Penetration Testing Cost Estimator
ANA›Life Services Authority›National Calculator Authority›Penetration Testing Cost Estimator
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Penetration Testing Cost Estimator
Estimate the total cost of a penetration testing engagement based on scope, target type, complexity, and testing methodology. Costs reflect industry averages for professional security firms.
Target Type
Web Application Internal Network External Network Mobile Application API / Microservices Cloud Infrastructure IoT / Embedded Systems Social Engineering
Scope Size
Small (1–5 targets / endpoints) Medium (6–20 targets / endpoints) Large (21–50 targets / endpoints) Enterprise (50+ targets / endpoints)
Application / Environment Complexity
Low (static, minimal logic) Medium (standard business logic) High (complex workflows, auth layers) Critical (financial, healthcare, government)
Testing Methodology
Black Box (no prior knowledge) Grey Box (partial knowledge) White Box (full access / source code)
Number of Testers
Engagement Duration (days)
Daily Rate per Tester (USD)
Include Retesting / Remediation Verification?
No Yes
Report Type
Standard (executive + technical) Compliance-Ready (PCI-DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001) Basic Summary Only
Travel Required?
No (remote engagement) Yes (on-site required)
Travel & Expenses Budget (USD, if applicable)
Calculate Cost
function penCalc() { // --- Read inputs --- const targetType = document.getElementById('pen-target-type').value; const scopeSize = document.getElementById('pen-scope-size').value; const complexity = document.getElementById('pen-complexity').value; const methodology = document.getElementById('pen-methodology').value; const testers = parseFloat(document.getElementById('pen-testers').value); const days = parseFloat(document.getElementById('pen-days').value); const dailyRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById('pen-daily-rate').value); const retesting = parseInt(document.getElementById('pen-retesting').value); const reportType = document.getElementById('pen-report-type').value; const travel = parseInt(document.getElementById('pen-travel').value); const travelCost = parseFloat(document.getElementById('pen-travel-cost').value);
// --- Validation --- let errors = []; if (isNaN(testers) || testers 20) errors.push("Number of testers must be between 1 and 20."); if (isNaN(days) || days 90) errors.push("Engagement duration must be between 1 and 90 days."); if (isNaN(dailyRate) || dailyRate 10000) errors.push("Daily rate must be between $500 and $10,000."); if (travel === 1 && (isNaN(travelCost) || travelCost 0) { resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; resultDiv.innerHTML = 'Please fix the following errors:' + errors.map(e => '').join('') + ''; return; }
// --- Multipliers ---
// Target type multiplier (reflects inherent complexity of target category) const targetMultipliers = { web_app: 1.00, network_internal: 1.10, network_external: 0.95, mobile_app: 1.20, api: 1.05, cloud: 1.25, iot: 1.40, social_eng: 0.85 };
// Scope size multiplier const scopeMultipliers = { small: 0.80, medium: 1.00, large: 1.35, enterprise: 1.75 };
// Complexity multiplier const complexityMultipliers = { low: 0.80, medium: 1.00, high: 1.30, critical: 1.60 };
// Methodology multiplier const methodologyMultipliers = { blackbox: 1.00, greybox: 1.10, whitebox: 1.25 };
// Report type flat fee const reportFees = { basic: 500, standard: 1500, compliance: 3500 };
// Retesting adds ~20% of base labor cost const retestingFactor = retesting === 1 ? 0.20 : 0.00;
// --- Core Calculation ---
// Base labor cost const baseLaborCost = testers * days * dailyRate;
// Apply all multipliers const adjustedLaborCost = baseLaborCost * targetMultipliers[targetType] * scopeMultipliers[scopeSize] * complexityMultipliers[complexity] * methodologyMultipliers[methodology];
// Retesting cost const retestingCost = adjustedLaborCost * retestingFactor;
