How much does a bug bounty program cost?

The honest answer is that it depends on what you put in scope and what you choose to pay. But the structure is simple, and once you understand it you can set a budget you control.

The two parts of the cost

First, the platform: a subscription that covers the program workspace, researcher community, triage and validation, integrations and support. Second, the rewards: the money paid to researchers for valid, unique vulnerabilities. You decide the reward table, usually by severity, and the total reward budget.

What drives reward spend

Reward spend depends on how many valid issues exist in scope, how attractive your rewards are relative to other programs, and whether the program is private or public. A larger, more complex scope with higher rewards attracts more experienced researchers and more findings. A narrow private program with a modest table spends less.

How to keep spend predictable

Start private with a small invited group and a clear scope. Set a total budget and pause rewards automatically when it is reached. Use triage so you never pay for duplicates, out-of-scope reports or issues that cannot be reproduced. Review the reward table every quarter based on what you are actually receiving.

Is it worth it?

Compare the cost of each valid finding with what the same vulnerability would cost if exploited — incident response, downtime, regulatory exposure and lost customer trust. Because you pay only for valid results, a well-run bounty is one of the more measurable security investments you can make. Talk to us for a quote based on your scope.