How Much Does a Penetration Test Cost?

The Short Answer

Grid32 penetration tests start at $3,995 for an external or internal network engagement and $4,995 for a web application assessment, with final pricing set by the size of your environment. Across the wider market, published buyer guides put typical engagements between $10,000 and $30,000, with averages near $18,000. We publish our full price list below, something almost no other firm in this industry is willing to do.

Every number on this page comes from the same schedule that powers our online quote builder. Scope your own engagement there and you will see the same figures.

Grid32 Network Penetration Testing Prices

External engagements are priced by internet-facing hosts in scope. Internal engagements are priced by the number of hosts on your network, including workstations, servers, and devices.

Internal tiers use the same four price points against larger host counts: under 75 hosts at $3,995, 75 to 250 at $5,495, 251 to 1,000 at $8,295, and 1,000+ at $11,995. Wireless assessments run from $2,195 for up to three SSIDs to $5,795 for ten.

Web Application and Social Engineering Prices

Why Do We Publish Our Prices?

Because we can. Opaque pricing in this industry usually protects one of two things: a bloated cost structure, or the flexibility to charge whatever a sales team believes a prospect will tolerate. Grid32 is an offensive security firm run by its co-founders, staffed exclusively by senior U.S.-based engineers, and priced on scope rather than on negotiation. Publishing the schedule keeps us honest and saves you a discovery call.

Transparent pricing also changes the conversation. Instead of spending the first meeting dancing around budget, we spend it on what actually matters: what you need tested and why.

What Does the Broader Market Charge?

Published 2026 buyer guides put penetration testing anywhere from $5,000 to well over $100,000. Most organizations pay between $10,000 and $30,000 per engagement, and market averages hover around $18,000. The spread is that wide because the label "penetration test" covers everything from an automated scan with a cover page to a multi-week red team operation.

Grid32 pricing sits below those market averages. That is not because we do less. It is because a specialist firm with senior engineers and no layers of account management simply costs less to run than a Big Four practice, and we pass that through.

What Drives the Price of a Penetration Test?

• Scope size. The number of external IPs, internal hosts, applications, or users in scope is the single biggest factor, which is why our tiers are built on it.
• Test types combined. An external test alone costs less than external plus internal plus phishing. Combined engagements cover more attack surface and take more engineering time.
• Methodology. Manual testing by senior engineers costs more to deliver than automated scanning, and finds the chained vulnerabilities and logic flaws that scanners cannot.
• Environment complexity. Segmented networks, custom applications, and layered access models take longer to test properly.
• Reporting depth. Board-ready executive summaries, technical findings with reproduction steps, remediation roadmaps, and attestation letters all take senior time to produce well.
• Who does the work. A test performed by a certified senior engineer costs more than one run by a junior analyst with a scanner license. It is also worth more.

Why Is a $1,500 Penetration Test a Red Flag?

Genuine manual penetration testing takes days of senior engineering time. Reconnaissance, enumeration, exploitation, privilege escalation, and documentation cannot be compressed into a price point that implies a few hours of work. A "penetration test" quoted at $1,500 is almost always an automated vulnerability scan wearing a report template.

That distinction matters beyond quality. Compliance frameworks that require penetration testing, including PCI DSS and SOC 2, expect evidence of actual exploitation attempts. An auditor who looks closely at a scan-in-a-wrapper may not accept it, which means paying twice. Our guide to the difference between a penetration test and a vulnerability assessment covers how to tell them apart.

Is a Penetration Test a One-Time Cost?

Plan for testing as a recurring line item rather than a single purchase. Most compliance frameworks and cyber insurers expect at least annual testing, and environments change constantly between tests. Many Grid32 clients test annually, semi-annually, or quarterly as their programs mature, and multi-engagement packages reduce the per-test cost. Our article on testing frequency maps cadence to risk and framework requirements.

Can We Test Only Part of Our Environment?

Yes, and for budget-constrained programs that is often the right move. An external network test covers the attack surface every internet-based attacker sees and is the most common starting point. Internal testing, phishing, and application testing can be phased across quarters. Scoping to a budget is a normal conversation for us, not a downsell.

What Is Included in a Grid32 Engagement?

Every engagement includes scoping and a fixed statement of work, manual testing performed by senior U.S.-based certified engineers, and tiered reporting: an executive summary written for boards and auditors, detailed technical findings with severity rankings and remediation guidance, and attestation documentation you can hand to clients, auditors, or insurers. There are no junior analysts on your network and no surprise line items after the SOW.

How Do I Get an Exact Number?

Use the quote builder. Define your scope in a few minutes, see your price immediately, and receive a statement of work within one business day. If you would rather talk it through first, reach an engineer directly. Either way, the number you see is the number you pay.