Compliance platforms compared

Most compliance software solutions look alike in a demo. The differences show up later: which of your systems they connect to, how much evidence they really collect for you, and whether they cover the frameworks you will need next year. Use this checklist with the free compliance automation tool, which shows which controls your own frameworks need and which evidence your systems can supply.

What to compare

Criterion	What to check	Why it matters
Frameworks	Every framework you need now and next: for example SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001, HIPAA, ISO/IEC 42001, the NIST AI RMF and the EU AI Act.	In our map, 29 of 29 controls serve more than one framework; a platform that maps once and reuses evidence saves that work again for each framework.
Integrations	Native connections to your identity provider, cloud, code host, ticketing, HR, device management and logging.	24 of the 29 controls can be evidenced from systems like these; the rest always need documents or sign-offs.
Evidence automation	Whether evidence is pulled and re-checked on a schedule, or uploaded by hand.	Continuous checks catch a control that stops working between audits.
Control customisation	Can you edit, add and retire controls and keep your own wording?	Your controls should describe how you actually work.
Auditor access	A read-only auditor view with evidence linked to each control and date.	Less back-and-forth in fieldwork.
AI governance	An AI system and agent inventory, impact assessments, AI testing evidence and AI framework mappings.	14 of the controls in our map exist only because of AI frameworks.
Policies and training	Policy templates, approval and acknowledgement tracking, training records.	Common gaps in first audits.
Pricing model	Per framework, per employee, per integration or per audit; what happens when you add a framework.	The second framework is where costs diverge.
Data and exit	Where evidence is stored, and whether you can export controls, evidence and history.	Evidence history is yours; you need it if you switch.

Questions to ask in every demo

Show the evidence for our MFA control coming from our identity provider, and when it was last checked.
Which of our systems have native integrations, and which need an upload?
If we add ISO/IEC 27001 or ISO/IEC 42001 next year, which of our SOC 2 evidence carries over?
How does an auditor see evidence, and can they export it?
How do you handle AI systems and agents: inventory, risk and testing evidence?
What does the price become with one more framework and twice the staff?

What no platform does for you

Platforms don't sign off risk decisions, run your continuity tests or hold your management review. In our map, 5 controls need that kind of manual evidence whatever tool you use. The independent opinion still comes from a CPA firm for SOC 2 (AICPA) or an accredited certification body for ISO standards.

Map your frameworks and systems first

Sources

Questions

What does a compliance platform do?

It holds your controls, maps them to one or more frameworks, collects evidence (automatically through integrations where it can), tracks gaps and tasks, and gives an auditor the evidence they ask for.

Does a compliance platform make us compliant?

No. It organises and automates the work. Controls still have to operate, people still make risk decisions, and an independent auditor or certification body still reaches the conclusion.

Why not compare named vendors here?

Feature lists and prices change often, and a comparison is only fair if it is measured the same way for everyone. Use the criteria on this page in each demo, with your own frameworks and systems.