Pentest Cost Estimator
Estimate how many days a penetration test takes and what it typically costs: pick the target, its size, the approach and a retest. Market ranges for Germany and the EU.
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In short
This estimator gives a typical effort range in person-days and a price range in euros for a penetration test, based on the type of target (web app, API, mobile app, cloud, network, hardware, IoT product, automotive ECU, OT), its size, the test approach (black, grey or white box) and whether a retest is included. The ranges are market-typical for Germany and the EU and not an offer.
How it works
The estimator starts from the typical day ranges on our pentest cost page, one per target type. Size scales the range: a small target takes about 70 percent of the typical effort, a large or complex one about 150 percent. The approach scales it again: black-box testing needs about 20 percent more time for discovery, white-box testing saves about 10 percent because the tester reads code instead of guessing. A retest adds about 20 percent. The price multiplies the days by a daily rate band of 1,200 to 1,500 euros.
How to read the result
Use the lower end when the target is well documented, test accounts and environments are ready on day one and you can answer questions quickly. Use the upper end when the tester has to discover the attack surface alone, when environments are shared with production or when there are many roles, tenants or hardware variants.
If the range looks too high for your budget, narrowing the scope is better than compressing the time. A thorough test of the three most exposed components beats a shallow pass over thirty.
Limits
The estimator does not know your application, your network or your device. It cannot see how many user flows exist, whether the firmware is encrypted, how many interfaces the ECU has or how an OT plant can be tested without downtime. Those questions take a 15-minute call, after which the range becomes a fixed price.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why a range and not a price?
Because the effort depends on things the four questions cannot capture: the number of roles and user flows in an application, the number of interfaces on a device, how much documentation and access you can provide. After a 15-minute scoping call we turn the range into a fixed price.
What is included in the days?
Preparation and kick-off, the testing itself, writing the report with a reproduction and a fix recommendation for every finding, and a results call. The retest option adds a verification of your fixes a few weeks later, with an updated report.
Are the prices realistic for Germany?
The daily rate band of 1,200 to 1,500 euros excluding VAT is what specialised security firms in Germany and the EU typically charge for senior testers. Cheaper offers usually mean juniors or a scanner with a report; more expensive ones usually buy brand, not findings.
Related pages
- ServicesWhat a penetration test costs, in real numbers.What does a penetration test cost? Typical price ranges for web, API, mobile, cloud, network, IoT, hardware and automotive pentests, and what drives the price.
- ComparisonsBlack Box vs White Box Penetration Test: How Much Should the Tester Know?A black box test starts with no information, a white box test with code, documentation and accounts. What each finds and costs, and why grey box usually wins.
- ComparisonsPenetration Test vs Vulnerability Scan: What Each Finds and When to Use WhichA vulnerability scan finds known weaknesses automatically; a penetration test finds what a scanner cannot. Differences in depth and cost, and when to use which.
- ServicesWe break in. You get the proof and the fix.Hands-on penetration testing by OSCP-certified engineers: IoT devices, ECUs, industrial systems, web, cloud and networks. Fixed-price offer after a 15-min call.
