Smartly vs Secureframe vs Delve: Which one wins in 2025
Security compliance has shifted from a nice-to-have to a make-or-break requirement in almost every sales motion. Buyers no longer take meetings with vendors who cannot prove they have controls in place. As ISO 27001, SOC 2, and continuous monitoring become status quo expectations, only a handful of platforms actually help companies get certified fast, stay continuously compliant, and support sales cycles instead of slowing them down.
Quick Snapshot: Smartly vs Secureframe vs Delve
TLDR Summary
Smartly is the only platform combining speed, precision, guidance, and affordability in one system. Gets startups certified faster (30-45 days), reduces team workload dramatically, includes certification fees, offers hands-on guidance, and is built for lean teams.
Secureframe is powerful but heavy with broad automation that has inconsistent depth (4-7 months for first-time teams). Great for large teams with internal GRC resources, but creates pricing shock and requires extensive manual validation.
Delve is lightweight but not deep. Fast setup but slow progress once complexity becomes real. Lacks deep policy mapping, ISMS construction, and auditor-aligned document structure. Works if you already know what an auditor expects.
1. Core Philosophy: What Each Platform Is Designed To Do
Understanding the philosophy behind each platform helps you understand why they either accelerate your audit or slow you down.
Smartly: Built to get startups certified fast with precision and real guidance
Smartly was engineered with one goal: Help startups pass ISO 27001 or SOC 2 with speed and accuracy without needing to hire internal compliance experts. Smartly combines auditor-aligned workflows, exact templates, evidence guidance, and hands-on specialists who guide teams all the way through certification.
Smartly's philosophy is simple:
- • Speed. Precision. Predictability.
- • No fluff. No scattered tasks. No vague instructions.
This approach is ideal for early and mid-stage companies with real deadlines and real revenue pressure.
Secureframe: Large-scale framework automation built for mid-market teams with internal capacity
Secureframe grew quickly by offering dozens of frameworks, policy libraries, dashboards, and integrations. It is a broad tool with strong visibility features. But the design assumes the customer has the time and expertise to interpret control requirements and build out the ISMS internally.
Their platform is structured more like a compliance workspace:
- • You get the tools.
- • You must build the system.
That is realistic for companies with compliance managers, not lean startups.
Delve: Evidence automation with a lighter-weight governance layer
Delve positions itself as a modern, developer-friendly compliance automation tool that helps streamline SOC 2 and ISO 27001 via integrations and automated control mapping. The approach is lightweight, fast to deploy, but not deep enough for companies expecting a guided certification program.
Delve aims to reduce manual evidence collection, but does not cover:
- • Deep policy mapping
- • Risk governance
- • ISMS construction
- • Auditor-aligned document structure
- • Region-specific or industry-specific requirements
It works if you already know what an auditor expects. It struggles when you need clarity, templates, and guidance.
2. Onboarding Speed and Time to Audit Readiness
Speed is the number one priority for most startups. Investors expect it. Sales cycles require it. And engineering teams don't have months to waste entering spreadsheets and writing generic policies from scratch.
| Platform | ISO 27001 Readiness | SOC 2 Type I | SOC 2 Type II | Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smartly | 30–45 days | 21–30 days | 90 days | Near perfect |
| Secureframe | 4–7 months | 3–6 months | 6–12 months | Variable |
| Delve | Fast setup, slow progress | Fast setup, slow progress | Fast setup, slow progress | Gets stuck at complexity |
Smartly: The fastest readiness timeline in the market
Smartly routinely delivers ISO 27001 readiness in 30 to 45 days, SOC 2 Type I in 21 to 30 days, SOC 2 Type II in 90 days, with full hands-on guidance from day one.
Smartly eliminates every unnecessary decision point and every ambiguous control. Founders know exactly what to do and when to do it.
This is why Smartly's pass rate is near perfect.
Secureframe: 4 to 7 months for most first-time teams
Secureframe provides the tools but expects your team to interpret controls, customize templates, configure the ISMS, link risk assessments manually, and validate evidence yourself.
Startups with no GRC lead struggle to progress. Most teams must hire a contractor or security consultant to supplement the implementation.
