CMMC 2.0 compliance can drive significant growth for your company, unlocking access to Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and other lucrative business opportunities. But it also comes with a range of costs that organizations must carefully consider. 

Whether you’re a small business just beginning to build your cybersecurity posture or a large enterprise refining your existing practices, understanding the financial implications of CMMC 2.0 compliance is essential. By exploring costs like consulting fees, technical resources, and third-party assessments, organizations can better plan and allocate resources, ensuring a smoother path to compliance.

Understanding the cost of CMMC 2.0 certification

The Department of Defense recently provided cost projections for how much contractors and other organizations will have to spend to implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0, including assessment costs for each CMMC Level. 

According to the DoD’s proposed rule for CMMC 2.0: 

• Level 1 self-assessments would cost from $4,000-$6,000. 
• Triennial Level 2 self-assessments are estimated between $37,000-$49,000. 
• Level 2 certification assessments conducted by a third party are projected to cost $105,000-$118,000 (including the triennial assessment and two additional annual affirmations). 
• The cost of a Level 3 certification assessment would involve the same costs as Level 2, in addition to the costs for implementing security requirements specific to level three, an additional $41,000.  

But the cost of the CMMC assessment itself is one thing — the cost of achieving and maintaining compliance is another thing entirely. Understanding all of the associated costs, both initial and recurring, is essential for allocating the appropriate resources as well as determining the expected ROI of investing in CMMC compliance for your company. 

The total cost of CMMC compliance varies significantly, depending on which level of compliance you need and the current state of your cybersecurity posture. The main factors determining the cost of CMMC compliance are: 

• The extent of your expertise. How much will you need to rely on paid consultants?
• The costs of preparing for the CMMC audit. What is the current state of your NIST 800-171 compliance? Is your CUI protected infrastructure/environment? Do you need to implement a CUI enclave? How many gaps will you need to fill?
• Will other tools be needed for CMMC compliance in order to implement other controls, policies, documentation, etc?
• The type of assessment you need. Will you need to engage a C3PAO or allocate resources to conduct a self-assessment? 

Other factors, such as your organization’s size, number of geographic locations, and the extent you handle CUI and/or FCI can impact the cost of CMMC compliance. What is the scope of the applications, databases, locations, and personnel that process and store CUI and/or FCI?

Let’s examine common costs associated with each level of CMMC certification. 

CMMC Level 1 compliance costs

Fewer requirements, simpler implementation, and lower assessment costs typically make CMMC Level 1 compliance the most accessible to companies with limited resources. Considering FCI is not as sensitive as CUI, the practices required for Level 1 compliance are less complex and don’t typically require the advanced technology, rigorous documentation, or sophisticated processes needed for higher levels. This reduces the need for expensive consulting services, specialized tools, and extensive employee training.

To get a better understanding of both one-time and recurring costs of CMMC compliance, let’s look at preparation, assessment, and maintenance costs. 

Preparation costs

Organizations typically conduct a gap assessment to identify any holes in their current cybersecurity practices and the requirements for CMMC Level 1. This requires either allocating personnel if you have internal expertise, purchasing tools, or hiring external consultants. 

Based on the results of the gap analysis, organizations may need to invest in new tools and technologies, update processes, draft policies, procedures, and SSP, and/or complete employee training. All told, remediation and implementation costs can total tens of thousands of dollars for Level 1 organizations. 

Many smaller organizations pursuing CMMC Level 1 certification may not have the internal expertise or resources to manage compliance. Hiring external consultants to help with preparation tasks such as gap and readiness assessments, policy development, and control implementation can cost $250-$400 per billable hour.

Self-assessment

If you have internal personnel with the required expertise in CMMC, they can conduct the Level 1 self-assessment. However, you’ll have to account for lost productivity costs for the 30-40 or so hours it will take to conduct a self-assessment, from evaluating cybersecurity practices, reviewing evidence, documenting findings, and preparing a final report. 

If you need to hire a third-party assessor to complete the self-assessment process, it will likely take 36-40 hours to complete the assessment, costing approximately $9k (assuming a rate of $250/hr), plus travel expenses if an onsite visit is necessary. 

Maintenance costs

Maintaining CMMC Level 1 certification requires ongoing investment. Continuous monitoring services can cost $6,500 to $13,000 annually, plus regular updates to policies, required documents, and annual training for personnel. 

CMMC Level 2 compliance costs

Achieving CMMC Level 2 certification involves more stringent requirements than Level 1. The need for a higher level of cybersecurity maturity also typically involves higher associated implementation and assessment costs. Organizations must consider that level 2 builds off of level 1 so level 2 costs will include much of what is involved in Level 1 and more.

