Penetration testing cost
Pentest quotes over budget?
Most small pentests cost $1,200–$6,000 at $1,200 a day. We agree on a fixed price for your scope before work begins. Testing can usually start within two weeks.
Your quote includes manual testing, a report you can share with your customer or auditor, and a free retest after you fix the findings.
Ready for an exact figure? Get a fixed quote. Prefer email? Write to hello@escaped.com. Buying your first pentest? Read the guide.
Every test is managed by Rob Pope. 27 years testing hundreds of clients in every sector, including banks, hospitals, retailers, telecoms companies and UK government. Founded SecureTest and Vigilante Bespoke before Escaped. Tests for SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA and TPN. About Rob
Download sample report (PDF)What that looks like for a real job
Typical sizes from our service pages, priced at the day rate. They're examples. Every job is quoted after a free scoping call.
| Example | Days | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Web, API & externalMarketing site with a contact form and an admin login | 1 | $1,200 |
| Web, API & externalMost commonSaaS app with a few user roles and a REST API | 3–5 | $3,600 – $6,000 |
| Web, API & externalMulti-tenant platform with a large API and third-party integrations | 6–10 | $7,200 – $12,000 |
| Mobile appsSingle-platform app with around 10 screens and a simple API | 2–3 | $2,400 – $3,600 |
| Mobile appsiOS and Android app with accounts, payments and an API | 4–6 | $4,800 – $7,200 |
| Mobile appsLarge app with many roles, offline data and integrations | 7–10 | $8,400 – $12,000 |
| LLM & AI appsCustomer support chatbot answering from your help docs | 2 | $2,400 |
| LLM & AI appsAssistant with access to user data and a few tools | 3–4 | $3,600 – $4,800 |
| LLM & AI appsAgent that can take actions across several systems | 5–8 | $6,000 – $9,600 |
At $1,200 per day. Full detail on the pricing page.
Get a budget estimate for your job
Two fields and no call. Describe what you've built and you'll have a range by email within one business day. Enough for a budget line, or to set against a quote you already have.
Prefer email? Send the same to hello@escaped.com.
What decides the number of days
How much there is to test. Screens, API endpoints, user roles and integrations. A marketing site with one login is a day. A SaaS app with three roles and an API is three to five.
What the test is for. A customer questionnaire needs a credible test and a report they can read. Investor due diligence or a first test of a payments flow usually needs more days.
How much access you give us. Test accounts for each role, API docs and a walkthrough of the app let us spend the days finding problems rather than mapping the product. Testing blind is possible, and it takes longer.
How this compares
Automated scan
- Price
- A few hundred dollars
- What you get
- A PDF of scanner findings, with no human checking them
- What happens next
- Often sent back by the customer or auditor who asked for a pentest
Escaped
- Price
- $1,200 a day. One to five days for most jobs.
- What you get
- A manual test and a report written for the person who asked and for your developers
- What happens next
- Fixed quote up front. Free retest once you've fixed the findings.
Larger testing firm
- Price
- $5,000 to $30,000
- What you get
- A manual test, delivered through an account team
- What happens next
- A quote at the end of a sales process
You are paying for tester time and the report. Scoping, the write-up and the walkthrough are all handled by the same person, who manages the testing in between. There is no account manager or sales team in the price because there isn't one in the company.
How quoting works
Free scoping call
A short call about what you've built, what the test is for and who's asking for it.
Fixed quote
We work out how many days the test needs and send a quote for that number. If scope changes later, we tell you before it costs you anything.
Test and report
Testing runs on the agreed dates. The report follows within five business days, then a call to go through it, then a free retest once you've fixed things.
Questions
Is there a minimum?
One day. Single-day tests are common for marketing sites, small APIs and chatbots.
Who does the testing?
Rob manages every test from the scoping call to the walkthrough. He does most of the testing himself and occasionally brings in another tester for part of a job, and he reviews every finding before it goes in the report. That is why the price is a day rate and why Escaped takes jobs of one to ten days rather than month-long engagements.
Does the retest cost extra?
No. Once you have fixed the findings, we retest and issue an updated report at no charge.
What happens if the scope grows during the test?
We stop and tell you before it costs anything. You decide whether to add days or keep the original scope.
Do you need our source code?
No. Test accounts for each user role and a short walkthrough are enough. If you want to share code, it speeds things up.
What if you find nothing serious?
You still get the full report, which is usually what the customer or auditor asked for in the first place.
Can I get a quote without a call?
Yes, if you can describe the app in an email: what it does, roughly how many screens or endpoints, how many user roles, and who asked for the test. A short call usually gets to an accurate number faster.
Will the report satisfy my customer or auditor?
It is written for them, with a summary for the person who asked and detail for your developers. Download the sample report and send it to them before you book, so there are no surprises.
Do you charge for the scoping call?
No. The call is free and takes about 30 minutes.
How soon can you start?
Usually within two weeks. There is one tester, so dates book in order. Say when your customer or auditor needs the report and we will tell you on the call whether that date works. The report follows within five business days of testing, so you can work back from your date.
How is payment handled?
Half when the dates are booked and half when the report is delivered. Each invoice is payable within 30 days.
Included in every test
- Planning and scoping before the test
- Manual testing, with scanners used for coverage only
- A report with a summary for the people who asked for the test and detail for your developers
- A call to go through the results with your team
- A free retest after you've fixed the issues, with an updated report
Get an exact number
Tell us what you've built and you'll have a fixed quote after a short call.