SOC 2 vs ISO 27001:
a report, a certificate, and one control set.
The two security assurances buyers ask for most, side by side: who issues each, what the buyer actually receives, how long they last, where they overlap, and which one an Indian company should start with.
Last updated Published by TryTrustableNot legal advice
What is the difference between SOC 2 and ISO 27001?
SOC 2 is an attestation report in which a licensed CPA firm gives an opinion on your controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. ISO 27001 is a certification that an accredited certification body issues when your information security management system conforms to the standard. SOC 2 describes controls in detail; ISO 27001 certifies the management system.
| SOC 2 | ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An attestation examination under AICPA standards | A certifiable international management system standard |
| Criteria | Trust Services Criteria (2017, points of focus revised 2022): Security common criteria CC1–CC9, plus optional Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, Privacy | Clauses 4–10 of ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and a risk-based selection from 93 Annex A controls |
| Who issues it | A licensed CPA firm | A certification body accredited to ISO/IEC 17021-1 |
| What the buyer receives | A restricted-use report: the auditor's opinion, your system description, each control, the tests performed and the results, including exceptions | A certificate stating scope and edition; the Statement of Applicability if you choose to share it |
| Unit assessed | A described system provided by a service organisation | The ISMS, within a scope you define |
| Pass or fail | No pass mark. An opinion can be unqualified, qualified, adverse or disclaimed; exceptions are listed | Certified or not. Major nonconformities must be closed before certification |
| Period | Type 1 at a date; Type 2 over a period, commonly three to twelve months | Point-in-time audits, then surveillance |
| How long it lasts | No expiry, but buyers expect a report whose period ended within the last twelve months, plus a bridge letter | Three years, with surveillance audits in the intervening years |
| Where buyers ask for it | Mostly the US and US-headquartered buyers | Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia-Pacific, and many public-sector buyers |
| Controls you choose | You design the controls; the criteria set the outcome | Annex A controls included or excluded with justification in the Statement of Applicability |
Checked September 2026. Accredited ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certificates expired or were withdrawn on 31 October 2025; a current certificate is to the 2022 edition.
Which should an Indian SaaS company do first?
An Indian SaaS company should do first whichever one its next large customer is asking for. If the pipeline is US-led, that is usually SOC 2 Type 2. If it is European, Middle Eastern or Indian enterprise, it is usually ISO 27001. If you cannot tell, ask the three biggest open deals which report their security review accepts.
The second one costs much less than the first, provided the controls were built once. Access reviews, change management, logging, vulnerability management and vendor reviews produce the same evidence for both. The genuinely new work for ISO 27001 after SOC 2 is the management system: scope, risk methodology, Statement of Applicability, internal audit and management review. The new work for SOC 2 after ISO 27001 is the system description and a full period of operating evidence the auditor can sample.
Where SOC 2 and ISO 27001 overlap
Some common pairings, as most practitioners read them:
| Practice | SOC 2 | ISO 27001:2022 Annex A |
|---|---|---|
| Access rights and reviews | CC6.1–CC6.3 | 5.15, 5.18, 8.2 |
| Change management | CC8.1 | 8.32, 8.25–8.29 |
| Logging and monitoring | CC7.2 | 8.15, 8.16 |
| Vulnerability management | CC7.1 | 8.8 |
| Incident response | CC7.3–CC7.5 | 5.24–5.28 |
| Supplier risk | CC9.2 | 5.19–5.22 |
| Risk assessment | CC3.1–CC3.4 | Clause 6.1.2, 8.2 |
Common readings, not an AICPA or ISO mapping; auditors differ. The fuller mapping is on SOC 2 to ISO 27001.
Running both on one control set
The overlap only pays if the controls are shared rather than duplicated per framework. Cross-framework mapping maps one control to the SOC 2 criterion and the ISO 27001 control it satisfies, and its delta view shows which requirements are genuinely new before you enable the second framework. The ISO build order is on ISO 27001 compliance software; the SOC 2 detail is in the SOC 2 guide. TryTrustable does not hold SOC 2 or ISO 27001 itself yet: both are in progress, as the trust page says.
The things people ask us
What is the difference between SOC 2 and ISO 27001?
SOC 2 is an attestation report in which a licensed CPA firm gives an opinion on your controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. ISO 27001 is a certification that an accredited certification body issues when your information security management system conforms to the standard. SOC 2 describes controls in detail; ISO 27001 certifies the management system.
Which is better for an Indian company, SOC 2 or ISO 27001?
Neither is better in general; the buyer decides. US customers usually ask for a SOC 2 Type 2 report. European, Middle Eastern and Indian enterprise customers, and many public-sector buyers, more often ask for ISO 27001. An Indian SaaS company selling into both markets typically ends up with both, built on one control set.
Does ISO 27001 certification replace SOC 2?
Rarely in the US. A US security team that asked for SOC 2 wants the auditor's tests of each control and the results, which a certificate does not contain. Some buyers accept ISO 27001 with the Statement of Applicability instead, but you should ask before assuming. The reverse also holds for buyers who asked for a certificate.
How much of ISO 27001 does SOC 2 cover?
Most of the Annex A technological and organisational controls, because both test the same practices: access review, change management, logging, incident response, vendor management. What SOC 2 does not give you is the management system itself: scope, risk methodology, Statement of Applicability, internal audit and management review.
Which takes longer, SOC 2 or ISO 27001?
They are comparable. A SOC 2 Type 2 needs an observation window, commonly three to twelve months, before the report exists. ISO 27001 needs the management system to have operated, including an internal audit and management review, before stage 1 and stage 2. From a standing start, either commonly takes six to twelve months.
Can one auditor do both?
Sometimes. Some firms have both a CPA practice for SOC 2 and an accredited certification body for ISO 27001, and can schedule the fieldwork together. They remain two engagements under two sets of rules, producing a report and a certificate. Check the CPA licence for the first and the accreditation for the second.
One control, two audits.
We show a single control result mapped to a SOC 2 criterion and an ISO 27001 Annex A control, and the delta between the two frameworks for your entity.