SOC 2 vs ISO 27001 vs HIPAA: Which Framework Does Your SaaS Need?
SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA compared — who requires each, what they cover, cost and timeline differences, and which to pursue first for B2B SaaS companies.
SOC 2: The US Enterprise Standard
SOC 2 is required by virtually every US enterprise buyer. It's a voluntary standard issued by a CPA firm covering five Trust Service Criteria, available in Type I (design) and Type II (operating effectiveness) forms. It focuses specifically on how your service handles customer data. For US-market B2B SaaS, SOC 2 Type II is the baseline requirement.
ISO 27001: The Global Standard
ISO 27001 is an international standard for Information Security Management Systems. It's more commonly required by European enterprise buyers and heavily regulated industries like financial services and government. ISO 27001 is broader than SOC 2 — it covers physical security, HR processes, and organizational management alongside technical controls. Certification comes from an accredited body and is renewed every three years with annual surveillance audits. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 share roughly 60–70% of controls, so companies often pursue both — SOC 2 first for US sales, ISO 27001 added for European expansion.
HIPAA: US Healthcare Data Law
HIPAA applies when your product touches Protected Health Information (PHI). Unlike SOC 2 and ISO 27001, HIPAA is a US federal law with mandatory requirements and civil and criminal penalties for violations. HIPAA compliance doesn't result in a certification — it results in signed Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with covered entities. If you build for healthcare, you need HIPAA compliance regardless of what your enterprise buyers ask for on vendor questionnaires.
Which Framework First?
- Selling to US enterprises, no healthcare data → SOC 2 Type II
- Selling to European enterprises → SOC 2, then ISO 27001
- Any healthcare or insurance data in scope → HIPAA + SOC 2
- US government market → SOC 2 + FedRAMP Moderate
- Series B+ with global enterprise sales → SOC 2 + ISO 27001 in parallel
For most AWS-hosted SaaS companies targeting US enterprise: start with SOC 2. The overlap with ISO 27001 means you're partially prepared for the second certification before you begin it, and SecureSpect's AWS monitoring supports both frameworks' technical control requirements.
