What a physical security assessment costs depends on your facility, scope, and depth of testing. Here's how pricing actually works, what drives it, and where cheap quotes go wrong.
It's the first question every buyer asks and the one most security firms won't answer on their website. Here's an honest breakdown of how assessment pricing works across the industry - so you can budget and spot a quote that doesn't add up.
For a single commercial facility, a professional physical security assessment in the US typically runs from about $5,000 to $25,000. Small single-tenant offices sit at the low end. Large campuses, multi-day engagements, and controlled penetration testing sit at the high end. Multi-site programs are usually priced per site, with volume discounts.
Facility size and complexity. A 10,000 sq ft office takes a day. A 100,000 sq ft campus with labs, a warehouse, and a parking structure takes several. On-site time is the biggest cost driver in any assessment.
Depth of testing. A walk-through with a procedures review is the baseline. Structured staff interviews, after-hours observation, and controlled penetration testing - where the assessor attempts a real intrusion and documents it - add days and add cost, but they're what turns an opinion into evidence.
Reporting. Some firms deliver a slide deck. A real assessment delivers a written report: findings ranked by risk, fixes ranked by cost, and documentation your board or insurer can rely on. Ask to see a sample report before you sign.
Who does the work. A senior practitioner with decades of law-enforcement or security leadership experience costs more than a junior consultant with a checklist. You'll feel the difference in the interview room and in the report.
A $2,000 "assessment" is usually a camera-counting exercise or a sales call for guard services in disguise. If the quote doesn't include meaningful time on site, interviews with your staff, and a written report with priorities, it isn't an assessment - it's a site visit.
Compare the cost against one incident: a workplace violence event, a theft of equipment or research, a negligent-security lawsuit, or an insurance claim that gets denied because you can't show you took reasonable steps. For most facilities, a serious assessment costs less than a single month of contract guard services - and tells you whether those guards are actually positioned where they'd matter.
The right next step is a scoping call: fifteen minutes about your facility, your headcount, and what prompted the search, and you should be able to get a fixed quote with no surprises.
If you'd like to scope yours, grab time with us here: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ2Vfg8EPN20WBgXele__BqARtY6fAKkX3jcs8GgyuIRaBVaXXRS3EpgRpz15nAEQ387lGmApxD8
