What a trust center costs in Canada
The software is rarely the biggest cost of a trust centre. The hours someone spends answering what it cannot are, and they are the line nobody quotes you.
A trust centre in Canada costs between almost nothing and a five-figure CAD annual contract, and the software is usually the smaller part. A self-hosted security page costs the 20 to 40 hours it takes to write, about $2,000 to $6,000 CAD of internal time at a loaded $100 to $150 an hour. A platform ranges from included in a compliance subscription you already pay for to a separate contract in the same band as those subscriptions, $7,500 to $50,000 CAD a year. Running it, meaning answering questions and handling requests, costs the most and is the line to check first.
$2,000 to $6,000 Internal time to write a self-hosted page, CAD
$7,500 to $50,000 Annual compliance or trust platform band, CAD
Quoted Managed service, priced per organization
What are the costs of a trust centre?
A trust centre has four cost lines: building the content, the software that hosts it, the hours to run it, and the documents that feed it. The first is one-off, the second is a subscription, the third recurs weekly, and the fourth is mostly paid already, because the SOC 2 report and the penetration test exist for their own reasons.
| Line | What it covers | Range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content build | Controls summary, subprocessor list, residency statement, document library, NDA | $2,000 to $6,000 of internal time, or a setup engagement | Whether a SOC 2 or ISO 27001 project already produced the material |
| Hosting and software | A page on your own site, a trust feature in a compliance platform, or a standalone trust platform | $0 to $50,000 a year | Whether you need NDA e-signature, approval workflows and viewer analytics |
| Running it | Answering questions, approving requests, keeping content current | Your hours, or a managed service | Review volume and how fast buyers expect answers |
| Feeding documents | SOC 2 report, ISO certificate, penetration test letter | Already budgeted elsewhere | Nothing, unless you add a SOC 3 for public use |
What does trust centre software cost?
Most trust centre vendors do not publish prices, so expect a sales conversation. There are three routes, and they sit in different bands. Plan with the band until you have a written quote in Canadian dollars, and confirm whether the quote is in USD, because many vendors price in US dollars.
| Route | How it is priced | Planning band | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page on your own site with a request form | Your time and your existing hosting | About $0 a year | Under 20 staff, a few reviews a quarter |
| Trust feature inside a compliance platform | Included in some plans, an add-on in others | Included, or an add-on to a $7,500 to $50,000 subscription | Companies already paying for Vanta, Drata or Secureframe |
| Standalone trust centre platform | Quote-based, usually on documents, viewers and seats | Treat as the same $7,500 to $50,000 band until quoted | High review volume, several products, analytics needed |
| Hosted by a managed provider | Part of the managed service | Inside the managed quote | Companies buying the operation, not just the software |
Which vendor sells what is on the platform comparison. Buy the cheapest route that gives you logged NDA requests. That single feature does more for your governance than any analytics dashboard.
What does it cost to run a trust centre?
Running a trust centre costs the hours of whoever answers inbound questions, approves document requests and keeps content current. At three to eight hours a week, that is 150 to 400 hours a year, which at a loaded $100 to $150 CAD an hour is $15,000 to $60,000 CAD. That range is arithmetic on stated assumptions, not a survey figure. Put your own numbers in the calculator.
| Weekly hours | At $100 an hour | At $125 an hour | At $150 an hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours | $10,000 | $12,500 | $15,000 |
| 4 hours | $20,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| 8 hours | $40,000 | $50,000 | $60,000 |
| Based on 50 working weeks | Hours x rate x 50 | ||
Two costs hide inside those hours. The first is who does the work. If it is your CTO, the real cost is the product work that did not happen. The second is slowness: a two-week wait on an NDA request can push a signature into the next quarter, and one slipped deal usually costs more than a year of review hours.
What does a managed trust centre cost?
A managed trust centre is quoted per organization. The quote depends on review volume, how fast answers are needed, whether full questionnaires are included, and how much content exists at the start. Compare it with the running cost above, not with a platform licence, because it replaces the hours rather than the software. What managed covers lists the scope to compare quotes against.
What should a company our size budget?
| Profile | Sensible setup | First year, planning figure |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 staff, no report yet, a few reviews a quarter | Security page with an honest status and a request form | $2,000 to $6,000 of internal time |
| 20 to 100 staff, SOC 2 in hand, a review or two a week | Trust feature in your compliance platform, run internally or managed | Platform add-on plus $10,000 to $30,000 of hours, or a managed quote |
| 100 to 300 staff, several products, regulated buyers | Standalone platform or managed service with questionnaires | Platform in the $7,500 to $50,000 band plus hours, or a managed quote |
A SOC 3 is the one document you might add
If you want a report you can publish without an NDA, your SOC 2 auditor can issue a SOC 3, the general-use summary. It is priced as an addition to the SOC 2 engagement. Most companies do not need one: a gated SOC 2 with a quick NDA does the same job for the reviewers who matter.
Where can the cost come down?
- Write once. An answer library built from your SOC 2 evidence cuts the hours per questionnaire more than any tool. How to build one.
- Auto-approve the safe cases. Existing customers and prospects with an open opportunity can get gated documents after the NDA without a human approval.
- Publish more. Every question the public page answers is one nobody types again. The publish or gate checker sorts your documents.
- Skip the standalone platform until volume demands it. A trust feature in a platform you already pay for is enough for most companies under 100 staff.
Common questions
Is a trust centre worth it for a small company?
Only when reviews are costing real hours or deals. Under about twenty staff with a few reviews a year, a clear security page and a request inbox are enough and cost only the time to write them. Revisit when enterprise reviews become a weekly event.
Do trust centre vendors charge in Canadian dollars?
Many price in US dollars. Ask for a CAD quote or convert at the current rate before comparing, and check whether the price scales with viewers, documents or seats, because that decides what year two costs.
Why is the managed service not priced on this site?
Because the work depends on your review volume, the response times you need and what content already exists. A single published price would be wrong for most companies. A quote built on your last quarter's reviews is the useful number.
Is the trust centre cost tax deductible in Canada?
Subscriptions and service fees for running the business are ordinarily deductible business expenses, but confirm the treatment with your accountant, particularly for setup work that may be treated differently from ongoing fees.
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