Buying
A two-week plan to shortlist a SOC 2 platform
Short answer
You can shortlist a SOC 2 platform in two working weeks: set weights and requirements in the first two days, run three demos in days three to six, check integrations and auditors in days seven and eight, and decide on days nine and ten. The plan below uses the criteria and tools on this site.
By the SOC 2 Vendor Compare ledger desk · Published 2026-03-10 · Reviewed 2026-09-29 · Editorial assessment
Days 1 and 2: decide what matters
Write down the report you need (Type I or Type II, which categories), the date a customer needs it by, who will own the work internally and which frameworks you expect next. Then set weights in the calculator. If no one on the team owns compliance, raise the expert weight; if an engineer will run it, raise integrations. Tick any must-haves, such as a published price or an in-house audit. Take the top three vendors forward.
Day 2: build your tool list
List every system that holds evidence: cloud accounts, identity provider, code repository, ticketing, HR system, device management, communication tools. You will check this list against each vendor's catalogue.
Days 3 to 6: run three demos
Book one demo per vendor and use the same twelve questions from Twelve questions to ask in a SOC 2 software demo. Ask each vendor to show your own top five tools connected, not a generic dashboard. Ask who your named contact is after signing and how often you will meet. Ask for a quote for your headcount and frameworks, and which demo features sit on a higher plan.
Days 7 and 8: check integrations and auditors
Compare your tool list with each vendor's catalogue and mark gaps. For each gap, ask how evidence would be collected instead. Then ask each vendor which auditors it works with, whether you can bring your own, and whether each firm is a licensed CPA firm enrolled in AICPA peer review. How to choose a SOC 2 auditor, and what the platform's audit path changes lists the questions.
Days 9 and 10: score and decide
Score each vendor 0 to 10 on the seven criteria from what you saw, not from marketing pages, and compare with our scores. Where yours differ, write down why. Check the head-to-head page for your final two. Then compare the quotes and the plan limits: framework caps, headcount caps and questionnaire allowances.
What slows a shortlist down?
Three things: not knowing who will own the work, discovering a missing integration after signing, and choosing an auditor late. The plan front-loads all three.
What should you have at the end of two weeks?
- A weight set and must-have list agreed internally
- Three demo notes scored against the same seven criteria
- A tool-coverage table with gaps marked
- An auditor option for each vendor, with CPA firm and peer review status noted
- Two quotes with plan limits written down
- A decision and a named internal owner
If you cannot fill one of these, extend the plan by a few days rather than sign without it.
Who should be in the room?
Keep the group small: the person who will own compliance day to day, an engineer who knows where the evidence lives, and whoever signs the contract. Add a salesperson for one demo if security reviews are slowing deals, because they will know which questions customers ask. A group of three or four can finish the plan in two weeks; a committee of eight usually cannot.