Cheap Penetration Testing That's Actually Good
Yes, cheap pentests exist. Budget Security starts at €849 per day for a real manual penetration test by certified professionals. That's cheap compared to the €5,000 to €50,000 other firms charge for the same work. The difference isn't quality. It's that we don't pad your invoice with project management fees, bundled services, and scope you never asked for.
What a "Cheap Pentest" Usually Looks Like
Type "cheap pentest" into Google and you'll see offers for €200, €500, sometimes even free. These services follow a pattern: they point an automated scanner (Nessus, OpenVAS, Qualys) at your target, wait for the results, and export them into a branded PDF. Some add a short executive summary on top. That's the entire engagement.
What's missing? A human being actually testing your application. No one is trying to chain vulnerabilities together. No one is testing your authentication flows for logic flaws. No one is checking whether your password reset function can be abused. No one is looking at how your API handles unexpected input in edge cases that a scanner can't imagine.
Automated scanners are useful tools, but they are not penetration tests. They find known vulnerability patterns (missing headers, outdated libraries, common misconfigurations) and they do that well. But they miss everything that requires creative thinking: business logic flaws, privilege escalation chains, insecure direct object references hidden behind complex workflows, and authentication bypasses that only surface through manual exploration.
If your compliance framework requires a penetration test (SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIS2, PCI DSS), an automated scan report won't satisfy your auditor. Auditors know the difference.
Why Real Penetration Tests Cost More
A manual penetration test requires a certified professional (typically OSCP, OSWE, or CREST qualified) to spend days working through your application, network, or API. They're thinking like an attacker: mapping the attack surface, identifying entry points, exploiting vulnerabilities, and documenting exactly how each issue could be leveraged in a real attack.
That expertise costs money. The question is how much of what you're paying actually goes toward testing versus overhead.
At traditional consulting firms, a penetration tester bills at €1,500 to €2,500 per day. But a large portion of your invoice doesn't go to the tester. It goes to the sales team who pitched you, the account manager who handles your relationship, the project manager who coordinates scheduling, and the overhead of maintaining offices and support staff. By the time the tester sits down to work on your environment, you've already paid thousands for people and processes that didn't find a single vulnerability.
That's the part Budget Security removes.
Why Our Pentests Are Cheap (And Why That's Fine)
Our pentests are cheap because they're priced the way pentests should be priced. You pay for the testing and the report. That's it. Other providers charge the same testers the same rates, then add layers of project management, account management, sales overhead, and bundled services on top. You end up paying €15,000 for €5,000 worth of actual testing.
At Budget Security, there's no fluff in the quote. If you need a SOC 2 pentest on a web app with 20 pages, you get a price for exactly that. We don't tack on "advisory hours" or "strategic recommendations" or a "findings workshop" unless you specifically ask for it. You set the requirements, we match them to a fair price.
Cheap scan services
- Automated scanners only
- No manual testing
- Generic PDF output
- Miss logic and auth flaws
- Won't pass compliance audits
- €200 to €500
Traditional firms
- Real manual testing
- Heavy project management fees
- Bundled services you didn't ask for
- Over-scoped engagements
- Weeks of back-and-forth
- €5,000 to €50,000+
Budget Security
- Real manual testing by certified testers
- No project management overhead
- You scope it, we test it
- No bundled extras or fluffed quotes
- Book and start in days
- From €849 per day
How We Keep the Price Fair
You set the scope, not us
Traditional firms scope your engagement for you, and they have every incentive to make it bigger. At Budget Security, you define what needs testing through our platform with AI-assisted guidance. We don't upsell you on services you don't need.
No bundled extras
Most firms include project management, account management, kickoff meetings, status calls, and wrap-up sessions in the base price. We stripped all of that out. You get the test and the report. If you want a walkthrough session or a retest, those are optional add-ons you choose.
Automated everything except the testing
Scoping, scheduling, reporting, invoicing, and project tracking all run through our platform. That means our testers spend close to 100% of their billed time actually testing your environment. At a traditional firm, a significant chunk of a tester's day goes to meetings, emails, and internal coordination.
Lower daily rate, same tester quality
Our testers hold OSCP and OSWE certifications. They use the same tools and follow the same methodologies (OWASP, PTES, NIST) as testers at firms charging two to three times more per day. We can offer a lower rate because our delivery cost per engagement is lower, not because our testers are less qualified.
Big scopes are welcome
You can absolutely spend €50,000 or €100,000 on a pentest through our platform if that's what your environment requires. The difference is that every euro of that budget goes to testing. If your scope is large, the cost reflects the work, not the overhead. We match your requirements to a price that makes sense for both sides.
Questions to Ask Before Buying a Cheap Pentest
If you're evaluating pentest providers and comparing prices, ask these questions before committing:
- Is the testing manual or automated? If the provider can't name the testers or their certifications, it's likely a scan.
- What certifications do the testers hold? Look for OSCP, OSWE, CREST, or equivalent. These require passing a hands-on exam, not just studying theory.
- Does the report include evidence of exploitation? A real pentest report shows screenshots, request/response data, and step-by-step reproduction instructions. A scan report shows a list of CVEs with severity ratings.
- Will this satisfy my auditor? If you need the pentest for SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIS2, or PCI DSS, confirm that the report format and methodology meet the specific requirements of your framework.
- What's actually included in the price? Ask for an itemized breakdown. If the quote includes project management, account management, or other non-testing line items, you're paying for overhead.
Get a Real Pentest at a Fair Price
See what a manual penetration test costs for your specific scope. Enter your requirements, get a price. If it works for your budget, book it. If not, no pressure.