Tools · Last updated 20 August 2026 · 3 min read

SOC 2 cost calculator

Pick an entry and a term, and every line shows its arithmetic. The numbers are published prices, so the total is an invoice rather than an estimate.

Entry is one payment and you choose which. Onboarding on its own is $2,000 one time. Onboarding with the SOC 2 Type 1 examination and report is $4,000 one time, with the fee for the independent partner auditor inside it. Type 2 monitoring is $600 per month on a 12-month term, and your first SOC 2 Type 2 audit is included in the term.

A range is not a price. The calculator adds up that published list for the path you pick, shows every line it used, and asks for no email. Change a control and the total moves.

Where do you start?

Both entries buy the same onboarding. The higher one adds the point in time examination and the Type 1 report on top of it, so you are choosing whether you need that report now, not choosing a tier of service.

Do you want Type 2 monitoring?

The term runs 12 months, and your first Type 2 audit is included in it, so nothing below is a placeholder for an auditor invoice that arrives later. A Type 2 opinion covers how controls operated across a period,¹ which is why the 3-month observation window sits at the front of it.

$11,200Year one

$7,200Year two

$18,400Two years, all in

Entry, with the SOC 2 Type 1 examination: $4,000. One time. The Type 1 examination, the report, and the engagement fee for the independent partner auditor.
Type 2 subscription, first twelve months: $7,200. $600 per month across 12 months, on a 12-month term.
Your first SOC 2 Type 2 audit: Included. Inside the term. It starts on its own once the 3-month observation window closes, with nothing to buy and nothing to click.
Type 2 subscription, months thirteen to twenty four: $7,200. $600 per month, the same schedule as the first twelve.

The line this calculator refuses to invent

One audit is inside the term, and that is the whole of what we can price. Every audit beyond that is arranged on request instead: you ask us for a quote, our team negotiates with independent audit firms on your behalf to get you the best price, and the engagement is quoted before it begins. There is no published figure, so the calculator does not carry a row for it. A made up row would total neatly and be wrong, which is worse than an honest gap.

What this number does and does not cover

Inside the figure are the platform, thirteen policies written from your own stack, and an evidence binder mapped to the trust services criteria.² On the higher entry the Type 1 examination and the engagement fee for the independent partner auditor are in there too, so no second invoice arrives from the CPA firm. Where that fee sits is broken out here.

A penetration test is not in there. Some buyers require one, some never ask. Nor are the infrastructure changes you make to close a gap. Neither has a number we could publish and stand behind. Inventing one is the exact habit this page was built to avoid.

For comparison

Vanta and Drata both publish what they think a SOC 2 should cost you. Neither publishes what it charges. Both halves are below, each one a click from its source. None of these figures is a two year total, so read them against year one above rather than the two year line.

Vanta states that the fees for a SOC 2 audit range between $10K and $50K. Source, checked 2026-07-30.
Vanta lists four plans on its pricing page and no dollar figure. The call to action is to request personalized pricing. Source, checked 2026-07-30.
Drata estimates a SOC 2 Type 1 audit at $7,500 to $15,000 and a Type 2 at $12,000 to $20,000, and puts a small startup first-year total at $25,000 or more. Source, checked 2026-07-30.
Drata has no public pricing page. The URL serves the homepage, where the calls to action are to contact sales or book a demo. Source, checked 2026-07-30.

The full breakdown, including why the auditor fee and the platform fee get bundled together so often, is on what SOC 2 actually costs. If you are still deciding which report you need, Type 1 versus Type 2 covers the sequencing. The other half of the estimate is how much work is left, and the free readiness assessment counts it: know your cost here, then go and check your readiness there.

One thing no platform can do

Sign its own report. The engagement fee for the independent partner auditor is inside the price you paid, and the opinion is that firm’s to give or withhold. Polara Labs is not a CPA firm. SOC 2 examinations are performed by independent licensed U.S. CPA firms.³

Questions

Is this an estimate or the actual price?

It is the actual price. Every figure comes from the published price list, so the total is what you would pay rather than a range derived from somebody else.

Does the total include the auditor fee?

Yes. The Type 1 entry covers the examination and the engagement fee for the independent partner auditor, and the Type 2 term covers your first Type 2 audit. No second invoice arrives from the CPA firm for either of them.

What happens once I have had a second SOC 2 audit?

You ask us for a quote and we arrange it. Our team negotiates with independent audit firms on your behalf to get you the best price, and the engagement is quoted before it begins. That is why the calculator has no line for it: we publish no figure, so it would be inventing one.

Why does year two look different from year one?

Year one carries the entry payment, which is a one time cost. If you paid the first twelve months of the subscription on a single invoice, that invoice does not repeat, so year two returns to the monthly schedule.

What is not included in this number?

A penetration test if your buyer requires one, and any infrastructure changes you need to make to close a gap. Those vary too much to put a number on honestly.

Sources

SOC 2 Report AICPA. What a SOC 2 report is and who may issue one. Checked 1 August 2026.
TSP Section 100, Trust Services Criteria for Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy AICPA. The criteria themselves, including the common criteria every SOC 2 report covers. Checked 1 August 2026.
State Boards of Accountancy directory NASBA. Where to confirm a CPA firm holds an active license in its state. Checked 1 August 2026.

Get audit-ready without a compliance team.

The readiness assessment is free, with no payment and no card. $4,000 one time for SOC 2 Type 1 when you are ready, with the first examination and the auditor engagement fee included. audit-ready starting at about a week.

Take the free assessment

Polara Labs is not a CPA firm. SOC 2 examinations are performed by independent licensed U.S. CPA firms.