Smart Contract Audit Grants and Subsidy Programs in 2026

By Owen Thurm Published November 6, 2026 5 min read

Quick answer. Active on November 6, 2026: Ethereum and Solana subsidies (up to 30%), the Uniswap Foundation Security Fund (up to 100%, monthly cohorts), Arbitrum's Security Program and Stellar's Audit Bank. Guardian and Zealynx fund grants for their own audits.

Watch: Smart Contract Audit Grants and Subsidy Programs in 2026 1:32

Video transcript

Several foundations and audit firms will pay for part, or all, of a smart contract audit. Here is what was active on November 6, 2026.

Ethereum and Solana subsidies cover up to 30 percent. Uniswap's Security Fund goes up to 100 percent. Arbitrum's Security Program and Stellar's Audit Bank are open too.

Arbitrum's 12 month Security Program has a budget of about 7.8 million dollars. It subsidizes an agreed portion of initial audits through 13 approved firms, including Guardian.

Ecosystem subsidies pay firms on an approved list or marketplace. Auditor-funded grants, from firms like Zealynx and Guardian, cover that firm's own work. You get a discount, not a choice of firm.

The same conditions recur. Expect an ecosystem tie, audit-ready code and a share of the cost. Zealynx will not review fully anonymous teams.

Freeze your scope first. Then match programs to your chain, note each deadline and budget your share. Plan for weeks before the audit starts.

Guardian, which publishes this list, is allocating 1 million dollars in audit grant coverage. Selected teams get a full audit with two competing teams and an exhaustive invariant suite. It is coverage, not cash.

Read the full article for terms and closed programs, or apply for a Guardian audit grant at guardian.security.

Several foundations and audit firms will pay for part, or all, of a smart contract audit. Most programs are tied to one ecosystem, and terms change often.

This list is dated. We checked each program on its own page, or its operator's, on November 6, 2026.

For what audits cost before any subsidy, see our audit pricing comparison.

Programs at a Glance

Program	Who can apply	What it covers	Status, Nov 6, 2026
Ethereum Audit Subsidy Program	Ethereum mainnet builders	Up to 30% off an audit	Active, per Areta
Solana Audit Subsidy Program	Solana projects	Up to 30% of the quote	Active, per Areta
Uniswap Foundation Security Fund	Uniswap ecosystem projects	Up to 100% of audit costs	Monthly cohorts, each closing on the 7th
Arbitrum Security Program	Projects building on Arbitrum	A portion, agreed per project	Opened Sep 29, 2026, for 12 months
Stellar Soroban Audit Bank	Stellar Community Fund projects	First audit, after a refundable 5% deposit	By invitation or request
Guardian Security Fund	Teams launching, upgrading or integrating	Coverage toward a full Guardian audit	Open; grantees chosen in batches
Zealynx Audit Grants	Teams with a public identity	25% to 100% of a Zealynx audit	Round-based; no current deadline posted

Ecosystem Programs

Ethereum Audit Subsidy Program

The Ethereum Foundation launched this $1 million program on April 14, 2026, CoinDesk reported. Subsidies are spent on Areta's audit marketplace.

Terms: approved projects get “up to 30% off security audits from 20+ leading firms,” per Areta.
Who decides: a committee from the Ethereum Foundation, Chainlink Labs and Nethermind Security, with Areta.
Eligibility: Ethereum mainnet builders, “regardless of size or stage,” CoinDesk reported.
Timing: first come, first served until the pool runs out, Bitcoin.com News reported.

Solana Audit Subsidy Program

This is also a $1 million program, per Areta's FAQ. Projects apply through the Solana Audit Marketplace.

Who decides: a panel from Superteam, MonkeDAO, Jito and Areta, using a standard rubric.
Terms: approved projects get a voucher. The discount equals the award, “capped at 30% of the quote price.”

Uniswap Foundation Security Fund

Areta runs this fund under a Uniswap Foundation grant. It has supported 35+ projects, Areta said in November 2026.

Terms: “up to 100% audit subsidies,” plus a pre-audit security scan and access to Areta's auditor marketplace.
Eligibility: Uniswap ecosystem projects, including v4 hooks and Trading API integrations.
Cohorts: one a month. Applications open early in the month and close on the 7th at 23:59 UTC.

As of November 6, 2026, the November cohort was open. Areta posts each new cohort in the Uniswap governance forum thread.

Arbitrum Security Program

The Arbitrum Foundation opened this 12-month program on September 29, 2026. Its budget is about $7.8 million at that day's prices.

It spans four pillars: AI screening, human audits, the Arbitrum bug bounty and the Security Council.

