Introduction
Compliance automation platforms are helpful software tools that help businesses follow important industry rules and laws. In simple words, these tools act like a digital checklist and a guard. Instead of a person having to manually check every computer, server, and employee record to make sure they are following safety rules, these platforms do it automatically. They connect to the other software a company uses—like email, cloud storage, and HR tools—and watch them 24 hours a day. If something is not right, like a computer missing a password or a file being left open to the public, the platform sends a message so it can be fixed immediately. This makes getting official certificates like SOC 2 or ISO 27001 much faster and less stressful.
In the past, staying compliant with laws like HIPAA for healthcare or GDPR for privacy was a slow and painful process involving hundreds of spreadsheets and paper documents. Companies had to spend months gathering “evidence” to show an auditor that they were being safe. Compliance automation platforms change this by collecting that evidence in real-time. This is important because it builds trust with customers. When a business can prove they are safe, other companies are much more likely to work with them and share data.
Key real-world use cases include preparing for a big security audit, checking if a new vendor is safe to hire, and keeping a constant eye on internal risks. When you are looking for a tool in this category, you should look for several things. First, check if it has “integrations” with the tools you already use. Second, see if it provides easy-to-understand templates for your company policies. Third, look for a “Trust Center” feature, which lets you show your safety status to your customers easily. Finally, make sure the tool is easy enough for your team to use without needing a special degree in security.
Best for: These tools are a great fit for security officers, IT managers, and business owners at software companies (SaaS), healthcare providers, and financial firms. They benefit companies of all sizes that need to prove their security to win big deals or stay inside the law.
Not ideal for: They might not be needed for very small businesses that do not store any sensitive data or handle customer information. If a company works entirely on paper and does not use the internet for its main business, a digital automation tool will not have anything to connect to or monitor.
Top 10 Compliance Automation Platforms Tools
1 — Vanta
Vanta is often considered the leader in the field of automated security. It is designed to help fast-moving companies get their SOC 2, ISO 27001, or HIPAA certificates in weeks rather than months by automating the boring parts of evidence collection.
Key features:
- It offers hundreds of pre-built connections to cloud tools like AWS, Google, and Slack.
- It provides a “Trust Center” to share your security status with potential customers.
- It includes a set of policy templates that you can customize for your business.
- It has a built-in “Vulnerability Management” tool to find holes in your software.
- It performs hourly checks on your systems to ensure you stay safe.
- It offers a simple dashboard that shows you exactly what needs to be fixed.
Pros:
- It is very easy to set up and start using on the first day.
- It has one of the largest groups of partner auditors who know how to use the tool.
- It saves the IT team hundreds of hours of manual work every single year.
Cons:
- It can be more expensive than some of the newer, smaller tools.
- Some of the advanced features might feel a bit complex for a very small startup.
Security & compliance: SSO, encryption at rest and in transit, SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA compliant.
Support & community: Excellent documentation, a helpful user community, and dedicated customer success managers for larger teams.
2 — Drata
Drata is a powerful platform known for its “Autopilot” feature. It is built to provide a continuous view of a company’s security posture, making sure that once you become compliant, you never fall out of it by mistake.
Key features:
- It offers “Autopilot” which automatically gathers evidence without you clicking anything.
- It provides a dedicated portal for auditors to look at your evidence easily.
- It helps you manage “Risk Assessments” to find where your business is most vulnerable.
- It tracks employee training to make sure everyone knows the safety rules.
- It includes a custom policy builder with expert guidance.
- It supports a wide range of global frameworks including SOC 2 and ISO 27001.
Pros:
- The user interface is very clean and easy for a human to navigate.
- The automation is very deep, meaning it finds things other tools might miss.
- Their customer support is known for being very fast and helpful.
Cons:
- Setting up some of the more complex connections can take a bit of time.
- It is a premium tool, so it requires a serious budget for a growing company.
Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, ISO 27001, and uses high-level encryption.
Support & community: High-quality onboarding, 24/7 chat support, and an active community of security experts.
3 — Secureframe
Secureframe is a tool that focuses on making compliance simple for everyone. It is designed for companies that want a mix of smart software and helpful human experts to guide them through the process of getting certified.
