SOC 2 Audit Cost for Startups: What to Budget in 2026

At Agency, we work with startups at every stage of their SOC 2 journey — from pre-seed teams preparing for their first enterprise deal to Series B companies scaling their compliance program across multiple frameworks. The cost question comes up in nearly every initial conversation, so we built this guide from the pricing data and engagement patterns we see across our client base.

A startup with ten to two hundred employees should budget $30,000 to $110,000 for its first SOC 2 engagement in 2026. A seed-stage company (ten to twenty-five employees) pursuing a Type I report through the most cost-effective path will spend $30,000 to $55,000. A Series A or B company (twenty-five to two hundred employees) pursuing Type II will spend $50,000 to $110,000. These ranges include GRC platform subscription, auditor fees, internal labor, remediation costs, and penetration testing — every expense required to go from zero to a delivered SOC 2 report. After the first year, annual renewal costs drop to $25,000 to $75,000 as one-time setup costs are eliminated and the audit relationship becomes more efficient.

This guide provides startup-specific cost benchmarks for SOC 2 compliance, covering budget allocation by stage and headcount, cost comparison of DIY versus platform-assisted versus fully managed approaches, strategies for minimizing cost without compromising report quality, and data on how startup audit costs compare to mid-market and enterprise organizations. The target audience is startup founders, CTOs, and heads of security facing their first SOC 2 requirement from a prospect, customer, or investor.

Startup Cost Benchmarks by Stage

Seed Stage (10-25 Employees)

Cost Component	Type I	Type II
GRC platform	$6,000-$10,000/year	$6,000-$10,000/year
Auditor fees	$12,000-$25,000	$18,000-$35,000
Internal labor	$3,000-$10,000	$5,000-$18,000
Consulting	$0-$8,000	$0-$10,000
Penetration testing	$5,000-$10,000	$5,000-$10,000
Remediation and tooling	$2,000-$8,000	$2,000-$8,000
Total	$28,000-$71,000	$36,000-$91,000

Seed-stage companies benefit from the smallest audit scope — fewer employees, simpler infrastructure (typically a single AWS or GCP account), and fewer integrations. In our experience, the biggest cost savings at this stage come from choosing a specialized SOC 2 auditor over a mid-tier or national firm and negotiating startup pricing with GRC platforms.

Series A (25-75 Employees)

Cost Component	Type I	Type II
GRC platform	$8,000-$14,000/year	$8,000-$14,000/year
Auditor fees	$15,000-$35,000	$22,000-$45,000
Internal labor	$5,000-$18,000	$8,000-$30,000
Consulting	$3,000-$10,000	$3,000-$12,000
Penetration testing	$6,000-$14,000	$6,000-$14,000
Remediation and tooling	$3,000-$10,000	$3,000-$10,000
Total	$40,000-$101,000	$50,000-$125,000

Series A companies typically have more complex infrastructure, multiple engineering teams, and a growing employee population that increases the scope of access management, training, and endpoint compliance controls. In our experience, this is the stage where most startups face their first SOC 2 requirement from an enterprise prospect.

Series B (75-200 Employees)

Cost Component	Type I	Type II
GRC platform	$12,000-$20,000/year	$12,000-$20,000/year
Auditor fees	$20,000-$45,000	$28,000-$60,000
Internal labor	$8,000-$25,000	$12,000-$40,000
Consulting	$3,000-$12,000	$5,000-$15,000
Penetration testing	$8,000-$18,000	$8,000-$18,000
Remediation and tooling	$5,000-$12,000	$5,000-$12,000
Total	$56,000-$132,000	$70,000-$165,000

Series B companies face higher costs due to expanded scope — multiple products, multi-cloud infrastructure, larger employee populations, and more complex vendor relationships. This stage often coincides with hiring the first dedicated compliance or security hire.

