Best Cyber Security Companies UK 2026: 10 Top Providers Compared

By Andy Pickett · Managing Director

Published 5 May 2026 · About the author

UK businesses spent an estimated £10.6 billion on cyber security in 2025, and that figure is rising 8–12% year on year as ransomware, business email compromise and supply-chain attacks become more frequent and more damaging. Choosing the right cyber security partner has gone from a nice-to-have to a board-level decision — especially if you handle customer data, take card payments, or sell to enterprise clients who now demand Cyber Essentials certification as part of supplier onboarding.

This guide compares 10 of the most established UK cyber security companies, breaks down realistic 2026 pricing, and gives you a structured way to choose — whether you’re a 5-person accountancy firm needing your first Cyber Essentials certificate or a 200-seat group rolling out 24/7 MDR with a UK SOC. Use the free cost estimator further down to model your monthly spend across plan tiers, then take the decision tree to narrow your shortlist.

How we compared these UK cyber security companies

The cyber security market is noisy. Hundreds of UK firms call themselves “cyber experts” — from one-person consultancies through to publicly listed enterprises. To filter that down to 10 we used six criteria, applied evenly:

1. UK headquarters or substantial UK delivery team. Cyber Essentials is a UK-government-backed scheme; data residency and UK GDPR matter; round-the-clock support is harder when the SOC is offshore.
2. Cyber Essentials and/or Cyber Essentials Plus accredited. If a provider can’t pass the certification themselves, they shouldn’t be selling it to you. Bonus points for ISO 27001 and IASME Governance.
3. Service breadth. A serious cyber programme spans Cyber Essentials, MDR/EDR, email security, awareness training, vulnerability management and incident response. We weighted broader portfolios higher.
4. Sector specialisation. A firm that already supports 50 UK accountancy practices will set up FCA-aligned controls faster than a generalist. We noted each provider’s most-served sectors.
5. Pricing transparency. Several providers publish per-user or per-endpoint rates publicly — we favoured those, because hidden pricing is correlated with longer sales cycles and surprise charges later.
6. Customer-base size and longevity. Independently verifiable client counts (Companies House, case studies, third-party reviews) and 5+ years trading.

This isn’t a definitive ranked “1 to 10” — the right provider for a 12-person solicitor firm is rarely the right provider for a 300-person manufacturer. Instead, we’ve grouped them by who they typically serve so you can shortlist three to four for an actual quote.

The 10 best UK cyber security companies in 2026 — at a glance

Pricing as of April 2026 from publicly listed rate cards or our own benchmarking. “Quote only” means the provider doesn’t publish prices — expect a 30-60 minute discovery call before they share figures.

1. Connection Technologies — SMB / mid-market all-in-one

We have to declare an interest here: this is our own page. So we’ve put ourselves first only because it’s the provider we know inside-out and can give you precise pricing for. Read the rest of the list as the genuinely independent picks; treat this entry as “here’s what we offer, judged on the same six criteria”.

Best for: UK SMBs and mid-market businesses (5–250 staff) that want one supplier for cyber, IT and business mobiles rather than juggling three contracts.

Services: Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus certification (managed end-to-end), MDR with a UK 24/7 SOC, SIEM, EDR rollout, email security, phishing-simulation training, vulnerability management, incident response retainers, and free £25k cyber insurance via IASME when you certify through us.

Pricing: SMB cyber bundle from £6–£12 per user per month (EDR + email security + training + monthly review). Cyber Essentials managed certification from £500 + IASME fee. Cyber Essentials Plus from £1,800 + IASME fee. MDR from £15–£25 per endpoint per month depending on coverage hours.

What’s different: We’re one of the few UK providers that bundle cyber with telecoms and managed IT, so we can spot risks the average MSP misses — like unsecured legacy phone systems, BYOD policy gaps on mobile, and SIM-swap risk on staff numbers. We hold Cyber Essentials Plus ourselves and IASME-listed Cyber Essentials certification body status.

2. Bridewell — critical national infrastructure

Best for: Large enterprises in regulated sectors (energy, transport, financial services) needing CHECK-accredited services and OT/ICS expertise.

