What are EU Alternatives to Vanta or Drata?

Last updated: 5 October 2026

Vanta and Drata are established compliance automation platforms, but both originate in the USA and were originally built around North American frameworks such as SOC 2. For European companies, this often creates friction: data residency, GDPR compliance, EU-specific standards, and the question of who actually carries the legal responsibility. If you are looking for a Vanta alternative in Europe, several European providers compete for that role, and they differ mainly in their model and in their framework coverage.

Key takeaways

• Four providers headquartered and hosted in Germany compete as alternatives to Vanta and Drata: DataGuard, heyData, Kertos and secjur.
• The biggest difference is not origin but model: secjur is built most around self-service, DataGuard and Kertos work with experts in the process, heyData sits between them.
• Kertos combines the agentic platform KAIA with certified experts and takes on external CISO and DPO mandates, meaning the subject-matter and partly legal responsibility that pure software leaves with the customer.
• Kertos covers ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISO 42001, GDPR, NIS2, the EU AI Act, SOC 2, TISAX and C5 in one platform, hosted on European infrastructure.

Why do European companies look for an EU alternative?

• Data residency and hosting: US platforms often process data outside the EU, which raises GDPR questions.
• Standard coverage: SOC 2-centric tools only partially cover EU frameworks such as NIS2, the EU AI Act, TISAX, or C5.
• Legal depth: pure software delivers automation, but not legal responsibility or interpretation of European requirements.
• Language and local audit practice: European auditors, languages, and authorities call for local expertise.

How does Kertos differ from Vanta and Drata?

Which European alternatives to Vanta and Drata are there?

The four most direct competitors are headquartered and hosted in Germany: DataGuard, heyData, Kertos and secjur. Whether you are replacing Vanta or Drata makes little difference to the shortlist, because both occupy the same category. The providers differ less in origin than in their model and their published framework coverage. The overview below lists them alphabetically, in each case according to the providers' own websites, checked on 5 October 2026.

Which provider fits depends on two questions. First, how much work stays in house: secjur is built most around self-service, DataGuard and Kertos work with experts in the process, heyData sits between them. Second, which standards you need: ISO 9001 or VdS quality management is covered by secjur, Swiss or UK data protection law by heyData. If the core task is building a certifiable ISMS, the ISMS software comparison is the more useful starting point.

What makes Kertos a European alternative?

Kertos was not developed as a US tool with a European veneer, but for European requirements from the start. Three points make the difference:

• A founding team with legal depth: the Kertos founding team includes a German lawyer. Compliance is therefore approached not only technically, but in a legally sound way.
• Certified European experts: a team of certified specialists works side by side with customers, owns the compliance topic, and knows local audit practice.
• European by design: made in Germany, EU co-financed, and hosted on European infrastructure. Data residency and GDPR are not an add-on but the foundation.

Instead of pure self-service software, Kertos combines the agentic platform KAIA with human expertise. This is reflected in the track record: a 100% audit pass rate, roughly 80% less manual compliance effort, a customer satisfaction of 98%, and customers like AskUI reaching ISO 27001 certification in just 8 to 10 weeks.

When is Kertos not the right choice?

Companies looking purely for a self-service tool, who want to keep subject-matter responsibility in house, are better served by a software-only product. The same applies when the requirement sits clearly outside the standards covered, for example ISO 9001 quality management or Swiss and UK data protection law. The feature set is also broad, and that is noticeable at the start: customers report that setup works well with support from the data protection and customer success teams, but that the first impression is dense.