Sted and compliance automation platforms

Compliance automation platforms help you reach and keep a certificate or report such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2. Sted suits teams that want published prices and a recommendation on which standards apply; the established platforms suit teams that want a long track record at scale.

Who each is for

The platforms on the short list grew up around security certification for software companies: you choose a framework, usually SOC 2 or ISO 27001, and the platform organises the policies, risks and evidence behind it. Most sell through a sales conversation and price each deal.

Sted is for a small team that wants to be told which standards apply, drafts to review instead of a blank template, and a price on the page.

Short list

Alphabetical, not a ranking. Standards named are only those Sted’s catalogue also holds.

Head-to-head pages set out the same rows for one product at a time: Sted vs Vanta, Sted vs Drata, Sted vs ISMS.online, Sted vs Qualio, and Sted vs a consultant or DIY templates.

Where other platforms are stronger

• Customer base. Vanta says more than 16,000 customers use it²³, and Drata more than 8,500⁴.
• Review base. Vanta has more than 2,000 reviews on G2, averaging about 4.6 stars³, and Drata about 1,300, averaging 4.7⁶.
• Certification record. ISMS.online says more than 1,000 organisations use it, and it holds ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and Cyber Essentials certification itself¹⁰.

Where Sted is stronger

• Breadth across eight assurance areas. Sted’s catalogue holds 85 standards, regulations and schemes: information security, privacy, AI governance, medical devices, payments and financial services, NHS digital health, quality and environmental, and sustainability reporting.
• Recommendations with reasons. Sted recommends the standards that apply to you or would help, including ones you had not asked about, and says why. For a medical device it gives the regulation, class and rule per market, for you and your notified body or regulator to check.
• Policies that fit together. Sted drafts one framework of policies and procedures for every standard you choose, adapted to your organisation, and each requirement names the standards it helps you meet.
• Changes at no extra cost. Plans meter seats and features, never standards: on a paid plan you change your profile, add products, add standards and regenerate as often as you like.
• A knowledge base Sted maintains. Sted maintains the standards, regulations and best practice in its knowledge base. When its recommendations for a document you have worked on change, it prepares an updated draft beside your version at no extra cost, to accept or decline change by change.
• London for your data. Your data is stored in AWS London, your documents and answers from Sted’s knowledge base are produced by models running in London, and the onboarding conversation by models running within AWS’s European regions.

Side by side

Three of the platforms beside Sted. A “not listed” cell names the page checked; it does not say the product cannot do it.

Pricing as published

Sted publishes every plan’s monthly and annual price, excluding VAT¹.

Of the ten platforms on the short list, Hicomply is the only one that publishes a price on its own site¹¹. Most others price each plan on request. Vendr’s marketplace publishes buyer-reported purchase data for several, including Vanta; that is third-party data, not a vendor’s price¹⁸.

Using them together or switching

Running two platforms means keeping the same evidence in two places, so you will usually want one. Before you switch, export your policies, risk decisions and evidence, and check how each control maps in the new tool.

If you move to Sted, you review its drafts against the policies you already have. Tell your certification body before your next surveillance audit. Start with the ISO 27001 hub, the Statement of Applicability guide and how Sted decides what applies to you.

Frequently asked questions