{"id":377,"date":"2026-03-13T19:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T19:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/blog\/2026\/03\/13\/why-some-penetration-tests-cost-10k-and-others-3k\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T19:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T19:04:15","slug":"why-some-penetration-tests-cost-10k-and-others-3k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/blog\/2026\/03\/13\/why-some-penetration-tests-cost-10k-and-others-3k\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Some Penetration Tests Cost $10K and Others $3K"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Cybersecurity Advice<\/h4>\n<h4>Read this blog to discover what determines the cost of a penetration test, what cheaper and more expensive penetration tests include, which fit your needs, and the major red flags to\u00a0avoid.<\/h4>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1047768745  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/512\/0*NX2sFhssqhwA4cAL\" \/><figcaption>Author\u2019s Image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you\u2019ve looked into hiring a penetration testing team to exploit your vulnerabilities, you likely have realized that there can be a huge cost range for a pen test. So, I consulted with Terrill Thorn, the Director of Penetration Testing at SecurityMetrics, to identify why some pen tests cost so much more than\u00a0others.<\/p>\n<p>Read this blog to discover what determines the cost of a penetration test, what cheaper and more expensive penetration tests include, which fit your needs, and the major red flags to\u00a0avoid.<\/p>\n<h3>What Drives the Cost of a Penetration Test?<\/h3>\n<p>When it comes to determining the price of a penetration test, Terrill explains that \u201ctime is the BIGGEST factor in\u00a0cost.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When you hire a penetration team, you typically pay for their time in daily increments. This means that you can purchase, say, three days of a pentester\u2019s time to exploit your network. When the three days are over, the test is finished, your pen tester isn\u2019t going to work extra hours without your go-ahead and payment. Pentests should always have a <strong>set quote before they are conducted, with NO additional or hidden\u00a0costs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Terrill also warns that you \u201chave to be wary of \u2018pentests\u2019 that are really just automated tools scanning your targets. You should look for actual exploitation that was done as part of the test, and not just what an attacker might be able to do.\u201d In essence, make sure you\u2019re paying for an actual penetration test, with an ethical hacker exploiting your vulnerabilities, not a vulnerability scan.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the top factors that affect the cost of your penetration test:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Scope <\/strong>(internal pen test, external pen test, application, cloud,\u00a0etc.)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Manual vs automated testing<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Your pentesters qualifications, certifications, and experience<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Level of detail in reporting<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Any remediation support<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Compliance requirements <\/strong>(such as PCI, SOC 2, or\u00a0HIPAA)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Amount of hours purchased for the\u00a0test<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Follow-up and support\/retesting<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Terrill advises that \u201ca bigger investment will allow the pentester more time to exploit vulnerabilities, and cover the targets more in depth. There is a limit to this where too much time can also be an\u00a0issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>What does a lower-cost Penetration Test\u00a0include?<\/h3>\n<p>When it comes to lower cost penetration tests, Terrill explains that a \u201clack of manual testing and exploitation are the main exclusions you see in lower cost pentests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Automated testing can mean you\u2019re getting an automated vulnerability test, instead of an actual penetration test where an actual human ethical hacker exploits your environment. An automated test has set things it looks for in your environment, but it won\u2019t act and react like an actual human would. For example, an ethical hacker will be able to chain multiple misconfigurations together that automated tools might\u00a0miss.<\/p>\n<p>But what does that actually mean? It means that an actual threat actor will be able to exploit your environment in a way that an automated test won\u2019t be able to recreate. This level of pen test will \u201cgive you a high level overview of WHAT you should look for but won\u2019t go into a lot of detail about HOW to look for the\u00a0issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>What does a higher cost pentest\u00a0include?<\/h3>\n<p>Terrill explains that \u201chigher cost pentests should be exploiting issues they find, and the main difference between a high cost test and a low cost test is that the higher cost test will be able to chain vulnerabilities together to further their access into your system. Automated tools tend to just find a standalone issue, and often provide false positives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When you partner with a company like SecurityMetrics, you pay by the day, with the most typical purchase being three to four days. All penetration tests conducted by SecurityMetrics are fully remote, with costs like shipping hardware for internal network testing included in your\u00a0quote.