The Short Answer
If your customers are primarily North American, start with SOC 2. If you're selling internationally — especially in Europe, Asia-Pacific, or to multinational enterprises — ISO 27001 is often the expected baseline. If you're doing both, the good news is that there's significant overlap, and a unified control framework can satisfy both simultaneously.
What SOC 2 Actually Is
SOC 2 is an auditing standard developed by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants). It evaluates a service organization's controls relevant to five Trust Services Categories: Security (mandatory), plus Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy (optional, based on your scope).
Key characteristics:
- Attestation report: A CPA firm issues the report. It's an opinion on your controls, not a certification you “earn.”
- Flexible scope: You define what systems, processes, and Trust Services Categories are in scope.
- Two types: Type I (design at a point in time) and Type II (operating effectiveness over a period).
- US-centric: Widely recognized in North America. Increasingly accepted internationally, but not the default outside the US.
What ISO 27001 Actually Is
ISO 27001 is an international standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
Key characteristics:
- Certification: An accredited certification body audits your ISMS and issues a certificate valid for three years (with annual surveillance audits).
- Prescriptive structure: Requires a formal ISMS with documented risk assessment, risk treatment plan, Statement of Applicability, and management review.
- 93 controls in Annex A: The 2022 revision organizes controls into four themes: Organizational, People, Physical, and Technological.
- Globally recognized: ISO 27001 is the international standard for information security. Required or expected in Europe, APAC, and by multinational enterprises worldwide.
Where They Overlap
At the control level, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 share approximately 70–80% overlap. Both require:
- Access control and authentication (MFA, RBAC, provisioning/deprovisioning)
- Risk assessment and treatment
- Incident response planning and execution
- Change management
- Vendor/supplier management
- Business continuity and disaster recovery
- Encryption and data protection
- Security monitoring and logging
- Physical security (where applicable)
- Security awareness training
The overlap means that evidence collected for one framework very often satisfies the other. A well-designed compliance program maps evidence to both frameworks simultaneously rather than treating them as separate workstreams.
Where They Differ
The differences are mostly structural and procedural rather than technical:
- ISMS requirement: ISO 27001 requires a documented management system with formal risk methodology, Statement of Applicability, management review, and continuous improvement process. SOC 2 doesn't prescribe a management system — it evaluates specific controls.
- Scope definition: ISO 27001 requires a defined ISMS scope with explicit boundaries. SOC 2 scope is defined by your system description and selected Trust Services Categories.
- Audit cadence: ISO 27001 certification lasts three years with annual surveillance audits. SOC 2 Type II covers a specific observation period (typically 12 months) with reports issued per engagement.
- Auditor independence: SOC 2 reports are issued by CPA firms. ISO 27001 certificates are issued by accredited certification bodies. Different ecosystems, different firms.
- Privacy: SOC 2 has a Privacy Trust Services Category that can be included in scope. ISO 27001 is complemented by ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management) as an extension.
Multi-Framework Strategy
For SaaS companies selling to both US and international markets, the most efficient approach is a unified control framework that maps to both SOC 2 and ISO 27001 (and any other frameworks your customers require).
This means collecting evidence once and projecting it into multiple framework views. When you fix a gap in access control, it improves your posture across every framework that requires access controls — not just the one you happened to be auditing this quarter.
ComplyWise's Unified Control Framework (UCF) is designed for exactly this use case: map your controls once, satisfy multiple frameworks, and maintain a single source of truth for your compliance posture.
Which to Pursue First
- US-focused SaaS selling to mid-market/enterprise: SOC 2 Type II first. It's what your customers will ask for.
- International SaaS or selling to EU/APAC enterprises: ISO 27001 first. It's the globally recognized standard.
- Venture-backed startup pre-Series B: SOC 2 Type I as a quick win, then Type II. Add ISO 27001 when international expansion becomes a priority.
- Already have one and need the other: Use unified controls to accelerate the second framework. Most of your evidence already applies.
ComplyWise supports both SOC 2 and ISO 27001 with unified control mapping — collect evidence once, satisfy both frameworks. Start your free trial →