Vanta vs. AuditBoard vs. Drata: Which Compliance Automation Platform Comes Out on Top?

It’s not an uncommon experience to get burned as a software buyer. Especially in a compliance context, where you’re promised a platform that automates everything only to end up stitching together workflows, manually collecting evidence, and wondering if you misunderstood what “automation” meant in the first place.

That’s not to say every tool fails to deliver. However, enough do (or miss the mark in just the right places) that it’s reasonable to approach your next purchase with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Drata, AuditBoard, and Vanta have all built solid reputations in the compliance space. Still, they’re not interchangeable. They might claim to solve the same problems, but how they’re built, what they prioritize, and where they break down varies.

To help you move past the taglines and into the guts of these platforms, we compiled a straightforward, no-frills breakdown. Hopefully, you’ll be able to make a choice that helps you move faster, scale smarter, and stay out of your own way.

Meet the Contenders

Drata, Vanta, and AuditBoard have enough overlap to warrant a closer look. We’ll get into the feature-by-feature comparison below, but first, here’s a birds-eye view of what each platform actually is, and who it’s best suited for.

Vanta

Vanta cut its teeth helping startups get through their first SOC 2 audit. That’s still its strongest pitch: fast onboarding, lightweight UI, and enough automation to get early-stage companies across the finish line without falling apart.

The platform is mostly built for speed and simplicity. If your compliance program lives in a couple of frameworks with a short list of stakeholders, Vanta will likely feel like a relief.

AuditBoard

AuditBoard started as a purpose-built tool for internal audit teams, and you can still feel that foundation in how the platform works today. It’s structured, process-oriented, and made to support mature governance workflows across risk, audit, and compliance.

AuditBoard is a natural fit for larger organizations with established teams, formal review processes, and clear lines of ownership. 

Drata 

Drata is a Trust Management platform, not a compliance tool. This framing reflects a goal broader than “passing audits,” as it aims to help organizations operationalize trust across security, privacy, and compliance programs.

It’s best suited for fast-moving teams that need to scale without piling on process debt. Features like continuous control monitoring, AI-powered test summaries and questionnaire automation, a Trust Center, and a centralized Audit Hub are all designed to remove friction, both internally and with external stakeholders. 

Framework Support

Virtually any compliance platform can get you through SOC 2. But what about when your company expands (into new markets, industries, or geographies), and your framework requirements grow? Your GRC solution needs to keep pace without forcing you to build your program from scratch every time.

Here’s how Drata, AuditBoard, and Vanta compare vis-à-vis framework support:

Compliance Automation and Monitoring

Automation is the promise that gets most teams in the door, but how that automation works in practice tends to surface a few months in. Let’s look at how each platform handles the day-to-day reality of keeping your program running.

Vanta

Vanta’s appeal is speed. For early-stage teams racing toward their first SOC 2, it offers a fast setup, straightforward checklists, and a level of automation that avoids spreadsheet sprawl. It connects to core systems like AWS, Google Workspace, and GitHub, pulls in evidence automatically, and runs checks in the background. 

Some users do mention trade-offs once things get more complex. Alerts can be noisy, and teams report tuning them out entirely to avoid “alert fatigue.” Integrations sometimes fall short, either by not supporting multiple instances of the same tool or by skipping over certain services within those integrations. Others go as far as to report control gaps across SOC 2 and ISO 27001. 

AuditBoard

AuditBoard approaches compliance automation with the mindset of an audit team. It’s designed to support structured, top-down programs, particularly SOX, ITGC, and other internal controls that follow well-defined processes. The platform helps manage recurring testing, organize evidence, and track remediation with rigor. If your team is already operating within formal audit frameworks, that structure can feel like a major upgrade from spreadsheets and shared folders.

Yet that same structure can create friction when programs don’t follow a textbook format. Some users mention rigid control hierarchies that can’t accommodate deeper process mapping. Others point to workflows that feel fragmented, like needing to launch evidence requests from separate tabs rather than directly within the control. As for non-standard testing (like key reports or security exceptions), automation can break down, pushing teams back toward manual work.

Drata

Drata’s automation runs throughout the platform. Continuous control monitoring, automatic evidence collection, real-time alerts, and native integrations work together to keep your program going without constant check-ins or cleanup. Plus, it also offers Custom Connections and Tests, which lets you build custom control tests without code. It even includes an advanced JSON test builder that supports complex, nested logic for data from your environment, automating edge cases most tools can’t reach.

Users frequently cite the relief of knowing their systems are being monitored continuously, not just before audit season. They also call out how automation speeds up onboarding and eliminates the back-and-forth typically required to gather evidence across systems.

Of course, it’s not perfect, with some users mentioning integration gaps with niche tools. But overall, Drata delivers on the promise most tools only pitch: a compliance engine that runs quietly in the background, so your team can focus on real work.

"The promise of automation has long been discussed in the compliance world, but never truly realized. Drata has turned that into reality."

