The cost of the Cyber Essentials assessment is from £300 +VAT. The cost of the assessment has increased since January 2022, with a new tiered pricing structure based upon the number of employees:
Micro organisations (0-9 employees) £300 + VAT
Micro organisations (0-9 employees) £400 + VAT
Medium organisations (50-249 employees) £450 + VAT
Large organisations (250+ employees) £500 + VAT
This does not include the cost of the security defences that you need to pass the certification, such as firewall controls and malware protection. You may also need to take into consideration the time you need to create new documentation, implement policies or undergo ongoing audits.
Many businesses work alongside a security partner to ensure they are compliant and pass first time. There are a variety of service levels you can choose from. Some services simply complete the self-assessment on your behalf, which can cost in the region of £300-500 (not including the cost of the assessment). Other providers offer a more in-depth service. IT and security companies, such as Superfast IT, help small businesses through Cyber Essentials consultancy. We, for example, offer a fully managed service for a fixed fee of £100 per month, which would include the cost of the assessment.
As a part of the cost, we perform an initial gap analysis and ensure that all required security controls are properly configured before submitting the self-assessment. That way you can be safe in the knowledge that your security is installed, maintained and regularly updated with the all important security patches. We also complete ongoing security audits, as the certification stipulates.
Find out more about our Cyber Essentials consultancy service or speak to one of our experts to find out more.