Services: Managed Security Operations Centre (MSOC), penetration testing, advisory, governance & compliance consulting, data privacy, OT security.

Pricing: Enterprise quote-only. Realistically £30k+ entry point for a managed engagement.

Bridewell are a CREST-accredited consultancy with sizeable UK presence in Reading, Manchester and London. They tend to win mandates with NHS Trusts, utilities and FTSE 250 organisations. Strong choice if you have a 1,000+ headcount and need OT/ICS coverage; usually overkill for an SMB.

3. ramsac — SMBs in the south of England

Best for: 20–500 person businesses in the south-east, particularly Surrey, Hampshire and London.

Services: Managed IT bundled with cyber security — secure+, secure247, Cyber Essentials, awareness training, MDR, M365 security.

Pricing: Quote only.

Long-established (30+ years) Surrey-based MSP with a strong reputation in professional services and education. Their “cybersafety” framework integrates training, technical controls and reporting in one package. Geographically focused; if you’re in the north or have multi-site UK presence outside the south, look elsewhere.

4. Foursys — mid-market security infrastructure

Best for: Mid-market businesses replacing or upgrading firewall, endpoint or SIEM platforms.

Services: Vendor-led security infrastructure (Palo Alto, Fortinet, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne), managed firewall, endpoint security, vulnerability management.

Pricing: Quote only.

Hertfordshire-based, 100+ staff, technically deep. They’re less of a “total cyber” provider and more of a vendor-aligned partner — if you’ve already chosen a Palo Alto stack and need a UK reseller / managed services partner, they’re a credible option.

5. IT Governance — compliance & certification specialist

Best for: Businesses primarily seeking certification (Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, PCI DSS) rather than ongoing managed security.

Services: Cyber Essentials certification body (one of only five IASME-licensed), ISO 27001 implementation, GDPR consultancy, PCI DSS, training. Limited managed-detection capability — this is a consultancy rather than a SOC.

Pricing: Cyber Essentials self-certification from £300; IT Governance-managed from £1,495. ISO 27001 implementation packages from £7,500.

Ely-based publisher and consultancy. If your driver is “we just need the badge to win this tender,” IT Governance is one of the fastest, most predictable routes. If your driver is “we need ongoing protection,” you’ll need a separate MDR provider on top.

6. Nettitude — enterprise pen-testing

Best for: Enterprises with regulatory pen-testing requirements (PCI DSS, financial services, CBEST/STAR-FS).

Services: CREST and CBEST-accredited pen testing, red teaming, MDR, advisory, threat intelligence. Part of Lloyd’s Register.

Pricing: Quote only. Pen tests from ~£5,000; CBEST engagements £100k+.

Cheltenham-based with a global footprint. Strong reputation for technical pen-test depth and financial-services-aligned threat-led testing. Pricing reflects the enterprise focus.

7. Pentest People — penetration testing as a service

Best for: Mid-market businesses needing recurring web app, infrastructure or mobile pen tests at predictable cost.

Services: Pen Testing as a Service (PTaaS) platform — web app, infra, mobile, cloud. Cyber Essentials. No MDR or 24/7 SOC.

Pricing: Pen tests from £3,500. PTaaS subscription quoted on scope.

Leeds-based, CREST-accredited, recognised for the SecurePortal platform that turns pen-test reports into a continuous remediation workflow. If you need 4–12 pen tests a year, their PTaaS subscription model often beats one-off engagements on cost.

8. Sapphire — public sector & defence

Best for: Public-sector bodies, MOD suppliers, and regulated industries needing UK security clearance staff.

Services: SOC, MDR, vulnerability management, advisory, incident response. NCSC CIR-listed for cyber incident response.

Pricing: Quote only. G-Cloud / DOS framework available.

Ipswich-based with 30+ years in UK cyber. Particularly strong if you procure via Crown Commercial Service frameworks or need SC/DV-cleared staff for sensitive engagements.

9. NCC Group — listed enterprise consultancy

Best for: Multinational enterprises and listed companies needing global delivery.

