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Read the blog →Two standards, one decision. Here is how to pick the right one for your startup based on who you sell to.
If your buyers are mostly US companies, start with SOC 2: it is the default expectation for SaaS selling into the US. If you sell into Europe, the UK, the Middle East, or APAC, ISO 27001 often carries more weight. The two share most of their underlying controls (roughly 80% overlap), so many companies do SOC 2 first and add ISO 27001 later without starting over.
The numbers
The figures that shape the short answer above. Where they come from is cited in the sections that follow.
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SOC 2 is an attestation report produced by a licensed CPA firm under AICPA standards. It describes your controls and, for Type II, confirms they operated over a window. You share the report under NDA with customers who ask.
ISO 27001 is an international certification issued by an accredited certification body. You build an Information Security Management System (ISMS), get audited against the standard, and receive a certificate that is recognized worldwide.
The practical differences come down to format and geography. SOC 2 gives you a detailed report; ISO 27001 gives you a certificate plus a Statement of Applicability. SOC 2 is renewed annually; ISO 27001 runs on a three-year cycle with annual surveillance audits. SOC 2 is requested most by US enterprises; ISO 27001 is expected more often in international, government, and EU deals.
Let your sales pipeline decide. Look at the security questionnaires and procurement requirements your actual prospects are sending. If they ask for SOC 2, do SOC 2. If they ask for ISO 27001, or you are selling into regions where it is the norm, prioritize that.
If you are pre-revenue and unsure, SOC 2 Type I is usually the faster way to unblock your first US enterprise deals, and the controls you build transfer directly to ISO 27001 later.
Because the control sets overlap so heavily, running both is far less than double the work. Most of the policies, access controls, encryption, logging, and vendor management you build for one satisfy the other. Teams selling globally often end up with both, sequenced rather than simultaneous.
| SOC 2 | ISO 27001 | |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | US (AICPA) | International (ISO/IEC) |
| Output | Attestation report | Certificate + Statement of Applicability |
| Issued by | Licensed CPA firm | Accredited certification body |
| Cycle | Annual | Three-year, with annual surveillance |
| Expected by | US enterprise buyers | EU, UK, government, global buyers |
| Best first step for | US-focused SaaS startups | Globally-focused or EU-focused startups |
Not usually at the same time. Pick the one your buyers ask for first. Because the two standards share most of their controls, you can add the second later without rebuilding your program, which is what companies selling into both US and international markets typically do.
They are comparable in effort. ISO 27001 is more prescriptive about having a formal management system (the ISMS), while SOC 2 is more flexible about how you meet the criteria. Neither is dramatically harder; the right choice is about which one your customers recognize.
Costs are in a similar range and depend more on scope and company size than on the standard itself. SOC 2 Type I is often the cheapest entry point. Over a multi-year horizon the total cost of each is broadly comparable.
Sometimes, but ISO 27001 is more widely recognized in the EU and UK, and some European buyers and public-sector procurement will specifically ask for it. If Europe is your main market, lead with ISO 27001.
Yes. The underlying security controls overlap heavily, so policies, access reviews, encryption, logging, change management, and vendor management built for one largely satisfy the other. That is why doing both is far less than twice the work.
traztech Workspace has all 93 Annex A controls and 25 ISMS clauses (4-10) of ISO 27001 written in plain English, with what the standard asks for, what to do about it, and somewhere to attach the proof. You answer them, it scores you, and nothing is locked behind an upgrade.
No credit card, no trial clock, no locked features. We make money when someone wants help closing the gaps, not from the Workspace.
| traztech Workspace | Other GRC platforms | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence cost | $0. Free forever, no card, no paid tier | $7,500 to $50,000 a year, on an annual contract |
| Control library, evidence register, policy templates, risk register, vendor questionnaires, readiness scoring | Included | Included |
| What it costs inside an engagement with us | $0. You need a workspace either way | Unchanged. The subscription sits on top of the fee |
| What it does to your audit quote | A documented readiness position the audit firm can scope and price against | Nothing. The audit firm prices your readiness, not your tooling |
Platform pricing is a publicly reported range, since none of them publish a number. The fuller comparison, including when a paid platform is the better buy, is on the Workspace page.
Tell us who you sell to and we will tell you which framework to start with, and run it for you on a fixed track.
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