Security testing for startups chasing their first SOC 2
Continuous, verified testing for teams without a security hire — priced to start on one target and grow into a real programme.
RedStrike is a continuous security testing and cloud posture platform for early-stage companies. The Free plan covers one target with a quick scan profile, verified findings, and 30 days of retention. The Starter plan at $249 per month adds three targets, one cloud account, up to 2,500 cloud resources, standard scan profiles, cloud posture management, and current-edition framework mapping for SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, PCI DSS 4.0.1, and the OWASP Top 10. Verified findings are included on every plan including Free, because a free tier that showed unverified noise would demonstrate the opposite of what the product claims.
The problem
Why the first security programme usually starts too late
It starts when a customer's security questionnaire blocks a deal, which is the worst possible moment to start anything.
The audit deadline arrives before the programme does
SOC 2 Type II observes a window. A control you started evidencing last week does not retroactively cover the previous six months, and the gap is what the auditor writes up.
Nobody owns security yet
Before the first security hire, this lands on a founding engineer or the CTO alongside shipping the product. Tools that assume a security team to run them do not get run.
Free scanners produce work, not answers
An open-source scanner returns hundreds of unverified results. Separating the real ones is a skill and a week, and the week is what a small team does not have.
Enterprise tooling is priced past you
The platforms built for this problem start at a number that assumes a security budget, so the practical choice becomes nothing at all until something forces the issue.
How RedStrike helps
A programme you can actually run with no security staff
Every item below is available on the Free or Starter plan unless noted.
Verified findings from day one
Findings are corroborated with evidence and de-duplicated across tools before you see them, on every plan including Free. The queue is short because it is real, not because it is filtered.
Start on one target, free
The Free plan covers one target with a quick scan profile, one scan per day, and 30 days of retention. Domain ownership is proved with a DNS TXT record before any active scan runs.
Framework mapping from Starter
Findings carry SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, PCI DSS 4.0.1, and OWASP Top 10 control ids, so scanning produces audit evidence rather than a separate task.
Cloud posture from Starter
One cloud account and up to 2,500 cloud resources are included at $249 per month, graded against CIS Foundations benchmarks with read-only role delegation.
Findings where you already work
Findings file into Jira and GitHub Issues, and Slack and email alerts mean the programme runs without anyone remembering to log in.
Room to grow without re-platforming
Team at $899 per month adds 15 targets, 5 cloud accounts, unlimited scans per day, deep scan profiles, SSO, and the full export set — the same platform, not a migration.
Compliance coverage
Which frameworks this maps to — and exactly how far the mapping goes
Framework mapping is a paid feature starting at the Starter plan. The Free plan produces verified findings and executive HTML or JSON exports without control mapping. On the cloud side, framework-labelled rulesets run on AWS; Azure and GCP accounts are graded against CIS Foundations benchmarks.
| Framework | Edition mapped | Cloud coverage |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2AICPA | 2017 | Native cloud-resource checks on AWS. Azure and GCP are graded against CIS benchmarks instead. |
| ISO/IEC 27001ISO/IEC | 2022 | Native cloud-resource checks on AWS. Azure and GCP are graded against CIS benchmarks instead. |
| OWASP Top 10OWASP Foundation | 2025 | Mapped on findings from application, API, and network testing. No native cloud-resource checks — pair with CIS benchmark grading for cloud evidence. |
| OWASP API Security Top 10OWASP Foundation | 2023 | Mapped on findings from application, API, and network testing. No native cloud-resource checks — pair with CIS benchmark grading for cloud evidence. |
| PCI DSSPCI Security Standards Council | 4.0.1 | Native cloud-resource checks on AWS. Azure and GCP are graded against CIS benchmarks instead. |
| GDPREuropean Union | 2016/679 | Native cloud-resource checks on AWS. Azure and GCP are graded against CIS benchmarks instead. |
Every cloud account is graded against CIS Foundations benchmarks on AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes clusters against the CIS Kubernetes benchmark, regardless of which frameworks above apply to you. Evidence can be exported as a report or pushed into Vanta or Drata.
How it works
From connected to evidence in four steps
Define scope
Add the domains, APIs, and cloud accounts in scope, with rules of engagement recorded before any test runs.
Test continuously
Application, API, network, container, and cloud checks run on a schedule instead of once a year, so drift is caught within a scan cycle.
Verify & de-duplicate
Findings from multiple tools are correlated into one issue, evidence is collected, and severity is scored so the list you read is the list that matters.
Export evidence
Results are mapped to framework controls and exported as a report, or pushed into Vanta or Drata.
Outcomes
What changes once this is running
- Start evidencing controls before the observation window opens, not after the auditor asks.
- Run a real programme without hiring a security engineer first.
- Read a short queue of verified findings instead of triaging hundreds of unverified ones.
- Answer customer security questionnaires from standing evidence rather than per deal.
- Grow from one target to a multi-cloud programme on the same platform.
Related
Go deeper on the parts that matter to you
Continuous Pentesting
Always-on, verified offensive testing across apps, APIs, and network — not a once-a-year snapshot.
Learn more →Cloud Security (CSPM)
CIS-benchmarked posture across AWS, Azure, and GCP, with drift caught inside a scan cycle.
Learn more →Pricing
What each plan includes, which limits are metered, and where the feature lines are drawn.
Learn more →FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about RedStrike for Startups.
What does the Free plan actually include?
One target, one cloud-free scan per day on the quick profile, up to 500 cloud resources, 30 days of retention, one seat, and executive HTML or JSON exports. Verified findings are included — verification is the product's central claim, so a free tier showing unverified noise would argue against us. Framework mapping, cloud posture management, and the wider export set start at Starter.
Will RedStrike get us through a SOC 2 audit?
It covers the technical testing and evidence half. From the Starter plan, findings carry SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria references and reports export as control-mapped evidence, and evidence can be pushed into Vanta or Drata. Policies, personnel controls, vendor management, and the audit itself remain yours and your auditor's.
Do we need to prove we own a domain before scanning?
On the Free plan, yes — a DNS TXT record under _redstrike-verify proves control of the domain before any active scan runs. That is deliberate: rules of engagement are an attestation about yourself, which is fine for an invoiced customer a human vetted and not fine as the only control on free self-serve.
What happens when we outgrow Starter?
Team at $899 per month raises limits to 15 targets, 5 cloud accounts, and 25,000 cloud resources, removes the daily scan cap, and adds deep scan profiles, single sign-on, agentic scanning, attack-surface monitoring, posture drift, API access, and the full export set. It is the same platform with different entitlements, not a migration.
How long does it take to get a first result?
Add a target, verify domain ownership if you are on Free, and start a scan. Quick-profile scans are designed for a fast first pass; deeper authenticated testing takes longer and is available from Starter upward.
Is there a startup discount?
There is no published startup discount programme. The Free plan is the entry point, and Starter is priced to be reachable before there is a security budget. If your situation genuinely does not fit those, ask rather than assume.
Start the programme before the deadline does
Verified findings on one target for free, and control-mapped evidence from $249 per month.