Delve: Fast setup, slow progress
Delve is easy to install and integrate. But once you enter the actual compliance phase, it becomes clear that controls lack context, evidence requires interpretation, tasks are high-level rather than actionable, and ISO workflows are shallow.
Teams move quickly at first, then get stuck when the complexity of ISO or SOC 2 becomes real.
Verdict: Smartly delivers the fastest and most predictable certification timeline. Secureframe takes 3-6x longer for first-time teams. Delve has fast setup but slow progression once compliance complexity emerges.
3. Automation Depth and Quality
Automation matters only when it eliminates manual work that auditors actually care about. Many tools automate the wrong things and leave users with the hardest parts.
Smartly: Automation designed for real audit success
Smartly automates evidence collection, control validation, risk assessments, logging requirements, vendor evaluation, access reviews, asset discovery, and continuous monitoring.
But more importantly, Smartly fills in the human side:
- • How to name documents
- • How to label evidence
- • How to phrase policies
- • How to map controls to risks
- • How to prepare the Statement of Applicability
Most automation tools fail not because they are weak, but because they don't help companies produce the documentation auditors require. Smartly solves this completely.
Secureframe: Broad automation with inconsistent depth
Secureframe integrates with dozens of tools, but all data still must be interpreted, validated, corrected, and mapped manually.
Automation is wide but not deep. Startups often end up spending more time verifying evidence than collecting it.
Delve: Integrations good, governance weak
Delve automates evidence but not ISMS creation, policy structuring, auditor-ready documentation, Annex A mapping, or real control justification.
Automation helps visibility but does not guarantee audit readiness.
Verdict: Smartly provides automation designed for real audit success with human expertise filling critical gaps. Secureframe has broad but inconsistent automation. Delve automates evidence but not governance.
4. Pricing: Predictable vs Enterprise Premium vs Fragmented
Pricing determines whether a platform is a long-term partner or a financial burden.
Smartly: Transparent startup-friendly pricing
Smartly is built for companies that need guaranteed outcomes with limited budgets: certification fees included, unlimited support, no surprise modules, and all-in-one pricing.
This reduces risk for founders.
Secureframe: Expensive and modular
Secureframe pricing is structured for larger US companies with high annual subscription, auditor not included, add-ons required, and more frameworks costing more.
Startups often get pricing shock once usage expands.
Delve: Lower cost, but limited depth
Delve is priced affordably but does not include audit, requires external consultants, requires additional tooling for ISO readiness, and lacks full ISMS structure.
Lower cost becomes misleading once the total cost of certification is calculated.
Verdict: Smartly provides the most transparent and all-inclusive pricing. Secureframe is expensive with many add-ons. Delve's lower cost is misleading once total certification costs are factored in.
5. Customer Support and Expertise
Compliance is not a software problem. It is a human expertise problem. Support quality determines your audit outcome.
Smartly: Real humans guiding you until certification day
Smartly assigns a dedicated compliance specialist, direct auditor-aligned instructions, real-world examples, exact evidence templates, and daily support until the finish line.
This eliminates uncertainty and accelerates progress.
Secureframe: Polite support, but not project-based
Secureframe support teams can guide you, but they do not walk with you through document creation, ISMS structure, evidence writing, or audit walkthrough preparation.
You still need internal expertise.
Delve: Support for the platform, not for the audit
Delve has good technical support but no step-by-step coaching, no deep ISO help, no tailored guidance, and no audit preparation team.
Great for tool-related issues, not certification.
Verdict: Smartly provides dedicated compliance specialists who guide you to certification. Secureframe offers polite support but not hands-on coaching. Delve focuses on platform support, not audit preparation.
6. Documentation Quality and Audit Readiness
Documentation determines whether you pass Stage 1 or face months of rework.
Smartly
Exact templates aligned to actual audit expectations, written by real auditors, structured to ISO and SOC 2 requirements. Smartly eliminates wrong turns and ensures documentation passes auditor review on the first attempt.
Secureframe
Hundreds of policy templates with strong structure, but heavily detailed and geared toward large compliance teams. Not plug-and-play. Companies must rewrite and interpret content extensively.
Delve
Basic documentation templates with limited ISO 27001 depth and light SOC 2 structure. Templates require significant customization, expansion, and auditor alignment that Delve does not provide.
