SimpleRisk

Overview

SimpleRisk is a governance, risk and compliance platform for teams that need to manage risk and demonstrate compliance. It is best suited to organizations willing to self-host a broad free foundation or pay for hosting, support and specialized capabilities as their needs grow. Its appeal is unlimited users in Core; its trade-off is that paid deployment and Extras start at substantial annual prices.

Key features

Core combines governance, risk management, compliance, asset management, self-assessments, dashboards and custom reports. Policy management, a risk register, audit management and evidence collection add practical coverage for teams coordinating risk and compliance work in one system. Core is self-hosted and its support is email-only with no SLA, so it is less appropriate when managed operation or committed response times are essential.

The Secure Controls Framework Extra maps more than 250 frameworks across more than 1,000 common controls, and control testing can cover multiple frameworks. That can reduce duplicated work for teams accountable to several standards. Supported frameworks include NIST CSF, ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, SOX, FedRAMP, CMMC and NERC-CIP; the mapping Extra is a paid addition, not part of free Core.

SimpleRisk describes FAIR-based quantification as a way to produce financial risk estimates for board reporting, helping teams express exposure in financial terms. The Jira Integration Extra syncs risk, mitigation and review data in both directions, a useful fit for teams whose risk work runs alongside Jira workflows. The paid API Extra supports programmatic creation, reading and updating of risk data, including connections to ticketing systems, BI tools and CMDBs.

The company says its SaaS environment runs in AWS, uses daily snapshots, and is subject to routine code scanning and bug bounty testing. Encrypted Database is a paid Standard Extra for encryption at rest. These options matter to buyers weighing hosted operation and data protection against the free self-hosted Core.

Pricing

Core costs nothing and includes unlimited users, self-hosting and email support. It provides a substantial starting point, but does not include paid Extras, hosted deployment or support with an SLA.

The Starter Package costs $5,000 a year, billed $5k USD/yr. It includes Core, any 3 Standard Extras, support and updates, on-premise or SaaS deployment, and unlimited users. It suits teams with a defined need for a small selection of paid capabilities and support; the three-Extra limit means buyers needing broader coverage should compare the Custom Package.

The Custom Package costs $5,000 a year, billed From $5k USD/yr. It includes Core, any of 14 Standard and 2 Premium Extras, support and updates, on-premise or SaaS deployment, and unlimited users. The starting price is the same as Starter, while the included choice of Extras is broader; the listed price is a starting point rather than a fixed ceiling.

Standard Extras are priced at $5,000 a year each, billed $5,000 / yr each, and are added to Core. Premium Extras cost $10,000 a year each, billed $10,000 / yr each; they are Incident Management and Organizational Hierarchy. These per-Extra prices make selective expansion possible, but costs can rise quickly for teams that need several capabilities.

The free trial lasts 30 days and provides a dedicated hosted instance with every Extra unlocked and unlimited users, with no credit card required. It is a useful way to assess paid capabilities before choosing a package, but it does not change the self-hosted and email-supported nature of Core.

Platforms

SimpleRisk supports API, Linux, self-hosted and web deployments. Scripted installation support covers Ubuntu 22.04 and 20.04, CentOS 8 and 7, SLES 15, RHEL 9 and 8, and Debian 11. Buyers considering a self-hosted installation should check that their environment matches one of these supported distributions.

Who it's for

SimpleRisk can suit organizations from a team of one to a Fortune 500 security team, as the company describes its intended reach. The free Core is most compelling for teams able to run their own deployment and accept email-only support without an SLA. Teams needing hosted service, support and updates, or a defined set of Extras should assess the paid packages; those requiring advanced framework mapping or integrations should budget for the relevant paid Extras.

Pros and cons

Pros: Core is free with unlimited users and includes a broad set of risk, compliance and reporting capabilities, making it a substantial self-hosted option rather than a seat-limited entry tier.

Pros: The 30-day hosted trial unlocks every Extra and requires no credit card, allowing teams to assess the paid feature set before committing.

Cons: Core is self-hosted and its email support has no SLA, which leaves operation and response-time risk with the buyer.

Cons: Starter begins at $5k USD/yr and covers any three Standard Extras; individual Standard and Premium Extras cost $5,000 / yr and $10,000 / yr each, respectively, so a broader configuration can be costly.

Alternatives

CISO Assistant is another freemium option with a free self-hosted Community plan for unlimited users and AGPLv3, making it worth comparing for teams seeking a community-supported alternative.

Eramba offers a free self-hosted Community version and a paid Enterprise On-Premise plan from 2500€/year, so it is a comparison point for buyers weighing free self-hosting against a lower stated starting price for enterprise on-premise use.

OpenGRC has a free self-hosted Community plan with full source code access and community support, as well as an Enterprise Basic plan at $4,500 /year; it may suit buyers comparing a source-access community option or a lower-priced stated enterprise entry point.

Origami Risk GRC is a paid alternative with Android, iOS, API and web platforms; request a demo for pricing.

NAVEX EthicsPoint Incident Management is a paid alternative with Android, iOS and web platforms, with pricing tailored to organization size, program needs and selected solutions.

Mitratech CaseCloud is a paid alternative with Android, iOS and web platforms; pricing is handled through a personalized demo.

VComply is a paid option with Android and web platforms and a free trial; its listed Start-Ups & Non-Profits Custom plan includes one admin seat and one onboarding session.

Apptega is a paid option with API and web platforms and a free trial; its Essentials plan includes one framework with assessment, 50 GB document storage, 10 gap assessment reports and 15+ integrations available as add-ons.

Browse Governance, Risk and Compliance Software for more options in the category.

Verdict

Choose SimpleRisk if you want a broad, unlimited-user GRC foundation and can self-host it, or if its paid Extras and deployment options match a defined workflow. The free Core is its clearest advantage; look elsewhere if you need SLA-backed support without paying for a package, or if the annual cost of the Extras you need outweighs their value to your team.