Pentest cost in India for SaaS startups in 2026 splits into three reality tiers: budget (INR 50,000 to 1 lakh, usually scanner output), professional (INR 1 lakh to 3 lakh, methodology-driven and audit-acceptable), enterprise (INR 3 lakh to 15 lakh+, multi-week, often CERT-In empanelled). The right tier depends on what you need the pentest for, what your buyer or auditor will accept, and your stage. This guide breaks down what each tier actually delivers, what drives pricing up or down, and the ROI math vs breach cost.
The honest answer is not “₹X”. It is “the cheapest pentest that your customer, auditor, or investor will accept as evidence.” Sometimes that is INR 75,000. Sometimes it is INR 3 lakh. Below the audit-acceptable floor, you are not buying a pentest. You are buying a PDF.
We have seen the false-economy pattern repeatedly. A SaaS company spent INR 75,000 on a “pentest” that turned out to be a DAST scan. Their enterprise customer’s security team rejected the report. They re-did the work at INR 2.5 lakh with a real vendor. Total spend INR 3.25 lakh. If they had picked the Growth Pentest at INR 1,79,999 first, they would have saved INR 1.46 lakh and a month of deal slippage. The cheapest option turned out to be the most expensive.
At Cybersecify, our founder-led pentest engagements price transparently at two tiers: the Startup Pentest at INR 74,999 (~USD 900 / ~GBP 700 / ~EUR 830) (one scope, 7 calendar days, audit-acceptable report) and the Growth Pentest at INR 1,79,999 (~USD 2,150 / ~GBP 1,700 / ~EUR 2,000) (two scopes, 10 days, SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit prep included, Letter of Attestation). Both come with one free retest within 30 days, founder-led consulting hours bundled into the engagement, and PTES + OWASP WSTG v5.0 methodology. We do not resell scanner output as pentest, and we do not pay commissions to compliance platforms. For the report deliverable format you receive, see our SOC 2 + ISO 27001 ready pentest report sample. The pricing below maps these tiers against the broader Indian market, what each tier actually delivers, what drives cost up or down, and how to read a vendor quote.
International buyers: USD / GBP / EUR / SGD / AUD / HKD equivalents
Many of our SaaS clients are based outside India (UK, EU, US, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong). Our INR pricing converts approximately as follows (rates as of 2026-06-24):
| Plan | INR | USD | GBP | EUR | SGD | AUD | HKD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startup Pentest | 74,999 | ~900 | ~700 | ~830 | ~1,160 | ~1,330 | ~6,820 |
| Growth Pentest | 1,79,999 | ~2,150 | ~1,700 | ~2,000 | ~2,800 | ~3,200 | ~16,360 |
| Security Retainer (per month) | 24,999 | ~300 | ~230 | ~280 | ~385 | ~440 | ~2,275 |
Approximate conversions calculated 2026-06-24 (1 USD ≈ ₹84, 1 GBP ≈ ₹107, 1 EUR ≈ ₹90, 1 SGD ≈ ₹65, 1 AUD ≈ ₹57, 1 HKD ≈ ₹11). We invoice in INR per Indian regulation; international clients pay via wire transfer at the prevailing FX rate at time of invoice.
This article is the cost-tier deep-dive in our Pentest Buyer-Education series. It complements the broader what is penetration testing pillar, the DAST vs pentest comparison on why scanner output is not a security assessment, the empanelment decision guide, and the 5 questions to ask a pentest vendor before signing.
Key Findings
- Real pentest pricing in India splits into three tiers in 2026. Budget (INR 50K to 1L) is scanner output repackaged. Professional (INR 1L to 3L) is methodology-driven and audit-acceptable. Enterprise and empanelled (INR 3L to 15L+) is multi-week, regulated-sector work.
- Cybersecify Startup Pentest (INR 74,999) and Growth Pentest (INR 1,79,999) land in the professional tier. Both follow PTES + OWASP WSTG v5.0, produce technical + executive reports with reproduction steps and remediation guidance, and have been accepted by SOC 2 Type 1, SOC 2 Type 2, and ISO 27001 auditors.
