HITRUST vs SOC 2: What's the Difference?

Data security is important for businesses of all sizes and key internal and external stakeholders need more than a promise that you take security seriously. Both SOC 2 and the HITRUST CSF are frameworks that provide verifiable proof of your organization's trustworthiness. They are designed to validate your approach to information security, privacy, risk management, and handling sensitive data.

The two compliance frameworks are similar in that they both help your organization to prove its commitment to security, they are quite different in terms of implementation, cost, and what they’ll unlock for your business.

In this guide, we’ll give you what you need to know about HITRUST vs. SOC 2 in order to make the best compliance decisions for your organization.

What is SOC 2?

Created by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), SOC 2 (Systems and Organization Controls 2) was designed to help service organizations prove they aren't playing fast and loose with customer data.

It’s built on five Trust Services Criteria (TSCs):

1. Security
2. Availability
3. Confidentiality
4. Processing Integrity
5. Privacy

After a SOC 2 audit, your organization will receive an attestation report which details how your security controls were implemented at a single moment in time (SOC 2 Type 1) or the operational effectiveness of your controls over a period of time (SOC 2 Type 2).

The SOC attestation reports give both your organization and prospects in your funnel visibility into your cybersecurity posture, helping to build confidence and demonstrate that your organization is security-aware and can be trusted with sensitive information.

What is HITRUST?

HITRUST (short for Health Information Trust Alliance) is a comprehensive security framework founded in 2007 and originally designed to help healthcare organizations manage privacy risks.

While the HITRUST CSF (Common Security Framework) initially focused on healthcare requirements it now covers a wide range of standards including HIPAA, NIST, ISO, GDPR, and PCI  DSS making it valuable across other industries where sensitive information is handled like finance and technology.

The HITRUST framework offers three levels of certification: e1 (Essentials), i1 (Implemented), and r2 (Risk-based), which offer progressively higher levels of assurance and make HITRUST a framework that’s adaptable to your organization’s needs.

What Are the Differences between SOC 2 and HITRUST?

1. Scope and Flexibility

The scope for SOC 2 compliance is much narrower than HITRUST. A SOC 2 report focuses on controls related to the five TSCs that provide the foundation of the framework (Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy). Only the Security criterion is mandatory for SOC 2 attestation.

On the other hand, the HITRUST CSF requirements contain 14 control categories, comprising 49 control objectives and 156 control specifications.

With SOC 2 your organization needs to demonstrate trust through a flexible narrative. You get to define the scope (which TSCs to include). You tell the auditor, "Here is how we secure our data," and they check if you’re telling the truth. HITRUST is designed to demonstrate security through rigid prescription.

2. The Outcome

With SOC 2, you receive an attestation report. This is a detailed (often 50-100+ page) document from a CPA firm that gives their opinion on how your controls are designed and operating — either at a set moment in time for SOC 2 Type 1 or detailing their operational effectiveness over a period of time (usually 3-6 months) for SOC 2 Type 2.

With HITRUST, you receive a certification report. This is a binary, pass/fail assessment. You either meet the standard and get the certificate or you don't. There are three levels of HIRTUST certification you can get:

• e1 (Essentials): Based on 44 HITRUST controls and designed for smaller organizations.
• i1 (Implemented): Including 180+ controls.
• r2 (Risk-based): Using a custom number of controls and best for large organizations with complex risk profiles.

3. Primary Focus

This is the simplest way to tell them apart. SOC 2 is industry-neutral. It was developed for any service organization and has become the gold standard for B2B SaaS, tech, and service organizations selling to any enterprise in North America.

Though it’s expanded its scope slightly, HITRUST is primarily healthcare-focused. It was purpose-built for the healthcare industry and is now the mandatory standard for handling Protected Health Information (PHI) for major health systems and payers.

HITRUST vs. SOC 2: Costs and Timelines

SOC 2 is a high-effort endeavor. A typical SOC 2 Type II audit takes 3-12 months and can cost tens of thousands of dollars. A SOC 2 Type 1 audit will usually be between $10-20k with a SOC 2 Type 2 report landing somewhere between $30-60k, sometimes more.

HITRUST CSF certification is even more expensive to achieve. An e1 certification for a call business can range from $20-70k, an i1 assessment can cost anywhere from $60-200k, and an r2 could set a large organization back $150k-1M. The HITRUST certification process can also take between 3-18 months (sometimes longer) depending on the level you're targeting and what your starting point is.

Plus, you’ll also need to factor in the in-house engineering and leadership time you’ll need to achieve both certifications. This can be extremely costly, pulling key employees away from their day-to-day roles to focus on compliance.

You can compress the internal workload and streamline the timelines by working with Workstreet. Our SOC 2 & HITRUST implementation services can help you get audit-ready faster. Our team also has founding members of HITRUST's 3rd Party Assurance council. From pre-assessment to certification, we ensure your success with both HITRUST and SOC 2.

Do You Need SOC 2 or HITRUST?

I’ll start by saying this doesn’t have to be an either or decision. You can implement SOC 2 and HITRUST together if you’re looking to build a strong, mature security program that’s ready for growth.

In North America, SOC 2 is often seen as a cost of doing business, especially if you’re sling into enterprise clients. If you’re looking to build a more robust security posture, especially if you work in healthcare or fintech, prioritizing HITRUST may make sense.

You can also work towards both together. Generally speaking, organizations have three options:

1. SOC 2 only
2. HITRUST CSF only
3. SOC 2 and HITRUST CSF
   

Here’s what you should consider when making a decision about SOC 2 vs. HITRUST:

• Industry: Some organizations in the healthcare sector may need to focus on HITRUST due to handling Protected Health Information (PHI).
• Customer Expectations: If you’re a B2B company selling into the enterprise, most clients will expect SOC 2. Likewise, in healthcare, clients may demand HITRUST.
• Long-term Goals: Consider your long-term compliance strategy and targets. Neither SOC 2 or HITRUST are short-term projects so ensure you’ve built out a long-term compliance strategy to help align your security stack with your business goals.
  

Which is best for your business often depends on your business goals. Instead of looking at security as a roadblock, I always recommend seeing it as a growth accelerator. When it comes to choosing which frameworks to pursue, you should decide based on which will help you accelerate your growth and achieve your goals.

Whether you opt for SOC 2 or HITRUST or both, it’ll put strain on your internal teams. I often see organizations get slowed down by repetitive tasks like policy writing, evidence collection, and control implementation. Working with a third-party compliance partner like Workstreet can help ensure your organization can meet your security and compliance targets without slowing down your sales cycle or product roadmap.

Accelerate Your Growth with Workstreet

HITRUST certification demonstrates the highest level of security for healthcare and sensitive data and our AI-driven, efficient approach gets you ready fast while ensuring you pass your HITRUST assessment. Our team includes founding members of HITRUST's Assurance council, and we guide you from gap assessment to your final report without the burnout.

Likewise, with SOC 2 our expert implementation services that get you audit-ready quickly. From Type I to Type II, we'll guide you through every step of the process with proven methodologies.

Get in touch today to speak with an expert about how to approach SOC 2 and HITRUST for your organization.