How Much Does SOC 2 Compliance Cost in 2026?

At Agency, one of the first questions we hear from clients is: "What's this actually going to cost us?" It is a fair question — and one that deserves a straightforward answer. After guiding dozens of companies through their SOC 2 journeys, we have developed a clear picture of what organizations should expect to budget in 2026.

The total cost of SOC 2 compliance in 2026 ranges from $30,000 to $200,000 or more in the first year, depending on company size, audit type, GRC platform choice, auditor tier, and the scope of controls included. For a startup with fewer than fifty employees pursuing a Type I report, the typical first-year cost is $30,000 to $80,000. For a growth-stage company (50-200 employees) pursuing Type II, expect $60,000 to $160,000. Mid-market and enterprise organizations with complex environments spend $100,000 to $300,000 or more. After the first year, annual renewal costs drop by twenty to forty percent because the compliance infrastructure — policies, controls, GRC platform, and auditor relationship — is already established.

This guide breaks down every cost component of SOC 2 compliance in 2026, provides budget benchmarks by company size, compares approach costs (DIY vs platform-assisted vs fully managed), and identifies hidden costs that we see organizations frequently miss. We wrote this for founders, CFOs, and compliance leads building a budget for their SOC 2 program.

For auditor-specific pricing tiers, see the best SOC 2 auditors guide. For platform-specific pricing, see the Vanta vs Drata comparison.

Total Cost Breakdown by Category

First-Year Cost Components

Cost Category	Range	What It Covers
GRC platform subscription	$8,000-$30,000/year	Compliance automation, evidence collection, policy management, auditor collaboration
Auditor fees (Type I)	$15,000-$50,000	CPA firm engagement for Type I attestation
Auditor fees (Type II)	$20,000-$80,000	CPA firm engagement for Type II attestation with observation period testing
Consulting / advisory	$3,000-$30,000	Readiness assessment, remediation guidance, audit preparation support
Internal labor	$5,000-$60,000	Staff time for implementation, evidence management, audit coordination
Remediation and tooling	$3,000-$20,000	Security tool upgrades, configuration changes, process implementation
Penetration testing	$5,000-$25,000	External penetration test (often required or strongly recommended)
First-year total	$59,000-$295,000	Inclusive of all cost categories

Annual Renewal Costs (Year 2+)

Cost Category	Range	Notes
GRC platform subscription	$8,000-$30,000/year	Same as year one; may increase with headcount growth
Auditor fees (Type II renewal)	$18,000-$70,000	Typically five to fifteen percent less than first engagement due to established relationship
Consulting (ongoing)	$0-$10,000	Reduced or eliminated if internal team is experienced
Internal labor	$3,000-$30,000	Reduced as processes mature and evidence collection is automated
Penetration testing	$5,000-$25,000	Annual renewal at comparable cost
Annual renewal total	$34,000-$165,000	Twenty to forty percent lower than first year

The first-year cost is significantly higher because it includes one-time investments in platform setup, policy development, control implementation, and remediation. We consistently see annual renewal costs decrease as the compliance program matures.

Cost by Company Size

Startup (Under 50 Employees)

Component	Type I First Year	Type II First Year
GRC platform	$8,000-$12,000	$8,000-$12,000
Auditor fees	$15,000-$30,000	$20,000-$40,000
Consulting	$3,000-$10,000	$3,000-$12,000
Internal labor	$5,000-$15,000	$8,000-$25,000
Remediation	$3,000-$10,000	$3,000-$10,000
Penetration testing	$5,000-$12,000	$5,000-$12,000
Total	$39,000-$89,000	$47,000-$111,000

In our experience, startups benefit from lower auditor fees (smaller scope), lower GRC platform pricing (headcount-based), and simpler environments that require less remediation. The internal labor cost assumes a part-time compliance lead rather than a dedicated compliance team.

Growth Stage (50-200 Employees)

Component	Type I First Year	Type II First Year
GRC platform	$12,000-$20,000	$12,000-$20,000
Auditor fees	$25,000-$45,000	$30,000-$60,000
Consulting	$5,000-$15,000	$5,000-$20,000
Internal labor	$10,000-$30,000	$15,000-$45,000
Remediation	$5,000-$15,000	$5,000-$15,000
Penetration testing	$8,000-$18,000	$8,000-$18,000
Total	$65,000-$143,000	$75,000-$178,000

In our experience, growth-stage companies face higher costs because of expanded scope — more employees, more cloud infrastructure, more integrations, and more complex access management. This is also the stage where we typically see companies hire their first dedicated compliance resource.

