Vanta vs. Drata vs. Auditboard

Enterprises today are under growing pressure to not just maintain compliance—but to prove trust, at scale continuously. Whether it's accelerating revenue, securing supply chains, or maintaining regulatory readiness, modern security and GRC teams need platforms that go beyond basic automation.

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But most compliance tools weren’t built for this level of complexity. Drata focuses on entry-level automation. AuditBoard was built for auditors, not engineering or security teams. Only Vanta offers an Agentic Trust Platform designed to support enterprise-grade configurability, continuous risk visibility, and end-to-end automation—without bolt-on products or integration headaches.

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If you’re evaluating GRC solutions for a large, fast-growing, or multi-entity organization, this is your comparison guide. Below, we’ll break down how Vanta, Drata, and AuditBoard stack up across the enterprise criteria that matter most.

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Meet the contenders

1. Vanta

The leading Agentic Trust Platform for enterprises, Vanta offers deep automation, hourly testing, and embedded AI across GRC, risk, and trust workflows. With over 1,300 automated tests and 400+ integrations, it’s built to reduce complexity at scale.

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2. Drata

Originally built for startups getting SOC 2 ready, Drata provides daily test automation, basic audit workflows, and has recently added SafeBase’s Trust Center and questionnaire tools—but struggles with integration and configurability.

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3. AuditBoard

Focused on internal audit and SOX compliance, AuditBoard is favored by governance teams. However, it lacks continuous control monitoring, AI-powered automation, and external trust capabilities required by modern security teams.

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Control monitoring and compliance automation

For enterprise teams, manual evidence collection is simply unsustainable. As you scale, the ability to continuously monitor controls, surface risks, and trigger workflows becomes critical. Effective automation reduces time-to-audit, strengthens posture, and frees up security teams to focus on what matters. Here’s how the platforms compare on automation depth and monitoring cadence.

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• Vanta offers 1,300+ pre-built tests across cloud, endpoint, identity, and code. Tests run hourly, and AI provides remediation guidance, SLA tracking, and continuous audit readiness
• Drata runs tests daily and has fewer (~300) integrations. Test depth and scope are lighter, with manual steps needed to fill gaps
• AuditBoard lacks automated tests entirely, relying on point-in-time evidence collection and heavier human coordination

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Takeaway: Vanta delivers the most advanced and continuous automation. Drata offers basic automation for small teams. AuditBoard is manual and audit-driven, not real-time.

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Framework support

Enterprises don’t stop at a single compliance framework. They often manage multiple overlapping standards—SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and more—across different regions, products, or business units. Supporting that complexity requires more than checkboxes. It requires robust cross-mapping, flexible scoping, and the ability to handle change as regulations evolve.

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Here’s how Vanta, Drata, and AuditBoard stack up in terms of framework breadth, implementation quality, and enterprise readiness:

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Vanta offers the most framework coverage across security, privacy, AI, and industry standards, including SOC 2, ISO 27001, HITRUST, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, NIST families, FedRAMP readiness, ISO 27017/27018, TISAX, and CMMC. The platform supports cross-mapping and content to accelerate readiness and audits, with the ability to support custom frameworks such as SOC 1 and emerging support for ISO 22301.

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Drata covers core frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, NIST, and FedRAMP readiness, but lacks support for ISO 9001 and TISAX and has partial implementations for frameworks like CMMC. Some frameworks require manual mapping or have limited evidence gathering.

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AuditBoard provides content for many governance and audit standards, including SOC, ISO 27001, HIPAA, NIST, GDPR/CCPA, SOC 1, and ISO 22301, but supports fewer frameworks overall and lacks a public trust center. AuditBoard does not offer several modern or sector-specific frameworks and relies more on manual or point-in-time evidence practices.

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Audit experience

Audits often require long email threads, and tons of back and forth with auditors. Enterprises need systems that keep evidence current, centralize collaboration with auditors, and minimize disruption during high-stakes reviews. From internal coordination to third-party attestations, the audit experience can either be seamless—or stressful. Here's how each platform supports (or complicates) the process:

• Vanta includes an integrated auditor portal, custom test logic, scoped control reviews, and streamlined auditor collaboration. Customers report smoother experiences, less back-and-forth, and faster certification
• Drata suffers from audit friction: auditors often lack evidence access, and users report confusion, limited visibility, and notification overload
• AuditBoard is proficient in internal audit management but relies on manual, point-in-time evidence reviews for external attestations—a process that can slow down audits and limit automation for external auditors

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Takeaway: For external, scalable audits, Vanta provides the most streamlined experience. Drata introduces friction. AuditBoard slows down this process.

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AI capabilities

AI is more than a buzzword—it's a force multiplier for resource-constrained GRC teams. But not all “AI-powered” features are created equal. Enterprise-ready AI should automate remediation, flag gaps, summarize documents, and assist in real-time trust workflows. Here’s what each platform actually delivers when it comes to embedded, intelligent automation.

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• Vanta embeds AI across the product: control mapping, policy summaries, remediation suggestions (with code), Trust Center chatbot, SLA monitoring, and evidence evaluation. It's truly agentic — working like a second set of eyes
• Drata uses AI for basic summarization (e.g. SOC 2 reports, vendor reviews). No control mapping, no AI chat, no policy builder
• AuditBoard applies AI to documentation, not real-time workflows. No AI support for remediation, evidence collection, policies or customer-facing tasks.

