Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Estimated total SOC 2 cost
$81,500
Internal labor cost
$31,500
Auditor fee
$30,000
Compliance platform cost
$12,000
Readiness assessment fee applied
$8,000
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How to use this
- 1Enter auditor fee (type ii).
- 2Enter compliance automation platform (annual).
- 3Enter internal prep/remediation hours.
- 4Enter loaded hourly rate for internal staff.
- 5Enter readiness assessment / gap analysis fee.
- 6Enter engagement type.
- 7Read your estimated total soc 2 cost on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
SOC 2 cost is dominated by internal labor and pre-audit remediation, not the audit itself. A typical Type II engagement for a mid-size SaaS company runs $15,000-$60,000 in auditor fees depending on trust service criteria selected and company size, but internal prep (policy writing, control implementation, evidence collection) usually costs 2-4x the audit fee in engineering and compliance staff time once you value it at loaded hourly rates. First-year cost is meaningfully higher than renewal years because you're building controls and a compliance automation platform (Vanta, Drata, Secureframe) from scratch rather than just refreshing evidence. This calculator adds auditor fees, a compliance automation platform subscription, estimated internal labor hours at a loaded rate, and a readiness assessment/gap analysis fee some companies pay before committing to a formal audit, to produce a realistic total first-year number.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Auditor fee (Type II): 30000
- Compliance automation platform (annual): 12000
- Internal prep/remediation hours: 350
- Loaded hourly rate for internal staff: 90
- Readiness assessment / gap analysis fee: 8000
- Engagement type: First-year (Type II, full build)
Results
- Estimated total SOC 2 cost: $81,500
- Internal labor cost: $31,500
- Auditor fee: $30,000
- Compliance platform cost: $12,000
- Readiness assessment fee applied: $8,000
What each field means
Inputs
- Auditor fee (Type II)
- The auditor fee (type ii) used in the calculation. Starts at 30000 so you have a working example on load.
- Compliance automation platform (annual)
- The compliance automation platform (annual) used in the calculation. Starts at 12000 so you have a working example on load.
- Internal prep/remediation hours
- The internal prep/remediation hours used in the calculation. Starts at 350 so you have a working example on load.
- Loaded hourly rate for internal staff
- The loaded hourly rate for internal staff used in the calculation. Starts at 90 so you have a working example on load.
- Readiness assessment / gap analysis fee
- The readiness assessment / gap analysis fee used in the calculation. Starts at 8000 so you have a working example on load.
- Engagement type
- Pick the option that matches your situation — the maths changes per option. Choices: First-year (Type II, full build), Renewal year.
Results
- Estimated total SOC 2 cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Internal labor cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Auditor fee
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Compliance platform cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Readiness assessment fee applied
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why is internal labor usually the biggest cost, not the auditor?
Auditors test evidence, they don't build your controls for you. Writing policies, implementing access reviews, configuring logging, and collecting evidence across every in-scope system takes real engineering and compliance staff time, and at a $90-150/hour loaded rate, 300-400 hours adds up to more than most auditor fees.
Type I vs Type II, which do I need?
Type I only tests whether controls are designed correctly as of a point in time and is faster/cheaper but far less convincing to enterprise buyers. Type II tests whether controls actually operated effectively over a 3-12 month observation window and is what most enterprise security questionnaires and procurement teams require before signing a contract.
Does a compliance automation platform actually save money?
For most companies past a handful of employees, yes, because manual evidence collection across dozens of systems every audit cycle costs more in staff time than the $8,000-15,000 annual platform fee, and it also reduces the risk of audit findings from stale or missing evidence.
How much cheaper is a renewal year?
Renewal years typically run 40-60% of first-year cost since controls, policies, and the platform integration already exist; the main remaining cost is evidence collection, minor control updates, and the audit fee itself, which is why the calculator applies a lower multiplier to labor and drops the readiness fee.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
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Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). SOC 2 Audit Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/soc2-audit-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/soc2-audit-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SOC 2 Audit Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [SOC 2 Audit Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/soc2-audit-cost) (2026).