What is GRC software?

GRC software connects to the systems a company already runs, collects evidence that its security controls are working, and keeps that evidence in one place an auditor can read. GRC stands for governance, risk and compliance.

Is GRC software the same as compliance automation software?

In everyday use, yes. GRC is the older and wider term. Compliance automation is the narrower modern category that Vanta, Drata, Secureframe and Sprinto sell into.

Do I need GRC software to get SOC 2?

No. Companies still pass SOC 2 audits on spreadsheets. The platform reduces manual evidence gathering. Under about 25 people with one framework, doing it manually is a defensible choice.

Which GRC platform is best for a startup?

Your auditor's preference matters more than any feature comparison, and whether anyone on your team has done this before matters more than that. Drata and Sprinto lean structured and guided; Vanta leans self serve.

Vanta is a compliance automation platform, launched in 2018, that connects to over 400 systems and runs hourly automated checks to collect evidence for frameworks including SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and PCI DSS.

Is Vanta good for a first SOC 2?

Yes, and it is the common case. Self-serve onboarding means no customer success manager is imposed on the buyer, not that they are on their own. Most first SOC 2 programmes on Vanta are set up by an implementation partner, which is what the model is built around. Doing it entirely alone, with nobody owning the work, is the one situation where a guided platform does more, and that turns on who does the setup rather than on prior experience.

Does Vanta do the audit?

No. Vanta prepares and organises evidence; an independent CPA firm performs the audit and issues the report. Vanta is not owned by an audit firm.

How do you get a better price on Vanta than I would on my own?

By running the same scope past several firms that implement Vanta at once and handing back the best number that comes in. A buyer could do that alone over a week of discovery calls; GRC Migrate does it in one business day with no call.

How much does Vanta cost?

Vanta publishes no list price, so any specific figure quoted in the abstract describes somebody else's deal rather than a rate card. The number is built for your headcount, your frameworks, your term length and which add-ons are included. The useful question is not what Vanta costs in general but whether the quote in front of you is a good one, which can only be answered by seeing what the alternatives return for the same scope.

Vanta is a compliance automation platform, launched in 2018, that connects to over 400 systems and runs automated control checks to collect the evidence frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA require. It does not perform the audit. An independent CPA firm performs the audit and issues the report.

Is Vanta a good fit for a startup?

Yes, and it is the common case. Self-serve onboarding means no customer success manager is imposed, not that the team is on its own. Most first SOC 2 programmes on Vanta are set up by an implementation partner, which is what the model is built around. The one situation where a guided platform does more is doing it entirely alone with nobody owning the work.

What does it cost to use GRC Migrate?

Nothing. It stays free whether or not the buyer acts on what comes back.

How much does Drata cost?

Drata publishes no list price, and a figure quoted in isolation is missing half the answer. Drata sells in tiers and bills implementation separately, so the real cost is the tier plus the setup work. That is why reported numbers vary so widely: people are comparing different tiers, with and without implementation included.

Which Drata tier do I need?

It depends on what the platform has to do rather than on headcount. The requirement that most often catches buyers is API access, which sits on the Advanced tier only, so a team planning to pull data out programmatically can be quoted a tier that will not do it. List the requirements before the quote is written.

Is implementation included in a Drata quote?

Usually not, and that is the biggest reason two Drata quotes are hard to compare. Ask for the licence and the implementation as separate lines on every quote collected; once both are broken into the same parts the comparison is straightforward.

Drata is a compliance automation platform, launched in 2020, built around a prescriptive control framework and a high-touch customer success model. It connects to around 200 systems, runs daily automated checks, and offers Audit Hub, a structured space where an audit firm works alongside the customer.

Does Drata change how fast you get SOC 2?

Barely. A Type 2 report depends on an observation period, commonly a few months to a year, which cannot be compressed by spending more. Where Drata can genuinely save time is the handover: if the audit firm works in Audit Hub, the evidence exchange that usually eats weeks at the end happens continuously instead.

How much does Sprinto cost?

