Guide to Cybersecurity Budget Planning: How Much + How To | Huntress

Mo' money, mo' problems doesn't apply when it comes to your cybersecurity budget.

Cybersecurity spending is one of the more misunderstood line items in a company's budget. It's easy to default to matching whatever a competitor spends or padding last year's numbers without much thought, but that approach rarely holds up under scrutiny from leadership or against the risks a business actually faces. 

Huntress research found that more than a quarter of IT and security professionals allocate 16 to 20% of their IT budget to cybersecurity, and nearly three-quarters rate that budget as at least adequate, a sign that thoughtful planning, not guesswork, is what separates a budget that works from one that just exists on paper.

That's exactly what this article walks through, from benchmarking your spend to building the case for the budget you need.

How much do companies spend on cybersecurity?

Data shows that cybersecurity budgets currently average 10.9% of IT spend, down slightly from 11.9% in 2024, according to the 2025 Security Budget Benchmark Report from IANS Research and Artico Search. When expressing it as a share of revenue, that same report puts the average at 0.69%, flat year over year. Either way you look at it, the number varies a lot by industry and organization size. 

Industry averages tell a clearer story when they're shared consistently, so this table sticks to a single metric: cybersecurity spend as a percentage of the overall IT budget.

Sources: IANS Research and Artico Search, 2025 Security Budget Benchmark Report, Deloitte, 2025 Smart Manufacturing and Operations Survey, and Forrester 2026 Budget Planning Guide

*Financial services and healthcare figures reflect a range compiled across industry analyses rather than a single named primary study.