The budget-friendly ways to get SOC 2 compliance
- Most SOC 2 overspend comes from scope, not from paying too much for any single item.
- The auditor's fee is usually the smallest line. Preparation, remediation and internal time are larger.
- Starting with the Security criterion alone, on a narrow system boundary, is the single biggest saving available.
- A three-month observation period for the first Type 2 costs less and gets a report into buyers' hands sooner.
- Second-year costs typically fall by around a third once the build work is done and the evidence cadence is running.
The cheapest SOC 2 is the one you scope correctly
The cheapest SOC 2 is the one you scope correctly the first time. Most companies that overspend do not overpay for any individual item; they audit more systems than the buyer asked about, select criteria nobody requested, or discover gaps late and fix them under time pressure at a premium.
A realistic first-year total for a small to mid-sized company is roughly $30,000 to $150,000. The eight decisions below move a company from the top of that range towards the bottom without producing a weaker report.
Where the money actually goes
| Line | Typical first-year cost | Avoidable? |
|---|---|---|
| Auditor fee, Type 2 | $15,000 to $60,000 | Partly, through scope |
| Readiness or gap assessment | $5,000 to $25,000 | No, and skipping it usually costs more |
| Remediation of what the assessment finds | $5,000 to $30,000 or more | Partly, through early discovery |
| Penetration testing | $4,000 to $25,000 | No, buyers expect it |
| Compliance platform subscription | $7,500 to $25,000 a year | Partly, by scoping the tier correctly |
| Internal team time | Frequently the largest single cost | Partly, through project management |
Internal time is the line most often left out of the budget and most often the biggest. Engineers pulled into evidence collection are engineers not shipping product, and that cost is real even though no invoice arrives.
1. Narrow the scope to what the buyer asked about
Scope drives the auditor's fee, the volume of evidence and the internal hours. A report covering three systems when the buyer only cares about one costs materially more and does not close the deal any faster.
Start from the customer contract and the security review that triggered this. Which product, which environment, which data. Everything outside that boundary is a candidate for exclusion, and exclusions can be stated clearly in the report.
The counterweight is that a scope drawn too narrowly produces a report the buyer reads and rejects, which is the most expensive outcome of all because you pay twice. The right scope is the smallest one that answers the question actually being asked.
2. Start with Security only
Security is the one criterion in every SOC 2 report. Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy are optional, and each one widens the examination and adds cost.
Add a second criterion when a customer has asked for it in writing or your contracts already commit you to it. Adding one speculatively, in case a future buyer wants it, is a common and expensive habit. Criteria can be added at the next examination.
3. Use a three-month observation period for the first Type 2
Three months is the shortest window most auditors accept. It produces a report sooner, which is usually the commercial point, and it reduces the volume of evidence to be collected and tested.
The trade-off is that quarterly controls appear only once in a three-month window, so a single missed review is proportionally more visible. If your control cadence is monthly or weekly, three months tests it fairly. If it is quarterly, six months is safer.
4. Do the gap assessment first, properly
This looks like an added cost and is almost always a saving. A gap discovered during audit fieldwork is more expensive than the same gap found beforehand: the auditor bills for the additional time, remediation happens under deadline pressure, and in some cases the control has to be re-tested, which extends the period.
Our readiness and gap assessment is a fixed fee for exactly this reason. You know the number before the work starts, and so does your board.
5. Reuse what you already have
If you hold ISO 27001, or have built controls for UK GDPR, HIPAA or a customer's own security requirements, a large proportion of the SOC 2 control set is already in place. The saving comes from mapping one control set against both frameworks rather than running two documentation exercises.
The same applies in reverse. A company building for SOC 2 now, that expects to need ISO 27001 later, should design the control set once with both in view. The marginal cost of the second framework is a fraction of the first.
6. Buy the platform tier you need, not the one you are shown
A compliance platform genuinely reduces manual evidence collection and is worth having. What varies is the tier. Entry tiers commonly cover a single framework and a modest number of integrations, which is enough for a first Security-only SOC 2 at a small company.
Ask specifically which tier covers your framework count and your integration list, and buy that one. You can upgrade at renewal.
7. Decide honestly who is doing the work
The most expensive arrangement is the one where nobody owns the programme. The task list grows, the audit date does not move, and the last six weeks get bought at emergency rates.
If someone internal has genuine protected hours and prior experience, in-house is the cheapest route. If not, a fixed-fee external arrangement is usually cheaper than an internal team learning on the job while the deadline approaches. The decision to avoid is the implicit one, where a busy engineering lead is assumed to be handling it.
8. Budget for year two before year one ends
Second-year costs typically fall by around a third. The build work is done, the policies exist, the evidence cadence is running, and the auditor knows your environment.
That saving only materialises if the controls kept operating through the year. Programmes that stop the day the report arrives pay close to full price again, because they are rebuilding rather than maintaining. Keeping the position true between examinations is what our continuous governance and assurance service is for, and it is a smaller cost than repeating the build.
What not to cut
Two things look like savings and are not.
The penetration test. Buyers expect recent results alongside the report, and arriving without one usually produces a follow-up request that delays the deal by longer than the test would have taken.
The evidence discipline during the observation period. Evidence assembled in the final weeks of a period it was meant to span is precisely what a Type 2 examination is designed to detect. The exception goes in the report, the buyer reads it, and the money spent on the report has bought a conversation you did not want to have.
What to do next
Get your buyer's requirement in writing, including the systems they care about and whether a Type 1 would satisfy them for now. That email is worth more to your budget than any negotiation with a vendor.
Then establish your actual starting position. Our free readiness diagnostic gives a first view in a few minutes, and the SOC 2 service page sets out how a full programme runs.
References
FAQ
What is the cheapest way to get SOC 2?
A Security-only scope, on the narrowest system boundary your buyer will accept, with a three-month observation period, prepared properly the first time so nothing is discovered late.
Can I get SOC 2 without a consultant?
Yes, if someone internal has prior experience and genuinely protected hours. Whether it is cheaper depends on how much of your engineering team's time it consumes.
Is a compliance platform worth the subscription?
For most companies yes, because it removes a large amount of manual evidence collection. Buy the tier that matches your framework count and integrations rather than the tier you are shown first.
Does SOC 2 get cheaper each year?
Typically by around a third in year two, provided the controls kept operating. Programmes that lapse pay close to the original cost again.
Is a Type 1 report a cheap alternative to Type 2?
It is cheaper on its own, but doing Type 1 then Type 2 means paying two auditor fees. It is worth it only when a live deal needs something before the observation period can finish.
About Hael
Hael is an advisory firm specialising in AI governance and security compliance. We take companies through SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO/IEC 42001 and the EU AI Act, from first assessment to report, and maintain the position afterwards. Every engagement has a named practitioner and an agreed scope, timetable and fee, and we take no commission from audit firms or platform vendors. On engagements involving regulated financial services firms we work alongside Buckingham Capital Consulting, the partner firm that has advised payment and e-money firms on authorisation and compliance since 2013.
This guide is general information and is not professional advice on your particular circumstances.