How Startup Costs Compare to Larger Companies

Company Size	First-Year Type II Total	As % of Annual Revenue
Seed (10-25 employees)	$36,000-$91,000	1.5-4.0% of $2-5M revenue
Series A (25-75 employees)	$50,000-$125,000	0.5-1.5% of $5-15M revenue
Series B (75-200 employees)	$70,000-$165,000	0.3-0.8% of $15-50M revenue
Mid-market (200-1,000 employees)	$100,000-$265,000	0.1-0.4% of $50-200M revenue
Enterprise (1,000+ employees)	$150,000-$400,000+	Under 0.1% of $200M+ revenue

SOC 2 costs as a percentage of revenue decrease significantly as companies scale. For seed-stage startups, SOC 2 compliance is a material expense relative to revenue. For enterprise companies, it is a rounding error. This cost-to-revenue ratio is why we advise startups to be more strategic about their SOC 2 approach — every dollar allocated to compliance is a dollar not allocated to product development or growth.

Cost by Approach

DIY (No Platform, No Consultant)

Component	Cost	Notes
Auditor fees	$12,000-$35,000	Same as platform-assisted; auditor fees do not change
GRC platform	$0	Spreadsheets and manual evidence tracking
Consulting	$0	Self-directed preparation
Internal labor	$12,000-$40,000	Significantly higher — all evidence collection, policy development, and tracking is manual
Penetration testing	$5,000-$12,000	Same regardless of approach
Remediation	$2,000-$8,000	Same regardless of approach
Total	$31,000-$95,000	Lowest nominal cost but highest labor burden

The DIY approach appears cheapest on paper but transfers the cost to internal labor. Without a GRC platform, the person managing SOC 2 compliance spends two hundred to four hundred hours over three to six months on manual evidence collection, policy creation, control tracking, and auditor coordination. For a startup where the CTO or head of engineering is managing compliance alongside their primary responsibilities, this represents significant opportunity cost.

Best for: Startups with an experienced compliance professional on staff who has completed SOC 2 engagements before. We do not recommend this for first-time organizations.

Platform-Assisted (GRC Platform + External Auditor)

Component	Cost	Notes
GRC platform	$6,000-$14,000/year	Automates 60-80% of evidence collection
Auditor fees	$12,000-$35,000	Often discounted through platform auditor networks
Consulting	$0-$10,000	Optional; platform provides guidance
Internal labor	$5,000-$18,000	Reduced by 40-60% versus DIY
Penetration testing	$5,000-$12,000	Same regardless of approach
Remediation	$2,000-$8,000	Same regardless of approach
Total	$30,000-$97,000	Best value for most startups

The platform-assisted approach is the most common and most cost-effective path for startups. GRC platforms like Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, and Sprinto automate the majority of evidence collection, provide policy templates, track compliance status, and facilitate auditor collaboration. The platform cost ($6,000-$14,000) is typically offset by reduced internal labor and faster time to report.

Best for: Most startups pursuing their first SOC 2 engagement.

Fully Managed (Advisory Firm Handles Everything)

Component	Cost	Notes
Managed service fee	$25,000-$60,000	Includes platform, consulting, and hands-on management
Auditor fees	$12,000-$35,000	Managed by advisory firm; may include negotiated rates
Internal labor	$2,000-$8,000	Minimal — advisory firm handles most tasks
Penetration testing	$5,000-$12,000	May be included in managed service
Remediation	$2,000-$8,000	Guided by advisory firm
Total	$46,000-$123,000	Highest total cost but lowest internal effort

The fully managed approach is most valuable for startups with no compliance resources — no compliance hire, no security team, and no one with SOC 2 experience. The advisory firm handles platform configuration, policy development, control implementation, evidence management, and audit coordination. The cost premium over platform-assisted is $10,000 to $30,000, but the internal labor savings and reduced risk of audit issues often justify the investment.

Best for: Startups with no internal compliance or security expertise and a tight timeline for report delivery.

