Compare AuditKit and Thoropass for SOC 2 compliance. Thoropass bundles compliance software with auditor services in one contract; AuditKit is open source with tamper-proof evidence at $99/mo and a free self-hosted option.
| Feature | AuditKit | Thoropass |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | — | |
| Self-hosted option | — | |
| Tamper-proof evidence (hash chain) | — | |
| Merkle tree proofs | — | |
| Multi-language audit log SDKs | TS, Python, Go, Java | Limited |
| Bundled audit services (CPA firm) | — | |
| Policy templates | ||
| Evidence vault | ||
| Continuous control monitoring | Roadmap | |
| Auditor portal | Built-in | Bundled with audit |
| Multi-framework (SOC 2, ISO, HIPAA) | SOC 2 first | |
| Transparent published pricing | — | |
| Self-serve trial without sales call | — | |
| Monthly billing (no annual lock-in) | — | |
| SOC 2 starting price | $99/mo (free self-host) | ~$8K+/yr (incl. audit) |
| Cryptographic evidence integrity | — | |
| Independent CPA selection | Bring your own | Tied to platform |
AuditKit cloud starts at $99/mo ($1,188/yr) vs Thoropass's ~$8,000-$20,000/yr typical entry — and Thoropass's pricing includes an auditor bundle that may or may not be the right CPA firm for your business. AuditKit lets you choose any AICPA-licensed auditor independently. Self-hosted is free under AGPLv3.
AuditKit hash-chains every audit event so any tampering shows up as a broken chain — and exports Merkle proofs that an auditor can independently verify. Thoropass stores evidence in a database with database-level access controls; it has no cryptographic integrity verification.
Self-host on your own infrastructure for $0 in licensing. Inspect the codebase, audit the hash-chain implementation, extend the SDK for custom needs. Thoropass is a closed-source SaaS bundled with a CPA firm — you trust the vendor on evidence integrity claims, with no way to verify them independently.
Sign up, drop in the SDK, start logging audit events the same day. Thoropass requires a sales call, scoping conversation, and contract signature before product access. For startups with a SOC 2 deadline measured in weeks, the difference between same-day setup and 4-6 week onboarding is substantial.
AuditKit produces clean, tenant-scoped, cryptographically verifiable evidence exports that any AICPA-licensed CPA firm can use. You pick your auditor based on industry expertise, geography, price, and reputation — not on which platform they're tied to. Thoropass's bundled-auditor model is convenient for some, restrictive for others.
AuditKit instruments inside your application via SDK — every business event (user invited, role changed, data accessed, billing modified) gets a structured audit event with cryptographic chain integrity. Thoropass's audit log is platform-collected from cloud and SaaS connectors, which captures infrastructure events but cannot capture application-internal business events. SOC 2 auditors want both layers.
Bundles compliance software with audit services from a single provider — one contract, one bill
Continuous control monitoring across cloud and SaaS via mature integrations
Multi-framework support (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR) in one platform
Full-service onboarding with dedicated customer success
Established auditor relationships shorten time-to-audit-report
Annual contracts starting around $8,000-$20,000/year — pricing gates early-stage startups
CPA firm tied to the platform — limits flexibility to use a preferred or specialty auditor
Sales-led purchase requires demo and scoping calls before pricing or product access
No self-hosting option for organizations with data residency or sovereignty requirements
No cryptographic evidence integrity (hash chains or Merkle proofs)
Closed source — no ability to inspect or extend the audit logging implementation
Audit log functionality is collected through cloud connectors rather than instrumented in-application
For the audit log + evidence portion, yes. Thoropass is a bundled compliance platform plus audit services in one contract — strong if you want one-vendor convenience and don't care which specific CPA firm performs the audit. AuditKit is the audit log + evidence layer specifically, with cryptographic integrity Thoropass does not have, plus the freedom to use any auditor independently. For startups whose primary need is "tamper-proof audit logs and clean evidence exports," AuditKit replaces ~80% of Thoropass's software value at a fraction of the cost — and you keep auditor flexibility.
AuditKit cloud starts at $99/month ($1,188/year) with monthly billing. Self-hosted is free under AGPLv3. Thoropass typically starts around $8,000-$20,000/year on annual contracts that bundle the audit fee. Comparing apples to apples: AuditKit + a regional AICPA CPA firm for the audit ($7K-$15K) usually totals less than Thoropass's bundled price, with the same SOC 2 report at the end and the freedom to choose your auditor.
Thoropass's biggest differentiator is the bundled audit services — one contract covers compliance software AND the audit. That's convenient for startups that don't want to source an auditor separately. Thoropass also has continuous control monitoring across cloud and SaaS via mature connectors, and supports multiple compliance frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR) on a single platform. AuditKit's focus is the audit log + evidence slice — narrower scope, deeper capability in that slice, and you bring your own auditor.
Three common reasons. First, industry expertise — a CPA firm that specializes in your vertical (fintech, healthtech, etc.) often produces a more useful audit. Second, price — regional AICPA-licensed firms often charge significantly less than the platform-bundled audit fee. Third, continuity — once you have a relationship with an auditor, you typically want to keep them across multiple audit cycles for context efficiency. AuditKit's evidence exports work with any AICPA firm.
Yes — and this is a sensible pattern. Run Thoropass for the broad GRC platform (control monitoring, policy management, vendor risk, multi-framework support) and add AuditKit for the application-layer audit log with cryptographic integrity. AuditKit's evidence exports flow into Thoropass's evidence vault. Auditors get a unified view across both layers. The cost of AuditKit ($99-$999/mo) is rounding error against Thoropass's annual bundle.
Yes. AuditKit produces tenant-scoped, time-bounded, cryptographically verifiable evidence exports. The hash-chained event log and Merkle proofs are stronger evidence integrity than what most GRC platforms (Thoropass included) provide. Any AICPA-licensed CPA firm can perform a SOC 2 audit using AuditKit's evidence — auditors care about evidence quality, not vendor brand.
GRC · Starting ~$10,000/yr (annual contracts, custom pricing)
GRC · Starting ~$10,000/yr (annual contracts, custom pricing)
Observability · Usage-based, typically $20K-$500K+/yr depending on data volume
Observability · Log Management from $0.10/GB ingested + retention costs
Get tamper-proof audit logging with transparent pricing from $99/mo. No sales call required.