Top 10 Vendor Risk Management Tools in 2024: Rated by Real Users

Have you heard the term, six degrees of separation? 

It’s a prevalent social theory that all people are at a maximum of six or fewer social connections away from connecting with each other. 

Well, this theory holds true in a business setting as well; in today’s landscape, businesses are completely interconnected, and the success of any business depends on the performance of the vendors they work with. However, how do you know if the vendors you work with truly support your goals without introducing unforeseen risks? Are they equipped to safeguard your valuable data and comply with essential regulations? 

Statistics reveal that 98% of organizations worldwide (Source HIPAA Journal) have experienced breaches due to lapses in vendor security in recent years. This is why vendor evaluation has become critical before onboarding any business partner. 

We cannot afford to trust blindly; the use of vendor risk management tools can ensure that third-party partnerships enhance rather than hinder performance, minimizing the risk of business disruptions. In this blog, we look at the top vendor risk management tools to help you appropriately manage and mitigate your vendor risk. 

Vendor risk management software explained

Vendor Risk Management (VRM) tools serve as our navigational compass in helping us spot, track, analyze, and lessen the potential risks that third-party relationships might bring to our business environment. Third-party Risk Management Software is an essential part of your risk management toolkit, specifically designed to ensure a smooth onboarding process and carry out meticulous due diligence.

Top 10 Vendor Risk Management tools in 2024 

Now that you have a perspective on vendor risk management, let’s look at the tools that are category leaders in the space. We have curated a list of the top 10 vendor risk management tools after comparing multiple parameters such as features, depth of risk factors considered, analytics and reporting, compliance risk lens, user reviews, and support.

While this list is a great place to start, we urge you to do your research and ensure that you take a free trial of our top 3 before proceeding with your final pick.

1. Sprinto (Best overall value)

Sprinto’s powerful continuous compliance framework helps manage risks from your third-party ecosystem by continuously monitoring for entity-level risks and alerting you in case any vendors are falling out of compliance. Sprinto helps you automate workflows,  questionnaire templates, recurring assessments of vendors, and more on autopilot.

Sprinto isn’t just a vendor risk management but a holistic compliance management solution that ensures that third-party vendor risk (external) and internal risks are managed adequately to help businesses succeed in compliance audits such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and more.

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: 4.8/5

Key Features:

• Continuous control monitoring: Keep tabs on your internal controls and your vendors with entity-level monitoring. Get a holistic view of compliance.
• Compliance Tracking: Monitor how your vendor controls align with regulatory frameworks to minimize the risk of non-compliance penalties
• Vulnerability & Incident Management: Mitigate security incidents with alerts to stay on top of vulnerabilities
• Systematic escalations: Ensure that you have a clear path with prioritized/tiered recommendations
• Deep integrations: Compatible with your existing tech stack to ensure minimal dev effort 
• Role-based access control: Define who has access to what with role-based access control
• Analytics and Reporting: Get a holistic organization’s security posture with Sprinto’s real-time reporting capabilities

Pros	Cons
– Continuous control monitoring – Workflow Management – Tiered remediation – Policy Enforcement – Shareable security posture – Integrated audit success portal – Modular security training programs – Dr. Sprinto MDM – Expert-led implementation – 100% async audit – Anomaly Detection.	– Built for compliance automation than purely VRM usecase

Verdict

Sprinto is an ideal choice for mid-market companies due to its versatile combination of extensive third-party risk modules along with a continuous compliance framework that helps you stay compliant to frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, and more in real-time. This along with strong automation capabilities, integrations, and ease of use, make it a compelling proposition.

Mid-market companies managing resource constraints require a solution that balances comprehensive risk management internally and externally and does not eat into their overall budget. Sprinto is a solution that helps tackle both risks and compliance management with one solution. 

2. Tenable (Best for advanced VRM)

If you are looking for an advanced VRM that takes a purely risk-based approach and also has machine learning capabilities, Tenable is a good bet. It views risk across multiple attack surfaces and has advanced scanning capabilities that help produce in-depth vulnerability reports. However, there is a bit of a learning curve involved, and may need on-hand training to utilize all the capabilities. 