- Pentest cost is driven by 7 factors, not one number. Scope size, methodology depth, pentester experience, report quality, retest practice, compliance mapping, and timeline. Two quotes at the same price can deliver radically different value.
- ROI math: a SaaS startup pentest costs 2-5% of the average breach cost. A SOC 2 audit-acceptable report can unblock enterprise sales worth 10-100x the pentest spend. The cost question is rarely about absolute price, it is about value extracted vs spend.
The 3 Reality Tiers of Pentest Pricing in India
| Pricing Tier | Budget Tier | Cybersecify Startup | Cybersecify Growth | Empanelled Vendor | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price (INR) | 50K to 1L | 74,999 | 1,79,999 | 2L to 5L+ | 5L to 15L+ |
| Typical scope | 1 web app | 1 scope (web, API, mobile, cloud, or IoT) | 2 scopes (+74,999 per additional, no limit) | 1 to 2 scopes | Multi-scope, custom |
| Methodology | DAST scan only | PTES + OWASP WSTG | PTES + OWASP WSTG + real-world attack simulation | PTES, OWASP WSTG, sometimes NIST 800-115 | PTES, NIST, OWASP, custom |
| Manual testing depth | None or minimal | Manual + tool-assisted | Manual + tool-assisted, deeper coverage | Manual + tool-assisted | Manual, multi-tester teams |
| Report quality | Scanner output with logo | Technical + executive report, reproduction steps, remediation guidance | Same as Startup + SOC 2 / ISO 27001 control mapping per finding | Audit-grade, framework mapping | Audit-grade + executive briefings |
| Retest included | Usually none | 1 full retest within 30 days | 1 full retest within 30 days | Varies, often billed extra | Included, often multi-cycle |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 audit acceptance | Variable, often rejected | Acceptable for most | Audit prep INCLUDED | Acceptable | Acceptable |
| Customer security questionnaire | Often rejected | Acceptable for most | Acceptable for most | Acceptable | Acceptable |
| CERT-In empanelment relevance | Not empanelled | Not empanelled (not needed for most SaaS) | Not empanelled (not needed for most SaaS) | Empanelled (needed for BFSI / telecom / govt / CII) | Often empanelled |
| Timeline | 2 to 5 days | 7 calendar days | 10 calendar days | 10 to 20 days | 15 to 30+ days |
| SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit prep | No | Not included | INCLUDED | Sometimes (billed extra) | Included |
| Best fit for | Founders chasing a tick-box without buyer pressure | Pre-Series A SaaS, 1 app, customer asked for a pentest report | Series A SaaS, 2+ apps, first SOC 2 / ISO 27001 push | Regulated industry (BFSI, telecom, power, govt, CII) | Series B+, enterprise procurement requirements, large attack surface |
Two rules to read this table by. First: “audit-acceptable” is binary, not a spectrum. If your customer’s security team or your auditor rejects the report, the spend was zero value. Second: empanelment is a regulatory requirement for specific sectors. Most SaaS founders do not need it (and shouldn’t pay the premium it carries).
What Penetration Testing Costs in India by Target Type (2026 Market Rates)
The pricing-tier framework above is the strategic view. Below is the tactical breakdown by what you are testing.
| Scope | Budget Range (India) | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Web Application | ₹50,000 to ₹3,00,000 | 5 to 15 days |
| API (REST/GraphQL) | ₹50,000 to ₹2,50,000 | 5 to 10 days |
| Android Application | ₹60,000 to ₹2,50,000 | 7 to 12 days |
| iOS Application | ₹60,000 to ₹2,50,000 | 7 to 12 days |
| Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP) | ₹75,000 to ₹4,00,000 | 7 to 15 days |
| IoT / Embedded | ₹1,00,000 to ₹5,00,000 | 10 to 20 days |
| AI Application | ₹1,00,000 to ₹4,00,000 | 7 to 15 days |
| Network / Infrastructure | ₹50,000 to ₹3,00,000 | 5 to 15 days |
These ranges reflect what boutique and mid-tier firms charge in India. Enterprise firms (TCS, Infosys, HCL) charge 3 to 5x more. Freelance pentesters charge 30 to 50 percent less but typically do not provide audit-grade reports.