Cost Optimization Strategies for Startups

Auditor Selection

Auditor fees represent the single largest cost component. We recommend startups reduce this cost by:

Strategy	Potential Savings	Trade-off
Choose a specialized SOC 2 firm over Big 4	$15,000-$60,000	Specialized firms offer comparable quality; Big 4 brand may be required by some buyers
Choose a boutique or regional firm	$5,000-$15,000 vs specialized firms	Smaller firms may have limited capacity or geographic reach
Negotiate a Type I + Type II package	10-20% discount on combined engagement	Commits to a specific auditor for both engagements
Use your GRC platform's auditor network	5-15% discount on auditor fees	Limited to auditors in the platform's network

Scope Optimization

Strategy	Impact on Cost
Start with Security criterion only	Reduces auditor fees by 10-20% versus including multiple criteria
Pursue Type I before Type II	Provides a report in three months at lower cost; incremental Type II cost is $10,000-$30,000
Scope to a single product or service	Reduces audit complexity; additional products can be added in future audit cycles
Limit the employee population in scope	Focus on employees with access to customer data and production systems

Platform and Tooling

Strategy	Potential Savings
Negotiate startup pricing with GRC platforms	Most platforms offer startup discounts; ask directly
Start with a single framework	Adding ISO 27001 or HIPAA increases platform cost by 20-40%
Use platform-included training	Avoids separate security awareness training platform cost ($1,000-$5,000)
Leverage cloud-native security tools	AWS Security Hub, GCP Security Command Center, and Azure Defender reduce the need for separate security tools

Timeline Optimization

Strategy	Cost Impact
Start with a strong security baseline	In our experience, companies with existing MFA, encryption, code reviews, and logging spend less on remediation ($2,000-$5,000 vs $8,000-$20,000)
Allocate dedicated time for compliance	Spreading compliance work over six months (part-time) costs more in total labor than concentrating it in six to eight weeks (focused effort)
Prepare evidence before engaging auditor	Auditor fees increase when fieldwork takes longer due to missing or disorganized evidence

Budget Allocation for Startups

Recommended Budget Allocation

Category	Percentage of Total Budget
Auditor fees	35-45%
GRC platform	15-20%
Internal labor	10-20%
Penetration testing	8-15%
Consulting (if used)	5-12%
Remediation and tooling	5-10%

Budget as a Percentage of Operating Expenses

Stage	Recommended SOC 2 Budget	As % of Annual OpEx
Seed	$30,000-$60,000	1-3%
Series A	$45,000-$90,000	0.5-1.5%
Series B	$60,000-$130,000	0.3-0.8%

These percentages reflect the first-year cost. Annual renewal costs are twenty to forty percent lower, reducing the ongoing budget burden.

Three-Year Total Cost of Ownership

Startup TCO Projection

	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Three-Year Total
Seed (Type I → Type II)	$30,000-$55,000 (Type I)	$35,000-$65,000 (first Type II)	$25,000-$50,000 (Type II renewal)	$90,000-$170,000
Seed (direct Type II)	$36,000-$91,000	$25,000-$55,000	$25,000-$55,000	$86,000-$201,000
Series A (Type I → Type II)	$40,000-$75,000 (Type I)	$45,000-$85,000 (first Type II)	$35,000-$65,000 (Type II renewal)	$120,000-$225,000
Series B (direct Type II)	$70,000-$165,000	$45,000-$105,000	$45,000-$105,000	$160,000-$375,000

The Type I to Type II path has a slightly lower first-year cost and produces an interim report that can be shared with customers during the observation period. The direct Type II path saves the Type I auditor fee ($12,000-$25,000) but provides no report until the observation period ends.

When to Invest in SOC 2

ROI Calculation Framework

The decision to invest in SOC 2 is fundamentally a revenue decision for startups. We help our clients calculate return on investment by comparing the cost of SOC 2 compliance against the revenue at risk or revenue enabled by having a SOC 2 report.

Scenario	Revenue Impact	SOC 2 Cost	ROI
One enterprise deal blocked by SOC 2 requirement	$50,000-$500,000 ARR	$30,000-$80,000	1.6x-16x first-year return
Faster enterprise sales cycle (weeks reduced)	20-40% shorter sales cycle for enterprise deals	$30,000-$80,000	Depends on pipeline value
Competitive differentiation	Win rate improvement of 10-25% on enterprise deals	$30,000-$80,000	Depends on deal volume
Investor and partner confidence	Reduces due diligence friction; demonstrates operational maturity	$30,000-$80,000	Qualitative but significant

For most startups, a single enterprise deal that requires SOC 2 provides sufficient ROI to justify the first-year investment. The SOC 2 report continues generating returns over multiple years across multiple customer relationships.

