How Much Does SOC 2 Cost

How much does SOC 2 really cost?

One of the first questions every founder and security leader asks is how much SOC 2 compliance will cost. The honest answer: it depends. Total costs for a first-time SOC 2 engagement typically range from $20,000 to $150,000 or more, depending on company size, scope, and how much you need to build from scratch.

This guide breaks down every major cost category so you can budget accurately and avoid surprises.

Cost breakdown by category

1. Auditor fees

The CPA firm that performs your SOC 2 audit is usually the single largest line item.

Factors that affect auditor pricing:

• Firm size and reputation: Big Four firms charge significantly more than boutique or mid-market firms. A regional firm with strong SOC 2 experience often delivers the same quality at a fraction of the cost.
• Scope complexity: More Trust Services Criteria, more in-scope systems, and more subservice organizations increase the audit effort. See SOC 2 requirements for scoping guidance.
• Number of exceptions: If the auditor encounters issues during fieldwork, additional testing and documentation increase the fee.
• Location: Some firms adjust pricing by geography, though remote audits have largely leveled this out.

2. Compliance platform or tooling

Most companies use a compliance platform to manage controls, evidence, and policies. Pricing models vary:

The platform you choose has a compounding effect on total cost because it directly impacts how much internal time is required for evidence collection, policy management, and auditor collaboration. A tool that automates repetitive tasks pays for itself quickly. Compare episki to Vanta or Drata to see how pricing and capabilities stack up.

3. Internal time and labor

This is the cost most organizations underestimate. Getting SOC 2 ready requires significant time from multiple teams:

• Security or compliance lead: 200–500 hours over the first year for project management, gap analysis, control design, and auditor coordination.
• Engineering: 50–200 hours for implementing technical controls, configuring monitoring, setting up logging, and providing evidence.
• IT / DevOps: 40–100 hours for endpoint management, access reviews, and infrastructure documentation.
• HR: 20–40 hours for onboarding/offboarding procedures, background checks, and training programs.
• Legal: 10–30 hours for policy review, vendor contract updates, and privacy notice alignment.

At a blended cost of $75–$150 per hour, internal labor for a first-time SOC 2 can easily reach $30,000–$80,000. This is where the right tooling makes the biggest difference — automating evidence collection and centralizing control management can cut these hours by 40–60%.

4. Gap remediation

If your gap analysis reveals missing controls, you may need to invest in new tools or services:

Not every organization needs all of these. Many startups already have adequate tooling in place and only need to formalize processes and documentation.

5. Consulting and advisory (optional)

Some organizations hire a consultant to guide them through the readiness phase. Rates typically range from $150 to $350 per hour, with fixed-fee readiness engagements running $10,000 to $40,000. A good consultant can accelerate your timeline, but this is optional — especially if you use a platform that provides built-in guidance.

Total cost estimates by company stage

Renewal years are typically 30–50% less expensive because controls, policies, and processes are already established.

Factors that increase cost

• Adding optional Trust Services Criteria beyond security
• Large number of in-scope systems and subservice organizations
• Poor documentation requiring significant policy and procedure development
• Manual evidence collection that consumes engineering time every audit cycle
• Scope changes mid-audit that require additional auditor testing
• Choosing a Type II first without a readiness baseline (Type I first can reduce total cost)

Practical ways to reduce SOC 2 cost

1. Right-size your scope: Only include the Trust Services Criteria and systems that are relevant. Over-scoping is the fastest way to inflate costs. Review the requirements carefully.
2. Start with Type I: A Type I engagement validates your control design at lower cost, identifies issues early, and builds auditor familiarity before the longer Type II period.
3. Automate evidence collection: Every hour saved on screenshots, access review exports, and configuration checks is an hour your team spends on product work instead. This is the highest-ROI investment you can make.
4. Choose a right-sized auditor: A mid-market CPA firm with deep SOC 2 experience often provides better service and lower fees than a Big Four firm for companies under 500 employees.
5. Use a purpose-built compliance platform: Spreadsheet-based compliance programs cost less in software but far more in labor. A good platform pays for itself in the first audit cycle.
6. Leverage framework overlap: If you also need ISO 27001 or HIPAA, map controls once and reuse evidence across frameworks. This amortizes the cost of compliance work across multiple requirements.
7. Build a compliance culture: When control owners understand their responsibilities and collect evidence as part of their daily workflow, the incremental cost of each audit cycle drops significantly.

The cost of not getting SOC 2

While SOC 2 costs real money, the cost of not having it can be higher:

• Lost deals: Enterprise buyers increasingly require SOC 2 reports before signing contracts. A missing report can stall or kill a sale.
• Longer sales cycles: Without a SOC 2 report, security reviews become bespoke questionnaire exercises that consume weeks of back-and-forth.
• Higher insurance premiums: Some cyber insurance carriers offer better terms to organizations with a current SOC 2 report.
• Incident costs: The controls you implement for SOC 2 reduce the likelihood and severity of security incidents.

How episki helps

episki is designed to minimize the total cost of SOC 2 compliance. At $500/month with no per-seat charges, the platform cost is a fraction of alternatives. More importantly, episki reduces the internal labor component — the largest and most variable cost category — through pre-mapped control libraries, structured evidence collection, automated review cadences, and an auditor collaboration portal that eliminates email-based back-and-forth. Organizations using episki report cutting preparation time by up to 45 days. Start a free trial to see how much time and money you can save, or compare episki to Secureframe for a detailed feature comparison.