How much does Penetration Testing cost on Average?

The average cost of penetration testing for websites can cost anywhere from $2500-$50,000. The cost for Pentesting mobile apps and web apps is between $1500 and $5000. The quotes vary further for Pentesting cloud infrastructure, network, and devices. It is usually between $400 and $2000.

• White box penetration testing : $500 – $2000 per scan
• Black box penetration testing : $10,000 to $50,000 per scan
• Grey box penetration testing : $500 to $50,000 per scan

Further, a pentest by an individual cybersecurity professional usually costs more as compared to a pentest service. Costs of a traditional pentest may come down by 31% with a pentest service. Getting penetration testing by a company also cuts down the completion time by 60%, says research.

Once you decide that you need a penetration test for your online business, the next obvious question that pops up is – how much is penetration testing priced at?

Other common concerns that often follow include: 

• What criteria penetration testing pricing depends upon?
• What price will I be looking at when conducting a web application pentesting, a network pentest, a mobile app pentest, or a permutation and combination of these?
• Does the dearest pentest always mean the best?

If you are also wondering about the right answer to these questions, here it is.

Pen Testing Costs According To Testing Styles

Different penetration testing styles cost different.

1. White Box Penetration Testing Cost

White box testing is a style of penetration testing in which the pentester is provided with the background of the system beforehand.

A white box pentesting is usually the cheapest penetration testing style. It may cost you somewhere around $500 to $2000 per scan.

2. Black Box Penetration Testing Quote

Black box testing is a pen-testing style in which the pentester is provided with almost zero information about the system beforehand.

A black box pentesting is the costliest of the three penetration testing styles. Black box or external penetration testing costs range from $10,000 to $50,000 per scan.

3. Gray Box Penetration Testing Quote

Gray box testing is a penetration testing style in which the pentester is provided with some information about the system beforehand.

The cost of Gray box pentesting ranges somewhere between the above two types.

Penetration Testing Costs According To Type

What Is A Penetration Testing Quote? 

Penetration testing quotes refer to the prices put forth for penetration testing services by companies. Such penetration test quotes help organizations compare and decide between the features, specifics, and price quotes offered by different pentest providers.

It is crucial that organizations take multiple quotes before deciding on one since it helps them understand which company can offer them the best deal and required features within their budget. 

 Penetration testing quotes vary depending on:

1. The scope of testing. 
2. Based on assets that need to be tested. 
3. Company size and employee strength.

Factors Determining Penetration Test Cost Depend Upon

Most penetration testing services prefer not to disclose their pricing and rely on one-on-one quotations. This is because penetration test prices tend to differ widely from application to application.

Coming to the factors on which pentest pricing depends upon. Here they are:

• Size: The cost of a penetration test is directly proportional to the scale and complexity of the organization. Size refers to the number of employees and branches of an organization, complexity refers to the complexity of applications, servers, IP addresses, facilities, and database that is involved. 
• Scope: Every pen test follows a scope declaration by the organization as a roadmap for the testing. The scope defines priority areas to be tested in your application or network such as – the number of pages, APIs, test cases, network devices, etc. It also puts forward the objective of the organization in conducting the testing.
• Methodology: Pentesting price can also vary as per the methodology and comprehensiveness of the test. Different methodologies have different focus areas and consist of different sets of tests. Adding or removing specific tests, again, affect cost of penetration testing.
• Experience: An established company charges more based on its service record, accreditations, and experience. This is because with experience comes the competence so necessary to carry out this job without breaking the system. With a trusted service, you can also be sure of the safety & privacy of your organizational details.
• Remediation: Most penetration tests end post-reporting the vulnerabilities. Some services, however, go the extra and assist you in fixing those vulnerabilities. That sometimes, adds up to the overall costs.
• Type of Assets: Prices vary based on the type of assets. Network penetration testing cost and web application penetration testing cost will not be the same since the methods employed, tests cases run will differ for both. Network pentests are likely to be cheaper than web application pentests.

Standard pricing for penetration testing is not the norm in the security audit & penetration testing world. That said, there are penetration testing providers who challenge this norm by having a set of standard pricing for their services. For instance, at Astra Security, we offer three standard plans: Basic, Expert, & Elite.

Check out: Astra Security’s penetration pricing for websites | Penetration Testing Quote

Average Penetration Testing Cost in 2023

How much does a penetration test quote come to? The average Pentest cost for websites can range anywhere from $2,500-$50,000. The cost for pentesting mobile apps and web apps is between $1,500 and $5000. The cost varies further for Pentesting cloud infrastructure, network, and devices. It is usually between $400 and $2000.

Further, a pentest by an individual cybersecurity professional usually costs more compared to a pentest service. Costs of a traditional pentest may come down by 31% with a pentest service. Getting penetration testing by a company also cuts down the completion time by 60%, says research.