Key Takeaways

• We consistently see startup first-year SOC 2 costs range from $30,000 (seed, Type I, budget approach) to $165,000 (Series B, Type II, comprehensive approach)
• What we recommend: plan for annual renewal costs to drop twenty to forty percent after the first year as one-time setup costs are eliminated
• We consistently see SOC 2 costs represent one to four percent of revenue for seed-stage startups, decreasing as companies scale
• What we recommend: the platform-assisted approach (GRC platform plus external auditor) offers the best cost-to-effort ratio for most startups
• In our experience, auditor selection is the highest-impact cost lever — specialized SOC 2 firms save $15,000 to $60,000 versus Big 4 firms with comparable report quality
• What we recommend: start with Security criterion only and Type I report type for the fastest and most cost-effective path to a first report
• The Type I to Type II path provides an interim report in three months and spreads costs across two budget cycles
• We consistently see a single blocked enterprise deal provide sufficient ROI to justify the full SOC 2 investment
• Three-year total cost of ownership ranges from $86,000 (seed) to $375,000 (Series B) depending on approach and audit type sequence

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the absolute minimum a startup can spend on SOC 2?

What we tell clients is that the lowest realistic first-year spend for a legitimate SOC 2 Type I report is approximately $25,000 to $30,000. This assumes a seed-stage company (under twenty employees) with simple infrastructure, a budget GRC platform ($6,000-$8,000), a boutique auditor ($12,000-$18,000), minimal consulting ($0), and low internal labor ($3,000-$5,000). Penetration testing ($5,000-$8,000) is the cost that pushes the floor higher. Some organizations can defer penetration testing if their auditor does not require it for a Type I engagement, but most auditors we work with recommend it.

Should a startup use a free or low-cost GRC platform?

Based on what we see across our client base, most major GRC platforms (Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, Sprinto) offer startup pricing tiers that reduce the cost to $6,000 to $10,000 per year. This investment typically saves more in internal labor than it costs — automating evidence collection alone saves one hundred to two hundred hours. Free or very low-cost alternatives exist but provide limited automation and integration support. What we tell clients is that for a first SOC 2 engagement, a paid GRC platform with strong integration coverage and auditor collaboration features is the most cost-effective choice.

Is it worth spending more on a Big 4 auditor as a startup?

Based on what we see, for most startups the answer is no. Big 4 auditor fees ($50,000-$150,000) are three to five times higher than specialized SOC 2 firm fees ($15,000-$40,000). The report quality and audit rigor are comparable — the difference is primarily brand premium. The exception is if your target customers (typically large financial institutions or government agencies) specifically require a Big 4 or top-tier national firm. For most enterprise SaaS buyers, a report from Schellman, A-LIGN, KirkpatrickPrice, or a comparable specialized firm is fully accepted.

How should I think about SOC 2 cost versus hiring a compliance person?

What we tell clients is that a full-time compliance hire costs $120,000 to $180,000 per year (fully loaded) at the experience level needed for SOC 2 management. For most startups, this exceeds the total cost of a platform-assisted SOC 2 engagement ($30,000-$100,000). The hybrid approach works best: use a GRC platform and optional consulting for the initial engagement, then hire a dedicated compliance resource when your program expands to multiple frameworks or when the ongoing management burden exceeds what a part-time owner can handle — typically at the Series B stage.

When should a startup start budgeting for SOC 2?

Based on what we see, we recommend beginning to budget six to twelve months before you expect to need the report. If enterprise sales are part of your growth strategy, include SOC 2 in your financial plan as soon as you raise a round — even if you do not plan to start the engagement for several quarters. Having budget allocated prevents the common situation where a high-value enterprise deal surfaces a SOC 2 requirement and the company scrambles to find funds and compress the timeline.