Doyensec does not publish a price. Like most research boutiques, it quotes each engagement by proposal, which means budgeting starts with understanding what drives the number rather than reading a pricing page.
This guide explains how boutique engagement pricing works, what moves the quote, how web application penetration testing cost is typically structured, and how a scheduled expert audit compares to outcome-based pentest pricing.
What you need to know first: Doyensec sells senior researcher time on a scoped, point-in-time engagement. The price reflects the depth of the audit and the scarcity of the expertise, not a per-seat or per-scan rate. There is no self-serve entry and no published number.
Doyensec Pricing: What You'll Learn
This guide covers the boutique pricing model, the factors that drive a proposal, how web application penetration testing cost is structured across the market, and how the scheduled-audit model compares to outcome-based pricing.
How Doyensec Pricing Works for Boutique Pentesting
Doyensec prices each engagement individually. A proposal defines the target, the depth, and the researcher time, and the quote follows from that scope.
Because senior expertise is the product, the price tracks the hours of skilled researcher time an audit requires. A deep audit of a complex target costs more than a narrow test of a simple one.
This is standard for research boutiques and contrasts with the published model used by platforms like CodeAnt AI, where the terms sit on the page before any conversation.
What Drives Doyensec Pentest Pricing?
Several factors move a boutique proposal. Knowing them helps you predict roughly where an engagement lands.
Target complexity. An unusual architecture, a GraphQL platform, an Electron app, or an LLM-based system takes more expert time than a standard web app.
Scope and depth. A broad, deep audit costs more than a focused test of one feature.
Source access. Doyensec's source-plus-dynamic method reads code, and the size of the codebase affects the effort.
Researcher seniority and time. The core cost driver is skilled researcher hours, which scarcity makes premium.
These are depth-and-time drivers. You are pricing a scoped block of senior expertise. For how the wider market prices this, see how much a penetration test costs.
How Web Application Penetration Testing Cost Is Structured
Across the market, web application penetration testing cost is usually structured one of three ways: fixed-scope consulting proposals, subscription or credit models, or outcome-based pricing.
Boutiques like Doyensec sit firmly in the first bucket. You pay for a scoped engagement whether it finds many critical issues or none, because you are buying the expert assessment itself.
The trade-off is predictability of depth against predictability of budget. A proposal tells you exactly what will be tested, but not what you will pay until it is scoped.
Doyensec Pricing vs Outcome-Based Pentesting
Doyensec and CodeAnt AI represent two different ways of buying application security testing. Doyensec prices a defined block of senior researcher expertise. CodeAnt AI uses an outcome-based model where the customer pays when a confirmed high or critical exploit is found.
The distinction matters when estimating the total cost of recurring penetration testing. A consulting engagement has a predictable scope but requires a new engagement when you need another assessment. An outcome-based platform is designed for repeated testing, with the cost tied to confirmed exploitable findings rather than researcher hours.
Pricing factor | Doyensec | CodeAnt AI |
|---|---|---|
Pricing model | Fixed-scope consulting engagement | Outcome-based pentesting |
Public pricing | No public price | Published pricing model |
Entry point | Proposal and scoping | Free pentest from a URL |
Primary cost driver | Scope, complexity, researcher time | Confirmed exploitable findings |
Payment trigger | Engagement is booked | High or critical exploit is confirmed |
Low/medium findings | Included in engagement | Free |
Retesting | Separate or extended engagement | Free and unlimited |
Best fit | Deep periodic expert audit | Continuous application testing |
The takeaway is what your budget buys. A boutique engagement buys senior expertise on a target for a defined window. Outcome pricing buys proven risk reduction, with nothing owed when nothing exploitable is found. For the full model comparison, see CodeAnt AI vs Doyensec.
A boutique audit is right for a periodic deep assessment of a complex target. Outcome pricing is right for continuous testing where every release is covered and you pay for what is found.
Is Doyensec Pricing Right for Your Security Program?
Doyensec's pricing model makes sense when the goal is a deep, expert-led assessment of a complex application and the security team is comfortable planning a scoped engagement around researcher availability.
The cost reflects what you are buying: senior security expertise, dedicated testing time, and a point-in-time assessment tailored to the target. There is no standard list price because the effort changes with application complexity, scope, source-code access, and testing depth.
For teams that need continuous penetration testing or want pricing tied to confirmed exploitable findings, an outcome-based model offers a different approach. CodeAnt AI is one example, allowing teams to start from a URL and pay only when a high or critical exploit is confirmed, with free unlimited retesting.
The decision is therefore less about finding the cheapest pentest and more about choosing the pricing model that matches your security program: expert time for a deep scheduled audit, or outcome-based testing for continuous validation.
