How Much Does Pen Testing Cost?
(2026 Guide)
UK penetration testing costs from £2,500 (external network, 2-3 days) to £25,000+ (full security assessment, 10-20 days). Most mid-market engagements fall between £3,750 and £8,000. All Precursor engagements are fixed-price at approximately £1,250 per CREST-accredited consultant day. Day rates under £500 typically indicate automated scanning, not manual testing.
Penetration testing in the UK costs between £2,500 and £25,000+ depending on test type, scope, and compliance requirements. Unlike offshore providers, all Precursor penetration tests are conducted by UK-based, CREST consultants with no offshoring of work.
Every price. Every scope. No hidden day rates.
A normal web application test costs £3,750 to £6,250+. An external network test costs £3,750 to £6,250+. An internal network test costs £6,250 to £10,000+. A full security assessment runs £12,500 to £25,000+. All engagements are fixed-price, quoted after a free scoping call.
First penetration test?
A web application assessment (from £3,500) is the most common starting point for small and mid-size businesses. It covers the attack surface most likely to be targeted by opportunistic attackers and satisfies most client vendor questionnaires, Cyber Essentials Plus, and PCI DSS Requirement 6.6.
Choose Your Assessment
Four engagement tiers covering every attack surface. Each is fixed-price, scoped individually, and delivered by CREST-accredited consultants.
Web App Penetration Test
~£1,250/day | 3–5 days
- Single web application
- Authenticated + unauthenticated testing
- OWASP Top 10 coverage
- Manual verification of all findings
- Executive summary + technical report
- Remediation guidance
Best for: SaaS, e-commerce, digital agencies. Satisfies Cyber Essentials Plus, PCI DSS Req. 6.6.
External Network Pen Test
~£1,250/day | 3–5 days
- Any number of external IP addresses
- Perimeter vulnerability assessment
- Service enumeration + exploitation
- Remote access testing (VPN, RDP)
- OSINT reconnaissance phase
- Detailed remediation roadmap
Best for: Any internet-facing org. Satisfies Cyber Essentials Plus, PCI DSS 11.3.1.
Internal Network Pen Test
~£1,250/day | 5–8 days
- Active Directory assessment
- Lateral movement + privilege escalation
- Segmentation testing
- Workstation + server build review
- On-site or VPN-based testing
- Attack path diagrams
Best for: Mid-market, regulated sectors. Satisfies ISO 27001, PCI DSS 11.3.2.
Tight deadline? We can add resource to compress the timeline and meet your schedule.
Full Cyber Security Assessment
Typical: £20,000 | 10–20 days
Best for: Enterprise organisations, M&A due diligence, DORA compliance, FCA-regulated firms, and major compliance audits requiring end-to-end scope coverage.
- External + internal network testing
- Web application + API assessments
- Cloud environment review (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Social engineering (phishing)
- Wireless network testing
- Board-level reporting with executive summary
- Dedicated project manager
- Priority scheduling
Compliance: DORA ICT risk testing, FCA PS7/24, ISO 27001 full-scope, PCI DSS full external/internal
What does this cover?
Organisations with 50 to 500 employees typically allocate this budget to combine a Web Application Test, External Network Assessment, Internal Network Test, and Cloud Security Review, covering their full attack surface in a single annual programme.
Penetration Test Cost vs Alternatives
Penetration testing sits in a wider security-spend landscape. Here is how a typical UK pen test compares to other security investments by cost and use case. For a deeper breakdown of detection and response options (MDR, SOC, SIEM, EDR, XDR), see our managed security comparison guide.
| Service | Typical UK Cost | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Vulnerability scanning | £300 to £2,000 per month (managed) | Continuous, broad coverage between annual pen tests |
| Penetration test (this page) | £2,500 to £25,000+ per engagement | Annual cycle, compliance, pre-launch, M&A due diligence |
| Red team operation | £15,000 to £50,000+ per engagement | Mature security programmes, advanced threat modelling, TIBER-EU |
| Managed Detection & Response | From £900 per month | Ongoing detection between annual pen tests |
| In-house pen tester (salary) | £60,000 to £90,000 per year + tooling | Large enterprises with continuous internal testing capacity |
Most UK mid-market organisations combine an annual penetration test (£3,750 to £8,000) with continuous managed monitoring (from £900 per month) for the strongest cost-to-coverage ratio.
