What is the cheapest way to get SOC 2 for a 5-person startup? (2026)

The cheapest way to get SOC 2 as a 5-person startup is a Type 1 report first, scoped to the Security criterion only, run on a compliance platform priced for startups instead of a consultant, with a startup-focused CPA firm doing the audit. In real money that is about $8,300 to $9,300 in the first year, plus a small per-employee fee on the platform: the platform at about $1,800 a year, a Type 1 audit at about $4,000, and a penetration test at $2,500 to $3,500. If you skip the Type 1 and go straight to a Type 2, budget $10,000 to $13,000 instead. The other cost is your own time: roughly 30 to 50 hours of founder time spread over 2 to 3 months to get audit-ready.

Here is where those numbers come from, what you can skip, and what you cannot.

Start with a Type 1, not a Type 2

A SOC 2 Type 1 is a point-in-time report. The auditor shows up on a given date and checks that your controls exist and are designed properly. A Type 2 is the same auditor coming back three to six months later and confirming that those controls actually ran the way they were supposed to while nobody was watching. Most startups end up needing SOC 2 because a deal is blocked, and in that moment what you need is the fastest thing you can put in front of a buyer. A Type 1 is that thing. Through our partner audit firms a Type 1 runs about $4,000; a Type 2 is $6,000 to $8,000. The play is to get the Type 1, kick off the Type 2 observation window the same week, and tell your buyer exactly that. That is what most of our customers do, and it works.

Keep the scope to the Security criterion

SOC 2 has five Trust Services Criteria. Security is the only mandatory one, and most SOC 2 reports in the wild cover Security and nothing else. Every criterion you add on top of that means more controls, more evidence to collect, and a longer audit. Unless a specific customer has put availability or confidentiality in writing as a requirement, do not add them. Klaay covers the Security criterion. Confidentiality and availability are on the roadmap for later this year.

Use a platform built for startups instead of a consultant

The expensive version of SOC 2 is hiring someone to run it for you. The cheap version is a platform that gives you the policies, the control framework, and the evidence workflow, and your team does the actual work. That second version is honest about who does the work, by the way. Nobody can do it for you, because the controls are about how your company actually operates. But what a good platform can do is generate policies from how your company works instead of handing you a generic template, pull evidence from the tools you already use, and tell you what is still missing. Klaay's Starter plan is $149 a month billed annually, which is about $1,800 a year, plus $2.99 per employee per month. That is the platform line in the numbers above.

Pick a startup-focused auditor

Audit fees vary more than any other line item here. A Big Four firm will quote you tens of thousands of dollars and add precisely nothing that a 5-person company actually needs. Smaller CPA firms that specialise in startups are cheaper, faster, and they are used to companies that do not have a dedicated security team. We work with partner audit firms at the prices above, and you are free to bring your own if you have someone in mind.

Do not skip the penetration test

Auditors typically want a penetration test as supporting evidence, and enterprise security reviews will ask for one anyway. Through our partner testing firm it runs $2,500 to $3,500 for a standard small company, and a team of five usually lands at the bottom of that range. You can use any firm you like.

Do the hours yourself, and plan for 2 to 3 months

Getting audit-ready takes most teams about 2 to 3 months, and roughly 30 to 50 hours of founder time spread across that period. That is the part no budget line removes. What makes it shorter is having the basics already in place: single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, a password manager, and someone on the team who knows how your infrastructure is configured.

The math, in one place

Platform: about $1,800 a year, plus $2.99 per employee per month. Type 1 audit: about $4,000. Penetration test: $2,500 to $3,500. First-year cash outlay on the Type 1 route: about $8,300 to $9,300 before the per-employee fee. If you go straight to a Type 2 instead, the audit is $6,000 to $8,000 and the same year comes to $10,000 to $13,000. If you do the Type 1 first and the Type 2 later, you pay both audit fees, so the Type 1 route only saves money if the bridge report closes a deal for you.

What you should not try to save on

The audit itself, the penetration test, and the basics like MFA and a password manager. Cutting those does not save money. It either produces a report a buyer will not accept, or an audit that fails and has to be redone. Either way you pay twice.

If you want the platform half of that budget to be the small half, Klaay's SOC 2 compliance platform starts at $149 a month with no credit card needed to try it.