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Comparison

ThirdProof vs. UpGuard
Depth vs. Continuous Monitoring

UpGuard monitors your attack surface continuously. ThirdProof investigates vendor risk deeply. Different tools for different stages of your vendor risk program.

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UpGuard's strength: continuous monitoring

UpGuard excels at outside-in security monitoring: continuous scanning of vendor attack surfaces, security ratings, data leak detection, and breach monitoring. For large enterprises that need ongoing visibility into hundreds of vendors' security posture changes, UpGuard's continuous monitoring approach is valuable and well-established.

UpGuard's limitations for compliance teams

UpGuard focuses on security posture — it doesn't verify compliance certifications against registries, screen sanctions databases, check business registration legitimacy, scan for adverse media, analyze SEC filings, or discover subprocessor supply chains. For a compliance team building SOC 2 CC9.2 evidence, UpGuard provides one dimension (security rating) but not the full vendor due diligence picture. Pricing is enterprise-level, typically requiring custom quotes.

ThirdProof's approach: depth per vendor

ThirdProof takes a different approach: deep, point-in-time assessment across 27 intelligence sources covering sanctions, business legitimacy, cyber risk, compliance certifications, adverse media, regulatory filings, and supply chain risk. The output is a complete, source-cited risk assessment written against your compliance framework. At $399/month for 50 investigations per month, it's accessible to mid-market teams.

When continuous monitoring matters vs. point-in-time assessment

Continuous monitoring is essential for your most critical vendors — the ones whose security posture changes could directly impact your operations. Point-in-time deep assessment is what your auditor needs: documented evidence that you performed due diligence on every vendor at a specific point in time. Most mid-market teams need the latter first, and add continuous monitoring as their program matures.

UpGuard
ThirdProof
Primary approach
Continuous outside-in monitoring
Deep point-in-time assessment
Intelligence sources
Security posture scanning
27 sources (sanctions, business, cyber, compliance, media, regulatory)
Sanctions screening
Not core feature
OFAC, EU, UN automated screening
Certification verification
Limited
3-tier: independently verified / vendor attested / not found
Adverse media scanning
Data breach focused
Broad adverse media + regulatory action scanning
Subprocessor discovery
Not included
Automated subprocessor page discovery + screening
Output format
Security rating + dashboard
Source-cited PDF with compliance framework formatting
Best for
Enterprise security teams
Mid-market compliance teams
Pricing
Custom enterprise pricing
$399/month

Common questions

Can ThirdProof replace UpGuard?+
They serve different purposes. If your primary need is continuous security monitoring of vendor attack surfaces, UpGuard is purpose-built for that. If you need comprehensive vendor due diligence for compliance (SOC 2 CC9.2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS), ThirdProof provides the depth and the documented output. Some organizations use both — UpGuard for ongoing monitoring of critical vendors, ThirdProof for the initial and periodic compliance assessment.
Does UpGuard produce compliance documentation?+
UpGuard provides security ratings and dashboards. ThirdProof produces PDF reports written in SOC 2 CC9.2 language with source citations, methodology disclosures, and evidence statements. If your auditor specifically needs compliance-formatted vendor assessment documentation, ThirdProof's output is designed for that use case.
How does UpGuard's pricing compare to ThirdProof?+
UpGuard uses custom enterprise pricing — typically in the range of established enterprise security platforms. ThirdProof is $399/month for 50 vendor investigations per month, designed for mid-market compliance teams. The pricing difference reflects different target markets: UpGuard for enterprise security teams, ThirdProof for compliance teams at companies of all sizes.
Which is better for SOC 2 vendor management?+
For SOC 2 CC9.2 specifically, ThirdProof is more directly applicable. Its reports are written against the control being tested, include source-cited evidence statements, and cover the full scope of vendor due diligence (not just security posture). UpGuard's security ratings can supplement your vendor assessment, but on their own they are rarely the documentation an auditor asks for against CC9.2.
Do I need continuous monitoring or point-in-time assessment?+
Most compliance frameworks (SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS) require periodic vendor assessment — typically annual or when material changes occur. Continuous monitoring adds value for your most critical vendors but isn't required by most frameworks. Start with point-in-time assessments to build your compliance evidence, then add continuous monitoring as your program matures.

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