Drata alternative: what a small team actually pays

Every SOC 2 quote is two bills

One bill is for software and the other is for an audit. They come from different kinds of company, they are priced in different ways, and a quote that merges them tells you very little about either one. Pull them apart first, because everything else on this page depends on that split.

Bill one: the platform

Policies, control tracking, evidence collection and the package you hand the auditor. This is what Drata sells, and what we sell. It is also the part of the spend you have the most control over.

Bill two: the examination

A licensed CPA firm tests your controls and issues the report.¹ No software company can do this part, on any plan.

Drata, on the record

We only state what can be checked. Three public sources say something about Drata and money: its own website, a procurement marketplace that tracks completed purchases, and a Drata guide on audit costs. Here they are, each with the date we read it and a link so you can read it yourself.

• Drata has no public pricing page. The URL serves the homepage, where the calls to action are to contact sales or book a demo. Source, checked 2026-07-30.
• Vendr reports a median annual contract value of $24,601 for Drata, based on purchases completed through its marketplace. Source, checked 2026-07-30.
• Drata estimates a SOC 2 Type 1 audit at $7,500 to $15,000 and a Type 2 at $12,000 to $20,000, and puts a small startup first-year total at $25,000 or more. Source, checked 2026-07-30.

Read them against the split above. The marketplace median is bill one alone, and Drata’s audit ranges are bill two. The first-year total in its guide blends both, which is why it sits so much higher than either. None of these tells you what Drata would quote your company. They do tell you the scale these purchases run at for the buyers in that sample.

Five questions to put to any quote

Send these in writing to every vendor you are considering, us included. The answers let you compare a Drata alternative with Drata on the same terms, before anyone schedules a demo.

1. Which bill is this? Software only, audit only, or both together.
2. Who is the CPA firm? Get the name before you sign, then check the license with the state board.³
3. What does the second year cost? Renewal is where a low first year can stop looking low.
4. How long is the term? Monthly, yearly or multi-year, and what the notice window is.
5. What leaves with you? Ask for a list of export formats.

Our answers, in one table

Here is how the two companies answer those questions today, based on what each one makes public. The Drata column says Not published wherever nothing public exists, because we do not fill gaps with estimates of our own.

When to stay with Drata

We lose some of these comparisons, and we should. If any of the following describes your company, Drata is likely the better use of your money, and a lower-priced tool would only save you cash while costing you the depth you need.

• You employ a GRC or security lead. A person who lives in the tool all day will use the depth of a larger platform.
• You are juggling frameworks. Several standards mapped across one control set is a job for a product built around it.
• Your evidence sits in dozens of systems. A long connector list is worth paying for then. Ours is short and listed on the integrations page.
• Procurement wants a sales process. Negotiated terms and a named account rep are part of what the larger price buys.

What we charge, and what repeats

Our first bill is small on purpose, because the teams we build for are paying for SOC 2 out of a seed round rather than a security department. The assessment is free. The software is $199 a month, cancel any time, or $2,189 a year, pay for eleven months, get twelve. When you need the report, audits come with access to our preferred pricing program. The software does most of the work, so the auditor only has to verify evidence that arrives prepared. We negotiate the fee on your behalf.

Year two is simple. What continues is the software plan you choose, at the same published price you saw on day one. A Type 2 needs the 3-month observation window to finish first. Audits go through our preferred pricing program, and we negotiate the fee on your behalf, and audits unlock after four paid months on monthly, or right away on yearly. The auditor fee guide explains how firms price that work.

Try the free part first

You do not need to decide today. Take the readiness assessment, which costs nothing and takes about 15 minutes, and read the gap list it gives you before you talk to any vendor. Then put our pricing next to whatever Drata quotes you. If Vanta is on the list too, the Vanta comparison covers it, and the SOC 2 cost page has every line.