Audit pricing is mostly effort: how many security engineers, for how many days. By the method used in our free audit cost calculator ($1,600-2,800 per engineer-day, Anchor unless noted, fix review included, no rush), indicative costs look like this.
| Project | Code in scope | Engineer-days | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Token vesting (simple) | 500 lines | 3.5 | $5,500-10,000 |
| Staking (standard) | 1,500 lines | 7.5 | $12,000-21,000 |
| Lending, 2 programs, oracle (DeFi) | 3,000 lines | 23 | $37,000-64,500 |
| Perps DEX, native Rust, 3 programs | 6,000 lines | 56.5 | $90,500-158,000 |
Audit next to the build
For a tiny program the audit can cost more than the build (a vesting program with a basic interface is about $3,000-5,500 to build), because an audit day costs several times a freelancer day. For a large lending protocol the audit is roughly 44-50% of the build cost.
What drives the price
- Code size in scope, excluding tests and generated code.
- Complexity: custom math, token flows, CPIs, oracles and upgrade logic.
- Number of programs and integrations.
- Timeline: rush audits cost more and often find less.
- Deliverables: fix review, public report, design review.
These are indicative figures, not quotes. Full guide with FAQ and the calculator: https://orivions.com/blog/solana-smart-contract-audit-cost
Checklists to prepare before the audit: https://github.com/JakeMalarczyk/solana-security-checklists