Sprinto is quote based and no independently verifiable figures exist, so any specific number found online is unsourced. What is established is its position: the most price-aggressive entry point in the category. The useful question is what the whole term costs rather than what the first year does.

Is Sprinto cheaper than Vanta or Drata?

On entry, yes, that is its position in the market. Across three years it depends on whether the company is still using it in year three. Teams that outgrow it and migrate pay for two platforms and the move between them, which usually erases the saving.

Will we outgrow Sprinto?

The usual triggers are growth in headcount and adding a second framework. If either is likely inside the term being signed, the migration belongs in the cost of the decision. For a company genuinely staying still on one framework, the concern does not apply.

Can my auditor work in Sprinto?

Ask the audit firm directly, before signing. Sprinto has no dedicated auditor portal and familiarity among US firms is more variable than for the other three platforms. This question can rule the platform out regardless of price.

A compliance automation platform positioned as the most price-aggressive entry point in the category, built around step-by-step guided onboarding for teams with no prior compliance experience. It can carry a standard first SOC 2 Type 2 on a common stack.

Who owns Secureframe?

Thoropass, a compliance audit firm, which acquired Secureframe in 2024. It is the only platform among the four major names owned and directed by an auditor.

Secureframe pricing · what the year costs

Secureframe pricing: the platform price is not the bill.

Secureframe usually enters below the others on the platform line, which is most of why people shortlist it. Its owner is an audit firm, and the audit is the other half of what you will pay. Send us your scope and we come back with both numbers, quoted separately.

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Home › Platforms › Secureframe › Pricing

Short answer

Secureframe is usually the cheapest platform line on a shortlist, and the platform line is not what your compliance year costs. The other half is the audit, and since 2024 Secureframe has been owned by Thoropass, an audit firm, so one company can sell you both. That is a genuine convenience if Thoropass is your firm. It also means the cheapest platform quote is not automatically the cheapest year. Send us your scope and we come back with the platform and the audit priced separately, plus what the same year costs elsewhere.

Why not just take the cheapest platform quote?

Because the platform is the smaller of the two numbers, and it is the only one most shortlists compare. A platform that saves you a few thousand and sits next to an audit quoted at the high end is not a saving, and you will not find that out from the platform quote.

What you are comparing

Going it alone

Platform quotes against platform quotes, with the audit treated as a separate problem to solve later.

With us

The whole year, with the platform and the audit as two numbers you can see and move independently.

When one company sells you both

Going it alone

A bundle can be genuinely good value or it can carry the margin somewhere you cannot see. From one quote you have no way to tell which.

With us

The two halves priced apart, so a bundle has to beat the sum of its parts rather than hide the comparison.

What year two looks like

Going it alone

A low entry price is a first year number. Nothing on the quote tells you where it lands once the introductory position rolls off.

With us

We ask about term and uplift up front, so you are comparing three years rather than three months.

How much does Secureframe cost?

There is no published list price, and the platform figure on its own answers half the question. Secureframe is quote based and positions as the cost conscious entry into the category, which is a real and defensible position. What it does not tell you is the audit, and the audit is frequently the larger line.

That is why this page exists. The useful comparison is not platform against platform but year against year, with both numbers visible. Once you have them, the cheap entry is either genuinely cheap or it is not, and either answer is worth knowing before you sign.

Still choosing between platforms rather than pricing one? Start with Vanta vs Secureframe, Drata vs Secureframe, or the full set. This page is for people already looking at a number.

Free · no obligation

Price the whole year, not the platform line

Four fields, one business day, the platform and the audit as separate numbers plus what the same year costs elsewhere. Bring whatever quote you have.

Price my whole year ↑

What do you actually get with Secureframe?

You get the same core job the category does, at the most accessible entry price of the four, with assisted onboarding rather than either extreme. Around 200 connectors, support for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS and others, and a platform that does not assume you have done this before.

The thing that makes it different is above the product: since 2024 it has been owned by Thoropass, an audit firm. Platform and audit practice under one roof is a real workflow advantage if Thoropass is your firm, and a fair question if it is not. The full platform profile covers all nine points we assess every platform against, and the ownership brief sets out the questions worth putting to them.

