Smartly vs Scrut vs Secureframe: The Real Compliance Automation Comparison of 2025
In the fast-moving world of tech and SaaS, compliance is no longer just about ticking boxes. It has become a measure of trust — the foundation of enterprise sales, investor confidence, and customer retention. Certifications like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are now the global currency of credibility.
Quick Snapshot: Smartly vs Scrut vs Secureframe
TLDR Summary
Smartly delivers the fastest, clearest, and most startup-friendly path to ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification — with transparent pricing, expert support, and guaranteed outcomes.
Scrut delivers power and visibility for complex organizations that want to merge compliance with continuous security.
Secureframe provides simplicity and accessibility for smaller teams that want quick setup and easy auditor collaboration.
1. Platform Overview
Smartly
Smartly automates every step of ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification. It connects directly to your tech stack, gathers evidence automatically, and generates the core ISO documentation — including the Statement of Applicability (SoA), Risk Treatment Plan, and Internal Audit Report — all verified by real ISO experts.
Unlike other platforms, Smartly does not just sell software. It pairs every customer with a dedicated compliance specialist who guides you through scoping, implementation, and audit preparation. The process is fully transparent, and you only pay once you are certified.
In short, Smartly helps startups move from zero to certification in weeks, not months.
Scrut
Scrut is a compliance and risk management platform built for growing companies that need deeper risk visibility. It supports frameworks like ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS. Scrut focuses on cloud security and risk posture monitoring, continuously scanning environments to detect misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and control failures.
Scrut's biggest strength is its ability to connect compliance with cybersecurity, giving teams real-time visibility into their risk landscape. However, its setup and maintenance require technical engagement, making it more suited for mature organizations with internal security teams.
Secureframe
Secureframe was one of the early players in compliance automation. It provides pre-built templates, policy libraries, and hundreds of integrations to simplify SOC 2 and ISO 27001 preparation.
The platform automatically collects audit evidence from connected systems and generates auditor-ready reports. Secureframe also provides access to its network of auditor partners and offers an intuitive dashboard for tracking progress. However, some users report that while Secureframe's setup is fast, it can become rigid and difficult to scale once compliance complexity increases or when multiple frameworks are involved.
2. Framework Coverage
| Platform | Supported Frameworks | Core Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Smartly | ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, NIST CSF | Fast, expert-guided automation for startups |
| Scrut | ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, NIST | Continuous risk-based compliance management |
| Secureframe | ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS | Easy compliance automation and audit readiness |
Verdict: Scrut and Secureframe both cover multiple frameworks, ideal for scaling organizations. Smartly focuses on ISO 27001 and SOC 2, the two most demanded certifications for SaaS startups, delivering them faster and more efficiently than anyone else.
3. Automation and Efficiency
Automation quality determines how fast teams achieve certification and how much manual effort is required.
Smartly
Smartly automates evidence collection, policy management, and document generation across your environment. Its system continuously maps controls to ISO 27001 Annex A and SOC 2 Trust Criteria, updating statuses in real time. Automation covers every audit-relevant workflow without requiring manual data entry.
Scrut
Scrut provides automation with a technical twist. It integrates with your cloud infrastructure to continuously monitor compliance and security posture, generating risk alerts and remediation tasks automatically.
Secureframe
Secureframe focuses on plug-and-play automation. Its 200+ integrations allow automatic evidence collection and control mapping. However, users often rely heavily on templates rather than customization, which may not fully fit unique environments.
Verdict: Smartly wins for automation depth combined with audit-ready accuracy. Scrut wins for continuous monitoring. Secureframe wins for ease of initial setup but not long-term scalability.
4. Risk Management
Risk management is critical for both compliance certification and ongoing security governance.
Smartly
Smartly offers an ISO 27005-aligned risk management module that links every risk to relevant controls, ensuring traceability for auditors and leadership.
Scrut
Scrut provides continuous, AI-driven risk scoring. It detects emerging vulnerabilities and tracks remediation progress across teams.
