The 10 best cyber GRC software tools in 2024

The role of cyber GRC in businesses has transcended traditional checkbox exercises. Cyber GRC now involves mastering digital transformations, tackling increasingly complex security challenges, and keeping pace with a complex array of cybersecurity frameworks.

In this dynamic landscape, choosing the right cyber GRC software is a critical strategic decision for enterprises, advisors and managed service providers (MSPs) of any scale.

6clicks offers a solution that can automate routine tasks, reduce overall risks, and enhance decision-making through real-time visibility into an organization's security posture. MSPs utilizing the 6clicks platform can significantly elevate your service offerings, increase client retention, and liberate internal resources to support a broader client base.

However, there's plenty of choice in the cyber GRC, making it challenging to pinpoint the tool that best aligns with your specific needs. To aid in this essential decision, we have compiled a list of the 10 best cyber GRC tools, in 2024 complete with genuine customer feedback sourced from independent, third-party review sites, their own websites and our research.

1. 6clicks

6clicks goes beyond traditional GRC software with its emphasis on artificial intelligence and superb alignment with enterprise customers with a federated business model, enabling users to develop cyber audit-ready compliance programs that minimize costs and risks consistently.

Utilized across numerous sectors, 6clicks supports hundreds of compliance frameworks, including NIST CSF, CMMC 2.0, ISO 27001, CIS, PCI, GDPR, DORA, UK Cyber Essentials, IRAP, ASD Essential 8, TISAX, and many more. 6clicks utilizes AI-driven templates to quickly pinpoint compliance gaps, while offering automated suggestions and tracking for efficient remediation, making outdated spreadsheet management obsolete.

With 6clicks, you can instantly start crafting your tailored cybersecurity program. Simply choose the appropriate framework, and add layers such as risk management, vendor risk management, incident and issue management, and more.

6clicks integrates seamlessly with your entire cybersecurity ecosystem for accelerated evidence collection, task management, risk monitoring, and beyond. Its unique Hub & Spoke architecture is ideal for federated enterprises, allowing you to manage several frameworks concurrently through intuitive framework crosswalking.

The platform’s reporting capabilities provide a comprehensive view into your cybersecurity data and programs, keeping key stakeholders informed. For MSPs managing multiple clients, 6clicks offers a multi-tenant view that simplifies monitoring and reporting on program progress.

Key features

AI-enhanced assessment manager for hundreds of compliance frameworks, framework crosswalking, risk manager, incident and issue management, integrations, multi-tenancy, and a unique Hub & Spoke architecture.

What customers love

• "The Hub & Spoke architecture that enables management and support across multiple teams is a game-changer for federated organizations."
• "The smooth onboarding process and exceptional customer support make 6clicks stand out in the crowded GRC market."
• "Tailored features and functionalities built specifically for advisors and MSPs ensure that we are not just another customer; we are partners in compliance."
• "6clicks pricing model is perfect for us – just pay per spoke. It simplifies budgeting and scaling our compliance needs."

What customers would improve

Further expansion of the list of compatible integrations.

Best for

Asset and portfolio managers, automotive industry, defence & aerospace sectors, government entities, financial services, advisors, and MSPs, looking to build continuous compliance programs effectively at scale.

2. StandardFusion

StandardFusion is a cloud-based GRC solution designed to streamline the management of operational risks, audits, and vendor relationships for organizations of all sizes. Known for its user-friendly interface and great customer support, this platform aims to make complex compliance manageable.

The software features robust audit management tools that standardize processes and provide direct evidence access, facilitating compliance across multiple standards such as ISO, SOC 2, NIST, HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI-DSS. Additionally, StandardFusion offers effective vendor and third-party assessment tools, enabling informed decisions about vendor data handling.

Serving a diverse range of industries including technology, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, government, and retail, StandardFusion is a comprehensive choice for any organization.

Top features

• Modules for compliance, risk, audit, vendor, policy, and privacy management.

What customers love

• The focus on user experience, flexibility, integration, automation, scalability, and cloud-based deployment. 

What customers would improve

• More robust reporting and analytics capabilities allowing for better informed decisions.
• Enhanced integration capabilities, specifically with ERP systems, CRM systems, SIEM systems, DLP solutions, VRM platforms, and some BI tools.

Best for

Organizations prioritizing internal audits and information security.

