Security test cost estimator

Tester days times a day rate. This works out the days from what you built and shows the arithmetic, so you can check any quote against it.

Last reviewed 2026-09-30Written by Jacob Masse, TrazTech Inc.

Every serious quote is tester days times a day rate of roughly $1,500 to $2,800 CAD. This estimates the days your scope needs.

How the estimate is built

It starts from one tester day for a minimal app and adds time for what makes testing longer. Each extra role adds the work of testing it against every other role. Multiple customers add the cross-tenant tests, which are the most important in a SaaS product. Payments, uploads, integrations, a public API and a mobile app each add half a day or more. AI features add the most: an agent with tools needs adversarial testing on top of the application test. Choosing a penetration test with a shareable report adds the formal testing and reporting time. Without code access, the same coverage takes about a fifth longer.

The upper bound allows for a larger scope than described and for slower access. Day rates of $1,500 to $2,800 CAD cover the range of Canadian firms, from smaller practices to established testing companies. A quote well below the bottom of the range is usually a scan; see whether a scanner is enough.

Common questions