CyberSmart review: Cyber Essentials in 2026

Fig Group’s Cyber Essentials Basic guarantee is within six working hours of receiving a complete, compliant submission before midday UK time on a UK business day. Purchase alone does not start the clock. Clarification, remediation and customer response time are outside that commitment; three rounds of assessor feedback are included. Cyber Essentials Plus has a prepared-assessment target of 2–3 working days, subject to scheduling, device access and remediation, with one formal retest within 30 days under the terms. Certification requires a successful assessment.

Comparison scope and method: This is Fig Group’s publisher comparison, not an independent market-wide performance test. Best is our task-specific recommendation; cheapest refers to the published standalone Cyber Essentials Micro assessment price among the named comparable offers, and fastest to the stated qualifying Basic turnaround commitment. Software subscriptions, Plus packages and consultancy are separate purchases. Provider descriptions are supplier claims; quote-only or inaccessible offers do not establish a UK-wide lowest price or exclusive guarantee. Check the current package, VAT, commitment, support and written turnaround terms before ordering.

CyberSmart is one of the UK's larger IASME-licensed Cyber Essentials certification bodies, founded in 2015 and headquartered in London. Their model is platform-first: a SaaS agent installed on end-user devices automates self-assessment questions, after which their assessors review evidence and issue the certificate. They are a reasonable choice for organisations that want ongoing monitoring as well as certification. Fig Group positions differently - lower headline price, faster first-time certification, and the same IASME licence verifiable on the official directory.

• Founded: 2015
• HQ: London
• IASME-licensed: yes - check the IASME directory for their current licence
• Scope of services: Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, GDPR support, IASME Cyber Assurance
• Differentiator: monitoring agent + dashboard, designed for ongoing compliance rather than a point-in-time certificate

Their platform installs on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices and reports compliance posture continuously - useful for organisations that value visibility between annual certifications.

CyberSmart’s current plans present certification and software offerings separately. Obtain the current staff-band and selected-package quote before comparing it with Fig Group’s £299.99 + VAT standalone Micro price. Compare each written assessment commitment and its qualifying conditions; an unverified guarantee is not evidence that one does not exist.

For the specific and current price, check CyberSmart’s current plans - any review is a snapshot; their commercial terms change.

• You want a compliance platform, not just a certificate. Their agent-based model has value if your organisation is willing to install it on every device and wants continuous posture reporting.
• You prefer a larger supplier. CyberSmart's size and maturity are a fair comparator for buyers who weight vendor stability.
• You value their wider scheme coverage. They offer IASME Cyber Assurance and other adjacent services.

These are verifiable, falsifiable differences - not opinions:

1. Price floor. Fig Group's Micro tier is £299.99 + VAT, published on our pricing page and held across all assessments.

2. Certification speed. Fig Group’s qualifying Basic guarantee is within six working hours of receiving a complete compliant submission before midday UK time on a UK business day. Check the certification terms for eligibility and any remedy; this comparison does not establish an unconditional refund entitlement.

3. Verifiable licence. Fig Group's IASME licence is verifiable on the IASME directory. CyberSmart's licence is also verifiable - always check either body's claim before paying.

This is worth stating: the IASME-issued Cyber Essentials certificate a CyberSmart customer receives and the certificate a Fig Group customer receives are the same piece of paper. Both are valid for 12 months, both appear on the same IASME directory, both satisfy the same scheme requirements; acceptance depends on the actual procurement or insurance requirement. The differences are the buying and support experience, not the certification.

• You have a Cyber Essentials renewal coming up and want to benchmark prices
• You have shrunk headcount and want to retier your Micro / Small / Medium scope
• You want a faster certification for a time-sensitive procurement deadline

There is no separate Fig Group switching fee; the new assessment fee and any agreed preparation work still apply - you can simply choose a different IASME-licensed body for the next annual cycle and the certificate is equivalent. The IASME-arranged £25k cyber liability cover (UK orgs < £20m turnover, whole-organisation scope) is available to eligible certificate holders who opt in, subject to whole-organisation scope and current policy terms, regardless of which IASME-licensed body issues it.

Before paying any certification body (us included), verify:

1. IASME licence: name appears on the IASME directory. If not, walk away.

2. Price is published or quoted clearly up front with VAT shown.

3. Assessor SLA: how long between submission and review.

4. Resubmission policy: what happens if the first submission fails.

5. Evidence requirements: do they match IASME's current published requirements (v3.3 as of 2026)?

CyberSmart is a legitimate, IASME-licensed certification body with a strong platform play. If their monitoring agent is the thing you want, they may be the right fit. If you want the fastest, cheapest IASME-licensed route, Fig Group's £299.99 + VAT Micro tier and 6-working-hour certification compares favourably. The IASME-arranged £25k cyber liability cover ships with valid CE certificates from either body, where eligibility criteria are met.

Start Cyber Essentials with Fig Group - from £299.99 + VAT | All pricing tiers | See the comparison