Garde1 vs Drata for CMMC. The documents come from a firm, not the software.
$32,500 at list, and the SSP still comes from a consultant because the software cannot write it.
Drata is SOC 2 first, with CMMC mapped on top: 110 requirements become 195 controls and 23 templates you edit. It does not write the SSP, which is why our quote came back at $75,000 with an RPO bundled in. At list it is $25,000 plus a $7,500 CMMC module.
“Partnered with Bright Defense for advisory leadership, gap analysis, remediation planning, and readiness.”
With Drata Still needs a consultantWith Garde1 No consultant needed
Who does the workDone for you: collect evidence, watch after you pass.A firm you pay: policies and SSP. Yours: scope the boundary, fix the gaps, grade readiness.Done for you: scope the boundary, policies and SSP, collect evidence, grade readiness, watch after you pass.Started for you: fix the gaps.
First year, all in$32,500 list, $75K quoted.Platform $25,000 plus a $7,500 CMMC module at list. Quoted to us at $75,000 with an RPO bundled in, 2026.$23,988.Published: Starter $1,999 a month, Level 1 $1,800 a year. No readiness firm to pay, no seats resold; background checks are billed by Checkr at cost. Separate: the C3PAO, which DoD models at $31,234 for a small business (89 FR 83207), and the workspace licences you already pay for.
Firms you payThree.Drata, the bundled RPO, then the C3PAO.One.Garde1, then the C3PAO.
What you type23 policy templates with [COMPANY NAME] blanks.Corrections to a draft.
Step by step
StepWith DrataWith Garde1
Onboard
Cost$32,500 a year at list: a $25,000 platform fee plus the $7,500 CMMC module.Quoted to us at $75,000 with an RPO bundled in, 2026.Starter $1,999 a month, published, with the documents and the grading inside it.
ScopeYou pick Level 1 or 2 and mark controls out of scope.Mapping FCI and CUI flow is the paired consultant’s “Initial Compliance Blueprint.”Built from your answers and checked against your tenants, with a straight answer on whether your CUI pushes you to GCC High.
Operate
Policies and SSP23 policy templates with [COMPANY NAME] placeholders you fill in.The SSP is not generated; the firm writes it with “Drata as the backbone.”14 policies and the SSP written from your scope and evidence.You correct a draft instead of filling a template.
EvidenceIntegrations plus manual uploads.Drata is FedRAMP Low, so CUI stays outside it.23 connectors, each item filed under the objective it proves.Garde1 does not accept CUI either; it holds the security protection data an assessor needs to see.
Measure and remediate
Fixing gapsYours.Drata routes failures and suggests fixes; it does not make changes.Every gap arrives with its fix.Supported fixes applied in your tenant once you approve them (Professional and up). Subject to the vendor’s API availability.
Are we ready?A readiness percentage of passing controls.No per-objective grade, no SPRS calculator, no mock.All 320 objectives scored against evidence, the way an assessor grades them.Missing evidence is Not Met, with no override.
Prove
After certificationDrift detection on configuration.Fixes are yours.Expired evidence and changed settings pull you back only when something breaks, with the fix attached.
“Partnered with Bright Defense for advisory leadership, gap analysis, remediation planning, and readiness.”
“I would not engage much with a “compliance” start up that doesn’t specialize in or focus on CMMC. While companies like Drata, Vanta etc. might be able to help, CMMC is unfortunately it’s own beast and experience matters more than anything.”
Quoted verbatim from public threads; individual users, not Garde1 customers.
When Drata is the better fit
If SOC 2 or ISO 27001 is your primary program and CMMC is a module alongside it, Drata’s automated control tests are strong and its platform covers more frameworks. Budget for the consultant.
Give us 30 minutes. We'll show you where you stand against all 110 requirements, what's missing, and what it costs to close the gap, using your own environment instead of a slide deck.