Thoropass vs Drata (2026): Independent Comparison

Thoropass and Drata both gather SOC 2 evidence automatically; the audit is where they split. Thoropass bundles an examination by its affiliated CPA firm. Drata is software only, and you hire the CPA firm yourself. Pick Thoropass if your independence policy accepts an affiliated firm and you want one connected workflow. Pick Drata if you want to choose the firm.

Neither software company signs the SOC 2 report; a CPA firm does. With Thoropass (formerly Laika, so older “Laika vs Drata” results describe it), that firm is Thoropass Assurance. With Drata, it is whichever firm you hire. To judge one product on its own, read the Thoropass review and Drata review, or the Thoropass and Drata profiles.

What is the difference between Thoropass and Drata?

Thoropass runs the audit through its affiliated CPA firm in one connected workflow. Drata does not audit; its Audit Portal gives the CPA firm you engage a place to review evidence and requests.

Both vendors name SOC 2 with ISO 27001, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, so framework lists do not separate them for a multi-framework program. What each prices for a second framework does. Thoropass’s marketplace platform line includes the first framework and publishes no price for a second. Drata’s plans page includes one pre-mapped framework on Foundation and lists additional frameworks as an unpriced add-on. Its 100 FTE marketplace listing sells each framework as a separate dimension: SOC 2 at $7,500, ISO 27001 at $7,500 and HIPAA at $7,500. Ask both for the second framework’s price and renewal in writing. Directory counts show where to find candidate firms, not a partnership, a fee, or a better platform.

How much auditor choice does each path offer?

Drata leaves the CPA choice to you. The customer sets the framework, audit period, and auditor in Audit Portal, so a replacement firm can be assigned for the next examination. Start a shortlist from our Drata auditor listing, then interview each finalist on evidence access, price, timing, and experience with your scope.

Thoropass’s connected path names Thoropass Assurance, a separate legal entity under common ownership with Thoropass, Inc. Its AICPA peer review Pass, accepted in December 2025, speaks to quality control, not to independence on your engagement, so that call sits with your reviewer. The Thoropass review covers who sees which evidence and what to ask for.

A Drata customer can also hire Thoropass Assurance alone, since Thoropass sells its audit without its software. Thoropass says its Smart Sort feature turns another platform’s export into audit-ready evidence; we have not tested that handoff with Drata evidence. The reverse, Thoropass software with an outside CPA firm, is not documented in Thoropass’s public materials.

Which is cheaper, Thoropass or Drata?

Public prices cannot say, because they cover different scopes. Thoropass’s listing prices software and an audit; Drata’s listings price software only, so the Drata total depends on a CPA quote you collect. All figures are 12-month AWS Marketplace listings, checked October 20, 2026.

Thoropass’s $14,500 floor includes an audit line, and the “from $5,800” figure quoted alone on other comparison pages is only that audit line. Drata’s $15,000 does not, and its 100 FTE listing reaches $32,500 before any CPA fee. Drata’s direct plans are quote-only; Vendr’s observed annual contracts have a $25,000 median (the Drata pricing guide carries the range and sample), which is procurement data, not a rate card or an audit fee. The comparison turns on the CPA quote, so collect two or three; the SOC 2 audit cost guide covers what drives those fees, and the Thoropass pricing guide covers what can raise a Thoropass quote.

What should you test before choosing Thoropass or Drata?

Hold report type, observation period, criteria, and renewal term constant first. Then settle the four questions where this pair differs.

1. Ask Thoropass for the Thoropass Assurance engagement letter and independence assessment before comparing prices. If an investor, enterprise customer, or your policy requires separate ownership between CPA firm and software vendor, a letter that cannot show it ends the Thoropass option. If your reviewer accepts it, the bundle stays in play.
2. Ask two CPA firms you would hire for Drata to quote your scope, and whether each has worked in Audit Portal. Add each quote to Drata’s plan price and set the total against Thoropass’s two lines at your headcount. A clearly lower Drata total makes price part of the case for Drata; a close one leaves auditor choice as the deciding factor.
3. Pick one control on a system outside both vendors’ standard connectors. Drata’s plans page lists custom controls on every plan and custom tests and connections from Advanced (checked October 20, 2026); ask whether they cover it and what that does to the quote. Ask Thoropass to show the same control with Thoropass Assurance’s auditors reviewing it. Price any manual evidence work.
4. Ask each how you would leave. For Drata, whether a replacement firm can work from an evidence export. For Thoropass, in writing, whether an outside CPA firm can use its workspace and what you can export. Without that commitment, treat the affiliated audit as lock-in when you price renewals.

Which should you pick, Thoropass or Drata?

If Drata’s connectors miss a system your auditor will test, compare other platforms in Drata alternatives. For Thoropass against a platform with a Seamless Audit option, read Thoropass vs Vanta.