SOC Analyst Staffing Calculator

Work out soc analyst staffing instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About SOC Analyst Staffing Calculator

Round-the-clock coverage needs about 4.5 people per seat once weekends, leave, training and attrition are included, so a single 24x7 position costs roughly four and a half salaries. Work out the seats from alert demand and target utilisation first, then apply the coverage multiplier — reversing that order is how SOC staffing plans end up half the size they need to be.

Formula

SOC staffing

demand hours = alerts x minutes / 60; seats = demand / (8 x utilisation); headcount = seats per shift x coverage multiplier (4.5 for 24x7)

Worked example

With the default values below, SOC Analyst Staffing Calculator returns Analysts to hire of 41. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Alerts requiring human review per dayminimum 1: 900
Handling time per alertminimum 0.1 min: 10 min
Coverage modelone of Business hours (8x5), Extended (16x5), Around the clock (24x7): Around the clock (24x7)
Target analyst utilisationaccepts 10–100 %: 70 %

Results

Analysts to hire: 41
Analyst hours of work per day: 150.0 h
Seats to fill per shift: 9
Headcount multiplier for the coverage model: 4.5 x

Step by step

1Values used
2SOC staffing
3Analysts to hire= 41
4Analyst hours of work per day= 150.0 h
5Seats to fill per shift= 9
6Headcount multiplier for the coverage model= 4.5 x

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why 4.5 people per 24x7 seat?

168 weekly hours divided by a 40-hour week is 4.2, plus allowance for leave, sickness and training brings it to roughly 4.5 to 5.

Is outsourcing the night shift cheaper?

Frequently, because the multiplier is what makes 24x7 expensive. The trade-off is context: an external team knows your environment less well and escalation quality suffers.