Website Security Analysis Pricing: How Much Does It Cost?

Web security pricing for your company

Every moment your site is up and running without adequate protection, it’s in danger of being infiltrated by malicious hackers or bots. Those entities can completely wreck your website and drive away potential customers, harming your business significantly.

If you want to avoid being hacked, take the necessary steps to protect your website. One of the first things you can do is to get a website security analysis, where a web development expert audits your site to find any weak spots you should repair.

But how much does website security analysis cost? You want to know how much you should budget for your site audit, and we’re here to provide that information. Just keep reading to learn more about website security pricing.

Then partner with WebFX — the agency with over 1,100 client testimonials — for our expert website security analysis services. Just call 888-601-5359 or contact us online today to get started!

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How much does website security analysis cost?

Website security analysis will vary in price. That said, a rough website security pricing estimate is between $2000 and $100,000/year.

If you’re running a small business, it’s very unlikely that your expenses will fall on the high end of that estimate. Only very large companies are likely to pay $100,000 for a security analysis. More likely than not, you’ll find a good solution for less than $10,000.

Ultimately, though, it all depends. Depends on what, you ask? Keep reading to find out!

What factors affect website security analysis pricing?

If you think the above web security pricing range is incredibly broad, you’re right — and there’s a reason for that. It’s hard to predict exactly what a company will charge for your security analysis.

Not only do different companies charge different rates, but those rates will vary depending on what you need. 

Here are six factors that affect website security analysis pricing:

1. Scale

The first thing that affects your website security pricing is scale. Are you looking for a quick scan of your site, or do you want an in-depth audit? The answer will play a large role in the pricing.

Furthermore, the size of your website affects the pricing. Do you have a small website with just a handful of pages and a single account used to edit the site? Or do you have a massive site with numerous access points for your employees?

There’s also the question of how many angles you want the company to examine. Are they just looking for weak spots on the administrator’s end or also on the users’? Depending on the answer, it could take very different lengths of time to complete, and thus come with varying prices.

2. Method

Another factor to consider is the analysis type. What method is your chosen company using and what tests are they performing?

For instance, there are two major types of security tests a company is likely to use on your website. Some companies will rely purely on automated testing, where they run a program to simulate what a bot might do to enter your site. This testing is generally cheaper.

Alternatively, a company might do an in-depth manual penetration test, where they have web development experts go in and look for weaknesses that a real-world hacker — not just a bot — might exploit. That takes more time, effort, and intelligence to conduct, meaning it also costs more.

3. Expertise

It’s not only what companies do that determines the website security analysis cost — it’s also what they know. Two companies might conduct the same test on the same scale, but if one of those companies possesses differing levels of expertise, the cost varies.

That’s something you’ll want to think about when considering different potential agencies to partner with. There are some companies out there that build their brand around web development, but that have only been around for a couple of years.

Due to having less expertise, those companies will charge less money just to attract clients. However, this is one area where you get what you pay for — if you opt for a cheap company, you’ll get cheap results.

It’s entirely up to you how much you invest in expertise, but if you can afford a more experienced agency, that will definitely increase your chances of finding and patching up more vulnerabilities on your site. That means paying for experience is typically worth the investment.

4. Frequency

Another question to ask yourself is this: How often do you want to audit your website?

After all, when you perform the initial audit, you’ll find numerous vulnerabilities. Your job at that point is to patch up those vulnerabilities and strengthen the protection on your website. But once that’s done, you’ll need to test again to see if your site is more secure.

So, how often do you want to run tests? You must determine if you’re interested in only running a few initial tests or if you want to continually audit your site’s security.

Website security companies will provide different options on this front, so you need to know what you want for your website. If you want more frequent audits, it will cost more — but it will also help you put together a more secure website.

5. Reporting

Something else to think about is what feedback you want to get from the company that performs your security audit. Do you want progressive reports as they conduct the audit or a summation report at the end? 

If you want to hear back on a consistent basis, it will probably cost more money. That’s because more experienced agencies tend to report more consistently, while inexperienced companies often don’t give you your results until the very end. So, if you want those regular reports, you’ll want to budget a bit more.

6. Cleanup

Finally, it’s worth thinking about what you want to do once you get your results. An audit will tell you your site’s vulnerabilities — at that point, it’s on you to fix those issues. Furthermore, if your site’s already been hacked, that leaves you with some sizeable cleanup.

Some companies, though, will help you manage that cleanup. They can work with you to get your site back on its feet and start driving traffic again. In those cases, it may cost more money than getting a simple audit and implementing the changes on your own.