Services: Managed XDR, advisory, escrow, software resilience, pen testing, incident response (formerly Fox-IT IR team).

Pricing: Quote only. Enterprise scale.

Manchester HQ, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Broad service catalogue, deep IR bench, but the price floor is well above what most UK SMBs would consider. Often used by FTSE 350 boards needing a name they can defend in a board paper.

10. Mitigo — accountancy & legal sector specialist

Best for: Accountancy practices, solicitors and financial advisers (10–250 staff) needing sector-aligned cyber controls.

Services: Cyber risk management programmes for regulated professional services, awareness training, governance support. Less technical / more advisory.

Pricing: Quote only. Subscription model.

Mitigo Group has carved a niche serving ICAEW firms and Law Society members. Strong sector knowledge but you’ll likely need a partner MSP for the technical implementation (EDR rollout, MDR, infrastructure).

How much do UK cyber security companies charge in 2026?

Cyber security pricing in the UK has consolidated around per-user-per-month and per-endpoint-per-month models, with one-off project fees for certifications and pen tests. Here are realistic 2026 ranges across the most-asked services, drawn from published rate cards and our own benchmarking of 80+ UK proposals.

Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus

• Self-assessed Cyber Essentials: £300 (1–9 staff micro band) up to £500 (regulated micro band) IASME fee, plus consultancy time if you use a partner. Full cost breakdown here.
• Managed Cyber Essentials: £500–£1,500 total, depending on whether you need pre-assessment remediation.
• Cyber Essentials Plus: £1,400 IASME fee + £1,000–£3,500 audit fee, depending on devices in scope and how prepared you are. Full Plus pricing guide.

Endpoint protection (EDR / antivirus)

• Business antivirus: £2–£4 per device per month. Adequate for micro-businesses but increasingly insufficient on its own.
• EDR: £4–£8 per device per month for managed EDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Defender for Business). EDR vs antivirus explained.

Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

• Office-hours MDR: £10–£18 per endpoint per month with a UK SOC monitoring 9–5.
• 24/7 MDR: £15–£35 per endpoint per month for round-the-clock UK monitoring with 15-minute response SLAs.
• Enterprise MDR with threat hunting: £40+ per endpoint per month.

For most 25-staff businesses, all-in cyber spend (CE+ once a year + MDR + email security + training) lands in the £15–£30 per user per month range — or about £4,500–£9,000 a year for a typical 25-person operation.

Penetration testing

• External infrastructure pen test: £3,500–£7,500 one-off.
• Web application pen test: £5,000–£15,000 depending on app complexity.
• Internal network pen test: £5,000–£12,000.
• Red team engagement: £25,000+.

Awareness training and phishing simulation

• £1–£3 per user per month for KnowBe4, MetaCompliance, usecure or similar platforms with monthly phishing simulations.

Cyber insurance

• From £500–£1,500 a year for a small UK business with £500k cover, rising to £5,000–£25,000 for mid-market with £5m cover.
• Most insurers now require Cyber Essentials Plus or equivalent controls for renewal — another reason to certify even if you don’t have a tender driving you to.

How to choose the right cyber security company for your business

Use this decision tree to narrow your shortlist from 10 candidates down to 2–3 you’ll actually quote.

By company size

• 1–9 staff: Most micro-businesses don’t need an enterprise consultancy. Pick a managed cyber bundle from a UK MSP (Connection Technologies, ramsac, Foursys) and add Cyber Essentials. Avoid quote-only enterprise providers — you’ll be at the bottom of their priority list.
• 10–50 staff: The sweet spot for SMB-focused MSPs. You need EDR, email security, training, monthly review and probably MDR. Cyber Essentials Plus becomes mandatory if you sell to enterprise or government.
• 50–250 staff: You can support a part-time or full-time IT lead in-house. Outsource the SOC and pen testing; keep policy and risk in-house. Mid-market MSPs and specialist MDR providers both work.
• 250+ staff: Build a small in-house security function (CISO + 1–2 analysts). Outsource MDR, advisory and pen testing to specialists like Bridewell, Nettitude or NCC Group. You’ll likely need multiple suppliers.

