Smart Contracts, the enablers of today’s Web3 ecosystem. They are powerful beyond measure when it comes to implementing complex functionalities over a blockchain. They are the ones on which the completely decentralised world revolves. They are great, no doubt, but are they safe?

Why do we Need Smart Contract Auditing?

We all know that smart contracts are self-executing agreements with terms and conditions written in code, and a certain task is triggered when those conditions are met. But what is this audit thing?

Well, to begin with, smart contracts have issues of their own. When we work with smart contracts, we deal with code vulnerabilities and flaws, financial and legal risks, regulatory requirements etc., and we do not want them to be lacking in any way.

If our smart contracts lack perfectness, our protocols can be in big trouble, it will be in constant threat of getting hacked, and there have been a lot of such instances. You would not believe that the total amount lost in Web3 due to such issues in 2022 was $3.9 Billion. It will surprise you when I tell you that according to a report, the number of attacks in Q1 of 2023 is almost double that of Q1 of 2022; it clearly states that security is a major issue in today’s Web3 world.

The stats above raise a critical question, what are we doing to keep ourselves and our protocols secure? One answer is Smart Contract Auditing. The smart contract audit services provide an assessment and review of the code and functionality of a smart contract to identify potential vulnerabilities, security risks and other issues.

What we do in Smart Contract Auditing

Smart Contract auditing involves a comprehensive examination of the contract’s code to identify the weaknesses and potential flaws that might be introduced during the development phase. These flaws are important to remove because later, they can lead to unintended consequences, financial losses or security breaches.

The Goal of smart contract auditing is to assure contract users, developers and stakeholders that the contract is now free of vulnerabilities and works as intended. This helps prevent exploits and hacking attempts because getting audited adds a layer of security to the protocol. Audits not only guarantee safety from a contract point of view, they also verify the accuracy and proper implementation of business rules and requirements specified in the project. You do not only get the code audited but also the design and structure of your protocol. Visit our website to get to know smart contract audit examples. 

Parameters Influencing the Cost of Audit

The cost of a smart contract audit depends on the depth of the audit you want to be done. The price is lower for just a few lines of code or a small project. But, as the depth of the protocol increases, and you need complete security of the protocol, the rates will go higher depending upon the only logical complexity.

When it comes to pricing the audits, there are three major things auditors look out for before quoting a price:-

Lines of Code

Smart Contracts are nothing but code, just like regular software. They are also built with logic and interconnectivity among different contracts, enabling them to perform complex tasks easily. It is common to see a protocol’s functionality result from transactions going on several interlinked contracts.

In the development phase, the developers try to keep the code clean and concise, but it is only possible to a limit. As the functionality increases, the line of code also increases too, thus taking longer to get audited, resulting in a price increase as we go towards more lines of code.

Type of Project

There are various types of Web3 projects smart contract auditors deal with, and each has its different use case and situation to deal with. THe Web3 projects majorly fall under a few categories:-

1. Decentralised Finance(DeFi)
2. Non-Fungible Token(NFT) based.
3. Decentralised Applications (dApps)
4. Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs)
5. Cross-CHain Interoperability
6. Web3 Tooling and Development

Some projects belong outside these categories but are fewer in number. Based on the project category, auditors can get an estimation of what kind of issues we will be dealing with, which helps them quote the project’s price.

Complexity

Another factor which greatly influences the price of an audit is also related to the type of project we are working with. Numerous projects require a good understanding of finance that comes under DeFi protocols to audit them. Sometimes, it is necessary to get into the depth of the underlying financial models, which increases the auditor’s workload. 

Sometimes, even in simple contracts, some functionality can be added, which makes things complex. Thus, a seemingly simple project may fall on the higher side of price quotations. The documentation that auditors are provided with help identifies the complexity level of the protocol for an experienced auditor. So make sure to provide your auditor with good documentation.

Conclusion

This smart contract audit pricing guide helped you understand why we need smart contracts, how they work, and the parameters the pricing depends on. To get a price for a smart contract audit for your protocol, visit our website to find the best price to get your audit done most efficiently. 

QuillAudits have been in the auditing game for quite some time and are among the best. Our auditing methodology has been developed over 3–4 years of our continuous research in the Web3 field and is one of the most comprehensive audit processes in the industry. We can get you cheaper smart contract audits with the best level of security. Do read our client testimonials to verify for yourself.

How to Become a Smart Contract Auditor?

Smart contract security audits are not that easy; thus, to be an auditor, one needs expertise in the field which can be achieved by following the experts in this industry. Our QuillAcademy is the perfect place to start your auditing journey. Our youtube smart contract auditing course will work wonders for you. It is where the top experts make you one of the best in the Web3 security industry.

Once you get a hold of how smart contract auditing works practice at our CTF and learn about different vulnerabilities and how to identify and resolve them, CTF act as a perfect playground for practising your acquired Web3 security skills. They will make you industry ready and help you tackle any security-related challenge. Do visit our website to learn more.