Ransomware continues to be one of the most financially destructive forms of cybercrime.
From direct ransom payouts to downtime, recovery, and reputational harm, the total costs are staggering. Below, we break down the latest trends and statistics for ransomware costs in 2026.
- Top 5 Ransomware Attack Statistics
- How Much Does an Average Ransomware Attack Cost?
- Costs Associated with Ransomware Attacks
- Ransomware Payment Statistics
- Largest Ransomware Payments to Date
- Recovery Cost Statistics
- Broader Impact of Ransomware Attacks
- Ransomware Attack Trends Over Time
Key Ransomware Attack Cost Statistics
- Companies face an average total cost of $5.08 million per ransomware breach.
- Just 30% of victims paid the full amount initially demanded by attackers.
- The average ransomware recovery cost fell 44% in 2025.
- Total ransomware-related costs are predicted to total $57 billion in 2025.
- Ransomware accounts for 44% of all confirmed breaches.
How Much Does an Average Ransomware Attack Cost?
The average ransomware breach costs companies $5.08 million in total payments.
That’s a rise of 9% since 2021 ($4.62 million).
Source: IBM
Costs Associated with Ransomware Attacks
The $5.08 million figure accounts for the total cost of a ransomware attack, not just the ransom payment itself.
Notable cost components and their average data breach costs:
- Detection & Containment – $1.47 million
- Notification – $0.39 million
- Post-Breach Response – $1.2 million
- Lost Business / Downtime – $1.38 million
Other indirect costs include longer-term impacts such as operational disruption, security improvements, and insurance changes.
Source: CyberScoop
Ransomware Payment Statistics
In 2026, only 30% of victims paid the full ransom demanded, with 51% paying less and 18% paying more than the initial ask.
Nonetheless, Figures from the first half of 2024 reveal that cybercriminals received a record high of $459.8 million in ransomware payments.
Source: Sophos
Largest Ransomware Payments to Date
The largest ransomware payment on record was $75 million, paid by an undisclosed Fortune 50 company to the Dark Angels ransomware group in early 2024.
At the same time, the median ransom payment surged from under $199,000 in early 2023 to $1.5 million by June 2024.
Meanwhile, the average ransom demand climbed to $2.73 million in 2024, nearly $1 million higher than the 12 months prior.
Even as ransom payments hit new highs, the number of payment events has declined 27.27% year-over-year. This suggests that while fewer organizations choose to pay, those that do face significantly higher demands.
Recovery Cost Statistics
In 2025, the average ransomware recovery costs (excluding ransom payments) decreased by 44% to $1.53 million, down from $2.73 million in 2024.
Organizations are also recovering more quickly from ransomware attacks: 53% reported full recovery within a week, compared to 35% in 2024.
Source: Sophos
Broader Impact of Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware costs are projected to hit $57 billion in 2025.
Broken down, that figure translates to:
- $4.8 billion each month
- $1.1 billion per week
- $156 million per day
- $6.5 million per hour
- $109,000 per minute
- ~$2,400 every second
The financial sector is hit the hardest by ransomware attacks, paying a median sum of $2 million. Despite this, it’s the manufacturing industry that is impacted most often, with 62% of firms paying out.
However, the consequences of ransomware attacks go beyond finances.
Around 2 in 5 (41%) of cybersecurity teams feel increased stress about future attacks, while 31% experienced guilt for failing to stop an attack.
The knock-on effect is that almost 1 in 3 (29%) of affected companies reported staff absences caused by stress or mental health issues. And in 21% of cases, the team’s leadership was replaced following the ransomware attack.
Sources: Cybercrime Magazine, DeepStrike, Sophos
Ransomware Trends Over Time
Ransomware continues to dominate, accounting for 44% of all confirmed breaches in the malware analysis market.
However, attackers are increasingly relying on double extortion, where they encrypt data and threaten to leak it.
Ransom refusal rose to 63% in 2025, up from 59% in 2024.
At the same time, reporting to law enforcement fell to 40%, down from 52% the previous year. That’s despite an average cost savings of $1 million when involving the authorities.
Sources: Yahoo Finance, IBM
Conclusion
Ransomware continues to disrupt businesses on multiple levels. As attackers increasingly adopt AI-driven and double extortion tactics, businesses must prioritize strong defenses, swift recovery processes, and coordination with authorities to stay resilient against evolving threats.