Mid-Market (200-1,000 Employees)

Component	Type I First Year	Type II First Year
GRC platform	$18,000-$30,000	$18,000-$30,000
Auditor fees	$35,000-$70,000	$45,000-$90,000
Consulting	$8,000-$25,000	$10,000-$30,000
Internal labor	$20,000-$50,000	$30,000-$70,000
Remediation	$8,000-$20,000	$8,000-$20,000
Penetration testing	$12,000-$25,000	$12,000-$25,000
Total	$101,000-$220,000	$123,000-$265,000

Enterprise (1,000+ Employees)

In our experience, enterprise organizations typically spend $150,000 to $400,000 or more on their first SOC 2 engagement. Costs are driven by multiple business units in scope, complex multi-cloud environments, large employee populations requiring training and access reviews, and the preference for Big 4 or large national CPA firms whose fees reflect their brand premium.

Cost by Approach: DIY vs Platform-Assisted vs Fully Managed

Approach Comparison

Dimension	DIY	Platform-Assisted	Fully Managed
GRC platform	Spreadsheets and manual tracking ($0)	GRC platform ($8,000-$30,000/year)	GRC platform included in service
Consulting	None	Optional ($3,000-$20,000)	Included in service fee
Auditor engagement	Self-managed	Self-managed or platform-facilitated	Managed by service provider
Internal labor	High	Moderate	Low
Total first-year cost	$25,000-$80,000	$55,000-$200,000	$80,000-$250,000
Time to report	4-9 months	2-5 months	2-4 months
Risk of audit issues	Higher	Lower	Lowest
Best for	Experienced compliance teams	Most organizations	Organizations with no compliance resources

DIY Approach

The DIY approach eliminates GRC platform and consulting costs but increases internal labor and audit risk. We see that organizations using spreadsheets for evidence tracking spend more staff hours on manual evidence collection, policy management, and auditor coordination. The DIY approach works for organizations with experienced compliance professionals who have completed SOC 2 engagements before — we do not recommend it for first-time organizations.

The hidden cost of DIY is time. Without a GRC platform automating evidence collection, the compliance lead spends ten to twenty hours per week on manual evidence management during the audit period. At an average fully loaded cost of $80 to $120 per hour for a compliance professional, the labor cost often exceeds the cost of a GRC platform subscription.

Platform-Assisted Approach

The platform-assisted approach — using a GRC platform like Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, or Sprinto — is the most common choice we recommend for first-time SOC 2 organizations. The platform automates sixty to eighty percent of evidence collection, provides policy templates, tracks compliance status in real time, and facilitates auditor collaboration. This approach reduces internal labor by forty to sixty percent compared to DIY and significantly reduces the risk of evidence gaps during the audit.

For platform pricing comparisons, see the Vanta vs Drata comparison and the Sprinto vs Vanta comparison.

Fully Managed Approach

Fully managed compliance services combine GRC platform access, consulting, and hands-on compliance management into a single engagement. A compliance advisory firm handles platform configuration, policy development, control implementation, evidence management, and audit coordination. We recommend this approach for organizations with no internal compliance resources — the cost of hiring a full-time compliance manager ($120,000-$180,000 per year fully loaded) often exceeds the cost of a managed compliance service.

Auditor Fee Details

Auditor fees represent the largest single line item in most SOC 2 budgets. Fees vary significantly by auditor tier, company complexity, and scope.

