Microsoft 365 security audit — transparent pricing
Microsoft's Secure Score is free — but auditors and cyber-insurers don't accept it as a formal assessment, and it only sees API-visible settings. Brocent runs a full CIS Microsoft 365 Benchmark audit across Entra ID, Defender, Purview, Exchange, SharePoint and Teams — including the manual controls Secure Score can't check — and hands you a prioritised hardening roadmap mapped to GDPR, NIS2, PIPL and PDPL.
Three depths of M365 assessment
From a fast posture snapshot to a full CIS benchmark audit with guided hardening. Every tier is delivered by a named engineer, not a self-serve dashboard.
Snapshot
1 tenant · fast turnaroundSecure Score + ScubaGear baseline with your top-20 fixes.
One-time assessment
From US$800
Managed (recurring)
US$3–5 / user / mo
- Microsoft Secure Score review
- CISA ScubaGear automated baseline
- Top-20 prioritised findings
- MFA / conditional-access quick check
- 1-hour findings walkthrough
- Managed: monthly posture monitoring
CIS Benchmark Audit
Full tenant · audit-gradeThe complete CIS Microsoft 365 Benchmark — including manual controls.
One-time assessment
US$2,500–4,500
Managed (recurring)
US$6–10 / user / mo
- Full CIS Microsoft 365 Benchmark (Level 1 & 2)
- Entra ID, Defender, Purview, Exchange, SharePoint, Teams
- Manual controls Secure Score can't see
- Prioritised remediation roadmap + effort estimate
- Auditor- & insurer-ready evidence pack
- Managed: monitoring + quarterly re-audit
Hardening & Compliance
Audit + guided remediationWe audit, then harden your tenant to Secure Score 80+ and keep it there.
One-time assessment
US$6,000–12,000
Managed (recurring)
From US$12 / user / mo
- Everything in CIS Benchmark Audit
- Guided remediation to Secure Score 80+
- Compliance mapping: GDPR, NIS2, PIPL, PDPL
- Conditional access & DLP policy hardening
- Executive + board reporting
- Managed: continuous drift monitoring + monthly review
All prices in USD, indicative starting points, tax exclusive. Invoiced in HKD, SGD, CNY, JPY or EUR on request. Regional pricing (APAC / EU-UK / Middle East) available — final quote depends on scope, asset count and location.
Secure Score vs CIS Benchmark — the difference that matters
Microsoft Secure Score is a free, automated number based on the settings Microsoft's API can read. It's useful as a trend line — but it is not an audit. It misses manual-only controls (break-glass emergency-access accounts, Entra admin-role restrictions, Teams external-app policies, Power BI sharing) and no auditor or cyber-insurer accepts it as formal evidence.
The CIS Microsoft 365 Benchmark covers 100% of controls — including those manual ones — and is the recognised standard behind most compliance frameworks. A Brocent CIS audit gives you a defensible, evidence-grade report you can hand to an auditor, a client's security questionnaire, or an insurer, plus a roadmap to fix what's wrong.
Why a CIS audit beats a free score
The market splits into free automated scores, per-user monitoring SaaS, and consulting. Brocent gives you the defensible middle: an audit-grade CIS assessment at mid-market prices.
| Option | What it covers | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Secure Score | API-visible settings only (not audit-grade) | Free |
| ScubaGear (CISA) | Open-source baseline, no interpretation | Free (self-run) |
| Octiga / Syskit | Per-user posture monitoring SaaS | US$1–3 / user / mo |
| CoreView | Enterprise governance platform | From ~US$20,000 / yr |
| Enterprise consultancy | One-time hardening project | US$15,000–50,000 |
| Brocent CIS Audit | Full CIS benchmark + roadmap | US$2,500–4,500 |
Third-party list prices as of July 2026. Brocent runs ScubaGear and CIS tooling under the hood — you pay for the audit, interpretation and remediation, not the tool.
Microsoft 365 audit — pricing questions
Isn't Secure Score already free?
Yes, and we use it — but it only reads API-visible settings and no auditor or insurer accepts it as a formal assessment. The CIS Microsoft 365 Benchmark covers 100% of controls, including manual ones Secure Score can't see. You're paying for the audit-grade evidence and the fix plan, not the score.
How is M365 audit pricing calculated?
The Snapshot and CIS tiers are largely fixed because the benchmark is a defined checklist. The main variable is user/tenant count and whether you want guided remediation (Hardening tier) afterwards. Send us your user count for a fixed quote.
What does the audit actually check?
Entra ID (identity, MFA, conditional access, admin roles), Defender (threat policies), Purview (DLP, retention, compliance), Exchange Online, SharePoint/OneDrive sharing, and Teams — against the CIS Microsoft 365 Benchmark Level 1 and 2.
Do you fix the problems too?
The Hardening & Compliance tier includes guided remediation to Secure Score 80+ and hardens conditional-access and DLP policies. Audit-only tiers hand you a prioritised roadmap your own team (or ours, on a managed plan) can execute.
Does this satisfy GDPR / NIS2 / PIPL / PDPL?
The audit maps findings to GDPR, NIS2, PIPL and the Singapore/UAE/Saudi PDPL regimes, so the report supports those obligations. We deliver across APAC, EU/UK and the Middle East.
Book your Microsoft 365 security audit
Tell us your user count and compliance target — we'll return a fixed-fee quote and a sample CIS findings report within one business day.