THE USEFUL PART
Compare the same scope and inclusions, then separate first-year work from ongoing costs. A public starting price is not your all-in budget.
Start with the scope behind the price
Report type, system complexity, selected categories, and the work needed to prepare all affect effort. Schellman’s cost guidance describes these engagement-specific drivers. Our research did not establish a reliable market-wide all-in average.
Our recommendation: give each provider the same short brief. Include the service, proposed scope, report type, relevant dates, and what is already in place. Record any changes a provider makes to those assumptions.
Source context: Schellman — What does a SOC audit cost?
Build a budget in separate lines
This is our budgeting framework, not a list of universally required purchases. Some work is internal, some is optional, and some may be bundled.
| Budget line | What to make explicit |
|---|---|
| CPA examination | Report type, scope, covered period, testing, report issuance, and additional fees. |
| Software | Subscription term, included frameworks, users, integrations, and renewal terms. |
| Readiness support | Gap assessment, implementation help, deliverables, and work you still own. |
| Security work | Improvements or testing needed for your risks and agreed control design. |
| Internal time | Control owners, evidence collection, remediation, and responding to audit requests. |
Normalize the proposals before comparing
A software subscription and an offer that includes an examination have different contents. Ask who will issue the report and which services are included. Leave missing prices marked as unknown until the provider clarifies them.
Our suggested comparison sheet has one column for each provider and one row for each cost line. Add rows for exclusions, assumptions, contract length, and the consequence of a scope change. Do not count the same bundled service twice.
Give year two its own estimate
Operating controls and retaining evidence continue after the first report. Our planning recommendation is to separate initial implementation from recurring subscriptions, examinations, security work, and team time.
Before signing, ask for written renewal terms and the scope of ongoing support. A lower entry price is only one input to the decision.
Source context: Schellman — What does a SOC audit cost?; AICPA staff — Effects of software tools on SOC 2 examinations
THE EVIDENCE BEHIND THE EXPLANATION
Sources & editorial notes
Reviewed September 22, 2026. This guide draws on public criteria and practitioner explanations. Our suggested questions and planning frameworks are editorial analysis. Provider guidance is identified as such; it is not a universal requirement.
- Schellman — What does a SOC audit cost? ↗
Supplier explanation of engagement cost drivers; not a dataset of market-wide prices.
- AICPA staff — Effects of software tools on SOC 2 examinations ↗
2021 public staff FAQs; explicitly nonauthoritative. Explains management and auditor responsibilities.
We have not reviewed a private SOC 2 report for this guide. General editorial information, not audit, accounting, or legal advice. Our editorial approach.
Suggest a correction