The Continuous
Feedback Loop.
Your penetration test report should not gather dust. We feed your exact vulnerabilities directly into our 24/7 Managed SOC, building custom detection rules based on your specific attack surface and actively hunting for exploitation between annual tests.
Explore 24/7 Monitoring24/7 Threat Hunting
Continuous eyes-on-glass monitoring of your entire perimeter.
Custom SOC Rules
Alerts tuned specifically to the findings in your pentest report.
Real-time Containment
Immediate isolation of compromised assets before lateral movement.
Board Assurance
Prove to stakeholders that identified risks are actively monitored.
How We Calculate Your Quote
Every engagement is scoped individually. Provide your test type, approximate asset count, and compliance requirement. We issue a fixed-price proposal within 24 hours.
Web Application
External Network
Internal Network
Full Assessment
Get Your Fixed-Price Quote
Tell us your test type, approximate scope, and any compliance requirements. We issue a fixed-price proposal within 24 hours. No vague day rates. No hidden costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about penetration testing costs, pricing factors, and what to expect.
UK penetration testing costs from £2,500 for a small external network test to £25,000+ for a full security assessment. Most mid-market engagements (web application or internal network) fall in the £3,750 to £8,000 range. All engagements are fixed-price at approximately £1,250 per consultant day, so a 3-day external network test costs £3,750 and a 5-day web application test costs £6,250. Quotes are issued in writing within 24 hours of a 30-minute scoping call.
A legitimate UK penetration test by a CREST-accredited provider should cost £1,000 to £1,500 per consultant day. Engagements priced under £500 per day are typically automated vulnerability scans, not penetration tests. A standard small-business engagement (3 to 5 days) costs £3,750 to £6,250. Anything outside this range warrants questions: too low usually means automated tooling without manual exploitation; too high may include scope you don't need.
An external network penetration test or wireless test starts from £2,500 for a small scope (2-day minimum). Web application testing starts from £3,750 for a single application (3-day minimum). Cheaper engagements typically cover narrower scope; ask for a fixed-price quote with explicit scope rather than a discounted day rate.
Web application penetration testing costs £3,750 to £6,250+, with a typical engagement costing around £5,000 for a single application tested over 3 to 5 days by CREST-accredited consultants.
The main factors affecting penetration testing cost are: scope (number of IP addresses, applications, or user roles), test type (black-box vs white-box), complexity (custom applications, legacy systems), compliance requirements (PCI DSS, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials), retesting scope, and timeline urgency.
Penetration test duration varies by type: web application tests take 3 to 5 days, external network tests take 3 to 5 days, internal network tests take 5 to 8 days, and full security assessments take 10 to 20 days. Fixed-price proposals are issued within 24 hours of scoping.
Yes. Many enterprise clients, insurers, and compliance frameworks (Cyber Essentials Plus, PCI DSS, ISO 27001) require annual penetration testing regardless of company size. Entry-level web application tests start from £3,750 and are accessible for businesses with as few as 10 to 20 employees.
The number of IP addresses, web applications, or user roles determines the days required. A 10-page web application takes 3 days; a 200-page application with multiple user roles may take 7 to 10 days.
Yes. Black-box testing (no prior knowledge) typically takes longer than white-box (full access), increasing cost by 20 to 40%. Most compliance-driven tests use grey-box methodology to balance thoroughness with cost.
PCI DSS, NCSC CHECK, and ISO 27001 require additional documentation, scope verification, and sometimes QSA liaison. Budget 15 to 25% additional for compliance-mapped engagements.
Retesting within the assessment window is included. Additional retesting beyond the assessment window is scoped per the number of retests required.
Expedited timelines (less than two weeks from scoping to delivery) may carry a rush premium. Standard engagements begin within 2 to 4 weeks of quote acceptance.