Key features:
- It provides a “Compliance Hub” to manage multiple sets of rules in one place.
- It offers a “Vendor Management” tool to check if your partners are safe.
- It includes automated tests that run in the background to find security errors.
- It features a “Knowledge Base” for answering security questions from customers.
- It helps you train your staff on how to spot and avoid digital threats.
- It integrates with over 150 different business applications.
Pros:
- You get access to a team of experts who can answer your specific questions.
- It is very good at handling several different compliance rules at the same time.
- The platform is very fast and does not slow down your other work.
Cons:
- The price can go up quickly if you need many different certificates.
- It might provide more detail than a very small business actually needs.
Security & compliance: SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, and ISO 27001 compliant.
Support & community: Dedicated compliance managers, great tutorial videos, and a helpful technical blog.
4 — Scrut Automation
Scrut is an “all-in-one” platform that focuses on risk and compliance. It is designed to help mid-market companies manage their safety rules across many different countries and regions.
Key features:
- It provides a unified view of your risks and your compliance tasks.
- It offers automated evidence collection for over 20 different global rules.
- It includes a “Cloud Security” tool to protect your data on servers like AWS.
- It features a built-in task manager to assign work to your team.
- It helps you create a “Risk Register” to keep track of potential problems.
- It offers a clear path to getting certificates like ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
Pros:
- It is very good at finding hidden risks that you might have forgotten about.
- It works well for companies that have teams in different parts of the world.
- The dashboard is very clear about what is “Good” and what is “Bad.”
Cons:
- It has fewer connections (integrations) than some of the larger competitors.
- It can take a few days to get used to how the risk scoring works.
Security & compliance: SOC 2, GDPR, ISO 27001, and uses secure audit logs.
Support & community: Strong professional support and a clear onboarding plan for new users.
5 — Thoropass (formerly Laika)
Thoropass is unique because it combines a compliance platform with their own team of auditors. This means you can get your software and your official audit all from the same company.
Key features:
- It provides a “concierge” service to help you through every step of an audit.
- It includes a “Compliance Architect” who works with your team personally.
- It offers a platform to store all your policies and evidence safely.
- It features automated monitoring to catch safety errors early.
- It provides an “Audit Readiness” score to tell you when you are ready to start.
- It supports SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and many other rules.
Pros:
- Having the auditor and the software in one place makes the process much faster.
- You get a lot of personal attention from real humans who are experts.
- It is great for companies that are going through an audit for the very first time.
Cons:
- You are locked into using their auditors if you want the full benefit.
- The software interface can be a bit more complex than simpler tools like Vanta.
Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO certifications.
Support & community: Excellent personal support, dedicated architects, and formal training sessions.
6 — Hyperproof
Hyperproof is a professional platform designed for “Governance, Risk, and Compliance” (GRC). It is built for companies that need to manage very large and complex sets of rules across many different departments.
Key features:
- It allows you to reuse evidence for many different rules so you don’t do work twice.
- It provides a “Risk Management” module to track business threats.
- It includes a “Program Health” dashboard to see your progress at a glance.
- It offers a “Vendor Risk Management” tool to keep your supply chain safe.
- It features automated workflows to remind people to do their safety tasks.
- It supports over 50 different compliance frameworks.
Pros:
- It is perfect for large teams that have many moving parts.
- It saves a huge amount of time by letting you use one document for several rules.
- The reporting is very detailed and good for showing to company leaders.
Cons:
- It is a very technical tool and takes longer to learn than simpler ones.
- It is designed for larger businesses and might be too much for a small startup.
Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, ISO 27001, and enterprise SSO support.
Support & community: Professional enterprise support, deep training resources, and a global partner network.
7 — Sprinto
Sprinto is a fast and simple compliance tool designed specifically for “Cloud-focused” companies. It is known for being very quick to set up and very affordable for teams that are just starting out.
Key features:
- It is built specifically for SaaS companies that run on the cloud.
- It provides automated monitoring for your servers, code, and employees.
- It features a “Compliance health” bar that shows your score out of 100.
- It includes pre-approved policy templates that are easy to edit.
- It helps you manage employee access to sensitive data automatically.
- It offers a very fast path to getting a SOC 2 certificate.
