What ISO 27001 Actually Costs — And Why the Market Wants You to Think It’s More
Bodil Biering
Two numbers, if you’re shopping for ISO 27001 right now: consultants typically charge more than 150,000 DKK (25K USD) to run the project for you. Vanta, the compliance SaaS everyone compares us to, has been quoted around 12K USD for a startup.
Both are selling you the same story — that ISO 27001 is complicated enough to require someone else doing most of the work.
It isn’t.
ISO 27001 is simpler than people think. You need structure, and you need help getting through the process without missing something an auditor will catch. What you don’t need is a consultant doing all the work, or a platform priced as if you did.
With CyberJuice you can get platform, support and certification for 4500 euros if you’re a startup.
It’s totally possible to do in-house with just a bit of guidance and a tested process.
If you genuinely have zero time, buying a consultant to run the whole thing is a reasonable choice. But that’s what it is — a choice for a specific situation, not the default path every SME is quietly being pushed toward.
The market has an incentive to make this sound harder than it is. That’s worth remembering before you sign anything.
