How to Budget for Cybersecurity as a Small Business
A UK small business should allocate 5–15% of its overall IT budget to cybersecurity, or roughly £200–£1,500 per month depending on size and risk profile. The right approach is risk-based: invest proportionally to the value of what you are protecting.
Direct Answer
UK small businesses (10–50 staff) typically spend £400–£1,200 per month on cybersecurity — around £15–£25 per user per month for managed endpoint protection, email security, and monitoring. This compares to £40,000–£55,000 per year for a single in-house security hire, making managed cybersecurity significantly more cost-effective.
Building a Practical Security Budget
A framework for allocating cybersecurity spend as a small business.
Start with Risk Assessment
Identify your most valuable data and systems. Your security budget should protect the assets whose loss would cause the most damage.
Prioritise by Impact
Fund the controls that reduce the most risk first: MFA, email security, endpoint protection, backups. These cover the majority of attack vectors.
Factor in Compliance
If your industry requires Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, or sector-specific compliance, budget for the controls and audit costs those frameworks demand.
Plan for Growth
Choose per-user pricing models that scale with your business. Avoid large upfront capital expenditure on security hardware that may become obsolete.
Security Budget by Business Size
Typical monthly cybersecurity spend for UK SMEs.
| Feature | Micro (1–10)£100–£300/mo | Small (10–50)£300–£1,200/mo | Medium (50–250)£1,200–£5,000/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endpoint protection | |||
| Email security | |||
| MFA | |||
| 24/7 monitoring | Optional | Recommended | |
| Incident response retainer | Optional | ||
| Vulnerability management | |||
| Compliance support | CE only | CE/CE Plus | CE Plus/ISO 27001 |
Budget ranges are indicative. Actual costs depend on industry, risk profile, and compliance requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Industry guidance suggests 5-15% of total IT spend, though the right figure depends on your risk profile and the data you hold. Businesses in regulated sectors or those handling sensitive client information should budget towards the higher end. With 43% of UK businesses experiencing a breach or attack (DSIT 2025), underspending on security is a false economy that can lead to costs far exceeding the savings.
Frame it as risk reduction rather than a cost centre. The average cost of the most disruptive breach is £3,550 (DSIT 2025), and that figure escalates significantly when data loss or regulatory fines are involved. Present your cybersecurity budget alongside the financial exposure it mitigates, the insurance premium reductions it enables, and the contract opportunities it unlocks through certifications like Cyber Essentials.
Cybersecurity investments are allowable business expenses for corporation tax purposes. Some local enterprise partnerships and industry bodies offer funded cyber readiness programmes for SMEs. Only 14% of UK businesses review cyber risks from their immediate suppliers (DSIT 2025), meaning businesses that invest in and can evidence strong security gain a genuine competitive advantage when bidding for enterprise or public-sector contracts.
Get a Realistic Security Budget
We will assess your risk profile and recommend a cybersecurity budget that matches your actual needs — not a generic percentage.
Related Resources
How Much Does Managed Cybersecurity Cost?
Detailed per-user pricing for managed cybersecurity services for UK SMEs.
Cybersecurity Guide for UK SMEs
A comprehensive guide to cybersecurity controls, priorities, and budgeting.
What Is Cyber Essentials?
The UK baseline certification — the starting point for any cybersecurity budget.
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