United States · Guide
Compliance Tool vs Consulting for US Start-ups
A compliance platform is software that tracks controls and gathers evidence; consulting is people who scope, write, test and coordinate the audit. Tool-only can suit a US team with spare security capacity; done-for-you consulting suits a team without it. On either route, an independent CPA firm or accredited certification body performs the final audit.
Did you know SOC 2 or ISO 27001 can cost less than US$10,000, all-inclusive? If you've been quoted more, talk to us before you sign.
100% success, on time: the Sterling Promise
We stay with you until your agreed outcome is achieved, through consulting, audit preparation and the resolution of audit findings. The engagement defines the standard, scope, outcome and responsibilities; your organization puts the agreed controls into use; a US-licensed CPA firm issues the SOC 2 report; an accredited certification body issues the certificate, and that decision stays independent.
Done for you, end to end
We write the policies, set up the controls and evidence, run the internal audit and coordinate the independent audit. You deal with one team from first call to final report.
Simple and quick
A free gap assessment, then one plan with dates from day one. Effivity, our GRC automation platform, is included to keep the evidence moving.
8,100+ client engagements
In 60+ countries over 20+ years, with experts who bring 30+ years of experience.
Under US$10,000, all-inclusive
For most start-ups and SMEs: SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA or ISO 9001, including the independent audit. A fixed quote follows a free gap assessment.
Included in every engagement
Every Sterling consulting engagement comes with the following, so you are not buying extras to get to the finish line:
- Effivity, Sterling's GRC automation platform, with a full-year subscription, to run your controls, evidence, tasks and audits in one place.
- Sterling Academy: preferential course access, with complimentary awareness training for your people.
- Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard.
- For information-security engagements, a vulnerability assessment.
These are part of the engagement, not a separate purchase. The details depend on the standard you are working toward, which we confirm during the free gap assessment.
Consulting and auditing are always separated: the people who consult never audit you. That keeps your internal audit objective and protects the independence of the CPA firm, Qualified Security Assessor or certification body that performs the final step.
Behind this are 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries over 20+ years, led by experts with 30+ years of experience.
All-inclusive pricing for start-ups and SMEs
Did you know SOC 2 or ISO 27001 can cost less than US$10,000, all-inclusive? If you've been quoted more, talk to us before you sign.
Sterling's all-inclusive fee for SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA or ISO 9001 is under US$10,000 for most start-ups and SMEs. It covers our done-for-you consulting and the independent audit: the SOC 2 report from a US-licensed CPA firm, as AICPA standards require, or the certification audit by an accredited certification body. For HIPAA, it covers HIPAA compliance consulting and an independent HIPAA assessment. Effivity, training and a vulnerability assessment are included. That's less than a month's cost of an in-house security hire: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage for information security analysts at $129,180 (May 2025), about $10,765 a month in pay alone[1].
A fixed quote follows a free gap assessment.
What the fee covers, and what it doesn't:
- It is the fee for your first SOC 2 report or your first certification only.
- Annual work is always additional and billed the following year: later SOC 2 report periods, and ISO surveillance and recertification audits.
- It assumes a typical start-up or SME scope: one product or service and one main location.
- Larger or multi-site scopes get a fixed quote after the gap assessment.
- PCI DSS is quoted separately: a fixed quote follows a free gap assessment.
[1] Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: 15-1212 Information Security Analysts, national annual median wage. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. accessed October 23, 2026.
Why US founders weigh a compliance tool against consulting
The outcome. A clear view of who will do the work, so your US buyer gets its SOC 2 report or ISO/IEC 27001 certificate on the date sales promised.
US founders often line up a software subscription and a consulting engagement as two prices for the same thing. They are not. They cover different parts of one job.
- A compliance platform is software. Vanta, Drata and Secureframe sell products in this category. Vanta describes its offering as a compliance platform for SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO 27001, PCI and GDPR, with modules including questionnaire automation and a trust center[1]. Secureframe describes compliance automation backed by experts, with products including questionnaire automation and a trust center[2]. These are the vendors' own descriptions; this guide takes no position on how any product performs.
- Consulting is work done by people. Setting scope, interviewing your engineers, writing policies that match how you operate, testing controls and preparing you for the independent examiner. Many consultancies use software too, so the useful question is who carries the work.
One fact holds on every route. The SOC 2 report is issued by a US-licensed CPA firm, as AICPA standards require[3]; for ISO/IEC 27001, an accredited certification body certifies. Neither a platform nor a consultancy can issue either.