Auditor Fee by Tier

Auditor Tier	Type I Fee	Type II Fee	Notes
Big 4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG)	$50,000-$150,000	$70,000-$200,000+	Brand premium; required by some enterprise buyers
Mid-tier / National (BDO, Grant Thornton, RSM)	$30,000-$60,000	$40,000-$80,000	Strong credibility at lower cost
Specialized SOC 2 firms (Schellman, A-LIGN, KirkpatrickPrice)	$15,000-$40,000	$20,000-$55,000	Best value for most organizations; deep SOC 2 expertise
Boutique / Regional	$12,000-$25,000	$18,000-$40,000	Lowest cost; may have limited geographic or industry reach

What Drives Auditor Fees Higher

• More Trust Service Criteria: Each additional criterion beyond Security increases audit scope and testing requirements
• Complex infrastructure: Multi-cloud, hybrid environments, or on-premises infrastructure require more testing
• Large employee population: Access reviews, training verification, and personnel controls scale with headcount
• Custom applications: Proprietary software requires custom control testing beyond standard cloud configuration reviews
• Multiple business units: Separate product lines or operating entities within the audit scope increase complexity
• First-year engagement: Initial audits require more auditor time for understanding the environment; renewal fees are typically five to fifteen percent lower

GRC Platform Pricing

Platform Cost Comparison

Platform Tier	Typical Range	Pricing Model
Value-tier platforms	$6,000-$15,000/year	Headcount + frameworks
Mid-market platforms	$10,000-$30,000/year	Headcount + frameworks
Bundled platform + audit	Varies by engagement scope	Platform + auditor bundle
Manual (spreadsheets)	$0 (plus significant labor)	N/A

All major GRC platforms price based on headcount and the number of compliance frameworks enabled. Adding a second framework (such as ISO 27001 alongside SOC 2) typically adds twenty to forty percent to the base platform cost.

For detailed platform comparisons, see the best SOC 2 compliance software guide.

Hidden Costs Buyers Frequently Miss

Commonly Overlooked Expenses

Hidden Cost	Typical Range	Why It Is Missed
Internal labor for evidence management	$5,000-$40,000	Not budgeted as a line item; absorbed into existing staff workload
Penetration testing	$5,000-$25,000	Often discovered as a requirement during audit preparation
Security tool upgrades	$2,000-$15,000	MDM deployment, SIEM implementation, or endpoint protection may be needed
Vendor risk management tool	$3,000-$10,000	Some organizations need a separate tool for vendor assessments
Security awareness training platform	$1,000-$5,000	May already be included in GRC platform; separate tool needed if not
Legal review of policies	$2,000-$8,000	Legal counsel review of data handling, privacy, and incident response policies
Background check services	$500-$3,000	Annual background check costs for employees in scope
Travel and logistics	$1,000-$5,000	If auditor fieldwork includes on-site visits (less common post-COVID)

The True Cost of Internal Labor

Internal labor is the most underestimated SOC 2 cost we see. Even with a GRC platform automating evidence collection, the compliance lead or security team spends significant time on:

• Policy customization and review (twenty to forty hours)
• Control implementation and configuration (twenty to sixty hours)
• Employee onboarding tasks — training, policy acknowledgment, agent deployment (ten to twenty hours)
• Vendor risk assessments (ten to thirty hours)
• Risk assessment documentation (eight to sixteen hours)
• Audit coordination and auditor communication (fifteen to forty hours)
• Gap remediation (variable — ten to one hundred hours depending on existing security posture)

For a startup with a part-time compliance lead, the total internal labor commitment for a first SOC 2 engagement is typically one hundred to two hundred hours over three to six months. At a fully loaded hourly cost of $80 to $120, this represents $8,000 to $24,000 in internal labor — a cost that rarely appears in vendor quotes or platform pricing pages.

Total Cost of Ownership: Three-Year View

Three-Year TCO by Company Size

Company Size	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Three-Year Total
Startup (under 50)	$45,000-$100,000	$30,000-$65,000	$30,000-$65,000	$105,000-$230,000
Growth (50-200)	$70,000-$170,000	$45,000-$110,000	$45,000-$110,000	$160,000-$390,000
Mid-market (200-1,000)	$110,000-$260,000	$70,000-$170,000	$70,000-$170,000	$250,000-$600,000
Enterprise (1,000+)	$160,000-$400,000	$100,000-$260,000	$100,000-$260,000	$360,000-$920,000

Year 2 and Year 3 costs are lower because one-time costs (platform setup, initial remediation, policy development) are not repeated, and the auditor engagement fee typically decreases for renewal audits with the same firm.

