How much does SOC 2 cost?
Researched SOC 2 examination fee ranges by report type, organization size, and audit firm tier, plus the readiness, tooling, and staffing costs around the audit.
The short version
A typical SOC 2 Type 2 examination costs $20,000 to $75,000. A Type 1 examination commonly costs $7,000 to $40,000. Industry directory data puts the specialist-firm Type 2 median near $33,000 and the overall median near $55,000; the overall figures skew upward because they include Big Four fees that most organizations never pay.
Those figures are the examination fee only: what you pay the CPA firm to perform the audit and issue the report. Readiness, remediation, tooling, penetration testing, and your own staff time are separate, and together they frequently cost more than the audit.
The fee by report type and organization size
Three things set the examination fee: the report type, the size and complexity of the system being examined, and the tier of firm you hire.
Type 1 is a point-in-time review of control design. It is typically 30 to 50 percent cheaper than a Type 2 at the same organization. A small startup with a narrow scope and a boutique specialist firm can pay $7,000 to $15,000. Mid-size organizations commonly pay $15,000 to $40,000. Large organizations and national firms push higher.
Type 2 adds an operating-effectiveness review over a period of months, so the auditor tests that controls actually ran, not just that they exist. Realistic minimums are around $15,000 to $20,000 with a boutique firm. Most organizations land between $20,000 and $75,000. Enterprises using Big Four firms regularly pay $100,000 or more; directory data puts the Big Four Type 2 median near $137,500, and those engagements sit above our published range entirely.
Firm tier matters as much as size. For the same scope, an assurance specialist might quote half of what a full-service national CPA firm quotes, and a quarter of a Big Four quote. A specialist report satisfies most customer requests; buyers who expect a Big Four letterhead are the exception, and you usually know if you have one.
Scope expands the fee from there: each Trust Services Category beyond Security adds interviews, evidence, and testing, and a sprawling system description costs more to examine than a contained one.
What else you will spend
The examination fee is one line in the budget. First-year programs typically also carry:
- Readiness assessment: $5,000 to $20,000 if you buy one, to find gaps before the auditor does.
- Remediation: highly variable; anywhere from minor policy work to standing up new controls.
- Compliance automation platform: commonly $7,500 to $40,000 per year if you use one.
- Penetration testing: $5,000 to $30,000 where customers or the auditor expect it.
- Internal staff time: commonly 100 to 500 hours in a first cycle for scoping, evidence, and auditor interaction.
Year two is cheaper: readiness is done, controls exist, and evidence collection is (ideally) routine. The examination fee itself recurs annually.
What moves the number
- Type 1 versus Type 2, and the length of the Type 2 review period
- Trust Services Categories beyond Security
- Size and complexity of the system description
- Firm tier: boutique specialist, full-service CPA firm, or Big Four
- How much readiness work uncovers, and whether evidence collection is automated
How we estimate these figures
Cost figures on this site follow one definition so that standards stay comparable: the range covers external validation fees only for the standard’s most common audited path, spanning roughly the middle 80% of organizations on that path. Lighter paths and outliers appear as scenarios and in prose rather than being blended into the headline. Ranges are directional, not quotes. The full definition is in How we estimate cost and effort.
Sources
Industry
SOC 2 audit statistics · soc2auditors.org, accessed 2026-09
- Type 1 median audit fee $37,500; 80% of tracked firms fall between $17,150 and $55,000
- Type 2 median audit fee $55,000; 80% between $28,950 and $100,000
- Type 2 medians by firm type: Big Four $137,500, assurance specialists $32,500
Aggregated from a directory of 174 attestation-capable firms using published range midpoints. Corroborates the typical band; medians include Big Four skew above it.
SOC 2 audit cost guide · SOC2Scout, accessed 2026-09
- Type 1 from $7,000 (under 10 employees, boutique firm) to $150,000 (500+ employees, Big Four)
- Type 2 from $12,000 to $400,000 across the same size and firm spectrum
Size-banded fee tables by firm type. The $400,000 top end is an enterprise Big Four case treated as an outlier above our high bound.
Firsthand
Aeris Secure engagement experience · Aeris Secure, accessed 2026-09
Examination fees observed across client and partner engagements. Anchors the typical Type 2 range and the effort hours.
How these sources become the ranges on this site is described in How we estimate cost and effort.
Published September 1, 2026.