--- question: "What is the difference between HITRUST and SOC 2?" title: "What Is the Difference Between HITRUST and SOC 2" seoTitle: "HITRUST vs SOC 2: Differences and Which to Get" summary: "SOC 2 is an attestation report issued by a licensed CPA firm under AICPA standards, in which the company defines its own controls against the Trust Services Criteria. HITRUST is a certification issued by the HITRUST Alliance after an authorized external assessor tests the company against prescriptive requirement statements from the HITRUST CSF: 44 for an e1, 182 for an i1, and a risk-based set for an r2. SOC 2 is the default ask across B2B software; HITRUST is asked for mainly by large health systems and payers. HIPAA is different from both: it is a federal law with no official certification, and either framework can be used as evidence of HIPAA security practices." publishedAt: "2026-09-14" keywords: - "HITRUST vs SOC 2" - "difference between HITRUST and SOC 2" - "is HITRUST better than SOC 2" - "difference between HITRUST and HIPAA" pillar: "Beyond SOC 2" faqs: - question: "is hitrust better than soc 2?" answer: "Neither is better in general; they answer different buyers. HITRUST is more prescriptive and is the stronger signal to large health systems and insurers that specifically ask for it. SOC 2 is recognized across all of B2B software, is more flexible to scope, and is usually faster and cheaper to obtain. Most healthcare SaaS vendors start with SOC 2 and add HITRUST when a named customer requires it." - question: "what's the difference between hitrust and hipaa?" answer: "HIPAA is a US federal law that sets privacy and security obligations for covered entities and their business associates. There is no official HIPAA certification. HITRUST is a private certifiable framework whose requirements include HIPAA's security provisions, so a HITRUST certification is one way to demonstrate HIPAA security practices, but it is not a legal safe harbor." - question: "Can SOC 2 and HITRUST share evidence?" answer: "Largely, yes. Both test access control, change management, logging, incident response, vendor management, and risk assessment, so the same evidence often satisfies both. HITRUST's requirement statements are more specific, so some controls need extra documentation, and HITRUST also offers a combined approach in which a SOC 2 report can include HITRUST requirements." --- ## What is the difference between HITRUST and SOC 2? **SOC 2 produces an attestation report from a CPA firm, and HITRUST produces a certification from the HITRUST Alliance.** A SOC 2 report is issued by a licensed CPA firm, and the company describes its own controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. A HITRUST certification is issued by the HITRUST Alliance after an authorized external assessor tests the company against fixed requirement statements in the HITRUST CSF. SOC 2 is the default ask across B2B software. HITRUST is requested mostly by large health systems and payers. ## HITRUST and SOC 2 side by side | | SOC 2 | HITRUST | |---|---|---| | What you receive | An attestation report with the auditor's opinion | A certification letter plus an assessment report | | Who issues it | A licensed CPA firm | The HITRUST Alliance, after testing by an authorized external assessor and HITRUST's quality review | | Control set | You define controls against the Trust Services Criteria | Prescriptive requirement statements from the HITRUST CSF | | Size of scope | Varies with the controls you define and the criteria in scope | e1: 44 requirements; i1: 182 requirements; r2: risk-based, tailored to the organization | | Validity | Type II covers a 3 to 12 month period; renewed annually | e1 and i1: one year; r2: two years with an interim assessment | | Typical requester | Enterprise buyers in any industry | Large health systems, payers, and some healthcare partners | | Relation to HIPAA | Can evidence HIPAA security practices; HIPAA can be added to scope | Requirements incorporate HIPAA security provisions | The e1 and i1 counts are from HITRUST CSF version 11. HITRUST updates the CSF regularly, so the exact requirement set depends on the version in force when the assessment starts. ## Which one a healthcare SaaS company needs The order most vendors follow is SOC 2 first, HITRUST when a customer names it. SOC 2 opens enterprise deals in every vertical, including healthcare, and it can be scoped to include HIPAA-relevant controls. HITRUST becomes necessary when a specific health system or payer writes it into the vendor requirements, which is common among the largest hospital networks and less common among clinics, digital health companies, and life sciences buyers. The HITRUST tier matters as much as the choice to pursue it. An e1 covers foundational hygiene and is a quick first step. An i1 is what many health systems accept for moderate-risk vendors. An r2 is the most demanding and the one the largest organizations ask for when a vendor handles significant volumes of PHI. Ask the customer which tier they accept before scoping anything. ## How HIPAA fits with both HIPAA is neither a report nor a certification. It is a federal law, enforced by the HHS Office for Civil Rights, and there is no official HIPAA certification from any government body. A SOC 2 report or a HITRUST certification is evidence that your security practices meet recognized standards, which helps in a customer review and in an OCR inquiry, but neither replaces the obligations HIPAA imposes directly: a risk analysis, business associate agreements, and breach notification. For background on the certification itself, see [what HITRUST is and why hospitals require it](/resources/answers/what-is-hitrust-and-why-do-hospitals-require-it).