Side-by-side coverage of 17 vendors — CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender, Sophos, ESET, Bitdefender, Wazuh, Vanta, Drata, Wiz, Snyk, Acronis, Shielda and more — across NIS2, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, DORA, CMMC, GDPR and CIS Controls. Transparent USD pricing, evidence quality, remediation workflow and the gaps no sales deck shows.
Security Stack Compare is a buyer guide for non-technical decision makers — founders, CFOs, COOs, office managers — who need to pick cybersecurity software but don't speak in acronyms.
We cover every major framework — NIS2, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, DORA, CMMC, GDPR, NIST CSF, CIS Controls, FedRAMP — and tell you in one sentence what each one actually requires, who it applies to, and which tools cover it.
Start with evidence automation, access reviews and a clean remediation queue.
Keep Defender/M365 for baseline controls and add cross-tool evidence where audits need proof.
Map incident handling, supplier risk, continuity and reporting into one operational view.
Use a pragmatic baseline: Microsoft or OSS endpoint coverage, backup proof and a short list of fixes.
Start with an endpoint baseline, evidence automation, vulnerability management, backup proof and supplier risk. Shielda fits as the evidence and remediation layer above existing tools.
Look for supplier risk, incident handling, continuity, vulnerability and reporting evidence. The NIS2 matrix maps these requirements row by row.
Those tools are strong endpoint platforms. For compliance, compare how their findings become audit evidence, access reviews and remediation records.
Vanta and Drata are mature GRC tools. SMBs that need lighter evidence plus operational remediation may prefer a leaner layer before buying enterprise GRC.
We rebuild the requirements table for whichever standard you click. Tools are scored row by row, honestly.
NIS2 is about risk management, incident handling, business continuity, supply-chain security, vulnerability management, access control, logging, evidence and management accountability. Buying endpoint protection alone is not enough.
Each requirement of the chosen framework, scored against each tool. Coverage is editorial — based on public documentation, vendor demos and user reports.
| Requirement | 🇵🇱 $200 / month | 🇺🇸 from $3 / user / month | 🇺🇸 from $59 / endpoint / year | 🇬🇧 from $28 / user / year | 🇺🇸 from ~$8 | 🇨🇭 from $85 / workstation / year | Editor's note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Risk management framework A documented, ongoing risk register tied to assets and owners. | Implemented | Partial | Partial | Partial | Strong | Not included | ›Built-in risk register mapped to NIS2 articles, refreshed from live signals. |
Incident handling & 24h notification Detect, classify, escalate and report within NIS2 windows. | Implemented | Partial | Strong | Strong | Partial | Not included | ›Pre-built CSIRT-ready incident workflow with timer and evidence trail. |
Supply-chain / supplier security Vendor register, due diligence and contract clauses. | Implemented | Not included | Not included | Not included | Strong | Not included | ›Supplier register + contract gap analysis included — Vanta charges separately. |
Vulnerability handling & patching Discover, prioritize and prove patches landed. | Implemented | Implemented | Strong | Implemented | Partial | Partial | ›Cross-tool prioritization; closes the find-vs-fix loop with SLA tracking. |
Business continuity & backups Tested restores, RTO/RPO evidence. | Via integration | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Strong | ›Pulls Acronis/native backup proofs into a single audit pack. |
Access control & MFA MFA enforced, quarterly reviews, joiner/leaver trail. | Via integration | Strong | Implemented | Partial | Strong | Partial | ›Continuously verifies MFA across Entra, Okta, Google in one report. |
Logging, monitoring & detection Centralized telemetry with retention and review evidence. | Via integration | Strong | Strong | Implemented | Partial | Partial | ›Aggregates EDR/SIEM telemetry into NIS2-mapped dashboards. |
Management accountability & reporting Board-ready reports proving the program runs. | Implemented | Partial | Implemented | Partial | Implemented | Partial | ›One-click executive report mapped to NIS2 management duties. |
Methodology: public docs, vendor demos, practitioner interviews. Verify with each vendor before purchase.
All capabilities, side by side. Sticky first column. Honest gaps.
