How much does a vCISO cost in 2026?

How much does a vCISO retainer cost per month?

A monthly retainer is a common structure: a fixed fee for an agreed scope and number of hours. Published examples vary by provider and by company size, so compare scope before price.

• SideChannel publishes $3,000 to $20,000 a month, and $3,000 to $12,000 for most mid-market companies of 100 to 500 employees. Its FAQ puts a typical vCISO engagement at $36,000 to $144,000 a year.
• vCISO.com lists Advisory from $3,000 a month, Managed from $5,000 and Embedded as custom, typically $10,000 or more, with the final price set at intake.
• Pivot Point Security says 90% of its clients fall between $4,500 and $12,500 a month.
• Consilien (published 26 June 2026) bands retainers by company size: $1,500 to $4,000 a month for 5 to 8 hours under 50 people, $3,000 to $7,000 for 8 to 15 hours at 50 to 200 people, $5,000 to $12,000 for 10 to 20 hours at 200 to 500 people, and $10,000 to $20,000 for 20 hours and up where several frameworks apply.

For MSP-delivered services to small and mid-sized clients of 50 to 500 employees, Cynomi publishes lower per-client tiers of $1,000 to $1,500, $2,000 to $3,500 and $3,500 to $5,000 a month. See how to price vCISO services if you are setting those tiers.

What do vCISOs charge per hour?

Published hourly figures run from $150 an hour (Cynomi) to $400 an hour (SideChannel), with experienced practitioners at the upper end. Hours matter most as the overage rate once a retainer allowance is used.

• SideChannel and Consilien both quote $200 to $400 an hour for advisory work.
• Cynomi gives $150 to $300 an hour for MSP-delivered work.
• vCSO.ai reports retainer overage of $250 to $400 an hour above the monthly allotment, and advises watching the overage line rather than the headline retainer.

What does a project-based vCISO engagement cost?

A project engagement fixes a price for a defined deliverable such as SOC 2 or CMMC readiness. Two sources publish a project range.

SideChannel and Consilien both quote fixed project fees of $10,000 to $75,000. The other sources do not publish project ranges, so ask for a written scope.

How does a vCISO compare with a full-time CISO?

A full-time CISO is a salaried executive with benefits and management overhead; a vCISO is bought as a retainer or project. Compare like for like (scope, hours, tooling, term), because the gap can be large, small or reversed, and no saving is guaranteed.

• Salary.com reports an average CISO salary of $386,069 a year as of 1 November 2026, with the middle half between $349,157 and $430,971. That is base salary, not the total cost of employment.
• SideChannel puts full-time CISO total compensation at $250,000 to $500,000 a year, against $36,000 to $144,000 a year for a vCISO.

A full-time business case should include recruitment, benefits, equipment, vacancy and tooling. A fractional one should include the practitioner's scope, platform software and any other tooling, each quoted separately. A vCISO engagement does not replace an internal hire where the role needs a full-time executive on site.

Which engagement model fits: retainer, project or platform-enabled?

Retainers suit continuing oversight, projects suit a bounded deliverable with a deadline, and a platform-enabled model pairs a practitioner's judgement with software that handles repeatable evidence and reporting work. Hour caps on a retainer can run out in an incident or audit sprint; projects end while a programme continues.

This table is GetCybr's editorial view, not a published benchmark.

A client who regularly pays overage hours may be on the wrong model; a client re-engaged every quarter for the same ongoing work may suit a retainer better.

What drives the price of a vCISO?

Scope is the largest driver: the more responsibilities handed to the vCISO, the higher the fee. The sources name a consistent set of other drivers.

• Consilien names scope, compliance frameworks, IT environment complexity (such as multiple sites or operational technology) and practitioner seniority.
• Pivot Point Security names the expertise you need from outside, how mature your information security management system is, how much you outsource, and large security initiatives.

None of the sources checked publishes rates by country or region, so this guide does not either. Every figure here is in US dollars as the provider published it.

What does a platform add to the cost of a vCISO?

Where GetCybr fits: software that a vCISO, consultancy or MSP uses to deliver the work, priced per client. It does not replace the practitioner, and its price sits on top of the practitioner's fee. GetCybr is platform software; human vCISO services are supplied and priced separately.

GetCybr Comply is platform software only; the human vCISO is supplied and priced separately. GetCybr's public partner rates have no platform fee: Monitor $49, Audit $99 and Comply $199 per client per month, with Brand and Connect included for every account. A company securing itself pays Monitor $99, Audit $199 and Comply $399 per organisation per month; Enterprise adds a quoted edition fee, so its monthly total can't be shown until that fee is quoted. See platform pricing for the current rates and how volume and annual prepay change them, or direct pricing if you are securing your own organisation.

A GetCybr subscription does not include a human practitioner fee. Obtain a separate written proposal from a human vCISO provider. To compare software before you choose, see vCISO platforms compared.

Sources

Every market figure above was read from the page linked here; the list shows each page's accessed date. These are provider-published prices, not audited market data or GetCybr prices. Also,vCSO.ainotes that no independent survey of actual vCISO invoices exists. Ranges a source does not publish are shown as not published.

1. vCISO Pricing in 2026: What You’ll Actually Pay, SideChannel (published 22 April 2026), accessed 2 November 2026. Used for: Monthly retainers of $3,000–$20,000 ($1,500–$4,000 for companies of 1–50 employees, $5,000–$12,000 for 200–500, and $3,000–$12,000 for most mid-market companies of 100–500), a typical engagement cost of $36,000–$144,000 a year, $200–$400 an hour, fixed project fees of $10,000–$75,000, and $250,000–$500,000 total compensation for a full-time CISO.
2. vCISO Engagements & Pricing, vCISO.com (no publication date stated), accessed 2 November 2026. Used for: Advisory from $3,000 a month, Managed from $5,000, Embedded custom and typically $10,000+; final price set at intake.
3. Virtual CISO (vCISO) Pricing and Cost Drivers, Pivot Point Security (no publication date stated), accessed 2 November 2026. Used for: 90% of its clients fall between $4,500 and $12,500 a month; four cost drivers (expertise needed, ISMS maturity, internal resources, security initiatives). No hourly rates published.
4. vCISO Cost & Pricing: What Fractional CISO Services Run, Consilien (published 26 June 2026), accessed 2 November 2026. Used for: Retainer bands by company size with hours a month, hourly advisory of $200–$400, fixed project fees of $10,000–$75,000, and four cost drivers (scope, compliance, IT complexity, seniority).
5. Chief Information Security Officer Salary, Salary.com (as of 1 November 2026), accessed 2 November 2026. Used for: Average full-time CISO salary of $386,069 a year, 25th–75th percentile $349,157–$430,971 (base salary, not total cost of employment).
6. vCISO Pricing Models for MSPs: How to Price Security Advisory Services in 2026, Cynomi (published 28 April 2026), accessed 2 November 2026. Used for: Per-client monthly retainer tiers for SMB clients of 50–500 employees (core $1,000–$1,500, full programme $2,000–$3,500, strategic $3,500–$5,000) and hourly rates of $150–$300; names per-client retainer, hourly or project, and tiered packaging as the pricing models.
7. 2026 vCISO Pricing Benchmark: Published Rates, vCSO.ai (dated 17 July 2026), accessed 2 November 2026. Used for: Retainer overage of $250–$400 an hour above the monthly allotment; every figure is provider-published and no independent survey of actual vCISO invoices exists.