3. Apptega

Apptega goes beyond traditional GRC software with its focus on continuous compliance, enabling users to develop audit-ready compliance programs that aim to minimize costs and risks.

Apptega is trusted by numerous organizations across various industries, including MSSPs, to address cybersecurity and compliance challenges across more than 30 frameworks, including SOC 2, CMMC 2.0, ISO 27001, CIS, PCI, GDPR, and HIPAA.

The platform employs questionnaire-based templates to quickly identify compliance gaps, complemented by automated suggestions and tracking for remediation, reducing reliance on spreadsheets for GRC management.

With Apptega, setting up a personalized cybersecurity program is straightforward. Users can select the desired framework and incorporate components such as risk management, vendor risk management, and audit preparation.

Features

Apptega facilitates the connection of your entire cybersecurity ecosystem via direct integrations, which enhances evidence collection, task management, and risk monitoring. It also allows for the simultaneous management of multiple compliance frameworks through intuitive framework crosswalking.

Apptega’s reporting features provide a detailed overview of your cybersecurity data and programs, ensuring that key stakeholders remain informed. For MSSPs managing multiple clients, Apptega offers a multi-tenant view designed for efficient monitoring and reporting.

Top features

Includes a streamlined assessment manager for over 30 compliance frameworks, framework crosswalking, risk manager, audit manager, integrations, multi-tenancy, and AI support.

What customers love

• Customers appreciate Apptega for its user-friendly design, versatile framework cross-mapping, responsive support, and effective management of governance, risk, and compliance processes.
• Apptega facilitates task management and collaboration, streamlining workflows and improving team coordination. 

What customers would improve

• While many GRC solutions cover a broad range of governance, risk, and compliance aspects, Apptega specifically focuses on cybersecurity management.
• Improved user management and permissions, including the ability to assign specific permissions based on job roles or departmental responsibilities.
• Expanded cybersecurity frameworks coverage. Some frameworks are not covered or fully supported such as: industry-specific frameworks (HITRUST, FFIEC, and FedRAMP), regional and national standards (Australia’s Essential 9 or Germany’s IT-Grundschutz), emerging or custom frameworks, and proprietary frameworks.
• Simplified onboarding and training to help new users get up to speed quickly and maximize their utilization of the platform's features.
• Additional flexibility in subscription plans to better align with budget and usage requirements. 

Best for

Security, compliance, and IT professionals aiming to build scalable continuous compliance programs.

4. Vanta

Headquartered in the United States, Vanta is a cloud-based platform specifically engineered to streamline compliance processes for frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001. It is particularly well-suited for cloud-born businesses and startups that require defined compliance scopes within single frameworks. Vanta excels in aligning compliance activities with these standards and offers enhanced visibility through continuous monitoring capabilities.

The platform is designed for user-friendliness and is accessible to teams with varying levels of expertise. It integrates seamlessly with operational systems, enabling continuous configuration monitoring and automation that supports the evolving needs of dynamic, cloud-first businesses as they grow.

Top features

• Automation for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance
• Continuous monitoring of system configurations
• Risk and compliance management
• Vendor and third-party risk assessments

What customers love

• While many GRC solutions offer broad compliance management capabilities, Vanta specifically targets SOC 2 compliance. Vanta automates much of the SOC 2 compliance process, helping companies streamline their efforts and reduce the manual workload of compliance management.
• Unlike traditional GRC solutions that may focus on periodic assessments and audits, Vanta offers continuous monitoring of an organization's security posture.
• Vanta is specifically tailored to the needs and constraints of startups and SMBs, which often lack dedicated compliance resources and expertise.
• Customers value Vanta's ability to provide continuous monitoring and its straightforward approach to compliance for frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001. They appreciate the platform's ease of use and the rapid deployment that significantly shortens setup times and implementation processes. 

What customers would improve

• Enhanced customization options for workflows, templates, and reporting features to better align with their unique processes and preferences.
• Integration capability with specific security tools, ticketing systems, collaboration platforms, or identity management solutions.
• More robust reporting and analytics with customizable dashboards, trend analysis, and predictive analytics features to support data-driven decision-making.
• Expanded comprehensive compliance framework coverage, beyond SOC 2, to better meet compliance needs of customers operating in regulated industries or global markets.
• Improved customer support including expanded documentation, tutorials, training materials, and access to dedicated support channels to help users maximize their utilization of the platform, and address any issues or questions they encounter.
• Users often suggest expanding the platform's capabilities to include more comprehensive compliance frameworks and enhancing its analytical and reporting features. 

