How Much Does SOC 2 Compliance Cost?
SOC 2 compliance typically costs between $30,000 and $150,000 in year one, including readiness assessment, tooling, and the audit itself. Ongoing annual maintenance runs $20,000 to $60,000. Use the calculator to estimate costs based on your Trust Services Criteria scope and company size.
SOC 2 Compliance Cost Calculator
Estimate your total SOC 2 investment based on scope, size, and current maturity.
Security is mandatory. Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, Privacy are optional.
Trust Services Criteria Cost Impact
Security (CC)
RequiredIncluded in base
The mandatory criterion covering logical access, change management, risk management, and monitoring. Every SOC 2 report includes Security.
Availability (A)
Optional+$5,000 to $12,000
Adds controls around uptime SLAs, incident response, capacity planning, and disaster recovery. Relevant for SaaS and infrastructure providers.
Confidentiality (C)
Optional+$4,000 to $10,000
Covers protection of confidential information throughout its lifecycle. Important for companies handling trade secrets, financial data, or sensitive client information.
Processing Integrity (PI)
Optional+$6,000 to $15,000
Ensures that system processing is complete, valid, accurate, and timely. Most relevant for payment processors, financial systems, and healthcare data workflows.
Privacy (P)
Optional+$8,000 to $20,000
The most demanding optional criterion. Covers personal information collection, use, retention, and disposal aligned to AICPA privacy principles. Overlaps with GDPR obligations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does SOC 2 compliance cost?
SOC 2 compliance costs between $30,000 and $150,000 in year one for most SaaS companies. This includes readiness assessment ($5,000 to $30,000), GRC and security tooling ($10,000 to $40,000 annually), CPA audit fees ($15,000 to $60,000), and internal staff time. Year 2 and beyond typically costs $20,000 to $60,000 for ongoing maintenance and the annual surveillance audit.
What is the difference between SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2?
SOC 2 Type 1 is a point-in-time report that confirms your controls are suitably designed as of a specific date. Type 2 covers a period (typically 6 to 12 months) and verifies that controls operate effectively throughout that period. Most enterprise customers require Type 2. Type 1 is a useful step toward Type 2 but is considered less rigorous.
Which Trust Services Criteria are required?
Security (Common Criteria) is the only mandatory Trust Services Criterion. The other four (Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy) are optional and added based on customer requirements. Most startup and SMB SOC 2 reports cover Security only. Adding Availability or Confidentiality is common for SaaS infrastructure providers and companies handling sensitive data.
How long does SOC 2 Type 2 take?
A Type 2 audit covers a minimum 6-month observation period. Including readiness work before the observation window, the total timeline from start to report issuance is typically 9 to 15 months. Organisations with existing security controls and tooling in place can sometimes compress the readiness phase to 2 to 3 months.
What tools do I need for SOC 2 compliance?
Common tooling for SOC 2 includes: a GRC platform (Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, Tugboat Logic), endpoint detection and response, SIEM or log management, vulnerability scanning, access management and SSO, data loss prevention, and background check tooling. Budget $10,000 to $40,000 per year for a mid-size tool stack covering the Security criterion.
Can a startup afford SOC 2?
Yes. A seed-stage startup focusing only on the Security criterion and using a GRC automation platform can achieve SOC 2 Type 2 for $30,000 to $50,000 in year one, including tooling, readiness, and the audit. The ROI is typically strong: enterprise deals blocked by the absence of a SOC 2 report often exceed this cost within a single quarter.