Does The Costliest Penetration Testing Mean The Best?

There’s no direct answer to this. Many a time, pen-testing costs are high due to the extensive testing plans. Other times pentesting costs are proportional to the credentials of the security researcher.

To choose the best option for you, you need to have a clear idea of what you wish to achieve with the test. If your application does not really require or is not at a stage to go through extensive tests, you can opt that out and go for moderate pentest instead.

Experience and accreditations can be extremely valuable in security testing, so paying extra for that is not actually a bad idea. Testing the ins & outs of an application is a very delicate matter and should be handled with utmost care & attention, which often comes with experience.

Further, getting a pentest from a trusted company ensures that your application is thoroughly tested, detecting all existing security flaws, thus ensuring overall security.

How Often Should I Perform A Penetration Test?

To decide on the most suitable penetration testing frequency for your organization you need to thoroughly understand your application & network, as well as your security objectives.

For instance,

• If you roll out new app features, updates, & fixes frequently, you may need to test your application’s security more often. Monthly pentests would likely work best for you in such a case.
• If you roll out new features, updates & fixes every quarter, you can go for quarterly pentests, or after every new release.
• If your organization is not big on new feature additions but wants to uphold security at all times, a quarterly pentest would work well for you too.
• If your only concern is to acquire and retain certifications, you can opt for yearly penetration testing services.

Also Read: A Complete Guide to Cloud Security Testing

What To Look For In A Pentesting Solution Provider?

When choosing a trusted and reputed third-party pentesting services provider, look at 

• Customer reviews
• Security person’s accreditations
• Detailed plans and methodology
• Vulnerability management dashboard
• Retesting after remediation facilities
• Warranty possibilities
• Certifications
• Turn around time
• Team and communication, among the very first things.

Besides, you can also ask for a case study, known companies they worked with, customer reviews & testimonials, etc.

Also Read- Pentest Related FAQs

Astra’s Penetration Test Pricing – Complete Details

Astra Security offers comprehensive penetration testing services for websites, web apps, mobile apps, cloud, networks, and saas. We have three penetration testing plans for web apps: Scanning, Expert, & Pentest. Astra offers various packages with different penetration testing quotes.

The first plan comes with weekly vulnerability scans, and essential features like the pentest dashboard, scan behind a login, and PDF reports. The Expert plan comes with an expert-vetted scan, integration with CI/CD tools, Jira, Slack, etc, unlimited vulnerability scans, and compliance reporting on top of everything included in the Scanning plan.

The Pentest plan takes things a few notches higher with vulnerability assessment and pentesting by security experts once a year, cloud security reviews, business logic testing, and a publicly verifiable VAPT certificate on top of everything included in the Expert plan.

Cost of Web App Pentesting with Astra Security:

• Scanner – $1,999 per year
• Pentest – $5,999 per year
• Enterprise- $7,999 per year

The cost of mobile app pentesting and cloud penetration testing depends on multiple factors and it is difficult to put a one size fits all price on that. However, you can talk to the security experts at Astra to learn the exact cost of Pentesting your mobile app or cloud infrastructure.

Astra Pentest provides an intuitive pentest dashboard that facilitates real-time vulnerability reporting & collaboration for each vulnerability, thus cutting the vulnerability fixing time for developers.

Other reasons why Astra Pentest suite shines among other services out there:

• Hacker-style penetration testing (with over 8000+ tests)
• Developer-friendly intuitive dashboard
• Real-time vulnerability reporting (first set of vulnerabilities added within 24 hours)
• Direct collaboration (no email threads)
• Vulnerability PoCs & selenium scripts
• Fixing advice
• Rescans
• Detailed, customizable reports
• Publicly verifiable certificates.

Also check out the new features added to our pentest dashboard.

Conclusion

Spending a little extra money on external penetration testing is not an extravagance but a wise investment as it can save the system from an exploit or a breach and prevent it from getting into a security muddle. A data breach can cause irreparable damage to an organization’s reputation hence a trusted and thorough penetration testing is insurance for the technical setup of your organization.

Considering a pentest for your platform? Talk to us with the chat widget below!

Pen Testing Cost -FAQs

This post is part of a series on penetration testing, you can also check out other articles below.

Chapter 1. What is Penetration Testing
Chapter 2. Different Types of Penetration Testing?
Chapter 3. Top 5 Penetration Testing Methodology to Follow in 2023
Chapter 4. Ten Best Penetration Testing Companies and Providers
Chapter 5. Best Penetration Testing Tools Pros Use – Top List
Chapter 6. A Super Easy Guide on Penetration Testing Compliance
Chapter 7. Average Penetration Testing Cost in 2023
Chapter 8. Penetration Testing Services – Top Rated
Chapter 9. Penetration Testing Report

Share this...

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Linkedin