| Tool / Suite | HQ | Price (USD) | Verified | Endpoint | MDR | Vuln Mgmt | Cloud / SaaS | Code / AppSec | Backup | Identity | Supplier Risk | Contract Gaps | Evidence Pack | Remediation | Exec Reports | BYOK | Editor's verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Backup, recovery and cyber protection bundle best fit | 🇨🇭Switzerland | from $85 / workstation / year | 2026-05-08 | Implemented | Add-on | Partial | Partial | Not included | Strong | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Great backup and recovery foundation. Restore-verification evidence still needs a disciplined process. gap › Strong resilience component, not full security/compliance command center |
SMB endpoint malware prevention best fit | 🇷🇴Romania / EU | from $77 / 3 devices / year | 2026-05-08 | Strong | Add-on | Partial | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Affordable and effective AV/EPP. For NIS2 or SOC 2 evidence, it needs a separate workflow layer. gap › Compliance evidence remains fragmented |
Strong endpoint security and enterprise EDR | 🇺🇸USA | from $59 / endpoint / year | 2026-05-08 | Strong | Strong | Implemented | Implemented | Not included | Not included | Implemented | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Implemented | Partial | Premium endpoint protection with real depth. Pair with an evidence layer when audit readiness matters. gap › Not a full compliance operating system; evidence, supplier risk, backup proof and cross-tool remediation need another layer |
Compliance automation and audit evidence | 🇺🇸USA | from ~$7,500 / year | 2026-05-08 | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Implemented | Implemented | Partial | Strong | Partial | Implemented | Partial | Polished compliance automation. Shielda is the lighter operational layer for teams that need evidence plus remediation at SMB pricing. gap › Compliance workflow is strong, but technical security operations depend on connected tools |
EU-based traditional endpoint protection best fit | 🇸🇰Slovakia / EU | from $190 / 5 devices / year | 2026-05-08 | Strong | Add-on | Partial | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Trusted EU endpoint, but compliance operations and audit evidence live in a separate workflow. gap › Endpoint-focused; not enough for broad compliance operations |
Email/identity baseline for productivity suites | 🇺🇸USA | $0 — bundled in M365 / Workspace | 2026-05-08 | Partial | Not included | Partial | Partial | Not included | Partial | Implemented | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | You already paid for it. Treat it as a baseline; audit evidence still needs structure. gap › Identity/email-centric; not a full security or compliance program |
Microsoft-centric SMBs | 🇺🇸USA | from $3 / user / month | 2026-05-08 | Strong | Add-on | Implemented | Partial | Not included | Not included | Strong | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Decent baseline if you already pay for M365. Compliance evidence and supplier risk are missing — pair with Shielda. gap › Weak cross-tool compliance evidence and supplier-risk workflow |
Privacy, GRC and enterprise governance | 🇺🇸USA / UK | Quote required (enterprise) | 2026-05-08 | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Partial | Implemented | Implemented | Implemented | Partial | Implemented | Partial | Deep enterprise GRC. Often too heavy for SMB security teams that mainly need evidence, actions and reporting. gap › Heavy platform; not SMB-friendly security remediation |
SAST and code security | 🇺🇸USA | Free tier; from $40 / dev / month | 2026-05-08 | Not included | Not included | Partial | Not included | Strong | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Excellent SAST and nothing more. Useful inside a Shielda-orchestrated stack. gap › Narrow code-focused scope |
Autonomous endpoint protection and EDR/XDR | 🇺🇸USA | from $69.99 / endpoint / year | 2026-05-08 | Strong | Add-on | Implemented | Implemented | Not included | Not included | Implemented | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Implemented | Partial | Strong endpoint platform. Add a compliance evidence workflow if audits are part of the job. gap › Strong endpoint signal, weaker compliance/evidence workflow outside its own stack |
Companies needing one security brain across tools, evidence and remediation best fit | 🇵🇱Poland / EU | $200 / month — flat, all-inclusive | 2026-05-08 | Partial | Partner | Implemented | Implemented | Implemented | Via integration | Via integration | Implemented | Implemented | Implemented | Implemented | Implemented | Implemented | Strong fit for SMB compliance evidence and remediation orchestration. gap › Not a native antivirus / EDR replacement |
Developer-first code and dependency security | 🇺🇸USA / UK | Free tier; from $25 / contributor / month | 2026-05-08 | Not included | Not included | Implemented | Partial | Strong | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Developer-loved AppSec with a narrow scope. Its findings need routing into the broader compliance evidence workflow. gap › Strong AppSec, weak endpoint, backup, supplier risk and broad compliance operations |
SMB endpoint, firewall and MDR ecosystem | 🇬🇧UK | from $28 / user / year | 2026-05-08 | Strong | Strong | Implemented | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Implemented | Partial | Solid SMB bundle. Supplier risk, contract gaps and evidence depth usually need a separate workflow. gap › Good protection stack, but full compliance ops still require evidence management and broader governance |
