Keel vs spreadsheets
Evaluating spreadsheets and looking at the alternatives? Here is an honest look at where Keel fits, and who each one suits best.
Where spreadsheets fits
Spreadsheets are free, familiar, and flexible, a perfectly reasonable way to sketch out your first controls and risks when you are just getting started.
Best for: The earliest stage, when you are mapping out a handful of controls and risks and do not yet have an audit on the horizon.
Where Keel fits
Keel is a self-serve, crosswalk-native GRC platform that also runs ISO 9001 quality on the same graph.
Best for: Teams preparing for an audit or maintaining a program over time, where evidence has to stay fresh, controls map across frameworks, and nothing can quietly go stale.
Why teams choose Keel
A spreadsheet is accurate the week you make it and drifts from reality after that. Keel keeps controls, evidence, owners, and readiness current, and shows you what needs attention, so your program reflects what is actually true.
Spreadsheets do not track whether your proof is still valid. Keel links evidence to the control it supports and tracks expiry, so recurring evidence (like quarterly access reviews) is refreshed on time instead of discovered stale during the audit.
In spreadsheets, each framework is a fresh tab and duplicated effort. Keel crosswalks one control library across frameworks, so implementing a control once counts toward every framework it satisfies.
Keel turns your live program into branded readiness reports, a Statement of Applicability, and a trust center, the artifacts auditors and customers ask for, instead of a workbook you reformat under deadline.
At a glance
| Keel | spreadsheets | |
|---|---|---|
| Staying current | Living: controls, evidence, and readiness stay current, with alerts on what needs attention | Static: accurate when written, then drifts out of date |
| Evidence freshness | Evidence linked to each control, with expiry tracking | No freshness tracking; stale proof is easy to miss |
| Multiple frameworks | One crosswalked control library across frameworks | A new tab and duplicated effort per framework |
| Ownership & workflow | Owners, tasks, reminders, and an audit trail | No ownership, workflow, or change history |
| Audit artifacts | Branded readiness reports, Statement of Applicability, and trust center | Manual reformatting under deadline |
| AI assistance | AI drafts policies, profiles vendors, and analyzes your posture | None |
| Cost | Free tier, then SMB-friendly plans | Free to license, but costly in manual upkeep and audit risk |
This comparison is based on publicly available information as of 2026 and on Keel's own product. spreadsheets and other names are trademarks of their respective owners. Keel is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by them. Details on each platform can change; check their site for the latest. See our legal and trademarks page.
Common questions
Are spreadsheets good enough for SOC 2 or ISO 27001?
They can get you started, but auditors expect a maintained program with fresh evidence and a real risk assessment. Spreadsheets tend to go stale between the day you build them and the day the auditor asks, which is where a living system helps.
Can I move my spreadsheets into Keel?
Yes. You can bring your registers and policies into Keel manually or via CSV, then let Keel keep them current with owners, evidence, and freshness tracking.
Which frameworks does Keel support today?
Keel authors and scores content for ISO/IEC 27001:2022, SOC 2, PCI DSS 4.0.1, NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, NIST SP 800-171, HIPAA, GDPR, CIS Critical Security Controls v8.1, ISO 9001:2015, and the AI governance shelf (AI Governance Essentials, ISO/IEC 42001, the NIST AI RMF, and the EU AI Act). NIST CSF and AI Governance Essentials are free on every plan.
See it on your own program
Start free, apply a framework, and watch how much of the next one your controls already cover.
Start free Explore the crosswalk