Who does each task on the way to a US buyer's report
The outcome. You see in advance where the hours land, before you commit budget.
Every program contains the same tasks; what changes is who does each one.
| Task | Tool only | Done-for-you consulting |
|---|---|---|
| Set scope and criteria | You, with the tool's guidance | Consultants, confirmed with you |
| Connect systems and monitor controls | The tool, once you configure integrations | Configured for you, or run in Effivity, which is included |
| Write policies and procedures | Templates you edit and approve | Drafted to your actual practice |
| Close control gaps | You and your engineers | Your engineers, with specific, prioritized direction |
| Collect and organize evidence | Partly automatic; you handle the rest | Collected, checked and organized for you |
| Internal audit before the external one | You arrange it | Included, by people independent of your consultants |
| Coordinate the CPA firm or certification body | You select and manage | Handled under one plan |
| Respond to auditor questions | You | You, with consultants beside you |
| Keep it running each year | You | Your choice of continued support |
What compliance software does well for US start-ups
The outcome. Tooling that keeps evidence flowing, without anyone chasing screenshots at audit time.
- Continuous records. Integrations can log that single sign-on was on, devices were encrypted or a change was approved. That matters in a SOC 2 Type 2, where evidence must exist across the whole period.
- Reminders. Access reviews, training, vendor reviews and policy sign-offs have deadlines; nudges keep them from slipping.
- One place. Policies, risks, vendors, tasks and audits together beat a scatter of spreadsheets.
For a team with a strong security lead and spare hours, these strengths may cover most of the need. It is also why Effivity, Sterling's own GRC automation platform, comes with every Sterling engagement: tooling matters. The real question is what surrounds it.
Where the work stays with people
The outcome. No surprise when the dashboard is green but the examiner still has questions.
- Judgment. Someone has to choose the Trust Services Criteria, draw the system boundary and decide which controls suit a twenty-person US company. A default scope is a guess about your business.
- True policies. A template says every laptop is encrypted; only a person who checked knows whether that is so, and the auditor tests the sentence against reality.
- Fixes. A failing control still needs an engineer, and someone to weigh it against a product deadline.
- The examiner's questions. When a CPA firm asks why a sample is missing, a person explains.
In Sterling's experience, the familiar pattern is a subscription bought, integrations connected in days, then the real work waiting for a founder to find weeks that do not exist. The first-year roadmap shows where that work falls.
Comparing total cost to the finished US report
The outcome. A like-for-like comparison, line by line, instead of a subscription price against a consulting price.
This guide makes no claim about any vendor's pricing. It shows which cost lines each route contains, so you can ask for them in writing.
- Tool-led route. A platform subscription; the independent audit, contracted separately; and your own team's hours for scoping, writing, fixing and coordinating.
- Done-for-you route. Consulting, the independent audit and a smaller share of your team's time. At Sterling, the SOC 2 report from a US-licensed CPA firm, or the certification audit by an accredited certification body, sits inside the fee, as does Effivity with a full-year subscription.
For most start-ups and SMEs, Sterling's all-inclusive fee for a first SOC 2 report or a first ISO 27001 certification is under US$10,000; later-year audits are billed in those years. A fixed quote follows a free gap assessment. Whoever you speak to, ask for the same lines: platform, audit, consulting, training, internal audit and year two.
Questions US founders should put to any provider
The outcome. Answers in writing that show what you are really buying. 1. Accountability. Who owns the outcome: the report or certificate arriving on time? 2. Policies. Who writes them, and who checks they match practice? 3. The audit. Is it in the price, which firm performs it, and is that firm independent of the people preparing you? 4. Your hours. What is left for your team, per week? 5. Findings. What happens if the audit finds a problem? 6. Year two. What does it cost and include? 7. Exit. Can you export your data if you leave? 8. People. Who does the work, and how much experience do they have?
Vague replies about the audit or about your own hours are the signal to keep asking.
Already using a platform? Keep it
The outcome. Nothing you have already paid for goes to waste.
Many US start-ups already own a platform, often on an investor's suggestion. If it is configured and in use, its evidence feed can be part of the audit trail. Tell us during the gap assessment; we will say what it covers, what it does not and where people still need to work. If you are choosing from scratch, Effivity comes with every engagement, so there is no separate subscription to buy to get started.
The trap is buying software expecting it to replace effort. It reduces effort; it seldom removes it.
