PRICE THE ACTUAL ASSESSMENTA useful quote names the systems being tested.

For a defined website security assessment, COLONFILM's published packages cost $390, $790, and $1,490 in US dollars. The difference is scope: an external scan of one website, an application with login and OWASP Top 10 checks, or an application plus API with fixes guidance and one retest. These figures describe this service. They should not be treated as market averages or as interchangeable prices for any kind of security testing.

To build a useful budget, separate the assessment from the work your team may need to perform afterward. Finding a weakness, deciding how to address it, implementing a change, and checking the result are distinct activities. Review the website security assessment packages with that distinction in mind. This article explains the factors that shape the quote and gives you a practical preparation checklist.

What changes the price of a website security audit?

The first factor is the system being examined. A public website presents a different scope from an application with customer accounts, staff roles, private records, and integrations. More importantly, the provider needs to understand which of those areas are actually included. A website with a simple public interface may rely on a substantial API behind it. If the brief only mentions the domain name, the quote can miss the question that matters most to your business.

The second factor is access. An external assessment observes the agreed website without assuming access to authenticated areas. Application testing with login needs appropriate test accounts and a clear description of permissions. An API assessment needs an agreed endpoint inventory and useful documentation. Missing information does not automatically mean a higher bill, but it creates uncertainty about coverage and timing. Resolve that uncertainty before comparing prices, rather than asking every provider to make different assumptions.

COLONFILM website security audit price comparison

Choose the tier by the area you need assessed, not by the seriousness of the word security. BASIC can answer a limited external question, but it should not be represented internally as coverage of all account behavior. STANDARD adds the authenticated application scope described in the package. PREMIUM adds the API, guidance, and a retest. Confirm the particular application's boundaries before ordering, especially when several domains or products are connected to the same account system.

The published packages do not state unlimited endpoints, unlimited roles, source-code review, or direct implementation of fixes. Ask about anything your project needs beyond the stated scope. Prices are in USD; confirm the payable amount and applicable tax treatment when purchasing. A payment conversion into another currency should follow the actual transaction terms. Inventing a local equivalent would make the comparison look precise without ensuring that it matches the amount you will pay.

External scan or authenticated security assessment?

Use your decision as the starting point. If you need an organized view of externally visible issues on one website, an external scan and prioritized report may be the appropriate first purchase. If you need to understand behavior available after login, scope an authenticated application assessment. List the roles that matter and explain their intended boundaries. A provider should not have to guess whether an administrator and a customer are supposed to see the same information.

The OWASP Top 10 is a reference for important web application security risks, not a promise that every possible weakness has been excluded. The OWASP Top 10 project explains its role as an awareness resource. When a package refers to Top 10 checks, ask how those checks map to your application and the report. The valuable purchasing detail is the agreed coverage, not simply having a recognizable framework name on the invoice.

How API scope affects the security assessment budget

An API can expose functions that are not obvious from browsing the website. Before requesting coverage, provide documentation if available, identify the relevant environment, and explain how authentication is handled for test purposes. Describe which integrations belong to you and which are managed by another organization. This is a scope conversation, not a request to hand over unrestricted access to unrelated systems. The assessment should remain limited to assets you are authorized to have tested.

For planning, group endpoints by business function rather than supplying an unexplained list. Account management, order handling, and content operations may involve different expectations about who can do what. Tell the provider where the documentation is incomplete. A clear inventory helps the parties agree what the package will cover and what would need a separate discussion. It also makes the final handoff more useful because the report can refer back to an understood system map.

Compare security quotes without inventing market averages

There is no meaningful single price for a website audit if the term includes everything from automated scanning to a broad manual assessment. Compare like with like. Ask each provider to state the assets, access model, methods, output, and follow-up. Consultancy engagements, independent specialists, marketplace packages, and tools can serve different needs. Their relative cost only becomes informative after you understand what work and coordination each option includes.

Use a short procurement worksheet with one row for each requirement. Mark whether it is included, excluded, or still unclear. In particular, separate a report from fixes guidance, implementation, and retesting. If a proposal uses terms such as comprehensive or enterprise-grade, ask for the operational meaning. For help choosing between suppliers, read the website security audit hiring guide. That decision should precede a comparison based only on the final number.

Checklist: prepare an authorized security assessment

Preparation reduces ambiguity and helps the work stay inside the intended boundary. Choose someone who can answer questions about access and someone who can respond if testing must pause. Those may be the same person in a small business. Do not send live customer information merely to make a brief look complete. Explain what representative test data is available and agree the access method after the scope and authorization have been established.

1. Identify the owner authorizing the assessment and the exact assets included.
2. List the website, application areas, roles, and API functions in scope.
3. Describe the environment and any differences from production.
4. Prepare suitable test accounts and relevant documentation.
5. Agree the timing, operating constraints, and escalation contact.
6. State the report format and decision the findings must support.
7. Assign an internal owner for remediation and any retest coordination.

Also record what must remain outside the engagement. Examples might include another company's payment system, a separate employee network, or a product managed under another contract. Explicit exclusions do not make the work less useful; they make its conclusion more accurate. If a dependency is important, ask how it will be identified in the report without implying that it has been assessed. This protects your own understanding of the results at handoff.

Budget for remediation ownership and the retest

The assessment fee is not automatically the total cost of improving the system. Your developer may need to investigate a finding, adjust code or configuration, and schedule a release. Do not invent an implementation allowance without seeing the actual work, but reserve the responsibility and decision process. A useful report helps you prioritize that effort. If every issue must wait for an unassigned person, even a well-scoped assessment can sit unused.

PREMIUM includes fixes guidance and one retest. Agree what the retest will revisit, what evidence of changes is needed, and when it can happen. A retest is a defined follow-up on the agreed work, not unlimited testing after future releases. If changes are delayed or the application is substantially redesigned, discuss the impact on scheduling and scope. That conversation is easier when the original quote has already distinguished testing, guidance, and implementation.

Security audit delivery times and choosing your package

Closed engagements can use indicative planning windows such as 2–3, 4–5, or 6–8 days depending on the accepted scope, but the actual date must be confirmed. Access preparation, application complexity, and coordination affect the schedule. Ask when the initial report will arrive and how a retest fits around your team's changes. The project ends with the agreed delivery; these packages do not imply continuous monitoring or an ongoing incident response arrangement.

COLONFILM's studio in Zaragoza, run by David Colón and Flor, works with AI agents supervised by a person. The security assessment service fits a buyer seeking a defined project and clear package boundaries. Send the system summary before selecting a tier. If you need a separate code audit, formal attestation, or active incident recovery, name that need explicitly instead of assuming it is contained in a general website security package.

Before approving the quote, finish one sentence: after this assessment, our team will be able to decide what to do about the agreed website or application risks using the delivered evidence. If you cannot identify that decision, refine the brief. A security budget is easier to defend when the purchase has a specific purpose, a responsible recipient, and a clear end point.

FAQ

How much is the entry package?

BASIC is $390 for an external scan of one website and a prioritized report. It is a limited external scope.

Which package includes login areas?

STANDARD covers a web application with login and OWASP Top 10 checks. Confirm the application's roles and boundaries before starting.

Does PREMIUM include API testing?

Its stated scope includes the web application and API, fixes guidance, and one retest. Agree the specific API coverage in advance.

Should I budget for code changes separately?

Yes, unless implementation has been explicitly agreed elsewhere. The published PREMIUM package includes guidance, not an automatic promise of code remediation.

Can the assessment certify that nothing is vulnerable?

No. It reports findings within a defined scope and time. No package guarantees complete or permanent website security.