One of the most common questions organisations ask is:
How much does a penetration test cost?
The answer depends on scope, complexity, and depth but understanding typical pricing ranges helps you evaluate vendors and avoid under-testing your real risk.
This guide explains penetration testing costs in 2026, what drives pricing, and how to choose the right level of testing.
Average Penetration Testing Costs in 2026
While pricing varies by provider and region, typical ranges look like this:
- Web application penetration testing: $5,000 – $10,000
- Network penetration testing (internal or external): $7,000 – $15,000
- Cloud penetration testing: $5,000 – $15,000
- Comprehensive multi-scope testing: $10,000 – $50,000+
Lower-cost tests usually mean lighter scope or automation-heavy approaches. Higher costs reflect deeper, manual attack simulation.
What Factors Affect Penetration Testing Cost?
1. Scope Size
More systems, applications, or environments increase effort and cost.
2. Testing Depth
Attack-path testing, privilege escalation, and lateral movement require more time than surface-level checks.
3. Environment Complexity
Cloud, hybrid, and SaaS environments introduce identity, API, and configuration risks that take longer to assess.
4. Manual vs Automated Testing
Automated scans are cheaper but they don’t validate exploitability.
Manual testing costs more because it proves real impact.
5. Reporting Quality
Actionable, executive-ready reports take expertise and time. Cheap tests often produce noisy, low-value output.
Why Cheap Penetration Tests Can Cost More Later
Low-cost penetration testing often:
- Relies heavily on automated tools
- Misses chained attack paths
- Produces false positives
- Fails to reflect real attacker behaviour
The result? False confidence until an actual incident occurs.
One-Off Testing vs Ongoing Costs
Many organisations now budget for recurring or continuous testing instead of one-off engagements.
| One-Off Test | Ongoing Testing |
| Lower upfront cost | Predictable monthly cost |
| Snapshot in time | Continuous validation |
| Long exposure gaps | Reduced risk windows |
Ongoing testing often provides better ROI, even if the upfront cost appears higher.
Is Penetration Testing Worth the Cost?
When compared to:
- Breach recovery costs
- Regulatory fines
- Operational downtime
- Reputational damage
Penetration testing is usually one of the highest-return security investments organisations can make.
How Hacker Simulations Prices Penetration Testing
Hacker Simulations prices penetration testing based on real-world attack effort, not generic vulnerability counts.
Our approach:
- Focuses on exploitable attack paths
- Prioritises business impact
- Reduces noise and alert fatigue
- Delivers clear, actionable results
We don’t train teams.
We simulate attackers.
Final Takeaway
Penetration testing costs in 2026 vary widely but value matters more than price.
If a test doesn’t show how your organisation could actually be breached, it’s not worth the savings.
Invest in testing that reflects real attacks not just reports.
