Find the failures before the assessor does.
An IASME-accredited assessor reviews your answers to every question in the 2026 Danzell set and tells you exactly what would fail, why, and what to do about it. No scheme fee, no submission, no surprises at marking.
- Price
- From £500 + VAT
- Turnaround
- 1 to 3 days
- Questions reviewed
- 106
The auto-fail questions. A No to A6.4, A6.5, A7.16 or A7.17, or a service at A7.15 that does offer MFA, and nothing else matters.
A report organised by question number, not by chapter
So you can work through it in the same order the assessor marks it.
A Cyber Essentials gap analysis is a readiness review of your draft answers against all 106 questions in the 2026 Danzell question set, carried out before you submit or pay the IASME scheme fee. It checks the auto-fail questions first, lists each answer that would fail and why, and orders the fixes. It does not issue a certificate.
Every question reviewed
All 106 questions in the Danzell set, with a pass, gap or unclear rating against your draft answers and the evidence you hold.
Auto-fail items first
The 5 questions that fail the assessment outright (A6.4, A6.5, A7.16 and A7.17 on a No, and A7.15 if a listed service does offer MFA) are checked before anything else, with the supported-software requirement behind A6.3 and A6.6, because they decide whether you can submit at all.
A remediation list you can action
Each gap with the requirement it breaches, what a compliant state looks like, and the order to fix things in so nothing is done twice.
Evidence guidance per question
What to keep, screenshot or export for each notes-field answer so that marking, or a Cyber Essentials Plus audit, does not stall.
Three days, three steps
- 01
Send your draft answers
Export from the IASME portal or complete our intake questionnaire. We ask for the asset list, cloud services and patching evidence up front.
- 02
Assessor review
An IASME-accredited assessor reviews every answer against v3.3 and the question guidance, and checks the evidence you hold.
- 03
Report and walkthrough
A written report by question number, then a call to agree the fix order and, if you want it, the certification date.
If you are confident on the auto-fail questions, run the free checker and self-assess directly. IASME allows one free resubmission within 48 hours of the fail notice, which covers a wording problem but not a missing control.
Unsupported software still installed (A6.3), no evidence that critical updates land within 14 days (A6.4AUTO-FAIL), and MFA missing on at least one cloud service (A7.17AUTO-FAIL).
- Included in the 50 to 250 device Plus tier
- Recommended for first-time applicants
- Remote, anywhere in the UK
- From £500 + VAT, no scheme fee
Is a gap analysis right for you?
Suitability, what is and is not included, the policies, and a specification you can compare with any other provider.
Who is the gap analysis for?
Who Cyber Essentials gap analysis suits, and who should choose something else.
A good fit if
- First-time applicants unsure whether they would pass, before they pay any scheme fee
- Teams facing a contract or tender deadline
- Organisations that plan to self-assess directly once the gaps are closed
Not the right fit if
- Organisations booking Cyber Essentials Plus in the 50 to 250 devices tier: the gap analysis is already included
- Teams confident on the auto-fail questions: use the free readiness checker and self-assess
- Anyone who needs a certificate now: a gap analysis does not issue one
What do you get for the price?
Cyber Essentials gap analysis, from £500. Prices are + VAT.
| Item | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Gap identification | Included | Your answers reviewed against the Danzell question set, auto-fail questions first |
| Remediation guidance | Included | What a compliant answer looks like and the order to fix things in |
| Self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) support | Included | |
| Certificate or submission | Not included | |
| IASME scheme fee | Not included | |
| Remediation work on your systems | Not included | |
| VAT | Not included | Prices are + VAT |
What policies apply?
Scheme rules are set by IASME and the NCSC and apply whichever Certification Body you use. Precursor terms are ours.
| Policy | What happens | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Included with Cyber Essentials Plus | In the 50 to 250 devices tier. Other Plus tiers and Cyber Essentials add it from £500 + VAT | Precursor |
| Recommended for | First-time applicants | Precursor |
| Other terms | Fixed in writing with your quote after the scoping call | Precursor |
Gap analysis specification
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Service | Cyber Essentials gap analysis |
| Provider | Precursor Security Ltd, founded 2018 |
| Price from | From £500 (500 GBP) |
| VAT | Prices are + VAT |
| IASME scheme fee | Not applicable: no submission is made and no scheme fee is charged |
| Turnaround | 1 to 3 days |
| Delivery | Remote, anywhere in the UK |
| Areas served | United Kingdom. Offices: Leeds HQ, Newcastle SOC, London office, Edinburgh office |
| Credentials | IASME Cyber Essentials Certification Body; CREST Security Testing (penetration testing); CREST SOC |
| Outcome | The gaps that would fail, with remediation guidance. No certificate is issued. |
| Validity | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites | Draft answers exported from the IASME portal, or the completed intake questionnaire |
| Eligible customers | Businesses and other organisations |
| How to buy | Get a fixed-price quote |
| Price source | precursorsecurity.com/services/compliance/cyber-essentials-certification/cost |
| Machine-readable | /offers.json |
Frequently asked questions
From £500 + VAT as a standalone review, covering gap identification, remediation guidance and support with the self-assessment questionnaire. A pre-assessment gap analysis is included when you book Cyber Essentials Plus with Precursor in the 50 to 250 device tier.
1 to 3 days from receiving your draft answers or a completed intake questionnaire. Larger or multi-site scopes sit at the longer end.
No. You can send draft answers from the IASME portal, or complete our intake questionnaire which mirrors the Danzell set. Either way, the output maps to question numbers.
No. A gap analysis does not produce a certificate and involves no scheme fee. It tells you what would fail before you submit. Certification is a separate step, which Precursor can also run.
It depends on how confident you are in the auto-fail questions and the 14-day patching rule. Under IASME scheme rules a failed self-assessment gets one free resubmission within 48 hours of the fail notice. That window fixes a vague answer, not an unsupported operating system or missing MFA, so a fail on a real gap means paying the scheme fee again. Precursor recommends a gap analysis for first-time applicants, and it matters most when a contract deadline leaves no room for a resubmission.
Get certified at a fixed price
Precursor is an IASME Certification Body: Cyber Essentials from £1,500 and Cyber Essentials Plus from £3,000, with the IASME fee included, a free re-test if gaps are found and a written fixed price after a 20-minute scoping call.
- IASME Certification Body
- CREST accredited
- UK offices in Leeds, Newcastle, London and Edinburgh