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Article Summary
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As your company grows and faces stricter security scrutiny, proving trust isn’t optional. SOC 2 and SOC 3 answer the same core question—can customers trust you with their data?—but they do it in very different ways.
Why this decision matters:
SOC 2 and SOC 3 serve different audiences. SOC 2 is detailed and built for security teams and enterprise buyers. SOC 3 is high-level and designed for public trust. Choosing the right one impacts deals, procurement speed, and credibility.
What’s the difference in practice:
- SOC 2: Restricted-use, highly detailed, shared under NDA. It’s the standard requirement for SaaS, startups, and SMBs selling to serious buyers.
- SOC 3: Public-facing summary of SOC 2 results. No sensitive details, easy to share on your website, sales decks, and trust center.
How to use them together:
Most companies start with SOC 2 Type II to satisfy customer audits. Once that’s in place, SOC 3 becomes a powerful way to turn compliance into a visible, market-facing trust signal.
At Decrypt Compliance, we help teams get SOC 2 done efficiently—and then decide if SOC 3 adds strategic value. No wasted effort, no unnecessary friction, just compliance that supports growth.
Types of SOC Reports You Need to Understand
Before you compare SOC 2 and SOC 3, it helps to be clear on the complete SOC family and where each report fits. As a service organization or SaaS provider, you use SOC reports to provide customers with independent assurance of your internal controls.
These reports are issued by licensed CPAs under the AICPA’s System and Organization Controls framework and focus on how well you protect data and support your clients’ operations.
In practice, there are three main SOC report types you’ll encounter: SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3. SOC 1 and SOC 2 are the ones most commonly requested in vendor due diligence, while SOC 3 is often used as a public-facing summary.
SOC 1: Controls Over Financial Reporting
SOC 1 focuses on controls that could impact your customers’ financial statements. It’s used when your service affects accounting data or financial reporting (for example, payroll processors or billing platforms).
The auditor evaluates whether your controls support accurate, reliable financial reporting for your customers. If your product does not influence customers’ financial reporting, SOC 1 is usually not the right report for you.
SOC 2: Controls Over Security And Trust Services
SOC 2 is usually the primary focus for SaaS and cloud-native businesses. It evaluates your controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria: Security and, optionally, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy.
The report gives detailed descriptions of your system, the controls you’ve implemented, and the auditor’s tests and results. Because of this depth, SOC 2 is shared under NDA with customers and prospects that need to perform vendor risk assessments.
SOC 3: Public Summary Of SOC 2 Results
SOC 3 is built on the same Trust Services Criteria as SOC 2, but the output is different. Instead of a detailed, restricted-use report, SOC 3 provides a high-level, general-use summary of your control environment and the auditor’s opinion.
It omits sensitive system details and test results, which makes it suitable for publishing on your website or for broad market sharing. For many teams, SOC 3 serves as the outward-facing proof point that complements a more detailed SOC 2 report for specific customers.
If you are a startup or SMB selling security-sensitive services, you will almost always prioritize SOC 2 first, then decide whether a SOC 3 summary adds value for public proof of trust. SOC 1 generally applies only if your service has a direct impact on customers’ financial reporting.
What You Need to Know About SOC 2 Compliance
Once you understand the different SOC report types, the next question is whether SOC 2 is the one you actually need. If you run a SaaS product or any tech-enabled service that handles customer data, the answer is almost always yes.
SOC 2 is an independent attestation report issued by a licensed CPA firm. The report tells your customers whether your controls are designed and operated to keep their data secure, available, and properly handled. This is why SOC 2 has become the default assurance standard for SaaS companies, cloud providers, and modern service organizations.