Secureframe
Secureframe includes a basic risk register for manual tracking but does not automate risk detection or scoring.
Verdict: Scrut delivers the strongest real-time risk management. Smartly provides the best ISO-aligned structure for audit readiness. Secureframe keeps it simple for small teams but lacks continuous visibility.
5. Documentation and Evidence
| Platform | Evidence Collection | Documentation Capability |
|---|---|---|
| Smartly | Fully automated | Generates SoA, Risk Treatment Plan, and Internal Audit Report |
| Scrut | Automated + technical logs | Centralized risk and audit documentation |
| Secureframe | Automated | Pre-built templates and auditor-ready documents |
Verdict: Smartly leads with ISO-specific documentation that auditors can approve immediately. Scrut is strong for risk analytics and posture documentation. Secureframe provides accessible templates for quick wins but lacks the precision Smartly delivers.
6. Onboarding and Certification Speed
| Platform | Setup Time | Typical Certification Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Smartly | 2–3 weeks | 4–6 weeks to certification |
| Scrut | 4–6 weeks | 8–12 weeks to certification |
| Secureframe | 3–5 weeks | 6–8 weeks to certification |
Verdict: Smartly is built for speed and simplicity. Scrut and Secureframe require longer configuration and coordination before audit readiness.
7. Pricing Transparency
| Platform | Pricing Model | Average Range | Transparency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smartly | Pay-after-certification, all-inclusive | From 4,900 USD | Fully transparent |
| Scrut | Annual subscription | 10,000 – 25,000 USD / year | Quote required |
| Secureframe | Annual subscription | 9,000 – 20,000 USD / year | Quote required |
Verdict: Smartly wins on transparency and fairness. You only pay once you are certified. Scrut and Secureframe use opaque, quote-based pricing that scales quickly with user count and framework additions.
8. Audit Preparation
Audit preparation determines how seamlessly teams transition from implementation to certification.
Smartly
Smartly automates the entire audit readiness process. It generates every document auditors require — SoA, risk treatment plan, audit results — and aligns all evidence to ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II criteria. Smartly also partners with certification bodies to accelerate scheduling and streamline communication.
Scrut
Scrut provides structured audit dashboards and automated evidence linking but requires manual oversight for mapping evidence to each framework.
Secureframe
Secureframe makes it easy to collaborate with auditors through its dedicated Auditor Portal, but users still need to review and finalize documentation manually.
Verdict: Smartly offers the fastest and most complete audit preparation. Scrut provides advanced control analytics, and Secureframe simplifies auditor collaboration but depends on manual confirmation.
9. Continuous Compliance
Continuous compliance ensures organizations remain audit-ready throughout the year, not just at certification time.
Smartly
Smartly ensures that compliance never stops after certification. It continuously monitors controls and integrations, sending alerts when configurations drift or evidence expires.
Scrut
Scrut offers real-time continuous compliance through posture monitoring, vulnerability detection, and risk correlation. It is ideal for security teams managing active environments.
Secureframe
Secureframe provides continuous monitoring through integrations but primarily tracks compliance at the control level, not at a predictive or risk-based depth.
Verdict: Smartly and Scrut both deliver continuous compliance, but Smartly is simpler and faster to maintain. Secureframe works best for teams needing high-level visibility rather than deep automation.
10. Integration Ecosystem
| Platform | Integration Count | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Smartly | 200+ | Cloud, HR, and development tools |
| Scrut | 250+ | Cloud, SIEM, risk, and vulnerability systems |
| Secureframe | 300+ | Cloud, HR, productivity, and code repositories |
Verdict: Secureframe leads in total integration count. Scrut offers more technical depth. Smartly covers all the key integrations startups actually need for ISO and SOC 2 audits — nothing bloated or redundant.
11. User Experience
User experience impacts adoption speed, team productivity, and overall satisfaction with the platform.
Smartly
Smartly provides a clean, guided interface that simplifies every task. Every section aligns directly with ISO 27001 clauses and audit steps, making compliance feel like a checklist rather than chaos.
