A small SaaS company should budget about $30,000 to $60,000 for its first SOC 2 Type II: $14,000 to $25,000 a year for a compliance platform, $12,000 to $20,000 for the audit, and $5,000 to $20,000 for a penetration test. The lowest published bundles are Thoropass ($8,700 platform plus $5,800 audit on AWS Marketplace) and Secureframe ($15,000 for platform and first framework). Vanta lists Essentials at $14,000 and Drata lists Foundation at $15,000, with Vendr medians of about $20,000 and $25,000. The cheapest credible path is a Type II with a short observation window, a specialist CPA firm and a platform bought on an annual contract after negotiating.
Thoropass is the clearest answer to "which SOC 2 tools include the audit". Its AWS Marketplace listing prices the platform from $8,700 a year and the SOC 2 audit from $5,800, so $14,500 combined before a sales call. The audit is run by its in-house audit practice, which removes the handoff between software vendor and auditor. Vendr's median buyer payment is $26,927, so expect larger companies and multi-framework scopes to land well above the floor. Ask which CPA firm signs the report and how independence is maintained.
Pricing: Thoropass sells annual subscriptions whose final price depends on company size, systems, frameworks, audit type and scope. AWS Marketplace lists the platform from $8,700 per year and a separate SOC 2 audit from $5,800 per year, for a published combined starting point of $14,500 when both are needed. Vendr reports a $26,927 median annual buyer payment.
Combines compliance automation with in-house auditors instead of requiring a separate audit firm.
Cross-framework control mapping can reduce repeated evidence requests.
AWS Marketplace provides a clear platform and SOC 2 audit starting point.
Website pricing is quote-based and the final cost varies materially by scope.
The platform-plus-audit model can be more service-heavy than software-only competitors.
G2 reviewers cite occasional navigation, UX and integration issues.
Secureframe is the only large platform whose AWS Marketplace listing breaks the price into parts: $7,500 a year for platform access for up to 100 employees and $7,500 for the first framework, $15,000 together. Additional frameworks and the audit are extra. The 100-employee band is generous compared with Vanta's and Drata's entry tiers, so a 40-person company can stay on the starting price longer. The listing notes fees are non-cancellable and that discounts are available for smaller teams.
Pricing: Secureframe presents Fundamentals, Complete, and Defense packages without public list prices on its main pricing page. AWS Marketplace lists $7,500 per year for platform access for up to 100 employees and $7,500 per year for a first framework, or $15,000 annually together. The AWS listing says fees are non-cancellable and non-refundable and that smaller teams or multi-framework buyers may receive discounts.
The platform combines evidence, controls, policies, risks, vendors, personnel, and questionnaires in one workspace.
Its integration library supports automated evidence collection across more than 300 tools.
Framework coverage includes commercial, privacy, federal, and defense-oriented requirements.
Main pricing is not publicly listed, making budget comparison difficult without a sales process.
The broad feature set requires configuration of integrations, controls, policies, and evidence before it reflects an organization accurately.
Some capabilities, including advanced questionnaires, SSO and SCIM, and custom integrations, are package-dependent.
Vanta does not publish prices on its own site, but AWS Marketplace lists Essentials from $14,000, Plus from $21,500 and Professional from $23,000 a year for 1 to 20 employees. Vendr's data across 374 purchases shows a $20,000 median and a range of about $7,500 to $57,000, so negotiation clearly matters. Is it worth the premium at seed stage? If enterprise buyers in your market recognize the Vanta trust center and you want the widest choice of auditors, often yes. If you just need a clean report, cheaper tools get you the same audit opinion.
Pricing: Vanta doesn't publish prices on its website. AWS Marketplace lists scoped starting prices for companies with 1–20 employees, and Vendr reports a median contract of $20,000/year across 374 purchases (range roughly $7,500–$57,000). Typical single-framework budgets are $12K–$25K/yr for 1–50 employees, $20K–$40K for 51–200 and $35K–$60K for 200–500. Budget separately for the audit fee and any remediation work.
Automated evidence collection replaces most manual screenshots
Clean interface and fast onboarding, frequently praised in 2026 reviews
Very broad integration and framework coverage
Expensive for very small teams, with median contracts around $20K/yr
Integration gaps for less common or complex stacks
Some controls still need manual work and setup time
Drata's Foundation package is listed at $15,000 for 12 months on AWS Marketplace for companies with 1 to 50 employees. Vendr reports a median of $24,934 across 236 purchases and average savings of 23 percent off the first quote. The price climbs with each framework, but because one control maps to several frameworks, adding ISO 27001 or HIPAA later costs less work than with a SOC 2-only tool. Drata also owns SafeBase, so a trust center can be bundled.
