Basenorm vs Vanta
Which Online ISMS fits EU compliance teams?
Vanta is the US-born leader for startups racing to SOC 2. Basenorm is the EU-native online ISMS for organisations whose audit stack also needs NIS2, DORA, AVG and ISO 27001 managed in one governance model.
Why Basenorm
Three things that don't change, whoever we're compared with
Unified Control Framework
Define every control once in the Unified Control Library and map it automatically across ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIS2, DORA, AVG, BIO and the frameworks you will add next. No duplicate evidence, no parallel workbooks.
Map your own frameworks to any standard
Internal policies, supplier standards, vertical regulations — bring them into Basenorm alongside the ISO, SOC and EU catalogues. Your frameworks are first-class citizens, not forced into someone else's taxonomy.
AI-first and MCP-native, no legacy
AskNorman is built on current-generation LLMs connected through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). A modern AI workflow from day one, not a chatbot bolted onto a legacy GRC stack.
When to choose which
Choose Vanta if
- Your primary compliance target is SOC 2 for a US customer base.
- You want the widest integration catalogue (400+ integrations) and the largest ecosystem around trust centers.
- A US-based sales and audit-partner network is important for your buyer.
- You need a brand name that US procurement already recognises.
- Your EU data residency needs can be met by Vanta's Frankfurt region (opt-in during onboarding).
Choose Basenorm if
- ISO 27001 combined with NIS2, DORA, BIO or AVG is your real compliance scope, not a stretch target.
- You want EU data residency and an EU-based vendor by default — without an opt-in toggle.
- Your framework overlap is large and you want controls defined once in a Unified Control Library, mapped automatically across frameworks.
- You prefer an AI-first workflow (AskNorman) that drafts controls and interprets evidence, not only automates collection.
- You expect continuous audit-readiness at any moment, instead of project-based pre-audit sprints.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Supported · Partial · Not available
| Feature | Basenorm | Vanta |
|---|---|---|
ISO 27001 support | ||
SOC 2 support | ||
NIS2 native coverage Vanta offers NIS2 as a framework add-on with 50+ controls and 100+ templates. | ||
DORA native coverage Vanta markets DORA as an 'equally capable' product; operational EU-specific depth varies. | ||
GDPR / AVG support | ||
EU AI Act support Not listed in Vanta's public framework catalogue as of April 2026. | ||
BIO (Dutch public-sector baseline) | ||
Unified Control Library (define once, map many) Vanta maps controls between framework requirements; Basenorm centralises them in one semantic library. | ||
EU data residency by default Vanta's Frankfurt EU region is available on request during onboarding. | ||
EU-headquartered vendor Vanta is headquartered in San Francisco, USA. | ||
Integrations catalogue Vanta publicly lists 400+ integrations; Basenorm's catalogue is smaller and growing. | ||
AI assistant as primary surface Both use AI; AskNorman is Basenorm's primary interaction surface. | ||
Continuous audit-readiness model | ||
Statement of Applicability management | ||
Evidence collection automation | ||
Governance Graph (linked entities) | ||
Multi-framework control mapping | ||
Custom frameworks | ||
Publicly listed pricing Vanta uses contact-sales with four named tiers (Essentials, Plus, Professional, Enterprise) and no public prices. | ||
Free trial available Vanta offers free demos; a public self-serve trial is not documented. |
Comparison information is based on publicly available sources as of April 2026. Vendor features and pricing change frequently; please verify with each vendor before making a decision.
Framework breadth and EU depth
Vanta covers the broad compliance landscape — ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI, ISO 27017/27018/27701 — with NIS2 and DORA added more recently as framework add-ons. Basenorm is built EU-first, with ISO 27001 alongside NIS2, DORA, EU AI Act, BIO, AVG, SOC 2 and ISAE 3402 as first-class citizens from day one.
- Basenorm treats NIS2, DORA and the EU AI Act as first-class frameworks with native control libraries.
- BIO (Baseline Informatiebeveiliging Overheid) is included for Dutch public-sector teams.
- Vanta's global framework catalogue is larger when counting US-specific certifications (HIPAA, PCI, ISO 27017/27018/27701).
- For pure ISO 27001 plus SOC 2, both platforms handle the standard work well.
EU data residency and vendor location
Basenorm runs on EU infrastructure by default and is headquartered in the Netherlands. Vanta offers an EU region (Frankfurt, AWS) that can be requested during onboarding. For regulated organisations with DORA's third-party oversight or NIS2's supply-chain requirements, having an EU-based vendor where EU residency is the default — not an opt-in toggle — simplifies the supplier risk assessment.
- Basenorm: EU-headquartered, EU data residency by default.
- Vanta: US-headquartered, EU region available on request.
- Under DORA's concentration-risk and third-party oversight rules, EU-native vendors reduce review effort.
How controls get mapped across frameworks
Vanta maps controls across frameworks by matching requirements in its framework catalogue. Basenorm takes a control-first approach: every control is defined once in the Unified Control Library, with semantic relationships across frameworks, so adding a new framework is largely a mapping exercise, not a re-implementation. The Governance Graph then connects controls to risks, assets, policies and evidence as linked entities, not isolated records.
- Basenorm: one semantic library, controls defined once, reused across frameworks.
- Vanta: framework-first mapping between requirement sets.
- Both approaches reduce duplicate evidence work — the difference is how much editing you do when frameworks overlap.
Pricing transparency and model
Vanta uses a contact-sales pricing model with four named tiers — Essentials, Plus, Professional, Enterprise — and no publicly listed prices. Basenorm lists its pricing publicly, with tiers (Foundation, Assurance, Regulatory) designed around how compliance scales in European organisations rather than by user seat count.
- Basenorm: publicly listed pricing; tiered by compliance scope.
- Vanta: four-tier contact-sales pricing; scaled by organisation size and requirements.
- Compare total cost including consultant and auditor time saved — the platform price is rarely the largest line item.
Switching to Basenorm
Switching from Vanta to Basenorm
Organisations most commonly move from Vanta to Basenorm when their compliance scope outgrows US-first frameworks — typically when NIS2, DORA, the EU AI Act, AVG or BIO become operational obligations rather than stretch goals. The migration itself is a controlled cutover: export your existing control inventory, Statement of Applicability, risk register and evidence catalogue from Vanta; import and map them into the Unified Control Library; and run a parallel readiness check before the hand-over. Because Basenorm's Governance Graph keeps controls, risks, assets and policies as linked entities, your existing ISO 27001 evidence does not need to be re-collected — it gets re-attached. Most teams complete the functional migration inside one quarter, with the bigger change being process: moving from audit-driven evidence uploads to continuous assurance inside the platform.
Frequently asked questions
Disclosure: Basenorm is the platform we build. We aim for accuracy and fairness, cite public sources where possible, and encourage you to verify every claim with the respective vendor.