SOC 2 Basics for Founders
Which SOC certification is best?
Which SOC certification is best?
For most software companies, SOC 2. It is the report customers request in SaaS procurement, and it covers the security controls a buyer cares about. SOC 1 serves a different audience: your customers' financial-statement auditors. SOC 3 is a public summary of a SOC 2 with the detail removed. And strictly speaking, none of these is a certification. They are attestation reports issued by a licensed CPA firm, so "best" depends entirely on who is asking you for one.
SOC 1 vs SOC 2 vs SOC 3
| Report | Who asks for it | What it covers | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOC 1 | Your customers' finance teams and their financial-statement auditors | Controls relevant to customers' financial reporting; applies to payroll processors, billing platforms, fund administrators | Roughly $10,000 to $30,000 depending on scope |
| SOC 2 | SaaS procurement and security review teams; by far the most requested for software companies | Security controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria | Type I audits typically $4,000 to $8,000; Type II commonly in the low tens of thousands |
| SOC 3 | Nobody directly; you publish it yourself | A general-use public summary of a SOC 2 Type II, with the auditor's opinion but no control detail | Usually bundled with a SOC 2 Type II at little or no extra fee |
The decision rule is short. If your service sits inside your customers' financial reporting, you will be asked for SOC 1. If you sell software and a security questionnaire started this search, the answer is SOC 2.
They are attestations, not certifications
There is no SOC certificate and no SOC certifying body. A CPA firm examines your controls and issues an attestation report containing its opinion. Vendors say "SOC 2 certified" as shorthand and buyers accept the phrase, but what changes hands is a report, usually shared under NDA. When a questionnaire asks for your "SOC 2 certificate," the correct artifact to send is the report itself, or the SOC 3 if you want something you can post publicly.
Type I vs Type II inside SOC 2
The Type I and Type II question is where "which is best" gets a firmer answer.
A Type I report describes your controls and evaluates their design as of a single date. It is faster and cheaper, and it is a reasonable first report for a company that needs something to show a prospect this quarter.
A Type II report tests whether those controls operated effectively over an observation period, commonly 3 to 12 months. Because it proves operation rather than intent, it is the report enterprise buyers and contracts actually specify. The common path is Type I first, then a Type II covering the following observation period.
Where SOC 3 fits
A SOC 3 exists for marketing. It carries the auditor's opinion from a SOC 2 Type II examination but strips the system description and test detail, so it can be handed to anyone without an NDA. It cannot substitute for a SOC 2 in a security review, because the reviewer wants the detail the SOC 3 omits.
Where Screenata fits
Screenata sells the readiness side of SOC 2: policies generated from scans of your actual infrastructure, about 70% of evidence collected automatically, and cryptographically signed evidence packs your auditor can verify. The program costs $5,988/year per framework ($499/mo) for teams under 50 employees, and the audit itself stays separate; you hire an independent auditor of your choice, typically $4,000 to $8,000 for a SOC 2 Type I. Details are at /solutions/soc-2 and /pricing.