—Jonathan Jaffe, CISO at Lemonade (Read the Story)

Risk and Vendor Management

As compliance programs mature, risk and vendor management become ever more important. What starts as a spreadsheet eventually needs structure: real-time visibility into evolving risks, clear ownership, and systems that don’t fall apart the moment your vendor list hits double digits.

Here’s how each platform handles it. 

Vanta

Vanta provides foundational tools for managing risk and vendors within your compliance program. Its risk management features include a risk register, customizable risk scoring, and automated workflows designed to track and mitigate potential threats. The system ties risks directly to relevant controls and policies, so it’s easy to maintain visibility and accountability.

On the vendor side, Vanta offers automated vendor assessments, including pre-built security questionnaires and the ability to collect and review vendor security documentation in one place. It’s optimized for SaaS vendors and integrates smoothly with common cloud services.

User feedback highlights some trade-offs. The vendor risk management workflows assume most vendors fit a SaaS model, leading to awkwardness with more diverse vendor profiles. Limited automation around questionnaires means some manual follow-up is often needed. Additionally, teams sometimes find that deeper remediation guidance and more intuitive vendor tracking workflows could improve the experience.

AuditBoard

AuditBoard offers a mature enterprise risk management solution that helps organizations identify, assess, and track risks across departments and geographies through a centralized risk register. It enables teams to score risks based on likelihood and impact, assign ownership for mitigation, and monitor treatment plans within structured workflows that connect with broader audit and compliance processes.

Users appreciate the structure AuditBoard brings to risk oversight, particularly how it centralizes data and promotes proactive management. 

That said, some find that visualizing risk can be limiting. Heat maps, for example, only support predefined categories, which can restrict flexibility for teams wanting a more tailored view. Additionally, unlocking the platform’s full capabilities often means investing in extra modules like OpsAudit and Risk Oversight, which makes it less of an all-in-one solution out of the gate.

Drata

Drata approaches risk and vendor management with scale in mind. It comes ready with a library of 150+ risks mapped to controls, so teams can quickly score, prioritize, and assign them without reinventing the wheel (though customization is absolutely on the table). Risk tracking ties directly into compliance workflows, so mitigation plans don’t get lost in the shuffle.

For vendors, Drata automates questionnaires, scores vendor risk, and uses AI to summarize responses so you get the signal without digging through the noise. It continuously monitors vendor status and flags changes in real-time, and through integrations into tools like Jira, remediation stays visible and actionable within your existing workflows.

Audit Experience

Compliance automation gets you part of the way, but when auditors show up, the process changes. Communication, evidence sharing, and control tracking are either real-time, collaborative efforts, or they fall apart in back-and-forth emails.

Each platform takes a different approach to easing this path. 

Vanta

Vanta’s audit experience gets passing marks for making readiness feel manageable, especially for teams new to SOC 2 or similar audits. It bundles tools and auditor connections that help guide organizations from preparation through reporting, all in one place. Thanks to this streamlined process, teams can keep audits on track without going in circles.

Some users have encountered bumps. Third-party auditors who aren’t fully aligned with how Vanta organizes evidence or tracks control updates can result in extra manual steps outside the platform. Pricing transparency also comes up, as some teams say it’s not always clear how fees are split between Vanta’s service and audit providers, which can complicate budgeting.

AuditBoard

AuditBoard’s OpsAudit product brings much-needed structure to operational audits, especially for organizations with mature compliance teams. It offers a centralized platform to manage risk assessments, testing, and evidence collection, so complex programs can stay organized and accountable.

Users enjoy the level of thoroughness, but some mention a few sticking points. Linking risk assessments directly to project overviews isn’t always straightforward, requiring extra clicks that can slow workflows. A few reviewers mention that creating custom, ad hoc audits feels limited compared to more flexible competitors. 

Drata

Drata’s audit experience centers around Audit Hub, a single workspace designed to streamline communication between your team and auditors. It consolidates evidence requests, approvals, and documentation in one place, so you can cut down on the headache-inducing exchanges that so often characterize audit prep.

Customers also benefit from Drata’s Auditor Alliance, a network of pre-vetted audit firms familiar with the platform. All firms are committed to a strict Code of Ethics to further reassure customers that their audits will be handled with integrity and professionalism.

For teams looking to build a long-term compliance program, Drata’s audit experience marries automation with a people-first approach that keeps things moving without a hitch. 

And for larger enterprises working with audit firms that use dedicated platforms like Fieldguide, Drata supports that workflow, too. Our integration with Fieldguide enables frictionless collaboration between systems and streamlines readiness for teams using both platforms. 

“Audit Hub has been a game changer. Auditors now self-serve everything they need, which saves us hundreds of hours and lets us focus on our real work—not just audit prep.” 

—Ali Khan, Team Lead, GRC at Kandji (Read the Story)

AI Capabilities

More and more compliance platforms are rolling out AI features in a bid to help customers save time and improve efficiency. But how do these three contenders leverage the technology, and to what end?