<\/p>\n<h3>From Backup to Breach: A SecurityMetrics Pentester\u2019s Account<\/h3>\n<p>It all began with a simple penetration test. A SecurityMetrics pentester was sifting through the client\u2019s network when he made a stunning discovery: a full backup of the customer\u2019s source code. Finding this was the key that unlocked the entire operation. Terrill states that \u201che then reviewed the source code and found a private email address for a developer who had been involved in a compromise and listed the associate\u2019s password.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It turned out the password had been exposed in a previous breach, and critically, it was\u00a0reused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe password was reused by the developer and allowed the pentester to log into their website as that developer.\u201d This single, small error was all it took for the pentester to begin the next phase of the\u00a0attack.<\/p>\n<p>With access to the developer\u2019s account, the SecurityMetrics pentester had a perfect foothold. He uploaded a malicious file, which gave him a reverse shell and remote access to the system. From there, he didn\u2019t just stop at initial access. He used PowerShell to bypass the client\u2019s malware detection software. This demonstrated that even with standard security measures in place, a determined attacker can find a way around\u00a0them.<\/p>\n<p>The final step was the most significant, \u201cThey were then able to use PowerShell to bypass the malware detection software and run an exploit in system memory to get full admin access to the\u00a0system.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Questions to Ask when Choosing a Penetration Testing\u00a0Partner<\/h3>\n<p>So, how do you know what to ask when you\u2019re vetting potential pen test partners? Terrill suggests the following questions as a great place to start the conversation:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>How in-depth do you want to test?<\/strong> Not everyone will necessarily need a super extensive pen test, whereas others need to go the extra mile to protect their company. Knowing the scope of what you want tested is an important first\u00a0step.<\/li>\n<li><strong>What information can we provide ahead of time to the pentest team to get the most from our test?<\/strong> Remember, you\u2019re paying for the pentester\u2019s time and expertise, so don\u2019t waste your expensive investment on discovering information you already know. If you can easily discover an item, this frees up time for your pentester to discover the harder to find vulnerabilities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>What are your objectives for the pentest?<\/strong> Another way to think of this is \u201cwhat data, if compromised, would be devastating to your business?\u201d Letting your penetration team know what data you\u2019re most concerned about can prioritize their approach so you get the best\u00a0value.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Terrill finds that \u201cjust like so many other things, the more you put into your pentest and work WITH the pentesting firm the more you will get out of your\u00a0test.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Which Pen Test is the Best Fit For\u00a0You?<\/h3>\n<p>The best pen test for your business is the one that helps you get secure and identifies where you\u2019re truly weak. Terrill recalls that \u201cwe\u2019ve had customers in the past leave us for lower cost alternatives, and then come back to us the next year unhappy with what they received from the low cost alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Be aware that if you choose a lower cost test, there\u2019s a chance you\u2019ll end up spending even more money if you do in fact need an in-depth penetration test that\u2019s not automated.<\/p>\n<p>The best place to start is by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.securitymetrics.com\/contact\">speaking directly with a professional<\/a> about your goals for your penetration test and getting an idea of what you want\u00a0tested.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article was written by Emory French and penetration tester Terrill Thorn (Director of Offensive &amp; Managed Security at SecurityMetrics).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img data-opt-id=574357117  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/_\/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=4e8b598b86af\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/osintteam.blog\/why-some-penetration-tests-cost-10k-and-others-3k-4e8b598b86af\">Why Some Penetration Tests Cost $10K and Others $3K<\/a> was originally published in <a href=\"https:\/\/osintteam.blog\/\">OSINT Team<\/a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cybersecurity Advice Read this blog to discover what determines the cost of a penetration test, what cheaper and more expensive penetration tests include, which fit your needs, and the major red flags to\u00a0avoid. Author\u2019s Image If you\u2019ve looked into hiring a penetration testing team to exploit your vulnerabilities, you likely have realized that there can &#8230; <a title=\"Why Some Penetration Tests Cost $10K and Others $3K\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/blog\/2026\/03\/13\/why-some-penetration-tests-cost-10k-and-others-3k\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Why Some Penetration Tests Cost $10K and Others $3K\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}