What SOC 2 Covers
Every SOC 2 report must include Security and may also include the other Trust Services Criteria if they fit your services and customer expectations. At a high level, you are evaluated on whether you have adequate controls for:
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Trust Services Criterion |
What it covers |
|
Security |
Protects systems and data from unauthorized access or misuse. |
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Availability |
Keeps services up and reachable as promised to customers. |
|
Processing Integrity |
Ensures data is processed accurately, completely, and on time. |
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Confidentiality |
Safeguards sensitive business information from improper access. |
|
Privacy |
Manages personal data in accordance with your privacy notices and applicable laws. |
Together, these criteria give your customers a structured view of how you run security and reliability in day-to-day operations, not just what tools you own.
SOC 2 Type I and Type II
Under SOC 2, you can be examined in two ways:
- Type I: Confirms that your controls are properly designed and in place at a specific point in time. It answers, “Do you have the right controls today?”
- Type II: Tests whether those same controls operate effectively over a period, usually 3–12 months. It answers, “Do your controls work consistently in real life?”
If you are selling to larger or regulated customers, they will usually expect a SOC 2 Type II report, as it demonstrates sustained performance rather than a one-day snapshot.
Why SOC 2 Matters for Startups and SMBs?
For a smaller team, SOC 2 is not just a compliance exercise. It helps you:
- Show that your security controls have been independently tested, not just self-claimed.
- Reduce friction in security questionnaires, procurement reviews, and cross-border deals.
- Build a repeatable security baseline you can maintain as you scale, instead of ad hoc fixes each time a new customer asks for proof.
Understanding SOC 3 for Modern Service Providers
As soon as you start looking at SOC 2, you’ll see SOC 3 mentioned alongside it. Both sit on the same AICPA Trust Services Criteria, but they serve very different purposes for you and your customers.
SOC 3 is a general-use, public version of a SOC 2 report. It relies on the same Trust Services Criteria as SOC 2: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy, but presents them in a short, non-technical format.
Instead of listing every control, test, and exception, SOC 3 provides an auditor’s high-level opinion that your controls were designed and operated effectively during the audit period. Because it omits sensitive details, you can publish it on your website, share it in sales decks, or link it in marketing materials without an NDA.
In other words, SOC 2 speaks to security and risk professionals who need depth. SOC 3 speaks to the broader market and leadership teams who want clear, independent validation without the technical deep dive.
What SOC 3 Covers
SOC 3 covers the same five Trust Services Criteria as SOC 2:
- Security
- Availability
- Processing Integrity
- Confidentiality
- Privacy
Your auditor still evaluates your controls across these areas. The difference is in the output: the SOC 3 report summarizes its conclusion rather than exposing your detailed system description, control list, test procedures, or evidence. Readers see that you were assessed against the TSC and that the auditor concluded your controls met those criteria, but they don’t see configuration details, exceptions, or sample logs.
That makes SOC 3 safe to share publicly while still giving customers and prospects confidence that your environment has undergone a comprehensive SOC 2-style examination.
SOC 3 Types and Relationship to SOC 2
From your perspective, the audit work for SOC 3 is the same as for SOC 2. A licensed CPA firm performs the engagement over the Trust Services Criteria and issues:
- A detailed SOC 2 report for restricted audiences, and
- A short SOC 3 report for general use.
In practice, many providers treat SOC 3 as a derivative of SOC 2 Type II: you complete a SOC 2 Type II engagement, then request a SOC 3 general-use report based on the same period and criteria.
SOC 3 is often presented as a summary of a SOC 2 Type II opinion, even though the underlying attestation standards can support either Type I or Type II. For a startup or SMB, this means you usually prioritize SOC 2 first, then decide whether a SOC 3 summary adds value as a public trust signal alongside it.
Core Differences Between SOC 2 and SOC 3 Reports
Both SOC 2 and SOC 3 are attestation reports performed by an independent CPA firm under the same AICPA standards (SSAE 18, AT-C 105 and 205). In both cases, your controls are tested against the Trust Services Criteria, and the underlying audit work is largely the same.
Where they really differ is who the report is for, how much detail it includes, and how you can use it.