Vanta

Vanta’s AI product is designed to offload repetitive work: auto-answering questionnaires, extracting insights from SOC 2 reports, and recommending control mappings across frameworks. For many teams, especially those early in their compliance journey, that assistance can save quite a bit of time.

Recently, Vanta introduced what it calls “agentic” AI capabilities designed to take on more of the compliance workload independently. However, the current implementation still focuses on workflow assistance rather than autonomous action. While the marketing language has evolved, user experience hasn’t changed dramatically.

Overall, users praise the convenience, though a couple have raised red flags. One reviewer notes that the AI can be overly verbose, occasionally hallucinate answers, or surface outdated vulnerabilities that no longer apply. Another mentions that the system struggles to map specific policies and controls to questionnaire responses, requiring more manual cleanup than expected. 

AuditBoard

AuditBoard’s AI features are meant to help teams scale established workflows. They can map evolving requirements to existing controls, suggest audit procedures, generate summaries, and even recommend project staffing based on team skill sets. In vendor risk, AuditBoard uses AI to draft questionnaire responses via prior documentation, aiming to reduce repetition across assessments.

The approach is pragmatic, less about reimagining workflows and more about making them faster. General sentiment is quite positive, though one user mentioned that the AI output often needs heavy editing to be usable and another expressed the need for the AI to be retrained. 

Drata

AI isn’t an afterthought within Drata. The technology is built into core workflows to reduce busywork, surface insights faster, and help teams manage compliance at scale without losing precision.

Drata’s AI explains test failures with plain-language summaries, pulls key findings from vendor SOC 2 reports and questionnaires, drafts questionnaire responses using your Trust Center content and knowledge base, and even parses PDFs and DOCX files to extract questions—thus streamlining security reviews from end to end.

Behind the scenes, Drata supports AI governance through frameworks like ISO 42001 and NIST AI RMF, so you don’t have to worry about scaling AI responsibly. 

Customer Support and Expertise

When things go sideways (or just get complicated), platform support and real compliance expertise make all the difference. The human side of compliance tools often matters more than the tech, so let’s see how our three contenders stack up.

Vanta

Vanta earns a positive score for support. Live chat is available during business hours, with 24/5 email coverage and holiday support to keep teams unblocked. Self-serve resources like the Vanta Help Center, Vanta Academy, and live instructor-led training give you multiple paths to get help, whether you want to talk to a human or figure it out on your own.

Most users find the support team responsive and helpful, especially during audit crunch time. The main divide shows up during onboarding. Some describe the process as smooth and well-paced, while others call it overwhelming, prescriptive, or more time-intensive than expected, particularly if the team doesn’t have prior compliance experience.

AuditBoard

AuditBoard’s support experience is straightforward in a good way. Users describe the help desk as responsive, the implementation team as efficient, and the overall tone as professional without being hands-off. For teams that want fast answers and clear next steps, it delivers.

There’s also a growing community hub and access to AuditBoard Academy, which gives users a place to level up or troubleshoot without opening a ticket. Most of the praise points to reliable service and solid documentation.

The only consistent knock is the learning curve. Setup can take time for teams new to the platform or structured audit tools in general. But once the muscle memory sets in, support rarely becomes a blocker.

Drata

Reviewers heap praise on Drata’s support and guidance. It’s not marketed as a Trust Platform for naught: customers get access to dedicated success managers, on-demand GRC experts, and solution architects who understand the pressure of running a fast-moving, regulated business.

New users are brought in through the Compliance Accelerator Program, which sets up policy frameworks, maps systems, and lays down a clear path to audit readiness. When it’s time to get in front of an auditor, Drata doesn’t step back. Instead, it aligns prep milestones with the platform’s Auditor Alliance, a network of trusted firms trained on Drata’s workflows and guided by a shared code of ethics.

User feedback consistently highlights the Drata difference. Teams feel like they’re talking to people who’ve been through it before, which makes the hard parts feel painless.

Vanta vs. AuditBoard vs. Drata: Table Comparison

Want to compare Vanta, AuditBoard, and Drata at a glance? Below, we break down the differences across automation, audit experience, risk management, and more.

Why 33% of the Cloud 100 Choose Drata

We built Drata for a reason. It’s the same reason we put together this comparison: too many fast-moving companies get boxed in by platforms that weren’t built to keep up. We've seen the churn, the slow rebuilds. We’ve also seen what happens when those same teams make the switch to Drata.

Our approach is anchored in trust above all else. Passing audits is important, but our platform and our team of experts give you the systems, visibility, and control to build long-term credibility with customers, partners, and regulators alike.

You can count on:

• Support that knows compliance inside out, from implementation to audit prep.

• An Auditor Alliance trained to work inside the platform, so there’s no learning curve at audit time.

• A Compliance Accelerator Program that helps teams go from kickoff to maturity without hitting roadblocks.

Hubspot, Asana, OpenAI, and thousands of other companies already use Drata to close deals faster, avoid audit drama, and make security a strength instead of a blocker.

We’d love to help you do the same. Book a demo today.