What Drives Pentest Pricing Up or Down (The 7 Real Factors)
When a vendor quotes you a number, the number is driven by seven factors. Understanding them helps you spot bad value (overpriced for what you get) and false economy (cheap for what you don’t get).
1. Scope Size
A 10-page marketing website is not the same as a 200-endpoint SaaS API with role-based access control, payment flows, and third-party integrations. More endpoints, more roles, more business logic = more testing time = higher cost.
2. Methodology Depth (DAST-only vs Manual + Tool-Assisted)
A DAST-only engagement (running Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, or Acunetix and reformatting the output) takes 2 to 5 days and costs INR 20,000 to 60,000. A manual + tool-assisted engagement following OWASP WSTG v5.0 and PTES takes 7 to 10 days and costs INR 75,000 to 2 lakh. The price gap reflects what the human does that the tool cannot, mainly business logic flaws, authorization bypasses, chained exploits, and IDOR in financial flows. Read DAST vs pentest for why scanner output alone is not a security assessment.
3. Pentester Experience (Junior vs Senior OSCP-Led)
Junior testers at large firms run a checklist and produce a template report. The price looks similar to a senior-led engagement, but the work is not. Senior testers with OSCP, CREST, or CompTIA PenTest+ certifications find business-specific flaws that junior testers miss. Ask for the lead pentester’s name in writing before signing. Verify the certification on the issuing body’s public registry.
4. Report Quality (Boilerplate vs Audit-Acceptable)
A good report includes: exact reproduction steps (HTTP requests, screenshots, code snippets), business impact in plain language (not just CVSS scores), remediation guidance specific to your stack, and (for compliance) mapping to SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria or ISO 27001 Annex A controls. A boilerplate report is a list of findings with generic descriptions. Auditors and enterprise security teams know the difference. See our sample report for the structure that gets accepted, and SOC 2 pentest requirements 2026 for what auditors actually check.
5. Retest Practice (Extra-Billed vs Included)
Some vendors include 1 retest. Others charge 30 to 50 percent of the original engagement cost per retest. Some do not offer retests at all. Without a verified retest, findings stay “open” in the report, which auditors and customers may flag. Cybersecify includes 1 full retest within 30 days in both Startup and Growth plans at no extra charge.
6. Team Continuity (Same Pentester vs Handoffs)
At enterprise firms, the salesperson who closed the deal hands off to an account manager who hands off to a delivery lead who hands off to a junior tester. Each handoff loses context. At boutique founder-led firms, the same person scopes, tests, writes the report, and runs the retest. Continuity = higher signal density in findings + faster remediation cycles.
7. Urgency (Standard vs Rush)
Some firms charge 30 to 50 percent rush premiums for accelerated timelines. Cybersecify does not do rush pricing. The price is the price, regardless of when the report is needed. (Founder-call locked rule: rush pricing creates incentive to compress quality. We don’t compromise on it.)
How the Major Indian Pentest Vendors Stack Up
You will see the same names repeatedly in vendor research. Here is the honest read on each, including where we (Cybersecify) sit.
Cybersecify (founder-led boutique)
Strengths: Both founders deliver every engagement personally. OSCP + CompTIA PenTest+ + ISO 27001 Lead Auditor on the team. Transparent published pricing. Audit-acceptable reports for SOC 2, ISO 27001, customer questionnaires. Free retest in 30 days bundled into every plan. Founder-led consulting hours bundled into pentest plans.
Weaknesses: Small team. Not CERT-In empanelled (which is a feature for SaaS, but a blocker for BFSI / telecom / govt / CII regulated sectors). No 24/7 pager. Not the right fit for Series C+ enterprise procurement that requires brand-name vendors.
Pricing: INR 74,999 (Startup, 1 scope, 7 days) or INR 1,79,999 (Growth, 2 scopes, 10 days, SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit prep). Published on the website, no sales call required.