Preparation costs

An initial gap analysis based on NIST 800-171 will be needed to compare the organization’s current cybersecurity practices against Level 2’s 110 control requirements. Some assessors start their NIST 800-171 gap assessment services at $3.5k, while others charge around $20k for a Rev 2 gap assessment. 

Remediation costs can land between $35,000 and $115,00, depending on the extent of the changes needed to close any gaps identified during the initial assessment. Closing these gaps can require significant investments in cybersecurity tools, policy updates, process implementation, and employee training. 

If your organization needs to hire external consultants to assist with policy development, control implementation, system hardening, and readiness assessments, you’ll need to factor those in as well at an estimated hourly rate of $250-$400. 

Some organizations choose to set up a CUI enclave, which is basically a separate, dedicated system just for handling CUI, to simplify compliance. It works like a stand-alone system that creates a secure boundary around the sensitive data it holds, and lets you narrow the focus of your CMMC compliance efforts to specific components of your organization’s infrastructure. Costs for the CUI enclave itself can range from $300-400 per user, per month to $3,000-$4,000 per month, or more if you need a senior or lead engineer to be involved in the implementation. 

Assessment costs

According to the published DoD estimates, a Level 2 third-party assessment will cost between $105,000-$118,000, which includes the triennial assessment and two annual affirmations. That said, C3PAOs set their own assessment fees, and with demand for assessments likely to outpace availability, those assessment costs may rise. 

Maintenance costs

Ongoing monitoring and maintenance can require tens of thousands annually for continuous monitoring tools ($6,500 to $13,000 annually), updates to security practices and controls, and regular employee training (between $15-$25/user) between triennial assessments.

CMMC Level 3 compliance costs 

CMMC Level 3 certification is significantly more complex and costly than Levels 1 and 2, as it involves a comprehensive set of cybersecurity practices and processes. Here’s a breakdown of the typical costs associated with achieving CMMC Level 3 certification. 

Preparation costs

Because CMMC Level 3 includes all of the NIST 800-171 controls of Level 2 plus additional controls from NIST 800-172, we can estimate gap assessment costs to run at least $3.5-$20k (estimated starting costs of a NIST 800-171 gap assessment). 

Depending on the extent of the changes needed to bring the organization into compliance with CMMC Level 3 requirements, remediation and implementation can cost $50,000 - $250,000. Addressing gaps may require significant investments in new tools; IT infrastructure to protect CUI; policy, procedure, and SSP updates; process improvements; and employee training. Plus, the complexity of Level 3 compliance often requires comprehensive changes across the organization, driving up costs. 

Due to the rigorous requirements of Level 3, organizations often engage specialized consultants for detailed analysis and remediation recommendations, policy development, control implementation, system hardening, and readiness assessments, at a rate of $250-$400 per billable hour. Based on the scope of work, this can cost between $50,000-$300,000. 

Assessment costs

Based on estimates released by the DoD, Level 3 assessment costs would mirror the $105k-118k for Level 2, plus an extra $41k for implementing additional NIST 800-172 requirements, for a total of $146 - $159k every three years. 

Maintenance costs

As with Level 1 and Level 2, maintaining Level 3 compliance requires continuous monitoring, regular updates to cybersecurity practices and documentation, ongoing staff training, and possibly the use of a managed security provider (which typically starts between $2k-3.5k per month and increases from there). Based on these needs, Level 3 maintenance costs can run $25,000 - $100,000 a year.  

How to lower the costs of CMMC 2.0 compliance

Security and compliance automation platforms help government contractors and authorized software vendors streamline complex framework requirements, implement and monitor required controls, and achieve continuous compliance with standards including CMMC, NIST 800-171, NIST 800-53, and other federal frameworks. 

• Find consultants you can rely on: Whether with a vCISO or other experts that your organization works with, it is critical to have experienced personnel in your corner to help you navigate CMMC. Secureframe has an internal team of compliance experts, which includes former FISMA, FedRAMP, and CMMC auditors and consultants as well as a network of vCISOs, consulting firms, and other partners that can help you every step of the way. 
• Use a tool to help you track everything: Our platform is always kept up-to-date on the latest changes to federal compliance requirements, simplifying regulatory change management. 
• Eliminate hundreds of hours of manual work: Secureframe integrates with your existing tech stack, including AWS GovCloud, to deliver powerful automation and efficiency. Automatically collect evidence, continuously monitor your security and compliance posture, and simplify POA&M maintenance.
• Streamline document and policy management: Templated policies, procedures, and SSPs written by former federal auditors can be fully customized to meet your needs. Our enterprise policy management capabilities include POA&M documents, impact assessments, and readiness reports, making it faster to build a fully compliant policy library without hiring external consultants or allocating internal resources.

To learn more about how Secureframe simplifies CMMC 2.0 compliance, reach out to our team for a personalized demo.