At $1 to $3 a gigabyte, organizations have to choose what gets scanned and what does not. Every exclusion creates a blind spot. Take away the meter and the tradeoff changes.
Legacy classification fails in 2026. Compare BigID, Varonis, Microsoft Purview, Spirion, AWS Macie, and Risk Finder, automation levels, deployment complexity, and where each tool actually excels.
Enterprise DSPM platforms cost $100K-$500K+ annually before per-GB fees. We break down real pricing for AWS Macie, BigID, Varonis, Spirion, and flat-rate alternatives.
We ran the numbers on scanning 10TB for sensitive data. AWS Macie: $10,000 per scan. Risk Finder: $299/month, unlimited. Here's the full cost breakdown.
Six-figure DSPM platforms solve problems most organizations don't have yet. If you can't answer 'where is our PII?', start with discovery, not a platform. Two days vs. three months.
Traditional DSPM costs scale faster than risk reduction. What begins as a reasonable line item becomes a variable expense that increases every time the business grows.
