How Much Does SOC 2 Cost for a Crypto Company?

Video transcript

SOC 2 costs depend on what you put in scope. For a crypto company, that means keys, wallets and onchain operations.

Drata's March 2026 guide says most startups spend twenty five to fifty thousand dollars on a first-year SOC 2, including the audit, tools and a compliance platform.

The audit fee is only one line. Readiness work, a pentest, a compliance platform and staff time all add up. Both publishers sell compliance software, so read their totals with that in mind.

A Type 2 tests whether controls operated over a period, typically three to twelve months. Drata says it costs thirty to fifty percent more than a Type 1.

Crypto adds scope most SaaS companies never carry. Keys and signing, wallet and custody vendors, onchain operations like contract upgrades, extra criteria, and a bigger pentest.

One cost sits outside SOC 2. It does not test smart contract logic, so contracts need their own audit budget.

To cut cost, start with Security, draw the boundary at funds, fix gaps early, and reuse one pentest. But never leave your signing service out of scope.

Guardian does not issue SOC 2 reports. A licensed CPA firm does. Guardian prepares the controls and evidence the CPA tests. Read the full article, or talk to Guardian at guardian.security.

A SOC 2 is a CPA's report on the controls in your system description. What goes into that description sets most of the price.

The figures below come from two published 2026 guides and one quote dataset. Each is that publisher's own figure, with its date.

New to SOC 2 in crypto? Start with what SOC 2 covers and misses.

What You Pay For

A first SOC 2 has several line items. The auditor's fee is only one.

Drata puts large companies' fees higher: $20,000 to $60,000 for a Type 1, and $30,000 to $100,000 or more for a Type 2.

For startups, Drata narrows it: most spend $25,000 to $50,000 in the first year, including the audit, tools and a compliance platform.

Staff time is the line nobody invoices. Drata calls it the largest hidden cost; Scrut prices it at $10,000 to $30,000 without a platform.

Both publishers sell compliance automation software, which is worth knowing when reading their totals.

Type 1 vs Type 2 Cost

A Type 1 reviews control design at one point in time. A Type 2 tests whether controls operated over a period, typically 3 to 12 months (Drata).

Drata says a Type 2 costs 30% to 50% more. SOC2Auditors.org, updated October 5, 2026, puts the median Type 2 minimum fee at about 1.56 times the Type 1 minimum.

It calls that a planning ratio, not a measured market premium.

The firm you hire matters too. SOC2Auditors.org's fee bands by firm type, from its August 21, 2026 snapshot:

Each band runs from the median listed minimum to the median listed maximum. Most listings are the site's own estimates; eight prices are confirmed by firms.

Ballpark quotes to buyers ran lower. From July to September 2026, the median Type 2 ballpark was $9,000 for companies with 1 to 50 staff.

Those are pre-scoping ballparks, not final fees.

The site ties its lean-startup Type 2 figure, $7,000 to $10,000, to a small, prepared team with Security-only scope. Crypto scope tends to be bigger.

What Crypto Scope Adds

Scrut's cost example assumes a US SaaS company of 50 to 100 people. Crypto companies put systems in scope that most SaaS companies do not run:

• Keys and signing: HSM, MPC or multisig controls, and key ceremonies held inside the period.
• Wallet and custody vendors: each is a subservice organization, carved out or tested inclusively.
• Onchain operations: contract deployments, upgrades and multisig actions, tested as change management.
• More criteria: availability for a trading venue, processing integrity for transaction processing.
• A bigger pentest: signing services, withdrawal flows and offchain automation.

Each item works through a cost driver the publishers name.

Scrut estimates three criteria cost about 1.2 times Security alone. SOC2Auditors.org's audit-fee multipliers run from 1.0 for Security to 1.6 for all five.

SOC2Auditors.org also names system complexity, including vendors. Scrut notes pentest cost rises with product complexity.

Vendors need a decision. Compass IT Compliance calls carve-out "by far the more common approach"; the inclusive method, which tests both firms, is "significantly more complex to execute."

Change management is CC8.1 in the AICPA criteria: changes authorized, designed, tested, approved and implemented. Contract upgrades and multisig changes belong there if they are in scope.

One cost sits outside SOC 2. A SOC 2 does not test smart contract logic, so contracts need their own audit budget.

Ways to Reduce Cost

• Start with Security. Add criteria only where clients rely on them.
• Draw the boundary at funds. Include signing and custody; leave out systems that cannot reach assets.
• Fix gaps before the period starts. Gaps found during it can surface as exceptions in the report.
• Get inclusions in writing. SOC2Auditors.org lists inclusions and change-order rules as cost drivers.
• Lean on vendor reports. Buyers can read a carved-out wallet provider's own SOC report.
• Reuse one pentest. Time it inside the period; see does SOC 2 require penetration testing.

Do not cut the wrong thing. A SOC 2 that leaves out your signing service says little about your keys.

Regulators may also want the same pentest; see our pentest requirements matrix.

How Guardian Helps

Guardian does not issue SOC 2 reports; a licensed CPA firm does. Guardian prepares the controls and the evidence the CPA tests.

Its Regulatory & Compliance service lists SOC 2 among the frameworks its readiness and maturity assessments cover.

Guardian's pentests are each closed out with a retest. The Digital Asset Assurance Pilot assesses custody and key ceremony in its architecture module.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a SOC 2 audit cost?

Drata's March 2026 guide puts audit fees at $7,500 to over $100,000. SOC2Auditors.org's buyer quotes show a $9,000 median Type 2 ballpark for companies with 1 to 50 staff. Big Four firms charge the most.

How much more does a Type 2 cost than a Type 1?

Drata estimates 30% to 50% more. A Type 2 tests controls over a period, typically 3 to 12 months. SOC2Auditors.org's listings put the median Type 2 minimum at about 1.56 times the Type 1 minimum.

Is a penetration test part of SOC 2 cost?

The criteria do not require one, but Drata lists it as a hidden cost many customers demand. Drata prices one at $5,000 to $15,000; Scrut's example is $10,000 to $20,000 for two products, rising with product complexity.

Does SOC 2 cover smart contracts?

Not their logic. A SOC 2 can test the change process around a deployment if it is in scope. Whether the contract code is correct needs a smart contract audit, budgeted separately.

Sources

• Drata: How Much Does a SOC 2 Audit Cost? (March 25, 2026)
• Scrut Automation: How much does SOC 2 compliance cost in 2026? A practitioner's breakdown (updated August 5, 2026)
• SOC2Auditors.org: SOC 2 Audit Cost 2026 (updated October 5, 2026)
• Compass IT Compliance: Subservice Organizations in SOC Reports: Carve-Out vs. Inclusive Method (June 9, 2026)
• AICPA: TSP Section 100, 2017 Trust Services Criteria (March 2020 edition, copy hosted by Arpio)
• Guardian: Regulatory & Compliance
• Guardian: Digital Asset Assurance Pilot
• Guardian: Penetration Testing