Astra Security
Strengths: Strong inbound brand in India. Self-serve scanning platform alongside human pentest. Good for teams that want both DAST tooling and manual pentest from one vendor.
Weaknesses: Pentest is a smaller line of business behind the scanning platform. In our experience, lead pentester continuity can vary. We have not found engagement pricing published on their website (quotes are gated behind a sales call).
Pricing: Based on buyer-reported quotes, engagements typically land in the INR 1.5 lakh to 4 lakh range depending on scope.
BreachLock
Strengths: PTaaS (Pentest as a Service) subscription model. Continuous scanning + scheduled human-led tests. Good for Series B+ teams with ongoing pentest cadence.
Weaknesses: The subscription model is a poor fit for Series A SaaS with a one-time, audit-driven pentest need. In our view, PTaaS economics generally only justify themselves at a USD 60K+ annual budget versus point-in-time engagements.
Pricing: Publicly discussed PTaaS pricing typically runs around USD 5K to 10K per scope per scan, with subscription tiers from roughly USD 50K annually.
Cobalt
Strengths: Crowdsourced pentest model with a curated pentester pool. Brand recognition in US enterprise procurement. Fast turnaround on standard scopes.
Weaknesses: US pricing creates a significant premium for Indian SaaS (roughly 3-5x boutique India pricing for similar scope). The crowdsourced model can also mean a different pentester on each engagement.
Pricing: Publicly reported ranges run roughly USD 8K to 30K per scope.
TCS, Infosys, HCL (Tier 1 Indian IT services)
Strengths: Brand recognition with traditional enterprise procurement. Empanelled with multiple regulatory bodies. Multi-week, multi-tester engagement capacity.
Weaknesses: Pricing is typically 3-5x boutique alternatives for equivalent scope. In our experience, and based on buyer feedback we hear, delivery often shifts to junior testers (the sales-handoff-to-account-manager-to-junior pattern), and reports can read as templated. Generally the wrong fit for Series A SaaS.
Pricing: INR 3 lakh to 15 lakh+ per scope.
Sprinto, Vanta, Drata (compliance platforms with pentest add-on)
Strengths: Convenient if you already use the compliance platform. Single vendor for SOC 2 evidence collection + pentest report.
Weaknesses: Pentest is delivered as a partner-network add-on rather than a first-class, in-house service, so in our experience quality can vary by which partner you are routed to. It also adds a platform-margin markup on top of the underlying pentest cost.
Pricing: INR 1.5 lakh to 4 lakh add-on to the compliance platform subscription.
Freelance pentesters (Upwork, LinkedIn, direct)
Strengths: Lowest absolute price. Useful for very narrow scope tests where the deliverable is a single finding (e.g., disclosed bug bounty).
Weaknesses: No audit-acceptable report format. No retest. No accountability. Variable methodology. Customer security teams and SOC 2 auditors typically reject freelancer reports.
Pricing: INR 25K to 75K per scope.
The pattern across this list: pricing tracks methodology depth + report quality, not vendor brand size. Brand-name vendors charge for the brand. Boutique vendors charge for the work.
When to Spend More vs Less: A Decision Framework
The right pentest spend is not “as much as possible” or “as little as possible.” It is “the cheapest tier that satisfies your buyer or auditor.” Use this framework.
Pre-Seed / Single App / No Enterprise Customers
Recommendation: Startup Pentest (INR 74,999) is right-sized.
Why: You have one application, no compliance deadline, no enterprise procurement pressure. You need an audit-acceptable report so that when an investor or first enterprise prospect asks, you have one. Single scope, 7 days, retest included. Spending more here is wasted budget.
Series A / Multiple Apps / First SOC 2 or ISO 27001 Push
Recommendation: Growth Pentest (INR 1,79,999).
Why: Two scopes (typically web app + API) covered together. SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit prep INCLUDED. 1 free retest within 30 days (so you can close findings cleanly before audit). Real-world attack simulation beyond OWASP Top 10. The INR 1.05 lakh price bump over Startup buys you: audit prep that other vendors charge 50K to 1L separately for, a second scope, and deeper testing methodology. This is the most common pick for Series A SaaS in our pipeline.
