Deloitte, KPMG, EY, and PwC do excellent work for enterprises with enterprise budgets. For a startup that needs to pass SOC 2 and stand up a real security program, the Big 4 model is usually slow, expensive, and staffed by associates who rotate off your account. Here is the honest comparison.
We would rather tell you the truth than win a bad-fit client. Here is when the alternative is genuinely the better choice.
If that is you, hire the Big 4. We will say so on a call. Most startups are not that, which is why we exist.
| traztech | Big 4 firm | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Roughly $3K to $8K per month, scoped to a startup | Six-figure engagements are common, often billed in large blocks |
| Time to value | SOC 2 readiness on a 75-day track | Multi-month scoping, then a multi-month engagement |
| Who does the work | Our founder, a published CVE researcher, embedded in your team | A partner sells it, associates and consultants deliver it |
| Who answers the auditor | We sit in the audit and answer the control questions | You coordinate across a rotating team and a project lead |
| Depth | Hands-on remediation, not just findings and a slide deck | Strong frameworks and reports, lighter on hands-on fixes |
| Offensive testing | Run with our partner Lorikeet Security | Often a separate practice or subcontracted |
You work directly with our founder. The person who scopes the work is the person who does it and answers the auditor. Nobody rotates off your account mid-engagement.
Our SOC 2 in 75 Days track and roughly $3K to $8K per month pricing are built for companies that need to move, not for enterprise procurement cycles.
Six published CVEs including CVE-2024-45163, a CVSS 9.1 Mirai botnet kill-switch covered by CyberInsider. That is the depth behind the program, with Lorikeet Security running offensive testing.
The deliverable is a passed audit and a working security program, not a findings deck you have to staff a team to act on.
No, and that is an important distinction. traztech prepares you for and runs you through SOC 2, including readiness, remediation, and sitting in the audit. The independent SOC 2 attestation itself is signed by a licensed CPA audit firm. We get you ready to pass and stay with you through it. We do not issue the report ourselves.
Because there is no partner markup, no rotating bench of associates, and no enterprise overhead. You pay for one embedded operator at roughly $3K to $8K per month instead of a large team billed in blocks. The work is hands-on rather than report-heavy.
Sometimes, and we will tell you honestly when the brand matters more than the outcome. For most startups, what customers actually want is a clean SOC 2 report and clear answers on the security questionnaire. The auditor of record on a SOC 2 is the CPA firm, not the consultant, so the consultant brand rarely shows up where it counts.
Our founder, a published CVE researcher with a SOC 2 Type II across 76 controls and six disclosed vulnerabilities. You are not handed to a junior associate. Offensive testing is run with our partner Lorikeet Security.
Yes. Big 4 engagements typically involve a scoping phase and a multi-month delivery. Our SOC 2 readiness runs on a 75-day track because there is no internal handoff and the operator is embedded from day one.
Then you should hire internally or move to a larger firm, and we will help you transition cleanly. We are built to get a startup from zero to a real program. When you need a full internal security org, that is a good problem and a natural graduation.
Get a startup-priced security and compliance program run by a published researcher, not sold by a partner and delivered by associates.
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