What is SOC 2 compliance cost

SOC 2 has become a must-have for many businesses. Whether or not you agree with it, you’ll probably need it. But it doesn’t have to be painful or absurdly expensive.

You’ve probably searched “SOC 2 compliance cost” a dozen times already. And every time, you’ve gotten the same frustrating answer: “It depends.”

Here’s the truth that most vendors won’t tell you upfront: SOC 2 pricing is deliberately opaque. Auditors quote ranges so wide they’re almost meaningless. Compliance platforms bury their real costs behind “contact sales” buttons. And consultants? They benefit from your confusion. The less you know, the more they can charge.

Before we dive into specific numbers, understand this: SOC 2 cost isn’t a single line item. It’s a combination of audit fees, internal resources, tooling, and ongoing maintenance. The total investment for most growing companies ranges from $25,000 to $150,000+ for year one, depending on your approach.

Here’s what you actually need to budget for and where you can avoid unnecessary spending.

What the SOC 2 process looks like

1. Compare the SOC 2 framework to what you’re already doing.
2. Implement what’s missing. This could mean adding security measures (e.g., 2FA), policies (e.g., third-party management), or processes (e.g., access reviews).
3. Hire a third-party auditor to assess your compliance.

Sounds simple. But costs can stack up fast.

How much the audit costs

The SOC 2 audit is your official proof of compliance. Costs depend on the scope:

• Type 1 Audit – A one-time snapshot of your security controls. Faster, cheaper. (The starting point for companies facing their first enterprise deal with a compliance requirement.)
• Type 2 Audit – Assesses your security over a period (3-12 months). Takes longer, costs more.

Budget: For a small business, $6,000–$7,000 is a reasonable budget.

But costs can rise significantly for larger organizations, sometimes exceeding $100,000. This wide range exists because a 10-person startup with a simple AWS setup will pay far less than a 200-person company with multiple data centers, complex integrations, and extensive vendor relationships.

Auditor fees vary based on several factors:

• Company size: More employees means more access reviews, more endpoints, more complexity
• Infrastructure complexity: Multi-cloud environments, on-premise systems, and custom applications increase audit scope
• Trust Services Criteria selected
• Auditor reputation

Be careful with audit price that seem too good to be true. There’s a good chance the firm isn’t legitimate. When selling to enterprise customers, they will verify your auditor’s credibility. If it doesn’t check out, you’ll have wasted both time and money.

The hidden cost of implementation

The audit fee is just the visible part of your SOC 2 investment. The hidden costs often exceed the audit itself, yet they’re rarely discussed in vendor marketing materials.

Before the audit, you need to put policies, controls, and security measures in place.

• Readiness assessment
• Policy creation/updates
• Control implementation
• Evidence collection
• Auditor communication
• Remediation

That takes time, effort, and someone to own it.

Who’s doing the work?

• Your team: Expect at least 6 months of effort, often a full-time job. Plus, this is time your engineers aren’t building product.
• A consultant: That’ll run you $50,000+ (and you’ll still have to do a ton of work).
• An automation platform: Brings costs down to $10,000 but still requires oversight.

Budget: For small businesses, less than $3,000 should go toward content, the real cost is in execution.

Budget-friendly option: Open-source tools like Probo or Comply (from StrongDM) let you access knowledge for free and cut costs.

What’s worth paying for

Not everything the compliance industry pushes is necessary.

Penetration testing

SOC 2 doesn’t require penetration testing. For early-stage startups, it might not even be useful—your product is still evolving, and security testing makes more sense once it stabilizes.

If you do go for it, manual testing is worth it.

Budget: A proper penetration test starts at $5,000.

Security training

Security training for employees is a good investment, but don’t overpay. Plenty of free resources exist, and some vendors offer free tiers for startups.

Budget: $100/month is more than enough.

Keeping SOC 2 costs low every year

SOC 2 isn’t a one-time achievement—it’s an ongoing commitment. Your report expires, and customers expect continuous compliance.

Annual renewal costs include:

• Annual audit fees: 70-90% of initial audit cost
• Platform subscriptions: Ongoing monthly/annual fees
• Continuous monitoring: Staff time reviewing alerts, maintaining evidence
• Control updates: Adapting to new threats, technologies, and business changes
• Policy reviews: Annual updates to reflect organizational changes

Once you get your SOC 2 report, you’ll need to maintain compliance annually. But that doesn’t mean bloated processes or expensive tools.

Example: Instead of a complex ticketing system for access management, a simple Slack channel with timestamped approvals works just fine.

Budget: No need to scale expenses unnecessarily, stick to the same costs as your first year.

The bottom line

SOC 2 compliance doesn’t need to cost six figures. With a lean approach, small businesses can stay compliant for around $10,000 per year, without wasting time or money on unnecessary complexity, so they can focus on what truly matters: building their business.

SOC 2 with Probo

If you want a SOC 2 report without turning compliance into a second full-time job, Probo is a great fit. You get a hands-off compliance service (so your team isn’t stuck writing policies, chasing evidence, and managing auditors) paired with an open-source platform that keeps everything structured, auditable, and easy to maintain year after year.