Regulated Industry (BFSI, Telecom, Power, Govt, CII)
Recommendation: CERT-In empanelled vendor required.
Why: Your regulator (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, DoT, CEA, MeitY) mandates CERT-In empanelled auditors for certain assessments. Empanelled vendors charge INR 2 lakh to 5 lakh+ per scope. This is a regulatory requirement, not a quality signal. Read when you do not need a CERT-In empanelled vendor to confirm whether your specific sector / use case actually requires it before paying the empanelment premium.
Enterprise (Series B+, Custom Requirements, Large Attack Surface)
Recommendation: Custom scope, not publicly listed.
Why: Your scope is too large or too specific for off-the-shelf plans. You may need multi-week engagements, multi-tester teams, red team simulation, or specialized testers (AI/ML pentest, hardware security, embedded systems). Contact us for a scoped proposal.
India Regulatory + Audit Cost Context
Pentest is one line item in a broader compliance program. Knowing what else you will spend helps right-size pentest budget.
- SOC 2 audit (US): Typically USD 15,000 to 50,000 for Type 2 with a Big 4 or mid-tier auditor. Plus internal cost of evidence collection (3 to 6 months of work for a founder + engineering lead).
- ISO 27001 (international): INR 4 lakh to 15 lakh for a full external audit + certification. ISMS implementation cost separate (INR 5 lakh to 20 lakh depending on existing posture).
- DPDP audit (India): Emerging. Current cost band uncertain pre-Rules notification. Significant Data Fiduciaries will need independent data auditors when Rules notify (expected late 2026 or 2027). Pentest report is part of evidence package.
- CERT-In incident reporting compliance: Built into typical pentest scope. No separate cost.
All four of these expect a third-party pentest as part of the evidence package. Pentest at INR 74,999 to 1,79,999 is the cheapest part of a compliance program. False economy to under-spend here, because a rejected pentest report blocks all four audits.
CXO Fear 3: The ROI Math (Pentest Spend vs Breach Cost)
The buyer psychology behind pentest spending is straightforward. CXOs and founders ask: “If I spend INR 2 lakh now on a pentest, am I saving INR 2 crore later from a breach? Or am I burning budget on a tick-box exercise?”
The numbers say the math is unambiguous in favor of preventive spend.
The Numbers
- Pentest investment range: INR 75,000 to 3 lakh (Cybersecify Startup, Growth, or empanelled if required)
- Average data breach cost in India (IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024): INR 19.5 crore (source)
- Average breach cost for SaaS sector globally (same IBM report): USD 4.88 million (~INR 41 crore at current rates)
- Customer churn from public breach disclosure: 3 to 7 percent typical for B2B SaaS, higher for consumer products (Ponemon Institute research)
- Deal-loss from “no pentest report” in enterprise sales: Hard to size publicly. In our own pipeline, we have seen 3 deals stall at exactly the “send us your pentest report” step in the last 6 months.
The Math
For a Series A SaaS doing INR 5 to 10 crore ARR:
- Pentest investment: INR 1,79,999 (Growth Plan) = roughly 0.04 percent of ARR
- 3 percent churn from a breach disclosure: INR 15 to 30 lakh of recurring revenue lost in year one alone
- 7 percent churn (worst case): INR 35 to 70 lakh of recurring revenue lost in year one alone
- Plus: legal fees, regulatory fines (DPDP penalty up to INR 250 crore for data fiduciary breach), brand recovery cost, founder time spent on incident response (which is time not spent on growth)
Preventive pentest spend is 100 to 1000x cheaper than incident cost. Not a tick-box. Insurance with measurable downside protection.
For Founders Raising
Investor due diligence increasingly asks for security posture evidence. Series A and beyond, the technical advisor on the diligence call will ask: “Has the application been pentested? By whom? What did they find? What was fixed?” A clean, recent pentest report is one less reason for the round to slow down. The cost of pentest is roughly 0.01 percent of typical Series A round size. The cost of a delayed round (additional months of runway burn, lost momentum, weaker negotiating position) is multiples of that.