2024Thoropass acquired it

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Does the platform change how fast you get SOC 2?

Barely, and that is worth knowing before anyone sells you speed. A SOC 2 Type 1 attests that your controls are designed appropriately at a single point in time. A Type 2 attests that they operated effectively across an observation period, commonly a few months to a year, and no amount of money compresses that window.

Where the Thoropass relationship can genuinely help is the handover, because the platform and the audit firm are not negotiating with each other. That is a real advantage when Thoropass is your auditor. It is worth nothing at all if your auditor is somebody else, so settle that before you weigh it.

Is Secureframe a good fit for you?

It suits a single framework programme where budget binds, and it suits companies happy to run platform and audit through one relationship. The ownership is the whole question, and which side of it you land on depends almost entirely on who audits you.

An advantage if

Thoropass is already your audit firm
You want platform and audit in one commercial relationship
You would rather manage one vendor than two
Budget is the binding constraint on a single framework

A question if

You want to choose your audit firm freely later
You are signing a multi year contract
Your existing auditor competes with Thoropass
Roadmap independence matters to your risk team

What should you settle before you sign?

Four things, and the first two are specific to buying a platform whose owner audits people. They are worth an hour of your time whether or not you ever talk to us.

Get the audit quoted separately, in writing

Ask for the platform and the audit as two numbers even if you intend to buy both from one place. A bundle that is genuinely good value survives being broken into parts. One that does not was relying on you never asking.

Confirm in writing how a third party audit is supported

The platform is not restricted to a single audit firm, but the vendor is owned by one, so get it in writing that using a different auditor is fully supported before committing to a multi year term. Ask what changes in the workflow if you do.

Price year two, not year one

A cost conscious entry price is an entry price. Ask where the number lands when the introductory position rolls off, and negotiate the annual uplift cap now rather than discovering it at renewal. Over three years that clause is worth more than most of what gets argued about on the first call.

Find your renewal notice window, today

These subscriptions typically roll into another year on their own unless written notice arrives before a deadline set in the agreement. Read your own contract, find the exact deadline, and put it in a calendar with a reminder well ahead of it. Missing that date is the most expensive clerical error in this category and it is entirely avoidable.

Common questions

How much does Secureframe cost?

There is no published list price. It is quote based and positions as the cost conscious entry into the category, so the platform line is usually the lowest of the four. The platform line is also only half of what your compliance year costs, because the audit is quoted separately and is frequently the larger number.

Is Secureframe cheaper than Vanta?

On the platform line, usually yes. On the year, it depends entirely on what the audit costs, and a platform saving can be smaller than the difference between two audit quotes. Compare both numbers before treating either platform as the cheaper one.

Does Thoropass owning Secureframe affect the price?

It means one company can sell you the platform and the audit, which is a genuine convenience and can be good value. It also means a single quote can cover both with the margin sitting wherever the seller prefers. Ask for the two numbers separately and the question answers itself.

Can I use Secureframe with a different auditor?

The platform is not restricted to a single audit firm. Since the vendor is owned by one, get it in writing how a third party audit is supported before committing to a multi year term, and ask what changes in the workflow if you use someone else.

How do you get a better price than I would on my own?

By asking several firms the same question at the same time and insisting the platform and the audit come back as separate numbers. You could run that yourself over a week of calls. This is the same thing in a day, without the calls.

What does it cost me?

Nothing. It stays free whether or not you do anything with what we send back.

What is Secureframe?

A compliance automation platform that typically enters below Vanta on price, connects to around 200 systems, and supports SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS and others. It has been owned by the audit firm Thoropass since 2024, which is the thing that makes it different from the rest of the category.

My renewal is coming up. Is it too late?

Only if you are already inside your notice window. These subscriptions usually renew on their own unless written notice arrives by a deadline set in your agreement, so check that date in your own contract first, today, then come back. Leverage before that date and leverage after it are not the same thing.

Who actually does the implementation?

A managed security and compliance provider who does this for a living. The quotes you get back cover their work as well as the licence, so you are seeing the real number rather than the licence alone.

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