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Key Features:

• Risk-Based Insights: Tenable has advanced analytics capabilities to give appropriate visibility to compliance teams.
• Cyber Exposure Monitoring: Comprehensive analysis of vendor’s cyber risks and benchmarks. 
• Vulnerability Management: Alerts you to vulnerabilities in third-party systems and gives options for timely mitigation. 
• Integration Capabilities: Integrates with top cloud tools to minimize dev efforts. 
• Actionable Reporting: Detailed reports and dashboards to make data more actionable.

Pros	Cons
– Comprehensive vulnerability and compliance coverage – Real-time monitoring and alerts – Advanced analytics for risk-based prioritization – Seamless integration with other security tools – Actionable insights through detailed reporting	– Purpose-built for VRM – May require a steep learning curve for new users – Pricing might be a consideration for smaller organizations

Verdict

Tenable provides a comprehensive cyber exposure platform that is ideal for enterprises with complex and extensive third-party ecosystems. Its robust vulnerability management, compliance tracking, and risk-based insights are crucial for larger organizations that must monitor and manage many vendors across different regulatory environments.

Enterprises will benefit from Tenable’s advanced analytics, integration capabilities, and detailed reporting, essential for managing risks at scale. The depth and breadth of Tenable’s VRM solution support the complex nature of enterprise-level third-party risk management, making it the top choice for larger organizations

Pricing: Contact Tenable for pricing information

3. OneTrust (Best for SMB)

OneTrust helps organizations manage the entire third-party risk lifecycle from onboarding to continuous monitoring. With access to gap reports on thousands of third parties, you can reduce blindspots and make smarter decisions about every vendor you partner with.

With aggregated risk scores available for most third parties, you can make quick decisions that are necessary for growth-stage companies. 

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Key Features:

• Unified third-party vendor relationship inventory: Offers a centralized view of all vendor relationships, simplifying management and oversight of third-party risks
• OneTrust Analytics and Insights engine: Harnesses data analytics to provide actionable insights into third-party risks, enhancing decision-making processes
• Workflow integration builder: Enables seamless integration of risk management processes with existing systems, optimizing operational efficiency
• Dynamic questionnaires: Adapt to vendor-specific risks, ensuring thorough and relevant assessments of third-party security postures
• Intelligent onboarding workflows:  Streamlines the vendor onboarding process with automated checks and balances, reducing time and complexity

Pros	Cons
– Faster questionnaire completion with AI auto-completion technology – Workflows are highly configurable and are based on intuitive if/then logic – Highly integrated with other OneTrust solutions as well as third-party data sources 	– Limited advanced analytics risk and scoring capabilities – Room for development in native integrations.

Verdict

OneTrust’s Third-Party Risk Management tool is well-suited to meet the needs of SMBs through its automation capabilities, AI-driven insights, configurable workflows, and integration potential.

Despite some limitations in advanced analytics and native integrations, its pricing model makes it an excellent choice for SMBs aiming to build strong cybersecurity defenses and maintain trusted relationships with their third-party vendors. 

Pricing: Small business at $600 per month

4. SecurityScorecard Platform

SecurityScorecard boasts an extensive intelligence data set on vendors and comprehensive TPRM features such as instant risk ratings, vendor questionnaires, digital footprint tracking, and more. SecurityScorecard Platform’s highest ratings and reviews cite ease of deployment, user-friendly experience, and strong support.

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: 4.3/5

Key Features:

• Monitoring: Global IP scanning and continuous monitoring of probable threats
• Automated Questionnaires: Automated send-and-response tracking of security questions to speed up onboarding
• Comprehensive Dashboards: Understand risk at a glance for your third- and fourth-party vendors

Pros	Cons
– User-friendly onboarding and configuration processes  – Strong visualization capabilities and user interface – Prospective buyers are offered transparent pricing models – Free versions offer limited features to a large number of users	– Built for TPRM, so not a holistic compliance solution – Limited customizations

Pricing:  Contact Security Scorecard for pricing information

5. BitSight Third-Party Risk Management

BitSight is a risk-based TPRM tool with a unique risk matrix philosophy based on a study of the correlation of metrics to past breaches. It has a network of 40,000 vendor profiles and can help you prioritize and report risk accurately.

BitSight’s highest ratings and reviews note its robust vendor profiling and developer support. BitSight claims that any rating on the platform is independent of external relationships to minimize bias and regularly updates its rating mechanisms, and transparently communicates the same. 

