How much does a smart contract audit cost in 2026?
Short answer: anywhere from $0 to $180k. Free open-source scanners cost nothing. A Guardix AI pre-audit is $200 flat per repo and commit. A boutique firm runs $30–50k, and a tier-1 firm $100–180k. Where you land depends on how much code you have and who reviews it.
Smart contract audit prices, as of October 2026
| Option | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Option Free open-source tools (Slither, Aderyn), Hashlock AI free beta | Price $0 | Source r/ethdev |
| Option Guardix AI pre-audit | Price $200 flat per repo and commit | Source Guardix pricing |
| Option Nethermind AuditAgent | Price $0.05 per billable line of code (50% off now) | Source AuditAgent |
| Option SolidityScan | Price $29.99 per report (1k LOC), or $199.99/mo | Source SolidityScan pricing |
| Option Savant Chat | Price $0.07–0.50 per line, or $250–2,500/mo | Source AgentSAST |
| Option Fidesium | Price $399–1,499/mo for scanning; manual from $5k | Source Fidesium |
| Option Low-cost manual audit (0xGuard) | Price from $900 | Source 0xGuard on X |
| Option Time-boxed review (Zealynx) | Price $500–5,000; $6k per auditor-week | Source Zealynx |
| Option Audit contest | Price $20–50k prize pool | Source r/ethdev |
| Option Boutique audit firm | Price $30–50k | Source r/TokenResearchHub |
| Option Tier-1 audit firm (about 3 weeks) | Price $100–180k | Source r/TokenResearchHub |
Private audits are also quoted at $20k–150k by Dacian. Prices are public quotes and change often; check with the vendor before you budget.
What drives the cost
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Lines of code. More code means more reviewer time. Most AI tools price per line; Guardix doesn't, it's $200 per repo and commit.
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Complexity. DeFi math, upgradeable proxies and cross-chain logic take longer to review than a simple token.
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Who reviews it. Manual audits are priced in auditor-weeks. One public anchor: Zealynx charges $6k per auditor-week. Tier-1 firms put several senior auditors on a project for weeks.
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Timeline. A rush slot usually costs more than a booked one.
How to pay less for an audit
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Ship clean, tested code. Auditors bill for time. Every hour spent on confusing code or missing tests is an hour you pay for.
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Run an AI pre-audit first. Guardix takes 1–3 hours and $200, and finds the easy and medium bugs before a paid auditor starts the clock. On EVMBench it found 104 of 117 known vulnerabilities (88.9%) across 40 official audits. What a pre-audit is →
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Re-check after fixes. A re-audit of a new commit is the same $200, so you can confirm fixes before the manual review.
An honest caveat: a pre-audit doesn't replace a manual audit for code that will hold serious funds. It makes the manual audit shorter and the findings less basic. AI vs manual audits →
Picking an AI audit tool
Prices above are only part of it. Benchmarks, false positives and report quality differ a lot. We compare the options on AI smart contract auditor.
FAQ
- How much does a smart contract audit cost in 2026?
- From $0 for free open-source scanners to $100–180k for a tier-1 firm. Boutique firms typically quote $30–50k. A Guardix AI pre-audit is $200 flat.
- Why do tier-1 audits cost $100k+?
- They put several senior auditors on your code for about three weeks. You pay for auditor-weeks, and top firms charge the most per week.
- Is a cheap or free smart contract audit worth it?
- Free scanners catch known patterns, but they're noisy and miss logic bugs. A cheap audit is worth it as a first pass before launch or before a paid audit. For code holding significant funds, still get a manual review.
- Can an AI pre-audit lower my manual audit cost?
- It can cut the time auditors spend on easy bugs, since you fix those first. Manual audits are billed by time, so less time usually means a smaller bill. We don't promise a fixed percentage.
- How long does an audit take for the price?
- A Guardix pre-audit takes 1–3 hours. A tier-1 manual audit takes about three weeks of review. Other firms' wait times vary; ask them directly.