What “1 Scope” Means
1 scope = 1 application surface. Examples:
- Your web app = 1 scope
- Your REST API = 1 scope (separate from web app)
- Your Android app = 1 scope
- Your iOS app = 1 scope (separate from Android, different binary, different attack surface)
- Your AWS infrastructure = 1 scope
If you have a web app + API, that is 2 scopes. If you have a web app + Android app + iOS app, that is 3 scopes. A microservices backend with 3 distinct services may count as 1 scope or 3 scopes depending on whether they share authentication and architecture. We confirm scope count during scoping before final pricing.
Hidden Costs to Watch For
When comparing pentest quotes, ask about these. They are where the surprise charges hide.
- Retesting fees. Some firms charge INR 20,000 to 50,000 extra for retesting after you fix vulnerabilities. We include retesting in both plans (1 in Startup, 2 in Growth).
- Report formatting for compliance. SOC 2 or ISO 27001 evidence formatting is sometimes billed separately at INR 30,000 to 1 lakh. We include it in the Growth plan.
- Scope creep charges. If testing reveals connected systems that need assessment, some firms bill hourly. Clarify scope boundaries upfront. We confirm scope in writing before kickoff.
- Per-vulnerability pricing. Avoid any firm that charges per vulnerability found. This creates an incentive to report noise.
- Annual contracts. You do not need a 12-month contract for a pentest. It is a point-in-time engagement.
- Rush premiums. Some firms charge 30 to 50 percent rush premiums for accelerated timelines. Cybersecify does not do rush pricing.
- Brand Protection scans bundled into pentest plans. Some vendors sell typosquatting and leaked credentials checks separately at INR 25,000 to 1 lakh. We do not bundle these into pentest plans either. They live in our Security Retainer (INR 24,999/month) as a recurring monthly scan, where ongoing monitoring fits the recurring product model.
5 Pentest Pricing Anti-Patterns We See Indian SaaS Founders Fall Into
These five mistakes show up repeatedly in vendor-selection reviews. Recognizing them saves money and avoids deal-blocking surprises.
Anti-pattern 1: Buying the cheapest quote without verifying the report is audit-acceptable. A founder picks the INR 30,000 quote because the budget is tight. The report is a Burp Suite scan reformatted as PDF. The enterprise customer’s security team rejects it. The founder re-pays for the actual pentest at INR 2.5 lakh. Total spend = INR 2.8 lakh + a month of deal slippage. Fix: before signing, ask the vendor to share a redacted sample report. If it does not include reproduction steps, business impact framing, and remediation guidance, walk away.
Anti-pattern 2: Paying empanelment premium when the regulator does not require it. A SaaS founder reads “CERT-In empanelled” on a vendor’s website and assumes they need it. Empanelment carries a 2-5x price premium that is justified only for BFSI, telecom, power, government, and Critical Information Infrastructure sectors. Most SaaS startups (even those selling to enterprise customers) do not need it. Fix: read when you do not need a CERT-In empanelled vendor before paying the premium. If your customer is asking for a pentest report (not a CERT-In empanelled pentest report specifically), empanelment is not required.
Anti-pattern 3: Signing without verifying who actually does the testing. At large firms, the salesperson handles the call, the account manager handles the kickoff, the delivery lead handles the planning, and a junior tester runs the actual test. By the time you read the report, four handoffs have removed context. Fix: ask in writing for the name of the senior pentester who will do the work. Verify their OSCP or equivalent on the issuing body’s registry. If the vendor cannot or will not name the tester, the test is being done by whoever is available.
Anti-pattern 4: Skipping the retest after fixes. A pentest finds 12 vulnerabilities. Engineering fixes 10. The report still shows all 12 as open. SOC 2 auditor flags 10 closed items as “remediation not verified by independent third party.” Auditor either asks for a paid retest from the original vendor (often 30-50% of original engagement cost) or accepts only the 2 verified findings as closed. Fix: pick vendors who include the retest in the base price. Cybersecify includes 1 full retest within 30 days in both Startup and Growth plans at no extra charge.
