How much does ISO 27001 cost and how long does it take?

Is an ISO 27001 certification really necessary for my company? Is the investment worthwhile for entrepreneurs? Are CEOs actually aware of how they should protect their company against cyber attacks? Having an ISO 27001 certification can significantly enhance trust in your company and help you win deals faster. It's time to look at it as an investment and think how much it is worth.

What does it cost to get ISO 27001?‍

The cost of an ISO 27001 certification depends on the size of the organization and the number of employees, which in turn helps to determine the time required to audit the organization.
Depending on the size of a business and the number of activities and employees, implementing an Information Security Management System (ISMS) based on ISO 27001 can be complex and thus generates different compositions of costs. The most common costs involved are the preparation for the audit, the certification and the surveillance audits. Here’s an example of the costs for a company with 10-250 employees to help you plan effectively:

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1. Implementation Costs: 

When it comes to implementing ISO 27001, there are primarily two paths you can take. 

• The consultant-led approach: The first is hiring a consultant, which is a more traditional and more expensive route. This option might cost your business about 80,000 to 150,000 EUR annually and could take between 12 to 18 months to complete. 
• The automation-led approach: Alternatively, automation tools like Secfix offer a more cost-efficient and time-saving solution and the cost ranges between 10.000 to 30.000 EUR. Secfix’s annual subscription, tailored to your company's size and the specific frameworks you need, can significantly reduce both the duration and the expenses compared to hiring a consultant.

2. Internal Audit Costs: 

Internal audits are a requirement for ISO 27001. Usually, this will cost you between 3,000 and 5,000 EUR each. You’ll need these audits annually before your external audit.

3. External Audit Costs:

External audit costs are divided into four different costs: 

• Year 1: ISO 27001 Certification
• Year 2: Surveillance Audit
• Year 3: Surveillance Audit
• Year 4: Recertification

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For a company with a workforce ranging from 10 to 100 employees, the initial ISO 27001 certification audit is likely to cost between 6,000 to 14,000 EUR. For larger companies of 100-500 employees it varies between 15.000 euros and 35.000 euros. Additionally, the auditors of the certification body will conduct regular surveillance audits in the second and third year of certification. This might cost companies between 4,000 euros and 8,000 euros. After the third year, there is the recertification that will cost similarly to the initial certification.

4. Additional Security Tools and Services:

In addition to these direct costs associated with the certification process, don't overlook the budget for other necessary security tools and services. These may include password management solutions like 1Password, vulnerability scans, and cloud security configurations, which typically require an allocation of about 1,000 to 2,000 EUR per year. While not a strict requirement for ISO 27001, conducting penetration tests (pentests) is highly recommended to strengthen your cybersecurity posture. For small businesses, the cost for pentests can range from 6,000 to 12,000 EUR annually. Learn more about the pentest costs here.

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Learn about the ISO 27001 costs in 1 minute with our CEO Fabiola Munguia

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‍The phases of ISO 27001

The ISO 27001 standard involves going through a PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) process, identifying internal and external challenges, threats and gaps that need to be addressed.

The Plan phase establishes for an organization, the context and scope of the ISMS. Within the Do phase, ISMS policies, controls, processes and procedures are implemented, including a risk assessment and plan to address threatening future events.

This sounds like a very large time commitment! Based on experience, implementation typically takes several months, but can take a year or even longer.

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That's where Secfix comes in...

Achieve ISO 27001 certification in weeks instead of months.

Through a systematized approach and clearly structured action items, Secfix helps your organization in a clear and concise way to achieve an ISO 27001 implementation faster and more cost-efficient, and helps you find certified bodies that can do the certification, which is valid for three years.

However, information security management does not stop after the successful ISO 27001 certification. During these three years, the ISMS must be managed and maintained. As long as the certification is valid, the auditors of the certification body will conduct regular surveillance audits in the second and third year of certification. This is how ISO 27001, via external auditors and their independent assessment, determines whether your ISMS is functioning properly and the implemented controls continue to be effective in protecting your organization.

This sounds like a lot of work, control, and indeed monitoring, but with an ISO 27001, your organization can grow, evolve, and most importantly, ensure that your data, activities, and information are secure and, most importantly, remain secure in the face of security threats.

But with an ISO 27001 standard, companies also become more productive. Responsibilities are clearly defined. Because of a company's rapid growth, it also quickly becomes unclear who is responsible for which information.