Michael Lam

⭐ 2/5 — “Not Startup-Friendly — Great Product, But Poor Flexibility” We’re a small startup (under 10 employees) and signed up for Vanta believing it would simplify our SOC 2 journey. The platform itself does what it promises — integrations with AWS and other major services were straightforward, and the automated checks helped us stay on top of compliance tasks with minimal effort. Unfortunately, our overall experience was disappointing due to how rigid and inflexible Vanta is as a business partner. We were locked into a two-year contract, which in hindsight was a mistake for an early-stage company. When our financial situation changed and we simply needed to exit the contract — not even asking for a refund, just to stop paying for a service we no longer used — Vanta refused to work with us. Their team cited policy and said nothing could be done. This response made it clear that Vanta is not startup-friendly despite their marketing claims. They seem far more aligned with mid-size to large enterprises that can commit to long-term contracts without issue. For startups with tighter budgets, there are other compliance platforms offering better pricing, shorter commitments, and more empathetic support. To be clear, the technology works — but the customer experience and contract inflexibility were a major letdown. If you’re an early-stage company, I’d strongly recommend exploring other vendors before signing anything long-term with Vanta.