Who pays for a SOC 2 audit — the vendor or the customer?
The vendor pays. The company being audited hires and pays the CPA firm to produce its SOC 2 report, then shares it with customers under NDA. Buyers do not pay for their vendors' audits.
The full answer
A SOC 2 report belongs to the service organization being examined, so that vendor pays for it. If a customer asks your company for a SOC 2 report, you hire a licensed CPA firm, define the scope, undergo the audit, and cover the fee. The report is then your asset to share with any customer that requests it, normally under an NDA because SOC 2 reports are confidential.
This structure comes from how SOC 2 works. It is an attestation created by the AICPA and issued under SSAE No. 18, where the auditor examines the vendor's own controls. The customer relying on the report is the audience, not the client of the audit, so they have no contract with the auditor and no invoice to pay.
Customers do carry indirect cost. Enterprise buyers commonly require a SOC 2 Type 2 before they will sign, which means vendors treat the audit as a cost of doing business and effectively price it into their product. Buyers typically treat a report as current for twelve months from the period end date, so they ask for a fresh one each year, keeping vendors on an annual cycle.
If a customer is pushing you to get certified, the spend is yours to plan. Typical US SOC 2 audits run $5,000 to $60,000-plus depending on scope (Vanta, Drata, and Secureframe guides, 2024–2026); AuditNex network audits start at $2,500 (promotional rate) and average about $5,000 (AuditNex network rate card, 2026), so you can budget before committing.
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Related questions
Can I negotiate a SOC 2 audit price?
Yes. SOC 2 audit fees are quotes, not fixed prices, so scope, timing, and multi-year commitments are all negotiable. The biggest lever is narrowing scope; bundling readiness or future audits and comparing firms also moves the number.
Do SOC 2 auditors charge for a readiness assessment?
Usually yes — a readiness assessment is a separate, billed engagement, priced below the audit itself. Some firms bundle or credit it toward the audit; others quote it standalone. Independence rules limit how much remediation the same auditor can do.
Do SOC 2 audits have hidden fees?
Sometimes. The audit fee itself is usually fixed, but total SOC 2 cost can include readiness assessments, GRC tooling, penetration testing, remediation, extra Trust Services Criteria, and bridge letters — get an itemized quote to avoid surprises.
Do auditors discount multi-year SOC 2 contracts?
Often yes. Because SOC 2 is an annual attestation, many firms offer a discount or locked rate for a two- or three-year commitment in exchange for recurring revenue. There is no standard discount; terms are negotiated firm by firm.
Does company size change the price of a SOC 2 audit?
Yes, but scope drives price more than headcount. Bigger companies usually have more systems, locations, and controls to test, which raises fees. A small startup with tight scope can pay far less than a large firm with sprawling infrastructure.
Does using a GRC platform lower my SOC 2 audit fee?
Sometimes, modestly. A GRC platform like Vanta, Drata, or Secureframe mainly cuts your prep time and internal effort, not the auditor's base fee. Fees drop most when your auditor has a confirmed integration and pulls evidence directly.
Sources: AICPA SSAE No. 18 attestation standards; AuditNex network rate card, 2026; Vanta, Drata, and Secureframe SOC 2 pricing guides, 2024–2026. Answer written and maintained by the AuditNex research team; last reviewed July 26, 2026. AuditNex is a marketplace — accredited firms price and scope engagements independently.