Pros:
- It is one of the most affordable and fair-priced tools on the market.
- The setup is very fast—sometimes taking only a few hours.
- It focuses only on what matters for cloud companies, so it isn’t confusing.
Cons:
- It does not have as many advanced features for older, “non-cloud” businesses.
- It supports fewer frameworks than the giant enterprise platforms.
Security & compliance: SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 compliant.
Support & community: Very responsive support team and a helpful online knowledge base.
8 — OneTrust (Tugboat Logic)
OneTrust is a massive global leader in privacy and security. They bought a tool called Tugboat Logic to provide a simple way for companies to manage their security certificates while using the larger OneTrust ecosystem.
Key features:
- It includes a “Security Lab” with thousands of pre-built safety checks.
- It provides an automated “Evidence Locker” to keep your documents safe.
- It features a “Risk Assessment” tool that is very easy to use.
- It offers a “Project Management” view to see who is doing what.
- It integrates with the massive OneTrust privacy and ethics platform.
- It provides very high-level reports for global business regulations.
Pros:
- It is backed by one of the largest security companies in the world.
- It is great for companies that also need to worry about complex privacy laws.
- The tool is very stable and has a long history of successful audits.
Cons:
- The larger OneTrust system can be very overwhelming and hard to navigate.
- It can be expensive if you need all the different modules they offer.
Security & compliance: ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and high enterprise security.
Support & community: Huge global support network, professional training, and a massive community.
9 — AuditBoard
AuditBoard is a professional platform built specifically for “Internal Audit” teams. It is designed to help large companies keep their own house in order while following many different sets of laws.
Key features:
- It provides a centralized place for all internal and external audit work.
- It offers a “Risk Oversight” module to find and fix business threats.
- It features a “Compliance” module that maps rules to your daily tasks.
- It helps different departments work together on safety without getting confused.
- It includes powerful analytics to find patterns in your security data.
- It supports SOX, SOC 2, ISO, and many other corporate rules.
Pros:
- It is the best choice for large companies with their own dedicated audit teams.
- The reporting is very professional and meets the needs of “Board Members.”
- It is very good at handling the complex rules of public companies (SOX).
Cons:
- It is very technical and is not meant for beginners.
- It is much more expensive than the “Startup-focused” tools on this list.
Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and follows strict data privacy rules.
Support & community: Excellent enterprise-level support and a dedicated user community for auditors.
10 — LogicGate
LogicGate is a “Flexible” platform for managing risk and compliance. It is unique because it uses a “no-code” builder, meaning you can design your own compliance process exactly the way you want it.
Key features:
- It uses “Risk Cloud” to connect all your different safety rules together.
- It provides a visual builder to create your own custom safety steps.
- It offers automated reminders and tasks for your employees.
- It includes a “Data Visualization” tool to make beautiful charts of your progress.
- It helps you manage “Business Continuity” in case of a disaster.
- It supports a massive library of global compliance frameworks.
Pros:
- You have total freedom to build the tool to fit your specific business.
- It is great for companies that have unique rules that other tools don’t support.
- The visual charts are very helpful for seeing the “Big Picture.”
Cons:
- Because it is so flexible, it takes a lot longer to set up than a “ready-to-go” tool.
- You need to have a clear plan of what you want before you start building.
Security & compliance: SOC 2, GDPR, ISO 27001, and uses secure encryption.
Support & community: High-quality professional services and a helpful user group for builders.
Comparison Table
| Tool Name | Best For | Platform(s) Supported | Standout Feature | Rating |
| Vanta | Fast-moving Startups | Cloud / SaaS | Massive integration list | N/A |
| Drata | Deep Automation | Cloud / SaaS | Autopilot evidence collection | N/A |
| Secureframe | Expert Guidance | Cloud / SaaS | Access to human experts | N/A |
| Scrut Automation | Mid-Market Risk | Cloud / SaaS | Strong risk management | N/A |
| Thoropass | All-in-one Audit | Cloud / SaaS | Built-in auditors | N/A |
| Hyperproof | Managing Many Rules | Cloud / SaaS | High reuse of evidence | N/A |
| Sprinto | Budget Cloud Teams | Cloud / SaaS | Fast 24-hour setup | N/A |
| OneTrust | Global Privacy | Cloud / SaaS | Part of huge privacy suite | N/A |
| AuditBoard | Large Public Firms | Cloud / SaaS | Built for internal auditors | N/A |
| LogicGate | Custom Processes | Cloud / SaaS | Flexible no-code builder | N/A |
Evaluation & Scoring of Compliance Automation Platforms
In this section, we score the leading tools based on a specific set of rules. A higher score out of 100 means the tool is better in that specific area.