Terms: the Foundation “will subsidize a portion” of selected projects' audits, set per agreement. Only the agreed initial audit is covered.
Auditors: 13 approved firms. Guardian is one of them.
Process: confirm the code is audit-ready, agree the subsidy and sign a Commitment Agreement. Expect about a month from approval to audit.

For a ranking of firms by public Arbitrum work, see the best Arbitrum auditors.

Stellar Soroban Audit Bank

The Stellar Development Foundation funds audits for Stellar Community Fund projects: financial protocols, high-dependency data services and high-traction dApps.

Terms: the project pays 5% upfront, refunded if critical, high and medium issues are fixed within 20 business days. SDF pays the rest of the first audit.
Follow-ups: free at traction milestones such as $10M and $100M in TVL. Otherwise, a second audit carries a 20% copay and a third 50%.
Auditors: eight firms at pre-negotiated rates.

Auditor-Funded Grants

Some audit firms fund grants for their own work. You get a discount, but not a choice of firm.

Zealynx Audit Grants

Tiers: Core covers 100% (typical value up to $24,000), Growth 50% and Builder 25%.
Per round: one Core grant, two Growth grants and several Builder grants.
Eligibility: at least one team member needs a verifiable public identity. Fully anonymous teams are not reviewed.
Status: round-based. Its grants page gave no current deadline on November 6, 2026.

Guardian's own grants are covered below.

Closed or Changed Programs

Arbitrum Audit Program: launched August 1, 2025, and closed to applications on July 31, 2026. The Security Program continues and broadens it.
Optimism audit grants: Season 8 audit grants had a budget of 581,726.40 OP. Cycle 46, in December 2025, concluded the season.

Optimism's Season 9 let its Developer Advisory Board make audit grants. We found no open audit round for the current season, so check the Optimism governance forum first.

Eligibility Patterns

Across these programs, the same conditions recur.

An ecosystem tie. You build or deploy on the funding chain or protocol.
Audit-ready code. Arbitrum asks for it before matching, and Stellar runs a readiness review.
Cost sharing. Ethereum and Solana cap at 30%. Optimism's Season 8 favored teams that “subsidize part of their own audit costs.”
Approved auditors. Subsidies go to firms on each program's list or marketplace.
A known team. Zealynx will not review fully anonymous teams.
Public credit. Arbitrum's proposal asks funded teams to acknowledge the subsidy publicly.

How to Apply

Freeze the scope: commit hash, files in scope and line count.
Match programs to your chain and stage, using the table above.
Note each deadline: monthly cohorts, batches or first come, first served.
Budget your share. Most programs cover only part of the cost.
Plan the calendar. Stellar quotes about two weeks to match a firm, then three to six weeks to schedule.
Ask whether two programs can be combined before you count on both.

Our guide to preparing for a smart contract audit covers the scope work.

Guardian's $1M Audit Grants

Guardian is allocating $1,000,000 in audit grant coverage “to help high-caliber teams ship with the highest tier of smart contract assurance.”

Who should apply: teams preparing launches, upgrades, integrations or TVL-bearing deployments.
Selection: Guardian picks grantees in each batch, prioritizing teams where grant-backed work can reduce real launch or TVL risk.
What grantees get: a full Guardian audit with two competing teams and an exhaustive invariant suite.
Form: coverage toward Guardian audit work, including automated review, fuzzing and professional auditor oversight. It is not a cash award.

The application takes about five minutes and ends with a time for a grant review call. Apply on the grants page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do audit grants pay the full cost of an audit?

Some can. The Uniswap Foundation Security Fund offers up to 100%, and Zealynx's Core grant covers a full Zealynx audit. The Ethereum and Solana subsidies cap at 30%, and Arbitrum covers a portion agreed with each project.

Can I choose my own auditor with a subsidy?

Usually from an approved list. Ethereum's program offers 20+ firms through Areta, Arbitrum's has 13 approved firms and Stellar's Audit Bank eight. Auditor-funded grants, such as Guardian's and Zealynx's, pay for that firm's own work.

Is there a free smart contract audit for startups?

A few programs can cover a full audit: the Uniswap Foundation Security Fund, Zealynx's Core grant, and Stellar's Audit Bank after a refundable 5% deposit. Guardian's grants give selected teams audit coverage, not cash.

How long does a subsidized audit take to start?

Plan for weeks. Arbitrum expects about a month from approval to the audit's start. Stellar quotes about two weeks to match a firm, then three to six weeks to schedule.

Sources

Apply for Guardian audit grant coverage

Guardian is allocating $1,000,000 in audit grant coverage for teams preparing launches, upgrades and integrations.

Get an audit quote Apply for an audit grant