Compare · UpGuard

UpGuard alternative that pairs vendor risk with your own compliance

UpGuard has built a strong third-party risk and attack surface product. It scans the external footprint of your vendors daily, turns what it finds into risk ratings, and adds data leak detection across the open web, so you get a fast read on a supplier without waiting for them to answer anything. If continuous outside-in monitoring of a large vendor portfolio is the job, it does that job well.

Teams start looking at UpGuard alternatives when the other half of the work shows up: your own compliance. An external rating of a vendor says nothing about whether your controls map cleanly to SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR or PCI, or whether your evidence is current enough to survive an audit. Scrutineer runs both sides from one evidence base. It maps your controls, collects evidence automatically and flags gaps before the auditor does, and it assesses, scores and continuously monitors your vendors while auto-answering the security questionnaires that land in your inbox. Scrutineer is readiness and decision support; an accredited auditor still issues the attestation.

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SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA & more · evidence on every control · you decide

The Scrutiny Desk

Illustrative sample · not an audit attestation

UpGuard is strong at outside-in vendor ratings and attack surface monitoring, while Scrutineer covers vendor risk and your own continuous compliance across frameworks in a single platform.

Side by side

UpGuard vs Scrutineer, honestly

A fair look at what each does well. Both are capable tools. Here is where they differ.

What matters	Scrutineer	UpGuard
Primary strength	Your own compliance and third-party risk together, from one evidence base	Outside-in vendor ratings and attack surface monitoring
Your own framework compliance	SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI and SOX control mapping with evidence	Focused on third-party and external risk posture
Third-party / vendor risk	Assess, score and continuously monitor vendors end to end	Daily external scanning, ratings and continuous monitoring
Questionnaire automation	Auto-answers inbound questionnaires from your evidence, scores outbound ones	Vendor questionnaire workflow and evidence analysis
Data leak detection	Not an external scanning product; vendor risk is evidence and questionnaire led	Dark web and open web leaked credential detection
Audit evidence package	Organized, current evidence per control, ready to hand an auditor	Vendor assessment reports rather than your own audit evidence
Pricing model	Flat enterprise plans, no free tier	Publicly listed plans starting at $1,599 per month (Starter) and $3,333 per month (Professional), billed annually. Verify current pricing with UpGuard.
Best suited for	Teams that must be audit-ready themselves and manage vendor risk	Teams monitoring a large vendor portfolio from the outside in

Comparison reflects general, publicly understood positioning. Capabilities change, so check each product for the latest.

Why teams pick Scrutineer

One report that maps controls and scores risk across every framework

Both halves of the job

External ratings tell you how a vendor looks from the internet. They do not tell you whether your own access reviews, change management and monitoring will hold up in a SOC 2 audit. Scrutineer runs your compliance and your vendor risk from the same evidence base.

Evidence, not just signals

Scrutineer pulls real evidence from your cloud, identity and ticketing systems and attaches it to the control it proves, so what you hand an auditor is current and organized rather than reconstructed at the end.

Questionnaires answered for you

The security questionnaires your sales team is blocked on get auto-answered from evidence you already have, and the ones you send to vendors get scored automatically. That is a workflow an external rating alone does not touch.

Good questions

UpGuard vs Scrutineer, answered

If you need your own compliance readiness alongside vendor risk, yes. UpGuard is strong at outside-in ratings and attack surface monitoring of your vendors. Scrutineer adds control mapping, automatic evidence collection and questionnaire automation for your own org in the same platform.

UpGuard publicly lists a Starter plan at $1,599 per month and a Professional plan at $3,333 per month, billed annually, with the Professional tier covering more vendors plus API access and audit logs. Pricing changes, so confirm current figures with UpGuard directly.

Scrutineer assesses, scores and continuously monitors vendors, but it is evidence and questionnaire led rather than an outside-in internet scanner. If a daily external scan of thousands of suppliers is your core requirement, UpGuard specializes in exactly that.

Yes. Scrutineer maps your controls to SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI and SOX, collects the evidence behind each control automatically, and flags gaps before your audit. An accredited auditor still performs the audit and issues the attestation.

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See every framework Scrutineer covers

See how Scrutineer maps controls and scores risk on real evidence

One tool: a framework or a vendor in, an AI-mapped report out, with per-control scoring, evidence-linked findings and a prioritized gap list. Scrutineer is decision support for readiness, an accredited auditor issues the attestation. The AI scrutinizes, you decide.

See pricing

Control-mapped · evidence on every finding · prioritized gap list · you make the call