Outsourced IT | 🌍Local | Varies by provider | 2026-05-08 | Implemented | Partial | Partial | Partial | Not included | Partial | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Can work well with a disciplined provider. A shared evidence and actions layer makes the service easier to verify. gap › Quality depends heavily on process, documentation discipline and tooling maturity |
Audit automation and startup compliance evidence | 🇺🇸USA | from ~$8,000 / year | 2026-05-08 | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Implemented | Implemented | Partial | Strong | Partial | Implemented | Partial | Mature compliance automation with strong audit workflows. Shielda is the leaner option when remediation and price matter more than GRC depth. gap › Not a security operations platform; weaker technical remediation depth |
Technical teams wanting open-source endpoint visibility | 🌐USA / OSS | Free (self-hosted) | Implemented | Not included | Implemented | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Not included | Not included | Partial | Not included | Partial | Implemented | Free is tempting until you count engineering hours. Budget for the workflow, reporting and evidence layer around it. gap › Requires engineering and operations; raw telemetry is not the same as remediation and evidence | |
Cloud security posture and cloud-native risk | 🇺🇸USA / Israel | Quote required | 2026-05-08 | Not included | Not included | Implemented | Strong | Partial | Not included | Implemented | Not included | Not included | Partial | Partial | Implemented | Partial | Best-in-class for cloud security, but usually enterprise-priced. SMBs may start with lighter posture checks before graduating to Wiz. gap › Excellent cloud visibility, weaker endpoint, supplier and general compliance ops for SMBs |
CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Defender, Sophos, Wazuh, Snyk, Wiz, Acronis, your IdP, your auditor's checklist — they live in twelve places. Shielda normalizes the signals, adds business context, maps them to the framework you report against, and turns them into evidence and prioritized actions. It is not a replacement for specialist EDR, cloud, AppSec or backup tools. It is the practical layer that helps SMBs prove the work is happening.
Shielda bootstraps Wazuh + osquery: device inventory, endpoint health, file integrity monitoring, configuration evidence and compliance checks. It is not a CrowdStrike replacement. It is a practical free baseline for SMBs starting their security program — you can plug in CrowdStrike or Defender later without redoing your stack.
| Requirement | Why it matters | Evidence | Tools that help | Common miss | Shielda |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset inventory | You can't protect what you don't know. | Live asset list with owner. | Wazuh, Defender, MDM | Cloud + SaaS + endpoint reconciled. | Implemented |
| Vulnerability management | Unpatched vulns are the top breach vector. | Scan reports + remediation tickets. | CrowdStrike, Wiz, Snyk | Cross-tool prioritization. | Implemented |
| Patch and remediation tracking | Find ≠ fix. | Closed tickets with owner + date. | Jira, ITSM | Owners and SLA enforcement. | Implemented |
| Endpoint protection | Endpoints remain a top entry point. | EDR coverage and detections. | CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Defender, ESET, Bitdefender | Coverage gaps on contractors. | Partial |
| Identity and access review | Stale access is a common audit finding. | Quarterly access review records. | Entra, Okta | Reviews for SaaS sprawl. | Via integration |
| MFA evidence | MFA is universally expected. | MFA enrollment + enforcement reports. | Entra, Okta, Google | Coverage for admin and break-glass. | Via integration |
| Email/domain security | Phishing remains #1. | SPF/DKIM/DMARC + filtering reports. | Defender, Google | DMARC enforcement. | Via integration |
| Cloud / SaaS posture | Misconfigs cause most cloud breaches. | CSPM reports + remediation. | Wiz, native CSPM | SaaS coverage beyond cloud. | Implemented |
| Code and dependency security | Vulnerable libs ship to prod. | SCA/SAST reports tied to fixes. | Snyk, Semgrep | Triage discipline. | Implemented |
| Backup and recovery testing | Backups that never restore are not backups. | Restore test reports. | Acronis, native cloud backup | Documented restore proofs. | Via integration |
| Incident response workflow | Speed and clarity reduce damage. | Playbooks + drill reports. | MDR providers | Tabletop exercises evidence. | Implemented |
| Logging and monitoring | Detection requires telemetry. | Log retention + review records. | Wazuh, SIEMs | Review documentation. | Via integration |
| Supplier / vendor risk | Your vendors are your attack surface. | Vendor register + due diligence. | OneTrust, Vanta, Drata | Continuous re-review. | Implemented |
| Contract / SLA evidence | Required by NIS2 / DORA. | Contract clauses mapped to controls. | Legal + GRC | Gap analysis at scale. | Implemented |
| Security awareness evidence | People are the perimeter. | Training completion + phishing tests. | KnowBe4, Hoxhunt | Evidence centralization. | Via integration |
| Executive / board reporting | Mandated by NIS2 / DORA / NYDFS. | Board minutes + dashboards. | GRC platforms | Translating tech to business risk. | Implemented |
| Audit-ready evidence pack | Audits live or die on evidence. | Standard-mapped evidence repository. | Vanta, Drata | Mapping to multiple standards. | Implemented |
Shielda scores strongest on evidence, remediation, compliance workflow and SMB practicality. It is deliberately partial on native EDR.