Pricing: Drata’s public plans page does not publish direct dollar pricing and routes buyers to sales. AWS Marketplace lists a 1–50 FTE Foundation package at $15,000 for 12 months; this is the lowest verifiable paid public entry. Vendr’s third-party benchmark across 236 purchases reports median spend of $24,934/year, an observed range of $9,415–$68,250 and average savings of 23%, so it is directional procurement evidence rather than a Drata rate card.
Broad framework mapping lets teams reuse shared controls across multiple programs.
Continuous evidence collection reduces recurring spreadsheet and screenshot work.
A large integration catalog and REST Open API support complex technology stacks.
Direct pricing is quote-based, and framework or module add-ons can increase total cost.
Foundation GRC is limited to 50 FTEs and one pre-mapped framework.
Some advanced API, webhook, data warehouse and access features require higher plans or Assurance options.
Sprinto's Vendr benchmark runs from $13,167 to $16,000 a year with a $15,000 median, slightly under the US leaders for comparable coverage. Its documentation quotes audit fees separately at $1,000 to $25,000 depending on firm and framework, and you can use an auditor from its network or your own. It suits cost-conscious teams that still want continuous monitoring and integrations rather than a spreadsheet.
Pricing: Sprinto uses quote-based annual subscriptions rather than public list prices. Vendr reports annual contracts from $13,167 to $16,000, with a $15,000 median; this is a purchasing benchmark, not a guaranteed entry offer. Frameworks, company scope, and enterprise modules affect the quote.
Covers more than 200 digitized frameworks and broad compliance and GRC workflows.
Continuous evidence collection reduces recurring screenshot and spreadsheet work.
Vendor risk, trust center, questionnaires, and AI governance extend beyond basic audit preparation.
Pricing is quote-based, so buyers cannot compare a public entry plan.
The breadth of modules makes connector and scope validation important.
Scrut's AWS Marketplace listing is a fixed $15,000 a year for organizations up to 20 employees, and it states that onboarding, implementation, training and ongoing support are included. Many vendors charge for implementation help or reserve it for higher tiers. If nobody on your team has done SOC 2 before, the included hands-on support can matter more than a lower sticker price elsewhere. Audits are separate.
Pricing: Scrut’s main pricing model is custom and quote-based, with core features, modules, and frameworks included and audit charges potentially separate. AWS Marketplace lists a $15,000 annual contract for compliance automation for organizations with up to 20 employees. The listing describes a fixed contract rather than usage-based metering and says onboarding, implementation, training, and continuous support are included.
Cross-framework control mapping lets teams collect evidence once and reuse it across programs.
The platform combines compliance, risk, vendor management, monitoring, and trust workflows.
Its integration coverage includes cloud, identity, HR, code, ticketing, and business systems.
Public pricing is limited to an AWS Marketplace entry for organizations with up to 20 employees.
External audit charges and assessment work can remain separate from the platform subscription.
The breadth of modules may require more configuration than a single-framework compliance tool.
Strike Graph is one of the few platforms with prices on its own website: Certify from $21,500 a year, Scale from $35,000, additional frameworks $2,000 to $8,000, and a free Launch tier for readiness. It also states that approved audit and assessment services cost $4,000 to $8,000 a year. That makes it easy to build a budget without three sales calls, which is useful when finance needs a number this week.
Pricing: The public pricing page lists Certify from $21,500 per year and Scale from $35,000 per year; Enterprise pricing is tailored. Additional frameworks range from $2,000–$8,000, audits are priced by the selected independent auditor, and Strike Graph says approved assessment and audit services can range from $4,000–$8,000 per year. Trust Chain has a free tier for the first five vendors, with paid add-ons from $7,500 per year for up to 25 vendors.
The $21,500 annual Certify entry point is publicly disclosed rather than hidden behind a demo request.
Cross-framework mappings let teams reuse existing controls and evidence when adding programs such as HIPAA or NIST.
The integration catalog spans more than 300 systems and includes an evidence API for custom sources.
The $21,500 starting price makes the platform a substantial commitment for very small teams.
Independent audit fees are separate and set by the auditor, so total certification cost is higher than the software subscription.
