vCISO advisory
vCISO Cost Calculator
See exactly what strategic security leadership costs and how much you save compared to a full-time hire.
Configure your engagement
Set your numbers
30 hrs/mo × $250/hr × 12 months — includes team access
Side-by-side comparison
Where the money actually goes
True Cost of a Full-Time CISO
- Base Salary
- $300,000
- Benefits & Taxes (~30%)
- $90,000
- Recruiting (amortized)
- $17,000
- Ramp/Onboarding Productivity Loss
- $45,000
- Outside Specialists Still Needed
- $35,000
- Total Loaded Cost
- $442,000
All-In Cost of a vCISO Engagement
- 30 hrs × $250/hr × 12 mo
- $90,000
- Benefits & Taxes
- $0
- Recruiting Fees
- $0
- Ramp/Onboarding Cost
- $0
- Specialist Team Access
- $0
- Total Annual Cost
- $90,000
Zero overhead costs. Zero recruiting risk. Team access included. Scale up or down as needs change.
Reinvest your savings
Reinvest your savings into actual security
The $352,000 you save isn't just money kept — it's budget freed up to fund the controls, tools, and capabilities your program actually needs.
Security Tools & Platforms
Employee Training
IR Retainer & Insurance
Back to the Bottom Line
The team multiplier advantage
One contract. Multiple disciplines.
A full-time CISO is one person with one skill set. A vCISO engagement with Principle Security gives you access to an entire bench of specialists, coordinated under one strategic umbrella and billed under one contract.
Your full-time CISO would need to hire or contract each of these separately, adding headcount, overhead, and management complexity on top of their own salary.
Typical engagement tiers
Where organizations usually land
Foundational
Early-stage security programs, first compliance audit
Growth
Active compliance, vendor oversight, board reporting
Enterprise-Ready
Complex environments, M&A, multi-framework compliance
All tiers include access to Principle Security's full specialist bench: compliance, pen testing, IR, GRC, and more.
Ready to talk numbers?
Every engagement starts with understanding your business, not selling you hours. Let's see if a vCISO is the right fit.
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