Cyber Essentials certification cost: what UK SMEs need to budget

If you run a small or medium-sized business in the UK — say 10 to 200 people — you’ve probably been asked for Cyber Essentials by a buyer, or you’re considering it to keep insurance premiums sensible and customers calm. The obvious question is: how much will it cost? Short answer: it depends. Here’s a plain-English breakdown so you can budget sensibly, avoid surprises and focus on business impact rather than IT jargon.

What we mean by “cost”

When people ask about Cyber Essentials certification cost they usually mean one or more of the following:

• the fee to the certification body
• the time your staff spend preparing and filling in questionnaires
• any remedial IT work to meet the requirements (patching, configurations, endpoint protection)
• optional external costs: consultancy, managed services, or the Cyber Essentials Plus assessment
• ongoing costs: annual recertification and maintenance

Think of it as a project rather than a single invoice. The certification fee is only part of the bill.

Typical price ranges (practical market view)

Prices vary with size, complexity and the route you choose. These are industry-typical ranges you’ll see across the UK market if you speak to a few certification bodies and local IT providers:

• Cyber Essentials (self-assessment): certification fees often sit in the low hundreds of pounds when you use a certification body. If you already have decent IT practices, the process can be quick.
• Cyber Essentials Plus: this adds technical testing and tends to be more expensive — think several hundred to a couple of thousand pounds depending on how many devices and users need testing.
• Remediation and preparation: small fixes (enabling MFA, installing updates) might cost a few hundred in staff time or a short contractor visit. Larger remediation (network segmentation, replacing legacy kit) can run into the low thousands.
• Consultancy and managed services: if you outsource preparation, expect day rates or fixed packages. A short engagement to get ready for certification might be a few hundred to a few thousand pounds.

Because businesses in London, Manchester or regional centres have different estates — a 20-person office in Bristol will typically cost less to prepare than a distributed 150-person business with remote sites — build a buffer of contingency in your budget.

Breaking the costs down

1) Certification body fee

This is the direct cost for the certificate itself. For a straightforward office-based SME the fee is a modest line on an invoice. It’s the one figure you can shop around for, but don’t pick solely on price — responsiveness and helpfulness matter when tender deadlines loom.

2) Internal time and administration

Someone needs to own the process: gather inventory, answer the questionnaire and coordinate technical checks. For many firms this is an office manager or IT lead spending a few days over a couple of weeks. If that person is already stretched, there’s a real cost in lost productivity — and that’s often overlooked when budgeting.

3) Technical fixes

Cyber Essentials expects basic cyber hygiene: patching, endpoint protection, email settings, firewalls and multi-factor authentication. For most healthy SMEs these are tweaks rather than wholesale changes. If you’ve got old servers, unsupported kit or poor patching discipline, expect a bigger bill to bring things up to standard.

4) Cyber Essentials Plus testing

If you need the higher assurance of Plus — often requested by government or larger buyers — you’ll pay more for the hands-on testing. The assessors will scan and test devices, so expect some scheduling and potential remediation after testing.

Ways to control the bill

• Do the simple work in-house: inventory, password policy updates and staff briefings are cheap and effective.
• Prioritise fixes that reduce business risk and also satisfy the certification: MFA, patching and basic endpoint protection get you most of the way there.
• Use a short consultancy engagement if you lack time: a day or two of focused help is often cheaper than weeks of internal effort.
• Get multiple quotes for certification and any remediation work, but compare like for like.

For an accessible guide that explains the standard and helps you estimate effort, see this Cyber Essentials guidance that many UK businesses find practical and localised to our market.

Timing — how long will it take?

If your IT estate is tidy and someone can own the paperwork, the self-assessment route can be completed in days. If you need to make changes, factor in testing and procurement — that pushes the timeline to weeks. Cyber Essentials Plus adds scheduling for the technical assessment and may take longer if follow-up remediation is required.

Business benefits worth budgeting for

Price isn’t just a cost — it’s an investment in credibility. For many SMEs the payback is straightforward:

• faster tender processes and fewer sourcing questions from customers
• potentially lower insurance premiums
• reduced likelihood of simple breaches that cause downtime and lost sales
• fewer sleepless nights for leadership when suppliers and buyers ask for proof

Viewed that way, spending a few hundred or a few thousand pounds to avoid a disruptive cyber event is often an easy business decision.

Common pitfalls that add cost

• underestimating staff time to gather and verify information
• ignoring legacy kit that fails tests
• treating the certificate as a one-off compliance box rather than part of ongoing security hygiene

Address these early and you’ll avoid expensive last-minute fixes.

FAQ

How often do I need to recertify?

You need to recertify annually. That means an ongoing commitment to basic security practices — annual cost is more about maintenance than reinvention if you treat it as part of business-as-usual.

Will Cyber Essentials stop all cyberattacks?

No. It reduces risk from common, opportunistic threats by enforcing good hygiene. Determined attackers or targeted campaigns may need more advanced controls — but for most SMEs, Cyber Essentials covers the basics that prevent a large share of straightforward incidents.

Do I need Cyber Essentials Plus or is the basic certificate enough?

That depends on who you sell to. Some public sector contracts require Plus. If your customers ask for higher assurance, Plus is justified. Otherwise the basic certification often meets procurement checks.

Can I do the whole thing without external help?

Yes, many businesses complete the self-assessment internally. External help speeds things up and reduces risk of mistakes, but it isn’t always necessary if you have a competent IT lead and a clear inventory.

Getting certified is rarely glamourous, but it’s worthwhile. Budget for the certification fee, a little staff time and a sensible buffer for remediation. Do that and you buy something tangible: time saved in tendering, a clearer security posture, and credibility with customers — all of which protect revenue and reduce stress. If you want a quick, practical estimate tailored to your organisation and the outcomes you care about (time, cost, credibility and calm), it’s worth getting an initial review so you can move from guesswork to a realistic plan.