// Report fee const reportFee = reportFees[reportType];
// Travel cost (only if travel selected) const travelExpense = travel === 1 ? travelCost : 0;
// Subtotal before overhead const subtotal = adjustedLaborCost + retestingCost + reportFee + travelExpense;
// Overhead & project management (12% of subtotal) const overheadRate = 0.12; const overhead = subtotal * overheadRate;
// Total estimated cost const totalCost = subtotal + overhead;
// Cost range ±15% const rangeLow = totalCost * 0.85; const rangeHigh = totalCost * 1.15;
// Cost per day (total / days) const costPerDay = totalCost / days;
// Effective hourly rate (8 hours/day) const effectiveHourlyRate = costPerDay / 8;
// --- Format helpers --- const fmt = v => '$' + v.toLocaleString('en-US', {minimumFractionDigits: 0, maximumFractionDigits: 0}); const fmtD = v => v.toLocaleString('en-US', {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
// --- Labels for display --- const targetLabels = { web_app: 'Web Application', network_internal: 'Internal Network', network_external: 'External Network', mobile_app: 'Mobile Application', api: 'API / Microservices', cloud: 'Cloud Infrastructure', iot: 'IoT / Embedded Systems', social_eng: 'Social Engineering' }; const scopeLabels = { small: 'Small', medium: 'Medium', large: 'Large', enterprise: 'Enterprise' }; const complexityLabels = { low: 'Low', medium: 'Medium', high: 'High', critical: 'Critical' }; const methodologyLabels = { blackbox: 'Black Box', greybox: 'Grey Box', whitebox: 'White Box' }; const reportLabels = { basic: 'Basic Summary', standard: 'Standard', compliance: 'Compliance-Ready' };
// --- Output --- resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; resultDiv.innerHTML = ` ### Estimated Penetration Testing Cost
${fmt(totalCost)} Estimated Total Cost
Likely Range: ${fmt(rangeLow)} – ${fmt(rangeHigh)}
Cost Component Amount (USD)
Base Labor Cost${testers} tester(s) × ${days} day(s) × ${fmt(dailyRate)}/day ${fmt(baseLaborCost)}
Scope & Complexity Adjustment
Target: ${targetLabels[targetType]} (×${fmtD(targetMultipliers[targetType])}) | Scope: ${scopeLabels[scopeSize]} (×${fmtD(scopeMultipliers[scopeSize])}) | Complexity: ${complexityLabels[complexity]} (×${fmtD(complexityMultipliers[complexity])}) | Method: ${methodologyLabels[methodology]} (×${fmtD(methodologyMultipliers[methodology])})
${fmt(adjustedLaborCost - baseLaborCost)}
${retesting === 1 ? `
Retesting / Remediation Verification20% of adjusted labor cost ${fmt(retestingCost)} ` : ''}
Report Preparation${reportLabels[reportType]} ${fmt(reportFee)}
${travel === 1 ? `
Travel & On-Site Expenses ${fmt(travelExpense)} ` : ''}
Overhead & Project Management12% of subtotal ${fmt(overhead)}
Total Estimated Cost ${fmt(totalCost)}
${fmt(costPerDay)} Cost per Day
${fmt(effectiveHourlyRate)} Effective Hourly Rate
${days * testers * 8}h Total Tester Hours
${fmt(rangeLow)} – ${fmt(rangeHigh)} Cost Range (±15%)
`; }
#### Formula
Base Labor Cost = Testers × Days × Daily Rate Adjusted Labor Cost = Base Labor Cost × Ttarget × Tscope × Tcomplexity × Tmethodology Retesting Cost = Adjusted Labor Cost × 0.20 (if selected) Subtotal = Adjusted Labor Cost + Retesting Cost + Report Fee + Travel Expenses Overhead = Subtotal × 0.12 Total Cost = Subtotal + Overhead Cost Range = [Total × 0.85, Total × 1.15]
Multiplier Tables:
- Target Type: Web App ×1.00 | Internal Network ×1.10 | External Network ×0.95 | Mobile ×1.20 | API ×1.05 | Cloud ×1.25 | IoT ×1.40 | Social Engineering ×0.85
- Scope Size: Small ×0.80 | Medium ×1.00 | Large ×1.35 | Enterprise ×1.75
- Complexity: Low ×0.80 | Medium ×1.00 | High ×1.30 | Critical ×1.60
- Methodology: Black Box ×1.00 | Grey Box ×1.10 | White Box ×1.25
- Report Fee: Basic $500 | Standard $1,500 | Compliance-Ready $3,500
- Overhead: 12% of subtotal (project management, tooling, admin)
#### Assumptions & References
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