Coalfire SOC 2 Audit Cost 2026: How the Quote Is Set

Coalfire is the federal-facing specialist in this market: an accredited FedRAMP 3PAO and a CMMC C3PAO that also delivers SOC 2. Like every firm here, it prices each engagement individually and publishes no rate card. This page covers what actually moves a SOC 2 fee, what Coalfire's accreditations mean, and when they are worth shortlisting for.

Pricing

Quoted per engagement

Positioning

Federal-facing

Accreditation

FedRAMP 3PAO + CMMC C3PAO

There is no Coalfire rate card

Coalfire publishes no SOC 2 fee schedule. Neither does Schellman, A-LIGN, Linford & Co, Johanson Group, Prescient Assurance, or anyone else in this market. Assessment and attestation work is scoped and priced per client and fixed in an engagement letter. A fee table attributed to a named firm is a number that firm never published.

The mechanism is what is worth knowing. The fee is a function of assessor hours, and assessor hours are a function of the scope you define and the state of the evidence you hand over. Both of those are decided before anyone quotes you.

What actually sets the fee

System boundary. The products, environments, and supporting systems inside the description of the system.
Trust Services Criteria in scope. Security, the Common Criteria, is the base; each additional criterion adds control points and testing. See the criteria breakdown.
Type 1 or Type 2. Design at a point in time, or operating effectiveness across a period. See Type 1 vs Type 2.
Observation window. A longer Type 2 period means more samples and more testing.
Readiness state. Organised, retrievable evidence takes fewer hours than a scramble. See readiness.
Federal assessment in the same programme. A FedRAMP or CMMC assessment is a separate body of work from a SOC 2 examination, with its own scope and its own timeline. Where both are in play, ask for them quoted as separate lines, not as one blended number.

What is verifiable about Coalfire

Coalfire is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado and is one of the larger accredited FedRAMP 3PAOs. It also operates as a CMMC C3PAO for DoD supply-chain compliance. Its positioning is set out on the firm's own site at coalfire.com.

That accreditation pair is the whole argument for Coalfire. FedRAMP and CMMC assessments can only be performed by accredited organisations. If your sales roadmap runs into US federal agencies or the defence supply chain, the question is not what the SOC 2 costs, it is whether you want one firm carrying you through both bodies of work on one evidence cycle, or two firms and two timelines.

Where Coalfire belongs on the shortlist

Coalfire belongs on your shortlist when FedRAMP or CMMC is genuinely on the roadmap, and particularly when the federal assessment is the dominant piece of work rather than an afterthought. Where the federal side is secondary, A-LIGN also holds FedRAMP and StateRAMP 3PAO accreditation and belongs on the same shortlist.

If there is no federal roadmap, put Schellman, Linford & Co, and Johanson Group on the list and let the quotes decide. Do not pay for an accreditation you have no plan to use.

Negotiation levers that actually exist

There is no list price to discount, so negotiate the shape of the work instead. Tighten the system boundary. Drop criteria nobody asked for. Choose the report type deliberately. Ask for SOC 2 and any federal assessment to be quoted as separate line items so you can see what each is actually costing you. Schedule outside the Q4 crunch. Fix the year-two renewal upfront. And put a competing quote on an identical scope in front of the firm, because that is the only comparison it can act on.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Coalfire SOC 2 audit cost?

There is no Coalfire rate card, and no other firm in this market publishes one either. The engagement is scoped and priced per client and fixed in an engagement letter. The fee tracks the system boundary, the Trust Services Criteria in scope, the report type, the observation window, and the state of your evidence. Ask for a quote against a written scope, and put that same scope in front of two other firms.

What is Coalfire's federal capability?

Coalfire is an accredited FedRAMP Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO) and a CMMC Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO). Those are the two accreditations that matter for selling to US federal agencies and into the DoD supply chain respectively. Very few firms hold both alongside a SOC 2 practice.

Is Coalfire the right firm for SOC 2 alone?

It depends entirely on whether the federal accreditations are on your roadmap. If FedRAMP or CMMC is coming within a couple of years, having one firm carry SOC 2 and the federal assessment saves you duplicating evidence collection across two firms. If you are pure commercial SaaS with no federal roadmap, you are shortlisting a capability you will never use, and Schellman, A-LIGN, or a boutique specialist belong on the list too.

How do you compare Coalfire against another firm?

Give every firm the identical written scope: system boundary, criteria in scope, report type, observation window, and report deadline. Then compare what is inside each quote rather than the headline number: readiness or gap assessment, the examination, rounds of report review, bridge letters, and the year-two renewal. Where a federal assessment is in play, ask whether the firm holds the accreditation itself or subcontracts it.