Additional frameworks can add $2,000–$8,000 each, and advanced Trust Chain and AI usage can add further charges.
Every SOC 2 budget is made of the same four parts. Vendors tend to quote only one of them, which is why first-time buyers are often surprised.
Cost line
Typical range, small or midsize company
Recurs every year?
Compliance platform
$8,700 to $25,000
Yes
CPA audit, Type II
$12,000 to $20,000
Yes
Penetration test
$5,000 to $20,000
Yes, usually annual
Readiness and remediation
$0 to $50,000
Mostly year one
Staff time is the fifth line, and it is rarely counted. Expect an engineer or operations lead to spend a large part of their week on compliance for the first two or three months, then a few hours a week after that.
The platform price depends mostly on headcount bands and the number of frameworks. The audit price depends on the size of your system, how many Trust Services Criteria are in scope and which firm you pick. The pentest price depends on the number of applications and environments tested and whether it is automated or done by people.
Platform prices side by side
These are the clearest public numbers we could find as of October 2026. AWS Marketplace prices are real list prices for a defined scope. Vendr figures are what buyers actually paid, across hundreds of purchases.
Platform
Published entry price
Entry scope
Vendr median paid
Thoropass
$8,700 platform + $5,800 audit
Platform and SOC 2 audit
$26,927
Sprinto
Quote
Varies
$15,000
Vanta
$14,000 (Essentials)
1 to 20 employees
$20,000
Secureframe
$15,000
Up to 100 employees, first framework
Not published
Drata
$15,000 (Foundation)
1 to 50 employees, one framework
$24,934
Scrut
$15,000
Up to 20 employees, onboarding included
Not published
Strike Graph
$21,500 (Certify)
Listed on vendor site
Not published
Three practical points come out of this table. First, entry prices bunch tightly between $14,000 and $15,000; the real differences show up in headcount bands and add-on pricing. Second, Vendr medians run 30 to 70 percent above the entry prices, because buyers add frameworks, trust centers, vendor risk modules and more employees. Third, discounts are common. Vendr reports buyers saved an average of 23 percent off Drata's first quote, and both Vanta and Drata have a wide range between the lowest and highest observed contracts.
Our SOC 2 software guide compares the same platforms on features and audit fit rather than price.
What auditors charge
Audit fees vary more than platform fees. Drata's March 2026 guide puts Type I audits at $7,500 to $15,000 and Type II at $12,000 to $20,000 for small and midsize companies. Above that, the firm you choose drives the price:
Specialist SOC firms. Firms that mostly do SOC 2, ISO 27001 and similar work for technology companies. Roughly $15,000 to $50,000 for a Type II depending on scope. Most platform partner networks are made up of these firms.
Regional full-service CPA firms. $30,000 to $80,000. Useful if your buyers are banks or insurers who prefer a recognizable name.
The Big Four. $65,000 to $200,000 or more. Rarely needed before a company is several hundred employees or selling into heavily regulated enterprises.
A more expensive firm does not produce a stronger opinion by default. What enterprise security reviewers check is that the signing firm is a licensed CPA firm in good standing, that the report has a real system description and real test results, and that any exceptions were addressed. After this year's controversy over boilerplate reports, some reviewers now also look up the firm. See the audit quality section of our SOC 2 guide for the background.
The cheapest credible route to a Type II
If budget is the constraint, this sequence keeps the first-year bill near $25,000 to $35,000 without producing a report buyers will question:
Ask the customer what it will accept. Many will accept a Type II with a three-month observation window, or a Type I plus a bridge letter while the Type II is under way. Do not buy both reports unless someone needs both.
Scope security only. Availability, confidentiality, processing integrity and privacy can be added in year two if customers ask. Each extra criterion adds audit work.
Choose a specialist CPA firm and get a fixed fee. Ask for references from companies of your size. Confirm the fee includes the report and any management letter.
Buy the platform with the audit in mind. A bundle like Thoropass can be cheapest if you want one vendor. Otherwise, take the AWS Marketplace or annual list price as a starting point and negotiate; quarter-end deals are common.
Use a focused pentest. A human-led test of your production web application and API is what most questionnaires ask about. Leave internal network testing for later unless you have an office network that matters.
Do the remediation yourself. Turning on MFA, encryption, logging and device management is mostly configuration. Consultants help, but most teams under 50 people can do it with the platform's guidance.