What we recommend for most US start-ups (Sterling's recommendation)
This is Sterling's recommendation, not a requirement of the AICPA, ISO or any vendor. 1. If you have a security lead with real spare capacity and a simple environment, a platform alone can be reasonable. Be realistic about that capacity. 2. If your founders or engineers are also your security team, choose done-for-you consulting with tooling included. 3. Compare total cost to the finished report, including the audit and your own time, never a subscription against a fee. 4. Put the questions above to every provider, in writing. 5. Start with the free gap assessment: it shows how much of your work is judgment and how much is automation. SOC 2 for Series A and ISO 27001 cost give the detail behind each route.
Want the work done for you, with the tool included? Get a proposal built around your US buyers and deadlines.
Why done-for-you beats tool-only
A compliance tool is software. It can track tasks, collect evidence and show you a dashboard. What it cannot do is decide what your scope should be, write policies that match how your team really works, interview your engineers, or sit across from an examiner when a question is unexpected.
That work still has to be done by someone. With a tool-only approach, that someone is usually a founder or an engineering lead, which means a few weeks of product time quietly turns into a few months.
Done-for-you consulting changes who carries the load:
- we scope the program so you are not controlling more than you need to;
- we write the policies and procedures, and we show your team the few things they must actually do;
- we collect and check evidence, and run an internal audit before the external one;
- we coordinate the final step, so you have one plan and one contact.
Tooling still matters, which is why Effivity, our GRC automation platform, is included in every engagement. The difference is that it is run by people who have done this for 20+ years across 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries.
Sources
1. SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO 27001, PCI, and GDPR Compliance Platform (homepage). Vanta. accessed October 23, 2026.
2. Secureframe: Build trust. Unlock growth. (homepage). Secureframe. accessed October 23, 2026.
3. System and Organization Controls: SOC Suite of Services. AICPA & CIMA. accessed October 23, 2026.
Information only
The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified attorney about your own situation.
Requirements depend on your scope, your customers' contracts, your industry and the regulations that apply to you. Two companies asking for the same standard can have very different obligations. We confirm yours during a gap assessment, and we update our content as standards change, but you should check the current text of any standard or rule that matters to you.
Sterling consults and prepares. It does not decide whether you meet a standard. That decision belongs to the independent party that performs the final step: the US-licensed CPA firm for a SOC 2 report, the Qualified Security Assessor or acquirer for PCI DSS, and the accredited certification body for ISO certificates. Timelines and outcomes depend on your readiness and on those parties.
Standards and marks named on this site belong to their respective owners.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Can a compliance platform get us a SOC 2 report?
A platform can help you prepare and gather evidence, but it cannot issue the report. The SOC 2 report is issued by a US-licensed CPA firm after an independent examination, as AICPA standards require. The same applies to ISO/IEC 27001: an accredited certification body makes the certification decision, not the software and not the consultancy that prepared you.
Is consulting always more expensive than a tool?
No general rule holds. A subscription usually excludes the independent audit and your team's time, while an all-inclusive consulting fee includes the audit and most of the work. For most start-ups and SMEs, Sterling's all-inclusive fee for a first SOC 2 report or ISO 27001 certification is under US$10,000, with later-year audits billed in those years. Compare the full lines in writing.
Which compliance tool should we buy?
We do not recommend a product, and this guide takes no position on any vendor's features or prices. To compare platforms, read each vendor's own pages, ask for a demo and put the questions in this guide to them. If you already own one, tell us during the gap assessment and we will work with it.
Do we still need a tool if we hire consultants?
You need somewhere to manage controls and evidence, and spreadsheets cope badly with a SOC 2 Type 2 observation period. In a Sterling engagement, Effivity is included with a full-year subscription, so the tool comes with the consulting rather than as another purchase, and your evidence stays in one place.
Can we start with a tool and add consulting later?
Yes, and many US start-ups do. The risk is lost time if the people work stalls. If you begin tool-only, set a date to review progress against your buyer's deadline. If the gap list is not shrinking by then, a gap assessment and done-for-you support can recover the schedule.
Does the auditor care which route we chose?
The CPA firm or certification body tests your controls and evidence, not your choice of tool or consultancy. What counts is that the system is real, policies match practice and the evidence is complete. Independence does count: the people who consulted for you never perform your audit.
Keep exploring
More in Compliance guides for US companies
Compliance guides for US companies
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