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Key Features:

• Massive vendor list: Over 40,000+ vendor profiles readily available
• Automated onboarding assessments: Help speed up your vendor onboarding
• Real-time reporting: Get a picture of vendor risk in real-time with prioritization

Pros	Cons
– BitSight integrates well with most other TPRM solutions – Free cyber security reports for customers and non-customers alike – Users can create customized alerts – Reporting is comprehensive and fairly customizable	– Recommendations not offered on how to fix the flagged vulnerabilities  – Limited forum and peer community opportunities – Customer support representatives are unavailable at times – Inconsistent reports

Pricing:  Contact BitSight for pricing information

6. Panorays

Panorays is a risk-based TPRM that leverages a tailored model of risk assessment based on the business relationship of assessing parties with vendors. This can help business prioritize their key relationships and monitor them better.

The best reviews mention great dev support and feature updates, along with hands-on customer support. Panorays claims a unique risk DNA technology that looks through a variety of factors to come up with a real-time rating and also creates remediation plans for each vendor that can be shared externally.

The company mostly serves sectors such as banking, insurance, and financial services in the NA, UK, EU regions. 

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: Not enough reviews

Key Features:

• Risk DNA: Risk mapping based on a variety of factors to ensure accuracy
• Remediation plan: Helps vendors work towards closing compliance gaps
• Strong customer feedback loops: Strong support from devs and the customer support team

Pros	Cons
– Strong self-assessment module – Stellar customer support and feedback – Strong visibility and reporting	– Integration capabilities are not up to the mark 

Pricing:  Contact Panorays for pricing information

7. Prevalent TPRM Platform

Prevalent has a flexible hybrid approach to TPRM with product and fully managed offerings for due diligence. Global Vendor Intelligence Network, Vendor Assessment Services, TPRM, and more ensure that a full-service suite is available for those who need it.

With a library of pre-defined assessments, including GDPR, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and more, you can cross-check vendor adherence to any of these frameworks or even build out your own assessment. Gathering and analyzing vendor data is automated to help you achieve time to value faster. Top ratings cite great support, ease of use, and deployment. 

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Key Features

• Fully managed services: For teams who want to outsource their risk management completely
• Strong vendor intelligence networks: These help cross-reference and make faster decisions regarding vendors. 
• Automated assessment workflows: To help speed up review cycles 
• Guidance on corrective action: To help vendors get back on track and get clear action plan on gaps

Pros	Cons
– Strong managed services win – Comprehensive vendor intelligence networks – Easy integrations with top tech solutions	– Automation is not up to the mark – UI is not very intuitive

Pricing: Contact Prevalent for pricing information

8. Risk Recon

RiskRecon, a Mastercard Company, offers a third-party risk management solution that specializes in providing deep, actionable insights into the cybersecurity health of external partners. By leveraging advanced scanning and analytics technologies, RiskRecon enables organizations to quickly understand and act on the risks posed by their vendors, partners, and suppliers.

G2 Rating: Not enough reviews

Key Features:

• Comprehensive Risk Assessments: Detailed assessments of third-party security postures, providing clear visibility into external risks
• Automated Risk Prioritization: Prioritizes risks based on their potential impact, helping organizations focus on the most critical issues
• Actionable Recommendations: Provides clear, actionable recommendations for risk mitigation to improve third-party security postures
• Customizable Reporting: Generates customized reports that align with organizational risk management frameworks and requirements

Pros	Cons
– In-depth third-party risk assessments – Automated and prioritized risk insights – Continuous monitoring for up-to-date risk management – Actionable mitigation recommendations – Customizable reporting for various stakeholder needs	– May be more suited for larger organizations with complex ecosystems – Integration capabilities could be expanded for some niche tools

Pricing:  Contact Risk Recon for pricing information.

9. Venminder

Venminder is a risk-based TPRM software that helps organizations offload the responsibilities of due diligence with robust assessment reports of vendors across infosec, data security, and compliance.

Solid vendor onboarding, offboarding, contract management, risk assessment, and more make it a suitable solution for those looking at a risk-based platform. Venminder’s highest ratings and reviews cite its quality of vendor assessment, evaluation, and workflows.