Best for

Cloud-born startups and small to medium-sized businesses seeking an effective security compliance tool that enables continuous monitoring and management of compliance frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001.

5. Drata

Drata, headquartered in the United States, is a sophisticated, cloud-native platform designed to simplify compliance management for standards such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001. It is ideal for startups and cloud-native businesses that need streamlined compliance processes within specific frameworks. Drata stands out by integrating compliance tasks with these standards and providing real-time visibility through continuous monitoring capabilities.

The platform is user-friendly and caters to teams of various expertise levels. It offers seamless integration with operational systems, facilitating ongoing configuration monitoring and automation that adapts to the changing requirements of rapidly growing, cloud-first companies.

Top features:

• Automation for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance
• Continuous monitoring of system configurations
• Risk and compliance management
• Vendor and third-party risk assessments

What customers love:

• Drata focuses on simplifying the process of achieving and maintaining SOC 2 compliance, although it also supports other compliance frameworks such as ISO 27001 and HIPAA. The platform provides pre-built templates, guidance, and automation tools tailored to SOC 2 requirements.
• Real-time monitoring of security controls and compliance status, allowing organizations to identify and address issues promptly. Drata monitors changes to the organization's environment, detects security vulnerabilities, and alerts stakeholders to potential risks.
• Drata integrates with various cloud service providers, SaaS applications, and infrastructure platforms to collect security data from diverse sources within the organization's environment, providing comprehensive visibility and monitoring capabilities.
• Customers appreciate Drata's continuous monitoring feature and its clear, straightforward approach to managing compliance for frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001. They value the platform's ease of use and the quick deployment which drastically reduces setup and implementation times. 

What customers would improve:

• Enhanced remediation recommendations to provide more actionable insights and guidance for addressing security issues and compliance gaps (for example refining the prioritization of remediation tasks based on risk severity, impact, and likelihood.)
• Documentation management capabilities around version control, collaboration, and approval workflows so that documentation required for compliance audits is accurate, up-to-date, and easily accessible to stakeholders.
• More advanced reporting capabilities to gain deeper insights into their compliance status, security posture, and risk exposure.
• Customization options within Drata to tailor the platform to specific business needs and compliance requirements.
• Users often suggest that Drata should broaden its scope to encompass more extensive compliance frameworks and enhance its analytical and reporting tools. 

Best for:

• Cloud-native startups and small to medium-sized enterprises looking for a robust security compliance tool that facilitates continuous monitoring and management of compliance frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001.

6. RiskOptics ZenGRC

ZenGRC by RiskOptics is a cloud-based GRC platform designed to meet the complex needs of large organizations. This tool offers flexibility and customization, allowing companies to tailor GRC processes to their specific requirements while providing comprehensive visibility into organizational activities.

ZenGRC is accessible for teams with varying levels of GRC expertise and integrates easily with existing software, adapting to the evolving needs of businesses to support their growth and maturity in risk and compliance management.

Top features

Risk, compliance, audit, and vendor management.

What customers love

• Flexibility and customization options to adapt to the unique needs and requirements of different organizations. The platform allows users to customize workflows, templates, reports, and dashboards to align with their specific compliance objectives, industry standards, and regulatory obligations.
• Emphasis on automation throughout the compliance management process, helping organizations streamline workflows, reduce manual effort, and improve efficiency. 
• ZenGRC offers a centralized compliance management platform that includes features for managing vendor risk and third-party relationships to ensure compliance with contractual obligations and regulatory requirements.
• Customers appreciate the extensive customization options and comprehensive analytics provided by ZenGRC. 

What customers would improve

• More robust policy management module. Simplified policy creation and editing features for multiple stakeholders involved in policy management with version control and revision history features are lacking; policy management needs to include tracking changes made to policies over time, maintaining an audit trail of revisions, and ensuring that users can easily revert to previous versions if needed.
• Dated user experience and interface design to allow refining user workflows, simplifying complex processes, and optimizing the platform for performance and responsiveness.
• Integration capability with specific cloud service providers, identity management solutions, incident response platforms, or security orchestration tools to further streamline processes and improve collaboration.
• Regular updates, feature enhancements, and proactive communication from the vendor can help ensure that the platform remains relevant and valuable to customers over time.
• Reporting and analytics performance issues, or limitations when generating large or complex reports in ZenGRC. Ensuring that information can be generated quickly and efficiently, even with large datasets or complex queries.
• Improved drill-down capabilities in ZenGRC reports to explore data at different levels of detail. This could include the ability to drill down from high-level summaries to individual data points.
• Users suggest further enhancing the customization options and updating the somewhat dated user interface. 

