Pricing intelligence · Updated Q1 2026
2026 cybersecurity pricing intelligence.
The market rates every vendor knows and no one publishes, for evaluating an MSSP, negotiating a pentest, budgeting an EDR platform or benchmarking vCISO spend.
Q1 2026 market signals
Where prices are moving.
2 categories, 70+ price points. Managed and AI security are rising fastest; detection tooling is consolidating.
- MSSP / MDR +8–15% YoY
- AI security +20–35% YoY
- vCISO rates +10–15% YoY
- Legacy SIEM declining
- Cloud-native SIEM falling
- Penetration testing stable
- EDR / XDR stable (consolidation)
Categories
Ranges, pricing factors and red flags.
Penetration Testingper engagementPrices stable YoY. AI tooling reducing hours but not fees — firms pocketing margin.StableQ1 2026
External, internal, web application, cloud, and API security testing by certified human testers. AI-assisted tooling is compressing delivery times but not significantly moving price floors yet in 2026.
| Tier | 2026 market range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| External network — SMB (1–250 employees) | $4,000 – $10,000 | 1–5 external IPs, 5–10 day window |
| External network — mid-market (250–2,000) | $10,000 – $25,000 | Broader scope, longer window |
| External network — enterprise (2,000+) | $25,000 – $80,000+ | — |
| Web application (single app, grey-box) | $6,000 – $18,000 | — |
| Web application (complex, authenticated, APIs) | $15,000 – $40,000 | — |
| Internal network (on-site or VPN) | $12,000 – $30,000 | — |
| Cloud configuration review (AWS/Azure/GCP) | $8,000 – $20,000 | — |
| API-only pentest | $5,000 – $15,000 | — |
| Mobile app (iOS or Android) | $8,000 – $20,000 | — |
| Red team engagement (full-scope, 2–4 weeks) | $25,000 – $100,000+ | People, process, and technology in-scope |
| AI/ML system pentest | $15,000 – $50,000 | Emerging category, premium rates in 2026 |
Pricing factors
- Scope breadth (number of IPs, apps, endpoints in-scope)
- Black-box vs grey-box vs white-box methodology
- Compliance report format required (SOC 2, PCI, HIPAA)
- Retest included or separate engagement
- US vs offshore team (offshore: 40–60% lower cost, variable quality)
- Certifications required (OSCP, GPEN, GWAPT)
Red flags
- Pentest for $999–$2,000 — automated scan rebranded as pentest
- No retest clause included in base price
- Report delivered with no CVSS scoring or evidence
- Offshore team not disclosed upfront
MSSP / Managed Detection & Response (MDR)per endpoint / monthPrices rising 8–15% YoY driven by AI SOC tooling costs and analyst shortage.RisingQ1 2026
Outsourced security operations, 24/7 SOC coverage, threat detection and response. One of the fastest-growing categories in 2026 as mid-market organizations move away from building in-house SOCs.
| Tier | 2026 market range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MDR — SMB (<250 endpoints) | $15 – $35 / endpoint / month | Often $5,000–$10,000/month minimum |
| MDR — mid-market (250–2,000 endpoints) | $10 – $22 / endpoint / month | — |
| MDR — enterprise (2,000+ endpoints) | $6 – $15 / endpoint / month | — |
| 24/7 SOC-as-a-service (flat rate) | $3,000 – $15,000 / month | Regardless of endpoint count |
| Co-managed SIEM (add-on) | $1,000 – $5,000 / month | — |
| Threat hunting retainer (add-on) | $2,000 – $8,000 / month | — |
Pricing factors
- Coverage hours (business hours vs 24/7 — verify the SLA is 24/7, not just monitoring)
- Escalation SLA (detection vs escalation vs response are three different SLAs)
- Analyst tier (L1 triage vs L2/L3 incident response)
- Geographic restrictions on SOC coverage
- SIEM included or bring-your-own
- Contract length (12 vs 24 vs 36 months)
Red flags
- SLA measured in 'business hours' for a 24/7 service
- SLA credits capped at 10–15% of monthly fee
- SOC is white-labeled third party not disclosed
- 36-month lock-in with no termination-for-cause clause
- Telemetry data used to train vendor detection models (check DPA)
Members
8 more categories are included with the membership card.
- 🔒 EDR / XDR / Endpoint Security Platforms
- 🔒 SIEM & Log Management
- 🔒 Vulnerability Management
- 🔒 AI Security Products (Next-Gen 2026)
- 🔒 Compliance & Security Assessments
- 🔒 vCISO & Security Advisory
- 🔒 Security Awareness & Training
- 🔒 Tabletop Exercises & Incident Response
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Submissions are anonymized, reviewed and used to update these benchmarks. No vendor names are published without permission.
Methodology and disclaimers +
Ranges reflect North American market rates as of Q1 2026, drawn from CISO Marketplace engagement data, community-submitted data points, publicly available vendor pricing, analyst reports and procurement experience. Prices vary with geography, negotiation leverage, contract length and scope. These are reference ranges, not quotes.
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