Budget Allocation Recommendations

Recommended Budget Allocation

Category	Percentage of Total Budget
Auditor fees	30-40%
GRC platform	15-25%
Internal labor	15-25%
Consulting / advisory	5-15%
Penetration testing	5-10%
Remediation and tooling	5-10%

Cost Optimization Strategies

• Choose a specialized SOC 2 auditor rather than a Big 4 or national firm unless your buyers specifically require it — specialized firms offer comparable quality at thirty to fifty percent lower fees
• Start with Type I if you need a report quickly — Type I costs are twenty to forty percent lower than Type II and deliver a report months faster
• Negotiate multi-year auditor contracts — committing to Type I plus Type II with the same firm often yields a ten to twenty percent discount on the combined engagement
• Leverage GRC platform auditor networks — platforms like Vanta and Drata offer discounted auditor fees through their partner networks
• Scope conservatively for your first audit — include only Security (Common Criteria) unless customers explicitly require additional criteria; adding criteria increases auditor fees

Key Takeaways

• We consistently see first-year SOC 2 costs range from $30,000 to $200,000+ depending on company size, audit type, and approach
• What we see across our clients: annual renewal costs drop twenty to forty percent after the first year as the compliance infrastructure is established
• What we recommend: specialized SOC 2 auditors, which offer the best value for most organizations at $15,000 to $55,000 — auditor fees are the largest single cost
• GRC platforms cost $6,000 to $30,000 per year and reduce internal labor by forty to sixty percent compared to manual approaches
• What we tell every client: budget one hundred to two hundred hours of internal labor for a first SOC 2 engagement — it is the most underestimated cost
• Hidden costs we flag early include penetration testing, security tool upgrades, legal review, and vendor risk management
• We recommend the platform-assisted approach (GRC platform plus external auditor) as the most cost-effective path for most first-time organizations
• Three-year total cost of ownership ranges from $105,000 (startup) to $920,000 (enterprise)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum I can spend on SOC 2?

What we tell clients is that the absolute minimum for a legitimate SOC 2 Type I report is approximately $25,000 to $35,000 — covering a boutique auditor ($12,000-$18,000), a budget GRC platform ($6,000-$8,000), and minimal internal labor. This assumes a startup with fewer than twenty-five employees, a simple cloud environment (single AWS account, standard tools), and an existing security baseline (MFA, encryption, code reviews already in place). Based on what we see, most organizations spend $40,000 to $80,000 for their first Type I engagement once all costs are included.

Is a GRC platform worth the cost?

Based on what we see with our clients, yes — for most first-time organizations. A GRC platform costing $8,000 to $15,000 per year saves one hundred to three hundred hours of internal labor on evidence collection, policy management, and compliance tracking. At a fully loaded hourly cost of $80 to $120 for compliance staff, the platform pays for itself within the first year. The exception we note is organizations with experienced compliance teams that have established manual processes — they may find less incremental value in a platform.

How can I reduce my SOC 2 costs without cutting corners?

What we recommend to clients looking to optimize their budget: (1) choose a specialized SOC 2 auditor instead of a Big 4 firm — savings of $20,000 to $80,000 with comparable report quality; (2) start with Type I and transition to Type II — spreading costs over two budget cycles; (3) scope to Security criterion only for your first audit — each additional criterion increases auditor fees by five to fifteen percent; (4) negotiate a multi-engagement discount with your auditor for combined Type I and Type II commitments.

How much should SOC 2 compliance cost as a percentage of revenue?

Based on what we see across our client base, for startups (under $5 million annual revenue), SOC 2 compliance typically represents one to three percent of revenue in the first year. For growth-stage companies ($5-$50 million), it drops to 0.2 to 0.8 percent. For mid-market and enterprise ($50 million+), it is typically under 0.2 percent. These percentages decrease over time as revenue grows faster than compliance costs.

Do SOC 2 costs go down after the first year?

What we tell clients is yes — and we see this consistently. First-year costs include one-time expenses (GRC platform setup, policy development, initial remediation, security tool implementation) that are not repeated. Auditor fees for renewal engagements are typically five to fifteen percent lower than first-year engagements because the auditor is already familiar with the environment. Internal labor decreases as evidence collection processes mature and automation handles more of the ongoing compliance burden. Based on what we see, most organizations experience a twenty to forty percent reduction in total SOC 2 costs from year one to year two.