Fig Group Prices Cyber Essentials Below the Standard IASME Fee. Here Is Why.

When organisations shop for Cyber Essentials certification in the UK, they encounter a wide range of prices. Some certification bodies charge £400 or more for a micro organisation. Others match the standard fee set by IASME. Fig Group charges less than the standard fee.

The standard IASME certification fee for Cyber Essentials starts at £320 + VAT for micro organisations (1 to 9 employees). Fig Group charges £314.99 + VAT for the same certification. That is not a promotional price, a limited-time discount, or a loss leader. It is the standard price, every day.

This article explains how that is possible and what organisations receive at that price.

What Is the Standard IASME Fee?

IASME is the national accreditation body that licenses Cyber Essentials certification bodies across the UK. When a certification body becomes IASME-licensed, they operate within a fee structure that includes a base cost payable to IASME for each certification issued.

The standard fee that most certification bodies charge for Cyber Essentials starts at £320 + VAT for micro organisations. This has become the industry baseline - the price most organisations expect to pay when they search for Cyber Essentials certification.

Many certification bodies charge significantly more than this baseline. Prices of £400 to £500 + VAT for micro organisations are common, particularly from providers that bundle consultancy, hand-holding, or "guided assessment" services into the certification price. Some charge express or priority fees on top of their base price for faster turnaround.

How Fig Group Prices Below the Baseline

Fig Group charges £314.99 + VAT for Cyber Essentials certification for micro organisations. This is below the £320 + VAT standard that most certification bodies charge. The question most people ask is: how?

The answer is operational efficiency.

Platform automation reduces per-assessment cost. Fig Group built a purpose-designed certification platform that automates the administrative overhead of each assessment. Submission intake, assessor routing, feedback delivery, certificate generation, and IASME database registration are all handled by the platform. At a traditional certification body, each of these steps involves manual work - emails, spreadsheets, document generation, and administrative handoffs. Each manual step has a cost. Fig Group's platform eliminates those costs.

AI-assisted pre-screening reduces assessor time per submission. Before a human assessor reviews a submission, Fig Group's platform runs an AI pre-screening layer that validates completeness, flags inconsistencies, and surfaces the specific areas that need assessor attention. This means assessors spend their time on judgment and expertise, not on checking whether form fields are populated. The result is that each assessment takes less assessor time without compromising quality.

Volume and focus. Fig Group processes a high volume of Cyber Essentials certifications. The platform was built specifically for this purpose - it is not a general-purpose consultancy tool adapted for certification. This focus means the fixed costs of the platform are spread across a large number of assessments, reducing the per-unit cost.

No bundled consultancy. Some certification bodies inflate their price by bundling consultancy services that many organisations do not need. If an organisation's IT is well-managed and their security controls are in place, they do not need someone to hold their hand through the questionnaire. Fig Group provides the assessment, structured feedback, and certification - not unnecessary advisory services. Organisations that want to check their readiness before purchasing can use the free readiness checker at no cost.

What Is Included at £314.99 + VAT

The price is lower than the standard fee, but nothing is missing from the service. Here is exactly what is included:

Full Cyber Essentials v3.3 self-assessment covering all five NCSC control categories: firewalls, secure configuration, security update management, user access control, and malware protection

Expert review by an IASME-licensed human assessor - every submission is reviewed by a qualified assessor, not just an automated tool

Up to three rounds of structured feedback delivered through the platform, with specific guidance on which controls need attention and what to change

Official Cyber Essentials certificate identical in standing to one issued by any other IASME-licensed body

Registration on the IASME certificate database so your certification is publicly verifiable

Digital badge for your website, email signatures, and marketing materials

Same-day certification from point of self-assessment submission for orders placed before midday - typically within 6 hours

Dedicated support throughout the process

There are no hidden fees. No charge for resubmissions. No express fee for same-day service. No additional cost for feedback rounds. The price you see is the price you pay.

How Fig Group Compares on Price

Here is how Fig Group's Cyber Essentials pricing compares across all organisation tiers:

Organisation SizeEmployeesStandard IASME FeeFig Group PriceDifference---------------Micro1 - 9£320 + VAT£314.99 + VAT£5.01 lessSmall10 - 49£450 + VAT£449 + VAT£1 lessMedium50 - 249£550 + VAT£549 + VAT£1 lessLarge250+£650 + VAT£649 + VAT£1 less

At every tier, Fig Group is priced at or below the standard IASME fee. No other IASME-licensed certification body consistently prices below the baseline across all tiers while also offering a guaranteed same-day turnaround.

Why Not Just Match the Standard Fee?

A reasonable question. If Fig Group's operational costs are lower, why not charge the standard fee and keep the margin?

Because the point of building an efficient platform was to pass the savings on. Cyber Essentials certification is a government-backed scheme designed to improve baseline cybersecurity across UK organisations. The more accessible it is - both in terms of cost and speed - the more organisations certify. The more organisations certify, the better the UK's collective security posture.

Fig Group's view is straightforward: if technology allows the certification process to be delivered more efficiently, the benefit should reach the organisations paying for it. Charging £314.99 + VAT instead of £320 + VAT is a deliberate choice, not an accident.

What About Cyber Essentials Plus?

Cyber Essentials Plus pricing at Fig Group follows the same principle:

Organisation SizeEmployeesFig Group Price---------Micro1 - 9£1,499 + VATSmall10 - 49£1,999 + VATMedium50 - 249£2,799 + VATLarge250+£4,499 + VAT

Cyber Essentials Plus includes an independent third-party technical audit with external vulnerability scanning. The Plus process typically takes 1 to 3 working days due to the hands-on audit requirement. All Plus certifications include the underlying Cyber Essentials certification at no additional cost.

The Real Cost of Choosing a More Expensive Provider

When comparing certification bodies, price is one factor. But the total cost of certification also includes time. An organisation that pays £400 + VAT for certification and waits five working days has paid more in money and more in time than an organisation that pays £314.99 + VAT and receives their certificate within 6 hours.

For organisations where certification is needed for a tender, client requirement, or insurance condition, every day of delay has a real cost - in delayed revenue, stalled onboarding, or compliance gaps.

Fig Group is cheaper and faster. Those two things are not in tension. They are both the result of the same investment in technology and process design.

How to Get Started

1. Check your readiness with the free readiness checker - takes 10 to 15 minutes, no payment required

2. Purchase your certification at Fig Group's pricing page - from £314.99 + VAT

3. Complete the self-assessment through the IASME portal

4. Receive your certificate - typically within 6 hours of self-assessment submission for orders before midday

If you have been quoted a higher price elsewhere, or if you have been told that "same-day certification" costs extra, you now know there is an alternative. Fig Group delivers the same government-backed certificate, reviewed by the same standard of IASME-licensed assessor, at a lower price, in less time.

View pricing and get certified today