Anti-pattern 5: Buying a SOC 2 audit-prep pentest before you actually need SOC 2. A founder picks a SOC 2-bundled pentest plan because it sounds more complete. But the company has no SOC 2 timeline, no customer asking for SOC 2, no investor diligence demanding it. The SOC 2 control mapping in the report is unused. The founder paid INR 1.05 lakh extra (Growth vs Startup price gap) for something that creates no buyer value yet. Fix: if your customer is asking for a pentest report (not a SOC 2 audit), Startup Pentest at INR 74,999 is right-sized. Upgrade to Growth when a SOC 2 push is on the calendar within 6 months.
Our Pricing (Transparent, Fixed)
We publish our pricing because we believe startup founders should not have to sit through a sales call to learn what a pentest costs.
Startup Pentest Plan: INR 74,999 + taxes
- 1 scope (web, API, Android, iOS, cloud, or IoT)
- 7 calendar days
- Technical + executive report
- 1 full retest within 30 days
- OWASP WSTG v5.0 + PTES methodology
Growth Pentest Plan: INR 1,79,999 + taxes
- 2 scopes (web + API, Android + iOS, or any combination)
- 10 calendar days
- Technical + executive report with SOC 2 + ISO 27001 control mapping
- 1 full retest within 30 days included
- OWASP WSTG v5.0 + PTES + real-world attack simulation
- SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit prep included
Extra scope: INR 44,999 (Startup, max 2 scopes total) or INR 74,999 (Growth, no scope limit).
View full pricing details | See methodology | Read sample report
How to Budget for Your First Pentest
If you are a Seed-stage startup with 1 web app or API:
- Budget: INR 75,000 to 1 lakh
- Frequency: once before your first enterprise client or funding round
- Start with: Startup Pentest Plan
If you are Series A or B with multiple products:
- Budget: INR 1,80,000 to 3,50,000 annually
- Frequency: annually + after major releases
- Start with: Growth Pentest Plan covering your 2 most critical scopes
If you are not sure what you need:
- Get a free external attack surface snapshot first to see what is exposed
- Or book a free 30-min discovery call with the founders. We diagnose your gaps and recommend the right scope. See how the Security Retainer works if you need ongoing execution.
- Before signing with any vendor, work through the 5 questions to ask a pentest vendor before signing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a pentest cost in India for SaaS startups in 2026?
Pentest cost in India for SaaS startups in 2026 splits into three tiers. Budget tier (INR 50,000 to 1 lakh) is usually scanner output rebranded as a pentest. Professional tier (INR 1 lakh to 3 lakh) is methodology-driven, manual + tool-assisted, audit-acceptable for SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Enterprise tier (INR 3 lakh to 15 lakh+) is multi-week, multi-scope, often CERT-In empanelled. Cybersecify pricing: Startup Pentest INR 74,999 (1 scope, 7 days, audit-acceptable), Growth Pentest INR 1,79,999 (2 scopes, 10 days, SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit prep included).
Is a Cybersecify pentest audit-acceptable for SOC 2 and ISO 27001?
Yes. Both Startup and Growth Pentest plans follow PTES + OWASP WSTG methodology, produce technical + executive reports with reproduction steps and remediation guidance, and have been accepted by SOC 2 Type 1, SOC 2 Type 2, and ISO 27001 auditors. The Growth Pentest plan adds explicit SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria + ISO 27001 Annex A control mapping per finding (included in the price). The Startup plan does not include audit prep but the report itself is still acceptable for most customer security questionnaires and SOC 2 / ISO 27001 evidence.
What is the difference between budget and professional pentest pricing?
Budget pentest (INR 50,000 to 1 lakh) typically means a DAST scan with a logo on the report, junior testers, no manual testing, no business logic coverage, no retest, and variable audit acceptance. Professional pentest (INR 1 lakh to 3 lakh) means senior OSCP-led testing, methodology-driven (PTES + OWASP WSTG), manual + tool-assisted, business logic + access control coverage, retest included, audit-acceptable reports. The price difference reflects who does the work and what they actually produce, not vendor margin.