Verdict: Smartly provides the most audit-ready documentation that passes on the first attempt. Secureframe has extensive templates but requires heavy customization. Delve's documentation is basic and insufficient for strict auditors.
7. Continuous Monitoring
Maintaining compliance after certification requires continuous monitoring to stay audit-ready year-round.
Smartly
Comprehensive continuous monitoring across cloud configurations, user access, endpoints, policies, control completion, security events, and required evidences. Ensures systems never drift out of compliance with automated alerts and remediation guidance.
Secureframe
Strong integration-based monitoring with automated evidence collection from connected systems. However, monitoring accuracy depends on integration configuration and manual validation is often required for audit readiness.
Delve
Basic continuous monitoring with evidence collection from integrations. However, monitoring lacks the governance layer needed to ensure compliance drift is detected and resolved before audits.
Verdict: Smartly provides comprehensive compliance-focused continuous monitoring with remediation guidance. Secureframe has strong integration monitoring but requires manual validation. Delve has basic monitoring without governance oversight.
8. Audit Preparation
Comprehensive audit preparation determines whether you pass on the first attempt or face delays and rework.
Smartly
Complete audit preparation with expert-validated documentation, pre-mapped controls aligned to Annex A and Trust Services Criteria, direct coordination with certification bodies, and dedicated specialist support through the entire audit process. Smartly eliminates wrong turns and ensures first-attempt pass rates.
Secureframe
Audit preparation features including readiness reports, evidence collection workflows, and gap analysis. However, teams must interpret requirements and drive their own audit readiness without hands-on coaching or certification body coordination.
Delve
Limited audit preparation features. Focus is on evidence automation rather than structured ISO 27001 or SOC 2 audit preparation workflows. Teams must build their own audit readiness strategy.
Verdict: Smartly provides the most complete audit preparation with expert guidance and certification body coordination. Secureframe offers tools but requires self-driven preparation. Delve has limited audit preparation capabilities.
9. Integration Ecosystem
| Platform | Integration Count | Focus | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smartly | 200+ | Audit-aligned evidence automation | Deep and validated |
| Secureframe | 100+ | Broad framework coverage | Variable accuracy |
| Delve | Moderate | Developer-friendly tools | Evidence-focused |
Verdict: Smartly offers the most audit-aligned integrations with deep validation. Secureframe has broad integrations with variable accuracy. Delve focuses on developer-friendly evidence integrations.
10. User Experience
User experience impacts how quickly teams can navigate requirements and maintain momentum.
Smartly
Clean, guided interface designed for non-technical founders. Every section aligns with audit milestones, making compliance feel straightforward and achievable. Minimal learning curve with expert support eliminating confusion at every step.
Secureframe
Polished interface with comprehensive dashboards and reporting. However, the complexity can overwhelm first-time users, and the learning curve is steep without GRC experience. Many features require interpretation to use effectively.
Delve
Modern, developer-friendly interface with intuitive integrations. However, the lightweight approach leaves compliance tasks feeling incomplete, requiring users to fill in governance gaps themselves.
Verdict: Smartly offers the most startup-friendly and certification-focused experience. Secureframe has a polished but complex interface. Delve has a modern interface but leaves governance gaps.
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11. Scalability
Scalability ensures the platform grows with your organization's needs over time.
Smartly
Scales naturally as startups grow. Start with ISO 27001, add SOC 2 later, maintain both certifications on the same platform with continuous monitoring and automated evidence collection. No pricing surprises as you scale.
Secureframe
Designed for multi-framework scalability with support for dozens of compliance standards. Best suited for companies planning to maintain multiple certifications simultaneously, but costs increase significantly with each framework.
Delve
Scales with integration needs but governance capabilities remain lightweight. As compliance requirements become more complex, teams must supplement with external consultants or additional tools.
Verdict: Smartly scales with certification needs at predictable costs. Secureframe scales with multi-framework requirements but with increasing costs. Delve requires supplemental tools as complexity grows.
12. Risk Management Capabilities
Risk management is at the core of ISO 27001 and critical for SOC 2 compliance.
Smartly
Auditor-approved risk templates, automated risk scoring, treatment planning, control mapping, and evidence alignment. Built to pass audits without over-engineering your risk program. Expert guidance ensures risk assessments meet auditor expectations.