Scrut
Scrut delivers data-rich dashboards with risk heat maps and compliance analytics for technical teams.
Secureframe
Secureframe focuses on ease of use, offering an intuitive interface for non-technical users but fewer configuration options for complex environments.
Verdict: Smartly is the most balanced — simple enough for non-technical founders yet comprehensive enough for auditors. Scrut is powerful for analysts. Secureframe is user-friendly but less flexible.
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12. Customer Support
Quality support is essential for navigating compliance complexities and achieving certification success.
Smartly
Smartly gives every customer direct access to ISO experts who guide them throughout certification. Support is proactive, not reactive.
Scrut
Scrut offers dedicated customer success managers and 24/7 chat for enterprise clients.
Secureframe
Secureframe provides onboarding specialists and an auditor network but limited one-on-one consultation for smaller plans.
Verdict: Smartly wins for expert-led support. Scrut delivers great enterprise responsiveness. Secureframe focuses on scalable customer success models.
13. Scalability
Scalability ensures the platform can grow alongside your business and compliance needs.
Smartly
Smartly grows with your startup. You can start with ISO 27001, then expand to SOC 2 or GDPR without leaving the platform.
Scrut
Scrut scales with complex infrastructures, allowing organizations to manage multiple frameworks and geographies.
Secureframe
Secureframe scales through integrations and additional frameworks but tends to become costly as compliance scope expands.
Verdict: Smartly scales naturally with business growth. Scrut scales with security complexity. Secureframe scales with size but loses efficiency as frameworks increase.
14. Strengths and Weaknesses
| Platform | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Smartly | Fastest certification, real experts, transparent pricing | Limited to ISO 27001 and SOC 2 |
| Scrut | Real-time risk visibility, advanced monitoring | Requires technical management and setup time |
| Secureframe | Simple setup, strong integrations, auditor portal | Rigid workflows, slower scaling for advanced users |
15. Best Use Cases
Choose Smartly if:
- You are a startup that wants ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification fast.
- You prefer expert guidance and transparent, pay-after-certification pricing.
- You want automation without complexity or hidden costs.
Choose Scrut if:
- You have an internal security team and want advanced risk visibility.
- You manage multiple frameworks or regions.
Choose Secureframe if:
- You want an easy-to-use platform with plug-and-play automation.
- You are focused on fast compliance setup without complex customization.
16. Feature Comparison
| Feature | Smartly | Scrut | Secureframe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed to Certification | 2–3 weeks | 6–8 weeks | 6–8 weeks |
| Automation Depth | End-to-end | Technical and continuous | Plug-and-play |
| Risk Management | ISO 27005-aligned | AI-based and continuous | Manual tracking |
| Evidence Management | Fully automated | Automated + logs | Automated |
| Continuous Compliance | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Audit Preparation | Fully automated | Guided | Template-based |
| Pricing Transparency | 100 percent clear | Limited | Limited |
| Best Fit | Startups and SaaS | Enterprises | SMEs and scale-ups |
17. Final Verdict
Smartly, Scrut, and Secureframe each bring something valuable to the compliance table.
Scrut
Delivers power and visibility for complex organizations that want to merge compliance with continuous security.
Secureframe
Provides simplicity and accessibility for smaller teams that want quick setup and easy auditor collaboration.
Smartly
Delivers what most startups truly need: fast, guided, and affordable ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification backed by experts who guarantee results.
If your goal is to close deals faster, build trust with enterprise clients, and stay compliant without hiring a team of consultants, Smartly is your best choice.
18. Why Smartly Leads the Compliance Automation Race
Smartly has redefined how startups achieve compliance. Its approach blends automation, expertise, and transparency — giving teams control, confidence, and speed.
With Smartly, you get:
- ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification in weeks.
- Continuous compliance through automated monitoring.
- Expert guidance from start to finish.
- Transparent, pay-after-certification pricing that eliminates risk.
Scrut brings intelligence. Secureframe brings simplicity. Smartly brings results.
Smartly: The fastest path to ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification — built for startups that move fast, build trust, and grow securely.