Specialist Type 2 audit fees currently run $15,500 to $50,000 in our directory; Type 1 runs $10,000 to $35,000. Full-service CPA firms estimate $30,000 to $80,000 for Type 2, and Big Four firms $65,000 to $200,000. SOC 2 is an attestation: there is no extra certificate fee. A 1–10 person SaaS team with a simple system and controls ready can shop lower-cost specialists on a $7,000 to $10,000 Type 2 budget.
The directory covers specialist CPA firms, full-service CPA firms, and Big Four offices. Type 1 and Type 2 bands are in the table. A small startup comparing on price often lands below these bands; that case is in the startup budget guide.
| Firm type | SOC 2 Type 1 | SOC 2 Type 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist CPA firm | $10,000–$35,000 | $15,500–$50,000 |
| Full-service CPA firm | $20,000–$60,000 | $30,000–$80,000 |
| Big Four | $40,000–$145,000 | $65,000–$200,000 |
Each band runs from the median listed minimum to the median listed maximum for that firm type. Most directory prices are estimates, not minimums or a record of what buyers paid. See the sources and calculation. Australian companies comparing local issuers should use the Australian SOC 2 auditors directory for AUD bands and who can sign the report; the table above stays USD-normalised.
First-person posts from 2024–2025 named these figures. They are individual reports, not an average.
Every reviewed mention, with method and date, is in the table further down.
Use the SOC 2 audit cost calculator to change company size, report type, and scope. The estimate uses a lower-cost specialist assumption and scales it for size and scope. Treat the result as a budget to test against quotes; the assumptions sit beside it.
SOC 2 is an attestation, not a certification. There is no extra certificate fee. Buyers using that phrase usually mean the CPA examination: $10,000 to $35,000 for Type 1 or $15,500 to $50,000 for Type 2 at a specialist firm, before readiness, software, testing, remediation, or labor.
Ask the requester which report they mean. Type 1 tests control design at a specified date. Type 2 also tests operating effectiveness over a specified period. Mix those in one comparison and the prices stop meaning the same thing.
Your first-year budget is the audit fee plus the preparation, software, testing, and staff time you actually need. A prepared startup buying a lower-cost audit has a different bill from a team hiring consultants to build its controls. Start with your audit quote, then add the work in your own plan.
The software pricing comparison covers the platform line as its own purchase.
These figures cover different company sizes and scopes. They are useful for checking a proposal, not for adding up a startup budget.
| Budget row | Current planning range | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| CPA audit — Type 1 | $10,000–$35,000 | Specialist planning band. Use when the requester accepts a report at a specified date. Big Four Type 1 is $40,000–$145,000. |
| CPA audit — Type 2 | $15,500–$50,000 | Specialist planning band. Use when the requester needs operating-effectiveness evidence over a specified period. Big Four Type 2 is $65,000–$200,000. |
| Compliance platform | $3,600–$78,125 | Sourced annual-USD envelope across comparable directory records; it mixes confirmed figures and labeled estimates, omits unknowns, and is not a typical price. |
| Internal labor | $25,000–$90,000 | Opportunity-cost range from buyer and partner submissions; not a vendor invoice. |
| Control remediation | $5,000–$50,000 | Applies only when readiness finds work that must be completed before or during the engagement. |
| Scope-change exposure | $10,000–$30,000 | Buyer-reported change-order range; prevent it by freezing the system boundary and criteria. |
Add one report path, not Type 1 plus Type 2, and only the add-ons you actually need. Do not sum every maximum. Audit bands regenerate from the directory; the other rows are dated planning inputs on the cost sources page. The cost calculator models a specific scope. It does not turn optional rows into required spend.
Specialist Type 2 estimates are $15,500 to $50,000, full-service CPA firms $30,000 to $80,000, and Big Four firms $65,000 to $200,000. Type 2 usually costs more than Type 1 in a like-for-like proposal because it tests operating effectiveness over an agreed period. Specialist Type 1 currently runs $10,000 to $35,000; Big Four Type 1 runs $40,000 to $145,000.
The Type 2 cost guide covers the observation period, next-year renewal, and what the fee excludes.
Give every CPA firm the same five inputs, then compare written inclusions and change triggers. Without a normalized brief, a lower quote may simply exclude work another firm included.
$7,000 to $10,000 is a reasonable budget-shopping scenario for a Type 2 audit when you have 1–10 people, one simple SaaS system, Security-only scope, and controls ready for testing. You are comparing lower-cost specialists and do not need a particular large-firm name on the report.
The starting range comes from our Zero Day CPA pricing estimate, checked against anonymized quote patterns. It is a planning estimate. Some small-scope offers cost less; extra systems, criteria, or a required auditor brand can cost more. The calculator methodology explains this reference and the adjustments.
Ask for the audit fee, Type 2 observation dates, and exclusions in writing. A short first report may not meet a customer's requirement for a longer period. The Type 2 cost guide covers that choice and the next audit; the startup budget guide covers the wider first-year plan.
We match firms to your scope and bring their ballpark quotes back. Free and anonymized.
Third-party price points reviewed in June 2026 corroborate the organization-group ranges above: first-person buyer reports from public forums, and figures audit firms publish about their own market. Duplicate, ambiguous, and low-credibility sources were rejected. See our monthly-refreshed cost statistics for how these figures move each month.
| Figure | Covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | Total / type not stated | First-person figure in an r/msp thread, Nov 2024 |
| $12,000 | Total / type not stated | First-person figure in an r/SaaS thread, Jan 2024 |
| $15,000 | Type 2 audit | First-person figure in an r/msp thread, Dec 2025 |
| $5,500 | Type 1 audit | First-person figure in an r/soc2 thread, Mar 2025 |
| $10,000 | Readiness phase | First-person figure in an r/cybersecurity thread, Nov 2023 |
| $13,500 | Readiness phase | The Pun Group (CPA firm in our directory), readiness guide, Nov 2025 |
| $27,500 | Total / type not stated | The Pun Group (CPA firm in our directory), cost guide, Dec 2025 |
| $85,000 | Total / type not stated | A-LIGN SOC 2 guide, Mar 2026 — an "up to" upper bound, not a typical fee |
| $50,000 | Type 2 audit | FRSecure SOC 2 Type 2 overview (undated) |
Compliance-automation platforms publish estimates too. Across the Drata, Sprinto, Secureframe, and Vanta guides, audit figures run $7,500 to $45,000. Those are marketing estimates, not recorded prices, so they are not in the table above. Every reviewed record, including the platform figures, is listed with method and retrieval date on the sources page. They are not inputs to the firm-type bands. A platform guide has a reason to keep the audit line small next to its own subscription fee.
Lock these three decisions before you send an RFP so the quotes describe the same job.
A Security-only scope is usually narrower than one with additional criteria. Add Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, or Privacy when the report's intended users need them, and have each firm price the same selection.
Our data shows large price differences by organization group. Ask whether a named customer, regulator, lender, or board actually requires a particular firm before paying for brand and scale you do not need.
Have every firm state whether readiness, system-description support, extra samples, re-testing, travel, add-on criteria, report revisions, and scope changes are included. A low fee with open-ended exclusions is not the low-cost quote.
Questions to settle before you issue an RFP.
Tell us your audit type, criteria, system count, and target date. We send the same scope to matching firms so the quotes describe the same job.
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