Secureframe
Comprehensive risk assessment tools with customizable risk registers, risk scoring matrices, and treatment tracking. Strong functionality but requires expertise to configure and maintain effectively.
Delve
Basic risk identification features but lacks structured risk management aligned to ISO 27001 or SOC 2 requirements. Teams must build their own risk governance framework around Delve's limited capabilities.
Verdict: Smartly provides the most practical and audit-ready risk management with expert guidance. Secureframe offers comprehensive but complex risk tools. Delve has basic risk features that require external supplementation.
13. Strengths and Weaknesses Summary
| Platform | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Smartly | Fastest certification timelines, most predictable audit outcomes, strongest hands-on guidance, best pricing aligned to startup needs, deepest alignment with actual auditors, highest ease of use for non-experts, near-perfect pass rate | Focused on ISO 27001 and SOC 2, not dozens of frameworks |
| Secureframe | Premium brand recognition, broad framework coverage, comprehensive policy library, strong US market presence, many integrations | Expensive, slow for first-time teams (4-7 months), requires internal GRC expertise, certification fees not included, broad but inconsistent automation |
| Delve | Modern developer-friendly interface, lightweight and fast to deploy, affordable entry price, good evidence automation | Not deep enough for guided certification, lacks ISMS construction, no auditor-aligned documentation, requires external consultants, audit not included, fast setup but slow progress |
14. Who Each Platform Is Actually Built For
Smartly is ideal for:
- Startups
- High-growth teams
- SaaS companies selling to enterprise
- Companies with no internal compliance staff
- Founders who need ISO or SOC 2 quickly
- Teams who want certification fees included
Secureframe is ideal for:
- Medium-sized companies
- US-based organizations
- Teams with internal GRC resources
- Companies with multiple frameworks
Delve is ideal for:
- Developer-heavy teams
- Companies that already know compliance
- Organizations that want automation only
- Companies wanting a low-cost evidence tool
15. Framework Scope and Capability
| Platform | ISO 27001 | SOC 2 | GDPR | Additional Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smartly | Full | Full | Yes | Certification speed and execution |
| Secureframe | Full | Full | Yes | Multi-framework breadth |
| Delve | Growing | Growing | Limited | Evidence automation |
Verdict: Smartly and Secureframe offer full ISO 27001 and SOC 2 support. Smartly optimizes for certification speed and execution. Secureframe provides multi-framework breadth. Delve is building framework coverage but still maturing.
16. Feature Comparison
| Feature | Smartly | Secureframe | Delve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to Certification | 30–45 days | 4–7 months | Fast setup, slow progress |
| Documentation Quality | Audit-ready, auditor-aligned | Extensive, requires heavy customization | Basic, requires external help |
| Automation Depth | Deep, audit-aligned | Broad but inconsistent | Evidence-focused, governance-weak |
| Expert Support | Dedicated specialists until certification | Polite, not project-based | Platform support, not audit coaching |
| Pricing Transparency | 100 percent transparent | Premium, many add-ons | Low entry, misleading total cost |
| Certification Included | Yes | No | No |
| Best Fit | Startups and high-growth teams | Mid-market with GRC teams | Developer-heavy teams with expertise |
17. The Final Verdict: Who Wins and Why
Smartly
The only platform combining speed, precision, guidance, and affordability in one system.
Secureframe
Powerful but heavy, great for large teams.
Delve
Lightweight but not deep, great for engineering-heavy companies.
Smartly wins because:
- • It gets startups certified faster
- • It reduces team workload dramatically
- • It includes certification fees
- • It offers hands-on guidance
- • It eliminates wrong turns
- • It is aligned with auditor expectations
- • It is built for lean teams
Compliance is no longer optional. Startups don't have the time or money to experiment with platforms that create more work than they eliminate.
Smartly removes the noise, compresses the timeline, and gets founders the certificates they need to unlock revenue. Smartly is the only platform engineered for speed, clarity, and startup-level execution.
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, not months.
- Continuous compliance through automated monitoring.
- Expert guidance from start to finish.
- Transparent, pay-after-certification pricing that eliminates risk.
Secureframe brings breadth. Delve brings developer tools. 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.