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: 4.7/5

Key Features:

• Robust vendor assessment reports: Get detailed insights into the risks of collaborating with potential vendors
• Customizable risk assessments: Customize the assessment based on the importance of the vendor
• Vendor scorecard tracking: Get updates when vendor scores move up or down
• Customizable automated questionnaires: Automated questions to speed up onboarding

Pros	Cons
– All plans include unlimited user access – This solution is easy to adjust to your business’s specific requirements and scale with a la carte services and features	– Limited international reach and presence, working exclusively with North American clients – Expertise in finance, experience in other areas may be limited – Supports smaller businesses

Pricing:  Contact Venminder for pricing information.

10. ProcessUnity Third-Party Risk Management

Process unity is a TPRM that helps customers reduce the busy work involved in due diligence with customizable automations for vendor and third party reviews. From capturing documentation to tracking compliance, Process Unity can generate comprehensive third party reports for your business. The best reviews cite great automation, workflows and ease of use. 

What are users saying?

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Key Features:

• Automated evidence collection and assessment: Speed up onboarding with automation
• Helpful mitigation recommendations: Give vendors a clear path to resolve issues 

Pros	Cons
– Great customization options and highly configurable – End-to-end solution for the whole TPRM lifecycle	– Presets of questions are US-based, and this could be a concern – Steep learning curve – No comprehensive training modules

Pricing:  Contact ProcessUnity for pricing information

Your guide to picking the best vendor risk management software

Before you decide which third-party risk management tool to use, here are a few pointers that you could consider to make that informed decision:

1. Pricing and value

The stage where you are at determining the kind of services you require. If you are in a growth or mid-market phase, do you have a dedicated budget for third-party risk management tools, or should you go for a more holistic compliance solution? 

Are you looking to clear an audit, or have your customers requested a TPRM report? 

These are important considerations before you take any decision. Although costs may be lower for a standalone TPRM tool, you may run into a heftier bill when you try to fulfill compliance needs piecemeal. 

2. Integrity of data 

It is essential to assess the quality of the data being fed to third-party risk management software. If the data is incomplete or inaccurate, it could result in false positives.

• Are the datasets being pulled from reliable and credible sources like regulators and government agencies?
• Are the data sources updated periodically?
• Does it offer integration capabilities with existing platforms?

3. Time to value

It is also essential to consider the time spent completing an assessment of a vendor. If there is a need for manual work in either questionnaires or other aspects of the process, it can hold up essential partnerships and cause business disruption. 

Here are some key questions to ask yourself.

• How much time does it take to process the assessment?
• Is additional staff training required?
• Is ongoing support provided?
• Is it possible to automate the whole process to run continuously without human intervention?
• Does the tool share reports that help you monitor and assess the progress of the tasks?

4. Learning curve 

Another thing to consider is how intuitive the tool is to a first-time user. If not, is there onboarding support and documentation to help you understand how to use the tool? 

Here are some key points to consider.

• Does the platform offer detailed onboarding?
• Does the tool share user manuals?
• Does it integrate well with your existing systems?
• Does it enable customization?

Automate Always On Vendor Compliance with Sprinto

Sprinto is a compliance automation tool that helps you not just manage vendor risks but also your internal controls. Sprinto comes with continuous control monitoring, deep integrations, automated workflows, and prioritized tiered recommendations based on compliance frameworks to help you address all your compliance needs in one place.

It also has a built-in lightweight MDM to help you improve your end-point security. When it comes to a value solution that helps you end to end, Sprinto is preferred by thousands of Mid-market and Growth-stage companies. 

FAQs

Why is vendor risk management important?

A vendor risk management program mitigates the severity and frequency of data breaches, data leaks, and cyber attacks involving third and fourth-parties vendors, protecting sensitive data, PHI, PII, and intellectual property while ensuring business continuity.

What are the risks involved in vendor management?

Vendor risk management is an important part of information risk management and the overall risk management process. Vendors pose many risks, including reputational, financial, legal, compliance, and regulatory risks.

What is the risk matrix for vendor management?

Using a vendor risk management and control matrix, your organization can calculate a current estimate of risks and probability of occurrence, assign a risk number, and determine any further action steps required to mitigate unacceptable vendor risk.