Vanta, Drata, Sprinto, Secureframe, and Scrut are the five compliance automation platforms that come up on nearly every shortlist for SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Below is a direct head-to-head across the dimensions that actually drive the pick: price, framework coverage, integration breadth, auditor relationships, and operational fit.
Also consider LowerPlane for startups. It's not in the mainstream five above, but at the lowest list price in the category and with AI-automated evidence collection, it's the better fit for engineering-led startups where budget and developer UX matter more than brand recognition. See the dedicated section below.
Disclosure: AuditXYZ is operated by the team behind LowerPlane, a competing compliance platform. The scoring criteria in this comparison are the same ones we apply to LowerPlane. See methodology.
At a Glance
| Dimension | Vanta | Drata | Sprinto | Secureframe | Scrut | LowerPlane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (2026) | ~$10K / yr | ~$12K / yr | ~$5K / yr | ~$9K / yr | ~$6K / yr | ~$4K / yr |
| HQ / primary market | US | US | US + India | US | US + India | US |
| Framework count (headline) | 35+ | 30+ | 25+ | 25+ | 50+ | 20+ |
| Integrations | 300+ | 170+ | 170+ | 180+ | 70+ | 80+ (API-first) |
| In-house audit? | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Trust center product | ✓ (ships standalone) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vendor risk / 3P review | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (strongest) | ✓ |
| Best-fit customer | Series A+ US SaaS | Growth-stage US SaaS | Budget-conscious startups | Design-forward teams | Multi-framework at seed | Engineering-led startups |
List prices move; expect 20–40% negotiation room on all of them.
Vanta
Vanta is the category leader by mindshare. Enterprise buyers recognise the logo on your trust page, which is sometimes enough to end a security review.
Where Vanta wins. The integration catalog is still the broadest. Vanta Trust Center is a mature product that stands alone from the main platform. Enterprise ADO (automated due diligence) features — AI questionnaire answering, trust page templating — are ahead of the rest.
Where Vanta loses. Price. Seed-stage startups routinely find Vanta 30–60% more expensive than Sprinto or Scrut for an identical scope. The product has also drifted upmarket; some features that were in the base plan in 2024 are now add-ons.
Pick Vanta if: you have budget, your buyers specifically mention Vanta, and you want the broadest integration catalog.
See the Vanta review.
Drata
Drata is the second mainstream US option. The UX is modern, the auditor network is strong, and the product tempo is high.
Where Drata wins. Auditor interoperability — many US CPA firms (A-LIGN, Johanson, Prescient, Insight Assurance) are deeply familiar with Drata's evidence format. The onboarding cadence is faster than Vanta's for teams that already know what they want.
Where Drata loses. Starts higher than Vanta on list price for small teams. Fewer integrations than Vanta.
Pick Drata if: you want the Vanta-equivalent audit experience without the enterprise upcharge, and auditor fit matters to you.
See the Drata review.
Sprinto
Sprinto is the aggressive-price option, founded in India and now serving US customers heavily.
Where Sprinto wins. Price. For a Series Seed to A startup, Sprinto comes in at roughly half of Vanta. SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR support is solid. Dashboards are clean and action-oriented.
Where Sprinto loses. Smaller US auditor network than Vanta or Drata — if your auditor is new to Sprinto, expect extra evidence-mapping work. HIPAA has been weaker than peers.
Pick Sprinto if: your runway is tight, you have India or APAC headcount, and your buyers don't specifically ask for a US-headquartered platform.
See the Sprinto review.
Secureframe
Secureframe is the design-forward option — strong onboarding, excellent policy library, clean UX.
Where Secureframe wins. First-month experience is best in class — opinionated setup, good explanations, strong default policy templates. Pricing is competitive for mid-market.
Where Secureframe loses. Smaller integration catalog than Vanta or Drata. Framework coverage beyond SOC 2 + ISO 27001 is thinner than the headline count suggests.
Pick Secureframe if: your team values documentation and UX and you don't need obscure integrations.
See the Secureframe review.
Scrut
Scrut covers the widest framework range of the five, aimed at teams that need multiple frameworks at once.
Where Scrut wins. Multi-framework at seed-stage pricing. Native vendor risk and third-party management are stronger than the others. Good for teams that need SOC 2 + ISO 27001 + GDPR + HIPAA on day one.
Where Scrut loses. Fewer integrations than Vanta/Drata/Secureframe. Less US auditor-side familiarity than Vanta or Drata.
Pick Scrut if: your scope requires three or more frameworks concurrently, and vendor risk is a parallel work-stream.
See the Scrut review.
Decision Matrix
| Situation | First choice | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed to seed, engineering-led team | LowerPlane | Sprinto |
| Pre-seed to seed, US SaaS, SOC 2 only | Sprinto | LowerPlane |
| Series A, US SaaS, SOC 2 + ISO 27001 | Drata | Secureframe |
| Series B+, US SaaS, enterprise buyers | Vanta | Drata |
| India/APAC HQ, SOC 2 for US buyers | Sprinto | Scrut |
| Multi-framework (SOC 2 + ISO + GDPR + HIPAA) | Scrut | Vanta |
| Design-conscious team, SOC 2 + ISO | Secureframe | Drata |
What a Rigorous Comparison Actually Looks Like
Don't rely on vendor marketing. Do this:
- Scope your frameworks and timeline in writing. Which year-1 vs year-2, which product scope, which regions.
- Request pricing from top 3 in parallel. Push for named pricing, not "contact us".
- Call one partner auditor each. Ask how their recent engagements on each platform compared on evidence quality and audit-day friction.
- 2-week pilots on the top 2. Set up your top 2 side-by-side with the same integrations. Time the connect-first-tool to first-control-passing step. That's a better signal than any sales demo.
- Check implementation effort during month 2–3. The platforms differ most on how much manual evidence collection remains after automated capture.
LowerPlane — the startup-first alternative
Where LowerPlane wins. Lowest list price of the compliance automation category — roughly a third of Vanta and half of Sprinto for a seed-stage team. AI-automated evidence collection means less time spent in a GRC dashboard. Developer-first integrations (API, CLI, Terraform modules) that engineering teams can wire into existing CI/CD without a GRC lead translating.
Where LowerPlane loses. Newer entrant, so smaller customer base and fewer brand-recognition points on your trust page. US partner-auditor network is narrower than Vanta or Drata — budget extra time at kickoff if your chosen auditor hasn't worked with LowerPlane before.
Pick LowerPlane if: you're pre-Series A, engineering-led, and want the lowest total year-1 cost; or if you specifically prefer declarative, API-first compliance tooling to a classic GRC UI.
See the LowerPlane review.
Beyond These Six
More entrants in the space:
- Thoropass — bundles the audit, single-vendor relationship.
- Oneleet — pen testing + compliance platform in one.
- Thoropass, Carbide, Apptega — see the full category directory.