How much does executive protection cost in Phoenix?

If you're researching executive protection for the first time, the cost question is the one nobody answers cleanly. Either you get a vague "it depends" or a flat number with no context behind it. This post is the no-fluff version. Real ranges for what EP actually costs in Phoenix in 2026, what drives those numbers up or down, and what to watch for in proposals.

The short answer

Executive protection in the Phoenix metro typically falls into one of four bands:

• Single-agent, part-time / event-based: $75–$125 per hour
• Single-agent, full-time (40+ hrs/week, ongoing): $7,500–$12,500 per month, all-in
• Two-person detail (driver + protection agent), full-time: $14,000–$22,000 per month
• Multi-agent detail with residence integration, travel, advance work: $25,000–$60,000+ per month

Those are real Phoenix-market numbers from 2026 for a veteran-led, properly licensed firm. National firms are sometimes 20–40% higher; smaller boutique vendors can be 10–20% cheaper but often cut corners on training, retention, or insurance. We'll get to what to watch for in a minute.

What actually drives the price

The biggest price levers are the ones nobody talks about up front. The hourly rate matters less than these five.

1. Risk profile of the principal

An executive with no public profile and no specific threats is at one end of the spectrum. A public-figure-adjacent principal who's received credible threats — or who's about to make news — is at the other. Risk profile drives team size, vehicle posture, advance-work hours, and whether you need overnight residence integration. It's the single biggest variable.

2. Coverage hours and continuity

A 40-hour week of "office and home" coverage is dramatically cheaper than 24/7. Most clients don't actually need 24/7 — they need attentive coverage during predictable risk windows (commute, events, public appearances, travel). A good EP planner will tell you that, not sell you the maximum.

3. Travel

Domestic travel adds advance work, ground transportation, and per-diem to whatever the home base looks like. International travel can double the rate per agent, since you're paying for visas, kit-down operations (you can't fly armed everywhere), and partnered ground teams in the destination country.

4. Vehicle posture

Will the principal be driven, or will they drive themselves with a follow car? Will the vehicles be discreet sedans, armored SUVs, or rentals? Vehicle costs alone can swing $3,000–$15,000 per month.

5. Confidentiality and discretion requirements

Some clients want no visible signs of security. Achieving that — without compromising actual protection — takes more skill, more planning, and more rehearsal than running a visible deterrence detail. It costs more.

What's included in a real number

When you get an EP proposal, it should include:

• Personnel costs (loaded — wages, benefits, training overhead, insurance allocation)
• Vehicle costs if applicable
• Equipment (radios, comms, medical kits)
• Advance-work hours for events and travel
• Operations / dispatch overhead
• Insurance ($5M+ general liability is the bare minimum for any reputable firm)
• Account management (the senior person who's actually accountable)

If a proposal just shows you "$X per hour" with no breakdown — that's a flag. You're looking at someone who's either inexperienced or hiding margin in places you don't want to find later.

What to watch for in proposals

Suspiciously cheap

If a quote comes in dramatically below the bands above, ask three questions: Is the agent W-2 or 1099? What are their training hours? What's the firm's insurance limit? Price competition in EP usually shows up as undertrained 1099 contractors with no real backup, and a thinly-insured firm hoping nothing goes wrong.

Suspiciously expensive

National firms charge a "brand premium" that often doesn't translate to better personnel on your detail. Ask who specifically will be on the detail, and what their backgrounds are. If the answer is "we'll let you know," that's a problem.

Vague scope

"24/7 protection" without defined post locations, response times, and chain-of-command isn't a scope, it's a marketing line. A real proposal specifies who is where, when, doing what, with what authority.

How STRAPT prices it

We price every engagement against three honest variables: risk profile, coverage hours, and travel/vehicle requirements. We tell you the rate, the loaded cost, and what it includes. We bias toward smaller, better-trained teams over bigger, cheaper ones — because in this work, one well-trained operator doing the right thing beats four undertrained ones executing the wrong plan.

If you want a real read on what your specific situation would cost, the assessment is free and takes about 30 minutes on a phone call. Request a confidential conversation and we'll come back with a number, a scope, and our reasoning — same way we'd want it presented to us.