Do I need a CERT-In empanelled vendor for my pentest?
For most private SaaS startups, no. CERT-In empanelment is required for government departments, public sector undertakings, banks, NBFCs, insurance, telecom, power, and Critical Information Infrastructure. Most SaaS startups (even those selling to enterprise customers) do not need it. Empanelment marketing is often used to justify 3 to 5x higher pricing on engagements that do not actually require it.
How many retests are included in the pentest price?
At Cybersecify, both Startup and Growth Pentest plans include 1 full retest within 30 calendar days of the initial report, at no extra charge. Many budget vendors charge 30 to 50 percent of the original engagement cost per retest, or do not offer retests at all. Always ask about retest policy before signing because findings without verified fixes are not closed evidence for an auditor.
What is the cheapest pentest that passes customer audit?
Honest answer: the floor for audit-acceptable pentest in India is around INR 75,000 for a single scope. Below that, the report is typically a DAST scan output that an enterprise security team or SOC 2 auditor will reject. Cybersecify Startup Pentest at INR 74,999 is the floor for audit-acceptable single-scope testing.
How does pentest cost compare to data breach cost in India?
The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 puts the average breach cost in India at INR 19.5 crore. A pentest at INR 75,000 to 1,80,000 is roughly 0.04 to 0.09 percent of average breach cost. Customer churn from a public breach disclosure typically runs 3 to 7 percent. Preventive pentest spend is 100 to 1000x cheaper than incident cost.
Can I get a single-app pentest for under INR 75,000?
Yes, vendors quote INR 20,000 to 60,000 for single-app pentests. Quality varies sharply. At that price point you are usually getting an automated DAST scan with the output reformatted into a PDF report. No manual testing, no business logic coverage, no access control testing, no retest. If your buyer is an investor or enterprise customer asking for a pentest report, a scanner report will typically be rejected.
What is included in the Cybersecify Growth Pentest plan?
Growth Pentest at INR 1,79,999 + taxes includes 2 scopes tested in parallel (10 calendar days), additional scopes at INR 74,999 each with no scope limit, technical + executive report, SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit prep (control mapping per finding), real-world attack simulation beyond OWASP Top 10, 1 full retest within 30 days, and PTES + OWASP WSTG methodology.
How do I budget for a first pentest as a Series A SaaS founder?
If you are a Series A SaaS with one or two applications + first SOC 2 push, budget INR 1,79,999 for the Growth Pentest plan. That covers 2 scopes (typically web app + API), SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit prep, and 1 free retest. Total cost-of-ownership including remediation engineering time is roughly INR 3 to 4 lakh. If you are pre-Series A with one app and no compliance pressure, the Startup Pentest at INR 74,999 is right-sized.
The Bottom Line
Pentest cost in India in 2026 ranges from INR 50,000 to INR 15 lakh+ depending on tier. For most SaaS startups, the right investment is INR 75,000 to 1.8 lakh for a focused, manual pentest by a certified team that delivers a report your auditor and enterprise prospects will accept.
The cost of not doing it is always higher. Average breach cost for Indian companies crossed INR 19.5 crore in 2024 (IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report). A pentest costs less than 0.1 percent of that. Preventive spend is the cheapest form of insurance for a SaaS company that needs to keep enterprise customers, pass audits, and close funding rounds without security questions stalling the deal.
Book a 30-minute call to scope your pentest, or view full pricing to compare plans.
We are a founder-led cybersecurity firm in Bengaluru working with AI-first and API-first SaaS startups, Seed to Series B. Both founders are personally involved in every engagement. No juniors, no handoffs. Our team holds OSCP, CISSP, CEH, CompTIA PenTest+, and ISO 27001 Lead Auditor certifications. See our web application pentest service page, API pentest service page, or AI application pentest service page for scope details, contact us, or WhatsApp us directly.