The core pricing metric: Time and Complexity
Legitimate penetration testing is not a software product you buy off the shelf; it is highly specialized consulting labor. Offensive security engineers are among the highest-paid technical professionals globally. Therefore, pricing is fundamentally a calculation of Time (Days) × Day Rate.
The "Time" required is determined by the complexity of the scope.
Average Market Rates in Nigeria (2026)
While every application is unique, we can group pricing into three general tiers based on the Nigerian market reality.
1. The Startup Baseline
Scope: Single Web App (e.g., a merchant dashboard) + 10 API endpoints.
Cost Range: ₦1,500,000 - ₦3,000,000
Duration: 1 to 2 weeks.
2. The Fintech Standard
Scope: Web Dashboard + iOS App + Android App + 30 Core APIs.
Cost Range: ₦5,000,000 - ₦10,000,000
Duration: 3 to 4 weeks.
3. The Enterprise Assessment
Scope: Full External Infrastructure + Internal Network + Core Banking Integration + Mobile Apps.
Cost Range: ₦12,000,000+
Duration: 4+ weeks with multiple engineers.
What drives the cost up?
When we scope an engagement at Simpa Labs, several specific factors increase the required engineering time:
User Roles and Privilege Matrices
An application where everyone is a "Standard User" takes relatively little time to test. An application with complex RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) like `Sub-Agent`, `Super-Agent`, `Admin`, and `Auditor` takes drastically longer. Engineers must cross-test every role against every other role to hunt for Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerabilities.
Black Box vs. White Box Testing
If you refuse to provide documentation or test credentials (Black Box), the engineers must spend days blindly fuzzing and reverse-engineering the application just to understand how it works. Providing Postman collections, Swagger files, and source code (White Box) drastically reduces the discovery time, allowing testers to immediately focus on finding deep business logic flaws. White Box is almost always cheaper and yields better results.
The ₦500,000 "Pentest" Trap
If a vendor quotes a suspiciously low price (e.g., under a million Naira for a full fintech stack), they are not performing a penetration test. They are running an automated Vulnerability Scan (using tools like Nessus) and slapping their logo on the PDF. Automated scanners cannot find the business logic flaws that actually lead to fintech breaches.
How to maximize your security budget
If your budget is tight, do not ask the vendor for a discount in exchange for lower quality. Instead, intelligently reduce the scope of the assessment.
- Exclude Static Assets: Do not pay a senior security engineer to test your WordPress marketing blog. Exclude `www.yourcompany.com` from the scope and focus entirely on `api.yourcompany.com` and `app.yourcompany.com`.
- Fix the low-hanging fruit first: Run free tools (like OWASP ZAP) internally and fix all the basic missing headers and exposed `.git` folders before the pentest begins. Do not pay premium consulting rates for engineers to report basic misconfigurations.
- Consolidate Mobile Testing: If your iOS and Android apps are built on React Native or Flutter and share the exact same backend API, the vendor can test the API heavily once, and then focus only on the platform-specific flaws for the mobile clients, reducing redundant billing.
Ready to get an exact quote for your application?
Request a Scoping CallFrequently asked questions
How much does a penetration test cost for a Nigerian fintech?
Pricing is highly dependent on scope. In 2026, a basic web application pentest for a startup might range from ₦1,500,000 to ₦3,000,000. A comprehensive assessment covering web, mobile (iOS/Android), and core banking APIs for a mid-sized fintech typically ranges from ₦5,000,000 to over ₦10,000,000.
Why do pentest quotes vary so wildly between vendors?
The biggest driver is manual vs. automated testing. If a vendor quotes ₦500,000 for a 'pentest', they are likely just running an automated Nessus or Acunetix scan and exporting the PDF. True penetration testing requires highly paid engineers spending days manually hunting for business logic flaws.
Do we have to pay extra for a re-test after we fix the vulnerabilities?
Reputable offensive security firms (like Simpa Labs) include one free re-test within a specified timeframe (usually 30 to 60 days) in the initial proposal. Always check if the re-test is explicitly stated in the Statement of Work (SoW).
How can we reduce the cost of our penetration test?
The best way to reduce cost is to shrink the scope. Exclude static marketing sites and focus the budget entirely on the core transactional APIs and the mobile app. Additionally, providing 'White Box' access (source code and API documentation) allows testers to find bugs faster, reducing billable hours.
Related reading
Blog: How to Scope Your Pentest · Continuous vs Annual Pentesting
Guides: Fintech Security Checklist · Web App Pentest Guide
Services: Penetration Testing · Vulnerability Assessment