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Keel vs Vanta
Evaluating Vanta and looking at the alternatives? Here is an honest look at where Keel fits, and who each one suits best.
Where Vanta fits
Vanta is a well-established security-compliance automation platform, popular with venture-backed companies scaling their security programs.
Where Keel fits
Keel is a crosswalk-native GRC platform that also runs ISO 9001 quality on the same graph.
Why teams choose Keel
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Try it before the call
Every new Keel workspace starts on a 14-day trial with no card, and a public read-only demo shows a sample company with no signup. When you are ready, a demo walks through Keel on your frameworks and the plan is quoted to your scope. NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and AI Governance Essentials 1.0 are on every plan, and the MSP / partner plan is priced per client.
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One crosswalked control library
Keel is built on a single control library crosswalked across frameworks. Implement a control once and it counts toward every framework it satisfies, so your second framework mostly reuses the work from your first. Collect once, comply everywhere.
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Security and quality on one platform
Keel runs ISO 9001:2015 on the same control-and-evidence graph as your security program, so one internal audit programme and one evidence set serve both. The management-system half is already in your workspace on every plan: nonconformities and CAPA, the internal audit programme, objectives, competence, documented information and management review. Keel Quality, an add-on bought per workspace, adds the product-quality half: nonconforming outputs (NCR), supplier quality and SCARs, complaints and feedback, change control, and a Quality dashboard over those four. If quality management is in scope for you, ask every platform on your shortlist whether it covers ISO 9001. We speak for Keel, not for them.
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Own your data
keel-migrate is an open-source (MIT), read-only tool you run on your own machine. It exports your registers, and your policies where it can read them from the source platform, through that platform’s own documented API (Vanta, Drata, Hyperproof, Oneleet and Secureframe today, with OneTrust in beta), and your credentials never leave your computer. Your data is portable, not locked in.
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Check the work before you buy
Keel’s control-to-clause crosswalk is published as an open dataset under CC-BY-4.0, as JSON and CSV, so you can read the mappings your readiness score will be built on without signing anything. Every plan also includes a free auditor seat that never counts against your seat limit, so bringing your auditor in costs nothing.
How to price the two
Keel quotes each plan to your scope, and you can try it on your own data before anyone quotes you. For Vanta, ask them: we don’t publish a figure we’d be guessing at.
Keel: try it, then get a quote
- A 14-day trial on your own data, no credit card
- A public demo workspace with a sample company, no signup
- A demo on your frameworks, then a quote for your scope
Vanta: ask them
We don’t publish a price for Vanta. Any number we put here would be a third-party estimate wearing their name, and it would be out of date the week we wrote it. Ask Vanta and Keel for a quote at the same team size and frameworks, and compare the two side by side.
At a glance
| Criterion | Keel | Vanta |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Quoted to your scope after a demo, with NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and AI Governance Essentials 1.0 on every plan. The MSP / partner plan is priced per client, to the size of your book | Typically quote-based (contact sales); check their pricing page for their current position |
| Getting started | Book a demo, or start a 14-day trial in minutes with no card | Varies by vendor; check whether you can start without talking to sales |
| Control model | One crosswalked control library: implement a control once, it counts toward every framework it satisfies | Framework-based control mapping |
| Quality management (ISO 9001) | Yes: ISO 9001:2015 on the same control-and-evidence graph as your ISMS. Nonconformities and CAPA, the internal audit programme, objectives, competence, documented information and management review ship on every plan; Keel Quality, a per-workspace add-on, adds the product-quality modules: nonconforming outputs (NCR), supplier quality and SCARs, complaints and feedback, change control, and a Quality dashboard over them | Ask the vendor whether they cover ISO 9001 quality management |
| MSP / multi-client | Multi-client console, with per-client partner pricing quoted to the size of your book | Varies by plan and partner program |
| Auditor access | Free auditor seat on every plan, and it never counts against your seat limit | Varies by plan |
| Data portability | Open-source, read-only export tool (keel-migrate, MIT) that runs on your machine | Varies |
| Open data | The control-to-clause crosswalk is published as an open dataset (CC-BY-4.0, JSON and CSV) you can download, check, and cite before you buy | Varies |
| AI assistance | Credit-metered AI in every module (policies, vendor profiles, questionnaires) | Varies |
This comparison is based on publicly available information as of 2026 and on Keel’s own product. Vanta and other names are trademarks of their respective owners. Keel is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by them. Details on each platform can change; check their site for the latest. See our legal and trademarks page.
Common questions
Is Keel a good Vanta alternative?
Keel is a strong fit if you want a GRC platform you can trial on your own data first, one crosswalked control library so a second framework reuses the first, and the option to run ISO 9001 quality management on the same platform as your security program. Teams evaluating Vanta for those reasons are exactly who Keel is built for.
Can I migrate from Vanta to Keel?
Yes. keel-migrate, our open-source read-only tool, exports your vendors, risks, people and policies from Vanta using its official API, and you import the bundle into Keel. Your credentials never leave your machine. Evidence files come across too. Policies keep a link to their document where Vanta gives one, but the files are not downloaded, so export those by hand.
Which frameworks does Keel support today?
Keel authors and scores content for ISO/IEC 27001:2022, CIS Critical Security Controls v8.1, PCI DSS 4.0.1, SOC 2, SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) Section 404, NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, FedRAMP Rev5 Class B, FedRAMP Rev5 Class C, FedRAMP Rev5 Class D, FedRAMP 20x, FedRAMP Consolidated Rules 2026, NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, HIPAA, GDPR, COPPA, Google Play Families, Amazon Appstore Child-Directed Apps, Apple App Store Kids Category, PIPEDA, ISO 9001:2015, ESG Essentials 1.1, US Employment Law - Federal Baseline 1.1, and the AI governance shelf (AI Governance Essentials 1.0, ISO/IEC 42001:2023, NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0, and EU AI Act). NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and AI Governance Essentials 1.0 are free on every plan.
What should I compare when choosing a Vanta alternative?
Put the same questions to every vendor on your list. What does the plan cost at the size you expect next year? Does one control count toward every framework it satisfies? Can you bring your existing data with you? How is AI questionnaire answering metered? Does your auditor get access without a paid seat? The table above gives Keel’s answer to each. Ask Vanta the same questions and compare the answers side by side.
Does Keel handle security questionnaires and a trust center?
Yes. Keel drafts answers to inbound security questionnaires from your own controls and policies, up to 50 questions per run, using AI credits included on every paid plan, and flags what your evidence cannot support instead of guessing. The trust center publishes your approved policies automatically; other documents, such as an audit report, are uploaded to it separately.
Other alternatives to Vanta · SOC 2 software for startups
Security questionnaire automation · Risk register software · Policy management · ISO 27001 compliance software · Keel plans
See it on your own program
Start a trial, apply a framework, and watch how much of the next one your controls already cover.