A competitor recently claimed on a webinar that any penetration test under $5,000 is “half-assed.”
Let’s unpack why that statement is completely wrong and reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of the small and medium business market.
The Enterprise Mindset Problem
Here’s what’s actually happening: many penetration testing providers work almost exclusively with enterprise clients. Fortune 500 companies and large financial institutions. Organizations with massive IT budgets and complex infrastructure spanning dozens of locations, thousands of employees, and hundreds of applications.
For these environments, a $5,000 pen test would indeed be inadequate. You can’t properly test a multinational corporation’s attack surface for that budget. The scope alone would take days just to document.
But then these same providers turn around and apply enterprise pricing and scoping assumptions to small businesses and wonder why they’re losing deals.
A client recently told us they got quoted $12,000 to test a simple five-page marketing website with a contact form. Another was quoted $15,000 for a basic network assessment of their 20-person office with standard infrastructure.
These quotes aren’t based on the actual work required. They’re based on vendors who don’t understand, or don’t want to serve, the SMB market.
Not Every Business Has Enterprise Complexity
Here’s the reality that enterprise-focused vendors miss: small businesses have fundamentally different needs and environments.
A local medical practice with 15 employees doesn’t have the same attack surface as a healthcare system with 5,000 employees across 20 facilities. They have a handful of workstations, a practice management application, a simple network, and maybe a basic website. Testing their environment thoroughly doesn’t require the same level of effort as testing a hospital network.
A small e-commerce company with a single web application and standard payment processing through Stripe doesn’t need the same assessment as Amazon. Their attack surface is smaller. The testing scope is narrower, which requires less effort.
A 30-person professional services firm with standard SaaS applications and a straightforward network doesn’t have the complexity of a multinational corporation with custom applications, legacy systems, and interconnected global infrastructure.
Different environments require different levels of effort and pricing should reflect that reality.
What Actually Determines Pen Test Pricing
Professional penetration testing pricing should be based on actual scope and effort, not arbitrary minimums:
- The size and complexity of the target environment- A single web application takes less time to test than ten interconnected applications. A 20-person office network takes less time than a multi-location enterprise network.
- The depth of testing required- A basic external network assessment takes less time than a an assessment including internal testing, social engineering, physical security, and wireless testing.
- Compliance requirements- Some industries require specific testing methodologies or documentation that add time. Others just need a straightforward security assessment.
- The organization’s risk profile- A company handling sensitive customer data might need more thorough testing than one with minimal data exposure.
For a small business with a simple environment and straightforward needs, a focused penetration test can absolutely be conducted professionally and thoroughly for under $5,000.
That’s not “half-assed.” That’s right-sized for the scope.
The Real Problem: Scope Inflation
Here’s what often happens when enterprise-focused vendors quote small businesses:
They over-scope the engagement because that’s what they’re used to. They assume every client needs comprehensive testing across every possible attack vector. They build in contingencies for complexity that doesn’t exist.
If a small business asks for a web application pen test, the vendor quotes them for:
- External infrastructure assessment
- Internal network testing
- Wireless security evaluation
- Social engineering campaign
- Physical security testing
- Comprehensive documentation suitable for enterprise audit requirements
The business doesn’t need all of that. They needed someone to test their web application. But the vendor doesn’t offer right-sized services for smaller scopes, so they either quote the full enterprise package or decline the work entirely.
Then they claim that proper pen testing just costs more, when really they’re just not willing to offer appropriately scoped services for smaller clients.
SMBs Deserve Quality Security Testing Too
Here’s what bothers us most about the “$5K minimum or it’s half-assed” claim: it implies small businesses don’t deserve quality security testing.
Small businesses face real threats. Ransomware doesn’t only target Fortune 500 companies. Data breaches don’t only happen to enterprises. In fact, attackers often target small businesses specifically because they assume security will be weaker.
But when the only option for “quality” pen testing starts at enterprise pricing, small businesses are forced to either:
Skip testing entirely because they can’t justify $15K for testing a simple environment, leaving them with no security validation at all.