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Takeaway: Vanta’s AI is embedded, functional, and enterprise-ready. Drata’s AI is limited. AuditBoard barely applies AI to modern workflows.

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Customer trust and security questionnaires

Enterprise sales cycles are increasingly slowed down by customer security reviews. Streamlining proof—with Trust Centers, automation, and AI—isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about competitive advantage. In this section, we compare how each platform helps (or hinders) external trust communication and questionnaire automation.

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• Vanta leads with 5,000+ live Trust Centers, an AI chatbot, NDA automation, CRM-based access control, and QAuto that delivers 95%+ answer accuracy
• Drata recently acquired SafeBase, but the experience remains split across platforms. No chatbot, no deep integration, and limited customizability
• AuditBoard has no native Trust Center or Questionnaire Automation

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Takeaway: Vanta is built to scale trust externally. Drata has potential but lacks integration. AuditBoard offers nothing in this space.

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Risk and third-party risk management

Managing third-party risk at scale requires automation, not spreadsheets. From vendor discovery to risk-based prioritization and ongoing risk monitoring, the stakes are high for enterprises relying on dozens (or hundreds) of SaaS tools. This section explores how well each platform equips you to identify, evaluate, and remediate vendor risk continuously.

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• Vanta discovers vendors via multiple IdPs, triggers reviews through procurement integrations, automates document review with AI, and rolls risks into a central register
• Drata only discovers via Okta, lacks procurement integrations, has minimal customization, and can’t reuse vendor evidence
• AuditBoard offers risk tracking workflows but no real-time risk inputs or continuous vendor monitoring

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Takeaway: Vanta delivers true end-to-end vendor and enterprise risk management. Drata is basic. AuditBoard is static.

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Customer support and expertise

Enterprise-grade platforms aren’t just defined by features—they’re measured by the strength of their partnerships. That includes responsive support, implementation guidance, and a reliable network of auditors and GRC experts. Here’s how the three platforms support their customers beyond the software.

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• Vanta offers 24/7 human support, transparent metrics (95.5% CSAT), onboarding, and live GRC expert chat—all in-house
• Drata support is mixed, with reports of bugs, outages, and slow resolution—especially during audits
• AuditBoard provides enterprise support but has a steeper learning curve and longer time to value

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Takeaway: Vanta delivers the most scalable and responsive support. Drata’s support is hit-or-miss. AuditBoard is functional, but not built for agility.

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Who are they ideal for?

Not every platform is designed with the same user in mind. Some tools cater to startups trying to get compliant fast, while others are tailored for governance-heavy environments. Here’s how Vanta, Drata, and AuditBoard align with different types of organizations:

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Vanta is purpose-built for enterprises and scaling organizations managing complex compliance needs. If your team is juggling multiple frameworks, business units, products, or jurisdictions—and needs automation that scales, not stalls—Vanta is the right choice. Its adaptive framework scoping, agentic AI, and unified trust workflows make it ideal for companies looking to reduce manual work, accelerate audits, and demonstrate security posture across internal and external stakeholders.

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Drata is better suited for startups and mid-sized companies with straightforward compliance goals. If your primary objective is to get SOC 2 ready quickly and your environment is relatively simple, Drata’s basic automation and audit workflows can help. However, for companies with multi-framework, multi-entity complexity or a need for deep automation, Drata may introduce friction as you scale.

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AuditBoard fits organizations with a strong internal audit function, especially those focused on SOX compliance or enterprise risk governance. It offers robust workflows for auditors and risk managers, but its lack of continuous control monitoring, external trust tooling, and AI-powered automation makes it less suitable for security-first or fast-growing companies that need to prove trust externally.

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Why enterprises choose Vanta

Enterprises operate in a world of complexity—multiple frameworks, overlapping audits, distributed teams, and rapidly evolving regulatory expectations. What they don’t need is more tools that create more silos. They need a platform that simplifies compliance and trust workflows without compromising flexibility.

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That’s why enterprises choose Vanta.

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Vanta’s Agentic Trust Platform is engineered for scale, configurability, and speed. It empowers GRC, security, and risk teams to manage compliance across business units, frameworks, and geographies—all in one unified platform. Unlike competitors that require bolt-on products or external tools, Vanta delivers end-to-end automation natively: over 1,300 hourly tests, 400+ integrations, and AI-powered remediation, all built in.

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Need to manage multi-framework audits like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA simultaneously? Vanta’s adaptive framework scoping ensures each control is tested, mapped, and tracked precisely. Want to streamline security questionnaires or vendor reviews? Vanta’s Trust Center, AI chatbot, and Questionnaire Automation make external trust effortless—no cobbled-together portals, no extra logins.

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Where Drata relies on daily tests and fragmented integrations, and AuditBoard focuses on internal workflows without external trust support, Vanta offers a modern solution for real-time, real-world risk management. It's not just built for today’s audit—it’s built for tomorrow’s architecture.

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Whether you're navigating complex procurement requirements, scaling into new markets, or preparing for an IPO, Vanta helps you move faster, prove more, and manage less—with configurability that matches your structure and automation that evolves with your needs.

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That’s not just compliance. That’s trust, at enterprise scale.

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