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Planning6 min read
CMMC Compliance Costs: What to Budget
DoD estimates CMMC Level 2 compliance costs $75K–$150K+, but real-world costs vary widely. Here's a breakdown of the major cost categories and what drives them up or down.
CMMC compliance is a significant investment. DoD's own cost estimates in the Federal Register were $105,000–$118,000 for a C3PAO assessment alone, before accounting for the remediation investment needed to reach assessment-ready posture.
| Cost category | Estimated range | Key drivers |
|---|---|---|
| Gap assessment | $5,000–$30,000 | Organization size, number of systems in CUI boundary |
| SSP development & documentation | $15,000–$50,000 | Existing documentation maturity, number of systems |
| Technology (MFA, SIEM, EDR, GRC) | $20,000–$80,000 | Existing tooling, cloud vs. on-premise, licensing model |
| FedRAMP-authorized cloud migration | $15,000–$60,000 | Volume of CUI in consumer cloud today |
| Policy & procedure development | $10,000–$40,000 | Policy maturity, consultant rates |
| Staff training | $5,000–$15,000 | Headcount, training platform choice |
| C3PAO assessment fee | $80,000–$130,000 | Organization size, scope, C3PAO pricing |
| Ongoing annual maintenance | $20,000–$50,000/yr | Tool subscriptions, annual affirmation, policy updates |
What drives costs down
- ✓Already using Microsoft 365 GCC High or Google Workspace Government
- ✓Existing documented security program (even if gaps remain)
- ✓Small, well-defined CUI boundary
- ✓Accessing free resources: the CMMC Gap Assessment Grant program provides free gap assessments to qualifying small contractors
Think of it as a cost of doing business
The question is not whether CMMC compliance is expensive. It is whether the DoD contract revenue justifies the investment. For most defense contractors, the answer is yes by a wide margin.
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