Why We Publish Our Pricing

The audit industry has a pricing transparency problem. Most firms won't tell you what an audit costs until you've called, had a meeting, and waited weeks. We think that's wrong — and we decided to do something about it.

The way it usually works

If you've ever searched for "how much does a 401(k) audit cost," you know the frustration. Almost every audit firm's website says some version of "contact us for a quote." No pricing page. No ballpark range. No indication of whether you're looking at $5,000 or $50,000.

Instead, you're expected to fill out a contact form, schedule a call, explain your plan details to a salesperson, wait for an internal review, and eventually receive a proposal — sometimes weeks later. By that point, you've invested hours before you even know if the firm is in your budget.

This process isn't designed for your benefit. It's designed to give the firm maximum leverage in pricing. If you don't know the market rate, you can't negotiate effectively. If you've already invested time in the process, you're less likely to walk away from an inflated quote.

Why opacity persists

Most audit firms bill hourly. That means they genuinely don't know what your audit will cost until it's done. Hourly billing creates a perverse incentive: the less efficient the firm is, the more they earn. Five rounds of document requests? More billable hours. Junior staff needing extra review? More billable hours.

Even firms that quote fixed fees tend to keep those numbers off their website. The reasoning is usually some combination of "every plan is different" and "we don't want competitors to undercut us." Both arguments have some merit — but neither justifies forcing every prospective client through weeks of back-and-forth just to get a number.

Why we chose a different path

When we started Pepper, we made a simple bet: if we specialize exclusively in retirement plan audits, we can predict our costs with high accuracy. We know how long a 401(k) audit with 200 participants takes. We know the incremental effort for each additional adopting employer in a PEP. We've done this enough times to price it confidently.

So we published our prices. Right on our website. $10,000 for individual 401(k) plans under 500 participants. $12,000 for plans with 500 to 2,499. Custom pricing for plans with 2,500 or more. PEPs starting at $15,000. No phone call required. No weeks of waiting.

What publishing prices forces us to do

Transparent pricing isn't just a marketing choice — it's a discipline. When your prices are public, you can't hide behind vague "it depends" answers. You have to:

Be efficient. If we quote $10,000, we need our process to be tight enough to deliver a quality audit at that price. That means one document request (not five), structured workflows, and experienced staff who don't need hand-holding.
Be honest about scope. We clearly define what's included and what might cause a price change. No buried assumptions, no small print.
Be competitive. When anyone can see your prices, you can't charge $20,000 for the same work a specialist does for $10,000. Published pricing keeps us honest.
Stand behind the number. The price we quote is the price you pay. If our estimate is wrong, we absorb the difference — not you.

What this means for you

You can visit our pricing page right now and know exactly what your audit will cost. No sales calls. No "let me check with my partner." No waiting. If the price works for you, get a formal proposal in under 2 minutes. If it doesn't, you haven't wasted anyone's time — including your own.

We believe this is how every professional service should work. And we think more firms will follow eventually. Until then, we're happy to be the only audit firm with a pricing page.

"You shouldn't have to make phone calls and wait weeks to find out what an audit costs."