From CertiK at $150k to QuillAudits at $5k — this is every major smart contract audit firm, ranked by reputation, pricing, and specialization. Plus: when AI auditing replaces the need for any of them.
| Feature | All Major Audit Firms | SmartContractAuditor.ai |
|---|---|---|
| CertiK | $50k–$150k | 4–12 wks | — |
| Trail of Bits | $150k–$300k | 6–16 wks | — |
| Hacken | $10k–$50k | 2–8 wks | — |
| Quantstamp | $25k–$100k | 3–10 wks | — |
| QuillAudits | $5k–$30k | 1–4 wks | — |
| Cyberscope | $3k–$20k | 1–3 wks | — |
| SmartContractAuditor.ai | — | Free – $100/mo | <60s |
All Major Audit Firms Cost
$5,000 – $300,000+
All Major Audit Firms Timeline
1 – 16 weeks
AI Audit Cost
Free – $100/mo
AI Audit Timeline
< 60 seconds
CertiK — 4,000+ audits, $50k–$150k, Skynet monitoring. Best for exchange listings and institutional capital raises.
Trail of Bits — Research-grade, $150k–$300k+. The choice for ZK circuits, cryptographic protocols, and Ethereum infrastructure.
OpenZeppelin Audit — $50k–$120k. Best for protocols heavily using OZ library contracts.
ConsenSys Diligence — $50k–$150k. Ethereum-native depth, selective availability.
Hacken — $10k–$50k. OWASP-aligned methodology, strong Eastern Europe/Asia presence. Solid choice for Series A-stage protocols.
Cyfrin — $15k–$60k. Patrick Collins' education-driven firm. Strong developer community. Also operates CodeHawks competitive platform.
Halborn — $20k–$80k. Offensive security specialty. Good for protocols with complex attack surfaces.
Quantstamp — $25k–$100k. Institutional-focused. Strong in DeFi and enterprise blockchain.
QuillAudits — $5k–$30k. Accessible pricing makes them popular for early-stage projects. Report quality is generally adequate for common vulnerability classes.
Cyberscope — $3k–$20k. Lower-cost option primarily known for KYC and quick scans. Less rigorous manual review than Tier 1–2 firms.
Guardian Audits — $5k–$25k. Boutique firm with strong reputation in the Solana and EVM developer communities.
Warning: Budget audit badges can provide false confidence. A Cyberscope KYC is not the same as a CertiK code review. Understand what you're buying before publishing a badge.
For the majority of deployed smart contracts, AI-powered auditing covers the vulnerability classes that cause real losses:
If your contract is a standard token, NFT, simple staking, or basic governance module — and you're not raising institutional capital or listing on tier-1 exchanges — AI auditing provides the security coverage you need at zero upfront cost.