AuditKit helps you collect evidence, organize controls, and deliver tamper-proof audit packages to your auditor. Stop drowning in spreadsheets — start your audit prep in minutes, not months.
SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2) is an auditing standard developed by the AICPA that evaluates how companies handle customer data. It covers five trust service criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. SOC 2 Type II audits assess whether controls operate effectively over a 3-12 month observation period.
A first-time SOC 2 audit typically costs $25,000-$80,000 including auditor fees ($7,500-$20,000), compliance platform subscriptions ($5,000-$50,000/year), consultant fees, and 100-500 hours of internal engineering time.
SOC 2 Type I takes 2-4 months from start to report. SOC 2 Type II requires a 3-12 month observation period plus 2-6 weeks of audit fieldwork, totaling 6-15 months for first-time audits.
SOC 2 Type I evaluates whether security controls are properly designed at a single point in time. SOC 2 Type II tests whether those controls operated effectively over a sustained period (typically 3-12 months). Most enterprise customers require Type II.
SOC 2 evidence collection is the process of gathering documentation that proves your security controls are designed and operating effectively. Auditors request 200+ pieces of evidence including access lists, change management tickets, vulnerability scans, policy documents, incident logs, and vendor assessments. Evidence collection typically consumes 60-70% of total compliance effort.
Most teams face the same three problems when preparing for their SOC 2 audit.
100–500 hours
Gathering evidence manually
Screenshots, exports, spreadsheets — scattered across a dozen tools with no structure.
$10K–$50K/yr
Enterprise compliance tools
Vanta, Drata, and others charge five figures annually. Most startups cannot afford that.
Weeks of back-and-forth
Auditor evidence requests
Missing evidence, wrong formats, unclear mappings — auditors ask for the same things repeatedly.
Six tools in one platform to take you from “we need SOC 2” to “here is our audit package.”
Collect, organize, and hash-verify all audit evidence in one place. Every file is SHA-256 hashed on upload so auditors can trust nothing was altered.
Pre-built SOC 2 checklist mapped to all Trust Services Criteria. Track readiness at a glance and know exactly what is left before your audit.
15 pre-written security policies ready to customize — from Acceptable Use to Incident Response. Stop paying consultants $200-$400/hr to write boilerplate.
Run quarterly access review campaigns with automated reminders. Generate evidence that proves who reviewed what and when — auditors love this.
Maintain a vendor inventory with SOC 2 report tracking, risk tiers, and renewal dates. Know which vendors are compliant and which are overdue.
Document and track risks with likelihood and impact scoring. Map risks to controls and show auditors your risk management process is real.
After the Delve scandal — where 494 fake SOC 2 reports were issued — auditors want proof your evidence is real. AuditKit provides cryptographic guarantees that no other compliance tool offers.
Every piece of evidence is hashed on upload. Each hash links to the previous, creating an unbreakable chain. Alter one file and the entire chain breaks.
Batch-verify hundreds of evidence files in milliseconds. Auditors can independently verify any single file without downloading your entire vault.
Every evidence submission is cryptographically signed. Your auditor knows exactly who uploaded what, and that it has not been modified since.
Why this matters: Traditional compliance tools store evidence in plain databases. If someone with admin access modifies a file, there is no way to detect it. AuditKit's cryptographic evidence chain makes tampering mathematically detectable — giving auditors confidence they have never had before.
Monthly billing. No annual lock-in. Cancel anytime. See how AuditKit stacks up against the alternatives.
| Feature | AuditKit | Vanta | Drata | Spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $99/mo | ~$10K+/yr | ~$7K+/yr | $0 + 200-500 hrs |
| Annual cost | $1,188 – $5,988 | $10K – $50K+ | $7K – $50K+ | $0 + your sanity |
| Evidence hashing | — | — | — | |
| Tamper-proof audit trail | — | — | — | |
| Policy templates | — | |||
| Control mapping | — | |||
| Risk register | — | |||
| No annual lock-in | — | — | ||
| Setup in < 1 hour | — | — |
AuditKit maps to all nine common criteria plus optional Trust Services Criteria. Every control has pre-built evidence requirements and readiness tracking.
Control Environment
Communication & Information
Risk Assessment
Monitoring Activities
Control Activities
Logical & Physical Access
System Operations
Change Management
Risk Mitigation
Availability (optional)
Processing Integrity (optional)
Confidentiality (optional)
Privacy (optional)
Privacy criteria (P1) coverage is on our roadmap. Sign up to explore the full control catalog in your dashboard.
SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) is a security framework developed by the AICPA. It evaluates how a company protects customer data across five Trust Services Criteria: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. Most B2B SaaS companies need SOC 2 to close enterprise deals.
A SOC 2 Type I audit (point-in-time) typically takes 2-4 months of preparation plus 4-6 weeks for the audit itself. A Type II audit (over a period) requires a 3-12 month observation window after your controls are in place. With AuditKit, most teams significantly reduce their prep time by having evidence organized from day one.
Type I evaluates your controls at a single point in time — it says "these controls exist." Type II evaluates them over a period (usually 6-12 months) — it says "these controls work consistently." Most companies start with Type I to get the report faster, then move to Type II for stronger assurance. Enterprise customers increasingly require Type II.
Auditors need evidence across several categories: access control lists and reviews, change management records, security policies, incident response procedures, risk assessments, vendor management documentation, system monitoring configurations, encryption settings, backup verification, and employee training records. AuditKit organizes all of this into a structured evidence vault.
Vanta is a full compliance automation platform that starts at $10K/yr. AuditKit is a focused audit prep tool that starts at $99/mo. We do not try to replace your auditor or automate everything — we help you collect evidence, organize controls, and deliver a tamper-proof audit package. If you are a startup that needs SOC 2 without a six-figure budget, AuditKit is built for you.
No. AuditKit does not perform audits and does not replace your CPA firm. We are friends of auditors — we help you prepare so thoroughly that your audit goes smoothly. Your auditor will appreciate receiving organized, hash-verified evidence instead of a messy Dropbox folder.
Audit logs are a core SOC 2 requirement. Building them early saves months of compliance work.
A practical guide to collecting and organizing evidence for your SOC 2 audit.
How startups can achieve SOC 2 compliance without breaking the bank.
Ship tamper-evident audit trails in 5 minutes with our open-source SDK and managed cloud.
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