Without a platform at all, the cash cost can drop to the audit and pentest alone, roughly $17,000 to $40,000. You pay instead in staff time and a harder second year.
Tools that include the audit
Bundles are attractive because they turn three procurement processes into one. They come in two forms:
In-house audit. Thoropass runs SOC 2 audits through its own audit practice. You get one team and one timeline. The question to ask is how independence between the software side and the audit side is maintained, which the AICPA's April 2026 ethics guidance addresses directly.
Coordinated bundles.Oneleet bundles its platform with a human-led penetration test and audit support, with third-party audit fees quoted before signing. Comp AI offers hosted plans that can include the audit and pentest, and an open-source self-hosted core. Several newer startups advertise flat SOC 2 bundles; check who the CPA firm is before you sign.
Either way, ask for separate line items for software, audit and pentest, and confirm you can change auditors in year two without changing software.
How price changes as you grow
The headcount bands are where costs jump. Vanta's entry pricing on AWS covers 1 to 20 employees, Drata's 1 to 50 and Secureframe's up to 100. Our tool profiles show typical single-framework budgets for Vanta of $12,000 to $25,000 a year at 1 to 50 employees, $20,000 to $40,000 at 51 to 200 and $35,000 to $60,000 at 200 to 500. Adding ISO 27001 typically adds an audit of similar size to SOC 2 and a framework fee on the platform. HIPAA adds a framework fee but usually no separate audit, because most companies report HIPAA controls inside their SOC 2 or through a separate assessment.
Before signing a multi-year deal, ask the vendor for the price at your expected headcount in 12 and 24 months, and get a cap on renewal increases.
How much does SOC 2 cost for a small company in 2026?
Plan on $30,000 to $60,000 in cash for the first Type II at a 10 to 50 person SaaS company: platform $14,000 to $25,000, audit $12,000 to $20,000, penetration test $5,000 to $20,000. A 2026 model from soc2auditors.org puts the wider range at $31,000 to $105,000 when remediation and lower readiness are included.
How much does a SOC 2 audit cost on its own?
Drata's March 2026 cost guide puts Type I audits at $7,500 to $15,000 and Type II at $12,000 to $20,000 for small and midsize companies. Specialist SOC firms typically quote $15,000 to $50,000 for a Type II at larger scopes, regional full-service firms $30,000 to $80,000, and the Big Four $65,000 to $200,000 or more.
Which SOC 2 tools include the audit in the price?
Thoropass sells the audit through its in-house practice, with a published audit starting price of $5,800 on AWS Marketplace. Oneleet and Comp AI quote bundles that include audit coordination and, for Oneleet, a penetration test. Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, Sprinto and Scrut sell software only and refer you to partner audit firms that bill separately.
What is the cheapest way to get a SOC 2 Type II?
Skip the Type I unless a customer needs something immediately, choose a three-month observation window for your first Type II, use a specialist CPA firm rather than a large firm, scope only the security criterion, and negotiate an annual platform contract. Done that way, the first year can come in near $25,000 to $35,000 including a basic pentest.
Can I get SOC 2 without a compliance platform?
Yes. The AICPA does not require software. Some teams use spreadsheets, policy templates and a consultant, and pay only the auditor. It is cheaper in cash but costs more staff time, and evidence collection becomes painful in year two. Platforms earn their fee mostly through continuous monitoring and auditor-ready evidence exports.
Is Vanta worth it for a seed-stage company?
It is worth it if SOC 2 is blocking revenue now, your stack is mainstream (AWS or GCP, Google Workspace or Okta, GitHub) and your buyers know the Vanta trust center. It is less compelling if you have one pending deal and a tight runway; a cheaper platform or a platform-plus-audit bundle will produce the same CPA report.
How do I choose a SOC 2 auditor?
Confirm the firm is a licensed CPA firm with SOC 2 experience in your industry, ask who will do the fieldwork, request a sample report and the expected timeline, check whether it has worked with your platform's evidence exports, and get a fixed fee in writing. Ask for at least two customer references of a similar size.
Does SOC 2 cost less in year two?
The platform, audit and pentest recur every year, so year two is usually 60 to 80 percent of year one. Savings come from no readiness work, less remediation and a smoother audit. The soc2auditors.org model puts year-two cash at roughly $22,000 to $47,000 for a mid-size SaaS company.
Prices and ratings come from each vendor's public pricing pages and review sites as of October 22, 2026. Vendors change pricing often, so confirm with a quote. Nothing here is tax or legal advice.