| Category (Weight) | Startup Tools (Vanta/Sprinto) | Enterprise Tools (Hyperproof/AuditBoard) | Hybrid Tools (Thoropass/Secureframe) |
| Core features (25%) | 90 | 95 | 85 |
| Ease of use (15%) | 95 | 70 | 80 |
| Integrations (15%) | 98 | 85 | 80 |
| Security (10%) | 95 | 98 | 95 |
| Performance (10%) | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Support (10%) | 85 | 95 | 98 |
| Price / value (15%) | 100 | 70 | 85 |
| Total Weighted Score | 93 | 85 | 88 |
Which Compliance Automation Platform Is Right for You?
Choosing the right tool depends on the size of your company and how much help you need from real humans.
Solo Users and Very Small Businesses
If you are working alone or have a very small team, you should look for simplicity and a low price. Sprinto or the basic version of Vanta are excellent choices because they are designed to get you a SOC 2 certificate quickly without overwhelming you with too many “fancy” features you won’t use.
Startups and Growing Tech Teams
For companies that are growing fast and using a lot of cloud tools like AWS or Google Cloud, Drata or Vanta are the clear winners. They have the most “integrations,” meaning they can connect to all your software automatically and do the hard work for you.
Mid-Market and Global Companies
If you have offices in different countries and need to follow many different sets of rules, Scrut Automation or Secureframe are great partners. They offer a good balance of smart software and expert advice to handle the complicated parts of global laws.
Large Enterprises and Public Firms
If your company is very large and has its own team of security experts or auditors, you need a professional tool like Hyperproof, AuditBoard, or OneTrust. These platforms are built to handle the massive complexity of a global corporation and provide the detailed reports that board members and lawyers require.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What exactly is compliance automation?
It is a way of using software to automatically check if your company is following security and privacy rules, instead of doing it all by hand on spreadsheets.
How much do these platforms cost?
The price can range from a few thousand dollars per year for a small startup to over fifty thousand dollars for a large company with many different rules to follow.
Do these tools provide the final certificate?
No. A separate human “Auditor” must give the final certificate. However, these tools gather all the proof the auditor needs to make their decision much faster.
Is my data safe in these platforms?
Yes. These companies are security experts themselves. They use high-level encryption and follow strict safety rules to make sure your business data stays private.
Can I get a SOC 2 certificate in one day?
No. While these tools make the work much faster, you still have to follow the rules for a certain amount of time (often 3 months) before an auditor can give you a certificate.
Do these tools work with Google Cloud?
Yes, almost all the tools on this list connect perfectly to Google Cloud, Amazon AWS, and Microsoft Azure.
What happens if I fail a check?
The platform will send you an alert and show you exactly what is wrong. Once you fix it, the platform will update your status to “Good” automatically.
Do I need to be a security expert to use these?
No. These tools are designed to be used by regular people. They use simple language and provide clear instructions on how to stay safe.
What is a “Trust Center”?
It is a webpage provided by the platform that shows your real-time security status to your customers so they know you are safe to work with.
Can I use these for GDPR privacy rules?
Yes, most of the platforms on this list have special modules to help you follow the GDPR rules for protecting personal data in Europe.
Conclusion
Following the rules of security and privacy is no longer a slow and painful chore. By choosing a compliance automation platform, you can turn a mountain of paperwork into a clear and simple digital map. The best tool for you depends on whether you want the fastest possible setup, the deepest level of detail, or a mix of smart software and human expert help.
The most important thing to remember is that compliance is not just about a certificate; it is about building a business that people can trust. These tools help you build that trust by watching over your data every hour of every day. By letting a platform handle the boring parts of security, you can focus on what you do best—growing your business and helping your customers.