Audit Standard and Reporting Type
SOC 2
You can obtain a SOC 2 Type I or Type II report. Type I assesses whether your controls are appropriately designed at a specific point in time. Type II tests both design and operating effectiveness over a period, usually 3–12 months. For most security-sensitive customers, SOC 2 Type II is the expected baseline.
SOC 3
SOC 3 is built on the same Trust Services Criteria and audit standards as SOC 2, but the report is written for a general audience. In practice, SOC 3 is usually issued as a public summary of a SOC 2 Type II examination, the auditor has already performed detailed testing and then produces a short, general-use report confirming the opinion.
Level of Detail
SOC 2
A SOC 2 report is highly detailed. It includes your system description, individual controls, the auditor’s test procedures, and results (including exceptions). Security, risk, and audit teams on the customer side use this level of detail to complete vendor risk assessments and answer internal assurance questions.
SOC 3
A SOC 3 report keeps only the essentials: a brief system description and the auditor’s overall opinion. It does not list specific controls, tests, or exceptions. The goal is to show that you met the Trust Services Criteria without exposing sensitive implementation details or internal evidence.
Privacy and Distribution
SOC 2
SOC 2 is a restricted-use report. You share it only with customers, prospects, partners, and regulators under NDA or controlled access. That restriction exists because the report can include detailed architecture, configurations, and control results that would be risky to publish.
SOC 3
SOC 3 is a general-use report. You can safely post it on your website, include it in sales decks, or link it in marketing and investor materials. It is designed to be understandable to non-specialists and safe for broad distribution.
SOC Report Selection
When SOC 2 Adds Value
If you handle customer data and sell into mid-market or enterprise accounts, you almost always need SOC 2 first. SOC 2 is what:
- Security, risk, and compliance teams request in questionnaires and RFPs
- Customer auditors rely on to complete their vendor risk assessments.
- Larger buyers treat it as proof that your controls are real and tested over time.
You should prioritize SOC 2 if you:
- Provide SaaS, cloud, or managed services that process or store customer data
- Do not materially impact customers’ financial reporting (otherwise, SOC 1 may also apply)
- Want to reduce friction in security reviews and make enterprise deals easier to close.
When SOC 3 Adds Value
SOC 3 becomes useful once you want to make your SOC 2 work visible to a broader audience without sharing the full report every time. It is most helpful when you:
- Want a public, independent signal of security that anyone can read
- Need something simple for executives, boards, or non-technical stakeholders.
- Plan to highlight assurance directly on your website or trust center.
If you are a cloud-native provider (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), data center, or managed service, SOC 3 is a clean way to reinforce your SOC 2 results in marketing and sales conversations. At the same time, SOC 2 remains the document that security teams will actually request.
Target Audience
SOC 2 is Mainly For
- Your customers’ security, risk, and compliance teams
- Internal compliance, security, and legal stakeholders
- Regulators or large partners who need detailed assurance
SOC 3 is Mainly For:
- Prospects early in the funnel who want quick proof that you take security seriously
- Existing customers who want a simple validation for their own leadership
- The general public, investors, and website visitors who won’t read a full SOC 2 report
For a startup or SMB, the practical takeaway is simple: start with SOC 2 to satisfy serious buyers and vendor assessments. Add SOC 3 when you’re ready to turn that assurance into a public, easy-to-share trust signal.
SOC 2 compliance doesn’t have to slow down your business. Many companies face delays because they’re unsure where to start, what evidence to gather, or how to prepare for an audit without disrupting operations. Decrypt Compliance removes that uncertainty, providing clear guidance from day one and eliminating the guesswork that causes delays.
As a tech-first audit and compliance firm, we specialize in helping startups and growing teams achieve SOC 2 compliance quickly and accurately, with a deep understanding of how modern companies operate.
Decrypt Compliance keeps your certification journey smooth, efficient, and audit-ready.