Best for

Large organizations that manage multiple compliance frameworks and require extensive customization.

7. ServiceNow GRC

As part of its cloud-based platform to manage digital workflows for enterprise operations, ServiceNow offers a GRC module to automate and streamline risk and compliance processes in organizations.

The company promotes a proactive approach to GRC, integrating risk management activities into daily workflows and transforming inefficient processes into an integrated risk program. With ServiceNow's GRC solution, businesses can gain real-time visibility into their risk posture and compliance status, enhance decision-making, and ensure consistent enforcement of policies and regulations across the organization.

Top features

Policy & compliance management, risk management.

What customers love

• ServiceNow's GRC platform is part of the broader ServiceNow ecosystem, which includes a wide range of IT service management (ITSM), security operations (SecOps), and risk management solutions.  
• Extensive configuration and customization capabilities that enable organizations to tailor the GRC platform to their specific needs and requirements.
• Robust reporting and analytics features that enable users to create customizable dashboards, scorecards, and reports to monitor key metrics, track performance, and make data-driven decisions.
• Customers appreciate the real-time compliance insights and automated workflows provided by ServiceNow. 

What customers would improve

• High cost of initial implementation, professional services, and customization.  
• Lack of transparency and predictability in pricing for customization services, as well as clear communication from ServiceNow regarding the cost implications of customization decisions.
• More intuitive and user-friendly interface to enhance navigation and usability within the GRC platform. Learning curve reduction for new users.
• Limitations or constraints in the customization capabilities of the ServiceNow platform, which require additional effort or investment to work around.
• Scalability and performance optimization to ensure that the platform remains responsive and reliable as organizations scale their GRC initiatives.
• Total cost of ownership (TCO) over the long term includes additional expenses such as customization, integration, training, support, and upgrades. 

Best for

• Large enterprises and complex organizations. The enterprise-grade architecture, security features, and reliability ensure that the platform meets the needs of mission-critical GRC processes. 
• Organizations requiring a sophisticated, integrated approach to managing various types of risks and compliance requirements.

8. AuditBoard

AuditBoard is a cloud-based platform that specializes in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions. It offers a suite of software tools designed to streamline various aspects of GRC processes for organizations. These tools typically include modules for internal audit management, compliance management, risk management, and other related functions.  

AuditBoard aims to help companies automate manual processes, improve collaboration among teams, and enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness in managing GRC activities. 

Top features

Internal audit management, compliance & risk management.

What customers love

• Specific features tailored for SOX compliance management designed to enhance control effectiveness, and mitigate financial reporting risks.
• Integration with financial systems. AuditBoard can integrate with financial systems and data sources to facilitate data collection, analysis, and reporting for SOX compliance purposes.
• Robust documentation and reporting capabilities to support SOX compliance documentation and reporting requirements.
• Issue management and remediation tracking modules allow organizations to track control deficiencies, findings, and remediation activities related to framework compliance. 

What customers would improve

• Comprehensive GRC capabilities and modules, not just financial and SOX compliance. Assessment templates aren’t available for operational audits.
• Reporting functionality is limited and not intuitive. Dashboards and visual report functionality is not user-friendly.
• Handling large amounts of data. Users report that modules within AuditBoard struggle to handle large volumes of data efficiently.
• Customer support is inconsistent and response times are slow in addressing user inquires or issues. 

Best for

Mid-sized to large enterprises that are publicly traded and subject to SOX regulatory requirements.

9. LogicGate

LogicGate, headquartered in the United States, is a robust, cloud-based platform designed for broad governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management. It excels in providing businesses with highly customized GRC solutions tailored to their specific needs. LogicGate distinguishes itself by offering extensive customization capabilities that adapt closely to varied GRC frameworks, ensuring precise control through continuous monitoring.

The platform is structured around a single-tenant architecture, which guarantees dedicated resources and enhanced security for each client. This extensive customization potential often necessitates a significant reliance on professional services, with implementation times typically extending over several months.