Accept “free” or dirt-cheap automated scanning that isn’t real penetration testing but is all they can afford, giving them false confidence.
None of these outcomes serve the security interests of small businesses.
What Right-Sized Pen Testing Looks Like
Professional penetration testing for small businesses should be:
- Appropriately scoped for the environment- Test what actually exists and matters, not an inflated scope based on enterprise assumptions.
- Conducted by qualified professionals- Price isn’t about tester quality. The same skilled testers can assess a small environment in less time than a large one.
- Thorough within the defined scope- A focused test of a web application or small network can be comprehensive and professional without requiring enterprise-level costs.
- Documented clearly and usefully- The report should be detailed enough for the client to act on findings, without unnecessary enterprise audit documentation that small businesses don’t need.
- Price based on actual work required- If the environment is straightforward and the scope is focused, the price should reflect that, not what enterprise clients pay for massive, complex engagements.
A small business with a simple web application and basic network might legitimately need focused, professional testing that doesn’t require the same investment as testing a sprawling enterprise infrastructure.
The Gatekeeping Problem
When established vendors claim there’s a quality floor at $5K or $10K, they’re effectively gatekeeping who deserves professional security testing.
They’re saying: “If you can’t afford enterprise pricing, you don’t deserve quality pen testing.”
But security isn’t a luxury that only large companies should access. Small businesses need security testing, arguably more than enterprises, since they often lack dedicated security teams and sophisticated defenses.
Claiming that appropriately-priced testing for smaller scopes is inherently low-quality does a disservice to the entire market. It either scares small businesses away from testing entirely or pushes them toward actual low-quality providers.
Understanding Your Market
The real issue is that some vendors don’t understand, or don’t want to serve, the SMB market.
That’s fine. Not every provider needs to serve every market segment. If a vendor specializes in enterprise clients and doesn’t want to offer smaller engagements, that’s a legitimate business decision.
But claiming that smaller engagements are inherently low-quality just because they don’t match enterprise pricing? That’s not about quality standards. That’s about not understanding that different markets have different needs and different appropriate price points.
SMBs aren’t asking for enterprise-level assessments at SMB prices. They’re asking for appropriately scoped assessments at fair prices for the work required.
Vendors who understand this can serve the market professionally and profitably. Vendors who don’t understand it dismiss the entire segment as not worth serving, and then claim anyone who does serve it must be doing subpar work.
The Bottom Line
Not every penetration test needs to cost $5,000 or more.
A comprehensive assessment of a large enterprise environment absolutely requires significant investment. But a focused test of a small web application or basic network for a 20-person business doesn’t require the same level of effort.
Professional penetration testing should be scoped and priced based on what’s actually being tested, not on arbitrary minimums based on enterprise assumptions.
Small businesses deserve access to quality security testing at prices that reflect the actual work required for their environments. Claiming that anything under a certain price point is “half-assed” is gatekeeping that ultimately leaves small businesses less secure.
The vendors who understand how to provide right-sized services for different markets, providing thorough, professional testing scoped appropriately for each client’s needs, will serve the market better than those who insist everyone needs enterprise-level engagements regardless of their actual requirements.
MainNerve: Right-Sized Penetration Testing for Your Actual Needs
MainNerve provides professional penetration testing scoped and priced for your actual environment, whether that’s a simple web application, a small office network, or a more complex infrastructure.
We don’t apply enterprise pricing assumptions to small business needs. We assess your actual attack surface, scope testing appropriately, and price based on the work required, not arbitrary minimums.
Small businesses deserve quality security testing. We provide it without the gatekeeping or over-scoping that makes testing inaccessible.
Ready for penetration testing that’s actually sized for your needs? Contact MainNerve to discuss your environment and get pricing that reflects what you actually need tested, not what enterprise vendors think you should pay.
Because security testing should be accessible to organizations of all sizes, not just those who can afford enterprise pricing.