By sector

• Accountancy / financial advice: Mitigo or a sector-aware MSP. Watch ICAEW, FCA and AML guidance.
• Legal: Mitigo or a Law Society Lexcel-aware MSP. SRA expectations are rising sharply post-2024 enforcement actions.
• Healthcare: NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) is mandatory. Look for a provider with NHS clients and DSPT/CIR experience — Sapphire, Bridewell or specialist healthcare MSPs.
• Schools / academies: Cyber Essentials is now a Department for Education condition of grant funding. Education-focused MSPs (ramsac, certain regional MSPs) understand the budget cycle.
• Retail / e-commerce: PCI DSS compliance is the dominant driver. You’ll need a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) for Level 1; for SAQ-A through D, a competent MSP plus Pentest People for ASV scans is sufficient.
• Manufacturing: OT/ICS security is a step up in complexity. Bridewell, NCC or specialist OT consultancies for the OT side; standard MSP for the IT side.
• Charity / non-profit: Budget-constrained but high reputational risk. NCSC’s Cyber Essentials Funding scheme (where active) plus a sector-friendly MSP.

By compliance driver

• Need Cyber Essentials only: IT Governance or any IASME-licensed certification body. Don’t over-buy.
• Need ISO 27001: IT Governance, Bridewell, or a specialist consultancy with documented framework. Budget £15,000–£40,000 to certify and 6–9 months calendar time. Cyber Essentials vs ISO 27001 explained here.
• Need PCI DSS: A QSA-listed firm. Most MSPs aren’t QSAs.
• Need SOC 2: US-tilted but increasingly common for UK SaaS firms. Pick a consultancy with SOC 2 Type II readiness experience.
• Need DSPT: NHS-aware MSP or Sapphire-tier specialist.

Red flags to walk away from

Whatever the size of provider, walk away if they:

• Can’t produce their own Cyber Essentials Plus certificate on request.
• Won’t put pricing on paper before contract signature.
• Bundle “security” with general IT support and can’t separate the cyber line items.
• Promise “100% protection” or “guaranteed no breaches” — that’s sales fiction.
• Outsource MDR to an offshore SOC without saying so on the proposal.
• Have no incident-response retainer or run-book offer.
• Quote only fixed packages with no risk assessment of your environment first.

Cyber security companies by sector

Different sectors face very different threat profiles, regulatory pressures and budget realities. We’re building dedicated guides for each — the ones live now are linked below; the rest are in our 2026 publishing schedule.

• Cyber security for small businesses UK (under 50 staff)
• Cyber and IT for UK charities
• Construction companies UK
• UK compliance crossover — GDPR, Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001
• Microsoft 365 / Azure cyber configuration

Cyber security in-house vs outsourced — which is right?

The most common question UK SMBs ask before procuring is whether to hire a dedicated security person rather than outsource. Honestly, for most businesses under 250 staff, in-house cyber doesn’t pencil out yet. Here’s the maths.

A junior UK SOC analyst earns around £35,000–£45,000 a year. A mid-level one is £55,000–£75,000. A CISO is £100,000+. Add 25% for employer NI, pension and benefits and you’re looking at £45,000–£60,000 minimum to put one body on the cyber problem — and that body works 9-5, takes holiday, gets sick and only knows what they personally know.

For the same £45,000–£60,000 a year, a 50-person business can buy:

• A 24/7 UK SOC watching every endpoint (multiple analysts behind the desk).
• Cyber Essentials Plus certification annually.
• EDR, email security and awareness training for every user.
• Quarterly vulnerability scans and an annual external pen test.
• An incident-response retainer with 1-hour activation.

That’s why, if you’re under 250 staff, the right answer is almost always: outsource the SOC, pen testing and certification, keep policy and risk-acceptance decisions in-house. Above 250 staff the maths starts to flip — you can support a small in-house team and still need a managed SOC for after-hours.

For more on the cost trade-off, see our managed SOC vs in-house cost comparison.

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