Top features:

• Extensive customization for GRC management
• Continuous monitoring of compliance and risk configurations
• Comprehensive risk management solutions
• Vendor and third-party risk assessments

What customers love

• Configurable workflow automation: users can design custom workflows to automate tasks such as risk assessments, control testing, compliance reviews, and incident management.
• User experience with an intuitive and user-friendly interface designed to make GRC processes accessible to all with varying levels of technical expertise. The platform's drag-and-drop interface, customizable dashboards, and interactive reports enhance usability and adoption across the organization.
• Designed to scale with the needs of large enterprises and complex organizations. The platform can support a wide range of use cases, regulatory requirements, and business processes, making it suitable for organizations of all sizes and industries.
• Customers value LogicGate for its ability to craft highly tailored solutions that meet their unique GRC challenges and its comprehensive approach to managing compliance and risk. 

What customers would improve:

• Cost effectiveness and pricing transparency including licensing fees, implementation costs, and ongoing maintenance expenses. Overall, the platform's features and capabilities may not justify the investment required.
• Implementing requires a considerable investment of time and resources. Allocation of internal resources for data migration, user training, stakeholder engagement, and change management activities is mandatory to ensure a smooth transition to the platform.
• Each addition of a new use case, or module, within LogicGate requires another significant time and resource investment for implementation and adoption.
• Complexity of customization within the platform requires planning, scoping, and requirements gathering for each configuration, consuming more resources and delaying ROI realization.
• Issues with the platform performance, such as slow response times, system downtime, or unexpected errors have been reported.
• Customer support response times, resolution of issues, and overall satisfaction with support interactions need improvement.
• Users frequently suggest reducing the implementation timeline and minimizing the dependency on professional services for platform customization and deployment. 

Best for:

Organizations looking for a secure, highly customizable GRC management tool that offers detailed risk assessments and continuous monitoring. LogicGate is ideal for companies prepared to engage with professional services to achieve an optimized GRC environment.

10. MetricStream

MetricStream offers comprehensive GRC solutions to empower organizational growth through risk-aware decisions. Their platform, ConnectedGRC, integrates governance, risk management, and compliance across an extended enterprise.

MetricStream provides three main product lines: BusinessGRC, CyberGRC, and ESGRC, all supported by a single, scalable platform. They also recently released MetricStream AiSPIRE, the industry’s first AI-powered GRC tool.

The company caters to industries like banking, healthcare, energy, and technology.

Top features

Policy & compliance management, IT threat management.

What customers love

• MetricStream offers industry-specific pre-built content and GRC solutions, tailored to the unique requirements and regulatory mandates of various sectors, including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, energy, and more.
• The platform incorporates AI-driven insights, anomaly detection, and predictive analytics to identify emerging risks, detect patterns of non-compliance, and optimize risk mitigation strategies.
• Customers appreciate the mobile app support and AI-powered recommendations. 

What customers would improve

• latform performance: platform stability, reliability, and responsiveness would enhance user satisfaction and productivity.
• Enhanced ease of use. Users report non-intuitive interface, cumbersome navigation, and lack of user-friendly features.
• Customizing and configuring the platform to meet specific needs can be challenging and time-consuming.
• Integrating MetricStream with other systems and applications used in GRC workflows. Providing pre-built connectors for popular third-party systems is needed for seamless data exchange and workflow automation across different platforms.
• Significant upfront investment is required, in terms of licensing fees, implementation costs, and ongoing maintenance expenses. This initial investment may be too high for smaller organizations or those with limited budgets.
• Complex pricing structure makes it difficult to understand the full extent of costs involved. Alternative GRC solutions in the market offer similar features and capabilities at lower price points.
• Users report occasional bugs in the system. 

Best for

Organizations with unique requirements for different user sets.

Conclusion

Selecting the ideal cyber GRC tool is an essential decision that will transform how your organization manages risk and compliance, merging efficiency with cost-effectiveness.

6clicks, distinguished by its AI-powered capabilities and unique Hub & Spoke architecture, is designed to cater to federated enterprises, advisors, and MSPs. This innovative architecture facilitates centralized management while supporting decentralized operations, making it a standout choice for organizations seeking scalability and integration. Alongside 6clicks, the other nine tools in this list offer unique advantages tailored to diverse organizational needs. Ensure you select the tool that best suits your needs, and you will see significant time and cost savings.