $15,000 on Secureframe’s AWS Marketplace listing and $9,500 on Sprinto’s. These are starting prices, and every listing says the final price depends on size, scope and frameworks.

Scrut puts a compliance automation platform at $10,000 to $30,000 a year. Thoropass says $3,000 to $10,000 for startups and $10,000 to $50,000 or more for enterprises. Both figures come from platform sellers.

Thoropass is the only one of the six that publishes an audit subscription price. Its AWS Marketplace listing shows a SOC 2 audit subscription from $5,800 a year, performed by in-house auditors, next to a platform subscription from $8,700 that includes a first framework. Thoropass’s G2 listing shows SOC 2 audits from $11,500 a year, so the same seller shows two audit prices.

A licensed CPA firm performs every SOC 2 audit. Thoropass describes its audit arm as a licensed CPA firm.

What raises or lowers the bill

Linford says each additional system in scope multiplies the audit effort, though the fee should not double.

• Trust Services Criteria. Security is required in every SOC 2 and the other four are optional. Sensiba says Availability and Confidentiality add about 10% to 20% each to the base cost, and Processing Integrity and Privacy add about 20% to 50% each. Thoropass says each added criterion adds 15% to 30%. Scrut says three criteria cost about 1.2 times Security alone. Linford calls Privacy an expensive add-on.
• Systems and locations. Linford says each added system raises the effort without doubling the fee. More locations cost more, and the most when controls differ between them.
• Carve-outs. Schellman says the carve-out method, which excludes a third party’s controls from testing, is by far the most common approach.
• Observation window. A Type 2 covers an observation period, which A-LIGN describes as typically 3 to 12 months.
• Auditor tier. Thoropass says the fee gap between Big Four, national and regional firms runs 30% to 100%.
• Control maturity. A-LIGN says mature control environments need less remediation and testing time.
• Pricing model. Linford prices SOC 2 engagements on a fixed fee. RedSecLabs says hourly engagements bill partners at $250 to $350 an hour and staff at $100 to $175.

Scrut says internal time does not arrive as an invoice. It counts $5,000 to $10,000 with a platform and $10,000 to $30,000 without one. Thoropass counts $15,000 to $30,000 for 100 to 150 hours at a startup.

Type 1 vs Type 2 cost

A-LIGN describes a Type 1 as a point-in-time snapshot of whether controls are suitably designed, and a Type 2 as proof they operate effectively over time. Drata says a Type 2 costs 30% to 50% more than a Type 1.

Source	Type 1	Type 2
Drata, small to midsize	$7,500 to $15,000	$12,000 to $20,000
TrustNet	$7,500 to $35,000	$15,000 to $60,000+
Thoropass	$5,000 to $40,000	$15,000 to $100,000+

Scrut publishes two all-in estimates for a company of 50 to 100 people: $30,000 to $100,000 for a first Type 2, and $50,000 to $110,000 in its itemized build. It puts a Type 1 at $15,000 to $40,000 all-in. Scrut says about 70% of its clients skip Type 1 and go straight to Type 2. Scrut also says the minimum Type 2 observation period is 3 months. A-LIGN says the period is typically 3 to 12 months, and PB Mares says first-time reports may cover 3, 6 or 9 months.

Renewal cost

Drata, Scrut, Secureframe and RedSecLabs each publish a yearly cost after the first year.

• Drata: $15,000 to $40,000 a year for the re-audit fee plus tools.
• Scrut: $20,000 to $40,000 for a Type 2 re-certification audit. Scrut also says re-certification and monitoring add $20,000 to $50,000 a year without automation.
• Secureframe: $10,000 to $60,000 a year for maintenance.
• RedSecLabs: $15,000 to $40,000 a year from year 2.

Platform renewals can rise too. Thoropass’s AWS Marketplace listing says renewal pricing may rise by up to 7% over the prior term. Sprinto says some auditors discount subsequent audits, and Thoropass says multi-year engagements can cut per-audit costs by 10% to 30%. Schellman states that it sets fees for each engagement independently.