ISO/IEC 27001 is the information security certificate that Indian tenders, Gulf buyers and UK and EU customers most often ask for. Costs vary widely by scope and by who you hire. One Indian consultancy's published 2026 price guide puts year-one cost at ₹1.7 to 3 lakh for a 10 to 50 person company, while typical quotes from other firms run ₹5 to 10 lakh. This guide breaks down the fees, the recurring costs and a realistic timeline.
What you are paying for
ISO 27001 certifies an information security management system, or ISMS: the policies, risk assessment and controls that protect your information. Two parties are usually involved. A consultant helps you build the ISMS. An accredited certification body, working under ISO/IEC 17021-1, audits it and issues a certificate with a number, scope and expiry date that buyers can check on a public register.
The two roles must stay separate. The same firm cannot prepare you and certify you for the same system. So any quote you receive should make clear whether the certification body's audit fee is inside or outside the price, because consultants and certification bodies bill separately.
ISO 27001 cost in India by company size
The figures below come from the 2026 cost guide published by Tranquility Cybersecurity, an Indian consultancy, last updated in October 2026. They are its own estimates, so treat them as one reference point rather than market averages. The same guide lists typical quotes from other firms at ₹4 to 8 lakh for consulting and ₹1 to 2 lakh for certification body fees, giving ₹5 to 10 lakh in year one.
| Company size | Consulting | Certification body (Stage 1 and 2) | Year-one total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 to 50 employees, single product | ₹1 to 2 lakh | ₹0.7 to 1 lakh | ₹1.7 to 3 lakh |
| 50 to 100 employees | ₹2 to 2.5 lakh | ₹0.8 to 1.2 lakh | ₹2.8 to 3.7 lakh |
| 100 to 200 employees, several products or sites | ₹2.5 to 3 lakh | ₹1 to 1.5 lakh | ₹3.5 to 4.5 lakh |
| Typical other-firm quotes | ₹4 to 8 lakh | ₹1 to 2 lakh | ₹5 to 10 lakh |
Recurring and hidden costs
The certificate is not a one-time purchase. The same guide estimates surveillance audits at ₹60,000 to 80,000 a year and recertification at ₹1.5 to 2.5 lakh when the three-year cycle ends. It also estimates internal staff time at ₹90,000 to 1,30,000, based on a blended rate of ₹2,000 an hour across the CTO, an engineering lead and HR or operations.
Tools add to the bill if you lack them. The guide lists a password manager at about ₹15,000 a year, endpoint protection at ₹30,000 to 50,000 a year and log management at ₹50,000 to 1,00,000 a year. Compliance automation platforms are another route, which the guide says advertise at roughly ₹6 to 12 lakh a year. Penetration testing is not priced in the guide and should be quoted separately.
| Item | Indicative cost | When |
|---|---|---|
| Surveillance audit | ₹60,000 to 80,000 | Each year between certifications |
| Recertification audit | ₹1.5 to 2.5 lakh | End of the 3-year cycle |
| Internal staff time | ₹90,000 to 1,30,000 | Year one |
| Log management or SIEM | ₹50,000 to 1,00,000 a year | If not already in place |
| Three-year total cost of ownership | ₹4 to 6.5 lakh | Certificate, two surveillance audits and tools |
What raises or lowers the price
Scope is the main driver. A single SaaS product run by one team sits at the low end, while several products, offices or data centres push the price up because the auditor needs more days. Certification bodies set their fees by headcount and number of sites. Existing policies can cut consulting work, and the guide estimates a 10 to 15% saving for firms that already have them.
Speed costs money. The guide adds 20 to 30% for an eight-week rush. Doing ISO 27001 and SOC 2 together can save 20 to 30%, it says, because the control work overlaps heavily, covering access control, change management, vendor management, incident response and logging.
ISO 27001 timeline: from kickoff to certificate
With a consultant, the published timelines range from 8 to 12 weeks on the firm's service page to 12 to 16 weeks in its cost guide for a company starting from scratch. About eight weeks is possible if you already hold a SOC 2 report or have strong security practices. Running the project yourself, without a security lead, takes 6 to 12 months for a company under 200 people, according to the same guide, and the firm's online estimator shows 9 to 12 months of readiness work for less mature teams.
The audit itself is short. Stage 1 is a documentation review that usually takes one to two days. Stage 2 tests whether controls actually work and takes two to three days. Most of the calendar goes on risk assessment, writing about 20 to 25 policy documents and running controls long enough to produce evidence.
- Weeks 1 to 2: gap analysis against the standard
- Weeks 2 to 4: risk assessment and treatment plan
- Weeks 4 to 7: policies, scope statement and Statement of Applicability
- Weeks 6 to 10: implement and operate controls
- Weeks 10 to 12: internal audit, management review, then Stage 1 and Stage 2
The 2022 standard and its 93 controls
The current edition is ISO/IEC 27001:2022. Its Annex A lists 93 controls in four themes: organisational, people, physical and technological. The deadline for moving certificates from the 2013 edition to 2022 was 31 October 2025, so any new certification today is against the 2022 version.
The main clauses, 4 to 10, set the management system rules. They cover context and scope, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation and improvement. Mandatory records include the ISMS scope, the risk assessment method and results, the Statement of Applicability, internal audit results and management review minutes. Related standards, such as ISO/IEC 27701 for privacy, ISO/IEC 27017 and 27018 for cloud, and ISO/IEC 42001 for AI management, can be added to the same system later.
ISO 27001 or SOC 2 first?
Choose by buyer. US enterprise and mid-market SaaS buyers usually ask for a SOC 2 Type 2 report. Indian tenders, public sector buyers, Gulf clients and UK and EU customers usually name ISO 27001. An ISO certificate is public and verifiable, while a SOC 2 report is shared under NDA.
Over three years, ISO audit spending is front-loaded, while SOC 2 fees recur in full each year. If your pipeline needs both, design one control set and treat the second framework as an extra report on top. XDQ Labs supports engineering teams with the security testing and fixes that auditors look for. Prices here are indicative figures from public sources as of November 2026, so get written quotes before you budget.
Frequently asked questions
How much does ISO 27001 certification cost in India?
One Indian consultancy's 2026 guide puts year-one cost at ₹1.7 to 3 lakh for a 10 to 50 person company and ₹3.5 to 4.5 lakh for 100 to 200 people, including the certification body's audit. It lists typical quotes from other firms at ₹5 to 10 lakh.
How long does ISO 27001 certification take?
With a consultant, published timelines run from 8 to 16 weeks from kickoff to certificate for a small company. Doing it yourself without a security lead can take 6 to 12 months. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits themselves take only a few days.
How long is an ISO 27001 certificate valid?
The certificate is valid for three years. A surveillance audit is held in each year between certifications, and a full recertification audit follows at the end of the cycle. One Indian guide estimates surveillance audits at ₹60,000 to 80,000 each.
How many controls are in ISO 27001:2022?
Annex A of ISO/IEC 27001:2022 has 93 controls grouped in four themes: organisational, people, physical and technological. You record which ones apply, and why, in a Statement of Applicability. The deadline to move from the 2013 edition was 31 October 2025.
Sources
- ISO 27001 cost in India 2026, Tranquility Cybersecurity, 2026
- ISO 27001 certification consulting in India, Tranquility Cybersecurity, 2026
- ISO 27001 clauses 4 to 10, Tranquility Cybersecurity, 2026
- Compliance cost estimator, Tranquility Cybersecurity, 2026
- SOC 2 or ISO 27001 first?, Tranquility Cybersecurity, 2026
- Compliance registry, Cybersigma Consulting Services, 2026
