An honest side-by-side of the platforms UK SMEs and ISO consultants most often shortlist in 2026: PICMS, Mango QHSE, Citation, Cority (formerly Greenstone), and Vanta. All facts sourced from each vendor's published marketing site as of May 2026 — quotes attributed, claims verifiable.
This page is published by PICMS. We're #1 on our own list — naturally, because we'd close down if we thought a competitor served UK SME ISO buyers better than we do. The other four vendors are real, named, and quoted from their own published marketing as of May 2026. We've avoided subjective put-downs and stuck to what each vendor says about themselves. Verify before signing.
The five platforms were selected because they're the ones UK SMEs and ISO consultants name most often during PICMS sales calls — i.e. the actual competitive set, not an exhaustive directory. Larger enterprise GRC tools (ServiceNow GRC, MetricStream, IBM OpenPages) are deliberately excluded; their pricing, scope, and implementation profile sit in a different category. If you're 1,000+ staff with multi-site federated reporting needs, this list isn't your buyer guide.
Each vendor profile below cites the source page used. UK comparative advertising law is strict, so claims are quoted verbatim from each vendor's published marketing rather than paraphrased — and pricing is reported as "not stated" if the vendor doesn't publish it.
"Proactive Intelligent Compliance Management System — UK ISO compliance SaaS, built by an IRCA Registered Principal Auditor."
ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, 27001, 27701, 42001, 50001, 22000, 13485, 22301, 14064, 31000, 26000, 20400 (14 management-system standards).
CHAS, Constructionline, SafeContractor, CQC, NHS DSPT, Cyber Essentials / CE+, UK GDPR, DWR 1997, HSE L103/L104, IMCA D018/D023/D040 reference areas (13 UK frameworks).
The only platform in the comparison set that combines (a) UK-built and UK-hosted with auditor-credible clause design, (b) the full integrated EHSQ ladder (9001 + 14001 + 45001) with ISO 27001 + 42001 alongside, (c) dedicated industry packs for the four sectors with the most demanding UK accreditation overhead (construction, healthcare, cyber, commercial diving), and (d) published SME-friendly pricing starting at £89/month with a free 14-day trial.
If you're 500+ staff with multi-subsidiary federated reporting needs, enterprise GRC platforms (ServiceNow GRC, MetricStream) cover that surface; PICMS Enterprise tier handles single-org multi-site but isn't aimed at federated holding-company structures. If your only compliance need is SOC 2 + ISO 27001 for US enterprise sales, Vanta below is a better-targeted choice.
"Reduce paperwork, save time and be compliant with QHSE software" (mangolive.com)
ISO 9001, 45001, 14001, 22000, 27001, 22301.
"Agriculture & fishing, Construction, Food, Health Care, Manufacturing, Retail, Services, Tourism, Transport & Logistics."
Mango covers the QHSE core well and claims a much larger global customer base (1,000+) than PICMS does today. Pricing isn't published so direct fee comparison requires a sales call. Mango doesn't surface industry-specific compliance packs for UK schemes (no published CHAS, Constructionline, SafeContractor, CQC, DSPT, or IMCA D018-aligned module set on their marketing site) — generic ISO + sector tagging rather than sector-specific frameworks. No published Cyber Essentials, ISO 27701, or ISO 42001 coverage as of May 2026.
Best fit: SMEs in the multi-region Mango footprint (UK/AU/NZ/SA) wanting integrated QHSE without UK-specific sector packs, comfortable with sales-led pricing discovery.
"Health & Safety and Employment Law Services" (citation.co.uk) — "Trusted by 30,000+ UK businesses"
ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, 45003, 27001, 50001, 22301 (ISO Certification Support listed as a service line).
"Care, Cleaning, Construction, Day Nurseries, Dentists, Engineering, Food & Hospitality, Funeral Directors, Glass & Glazing, Horticulture, Manufacturing, Transport, Vets."
Citation is fundamentally a UK H&S + Employment Law consultancy with a software product (Atlas) embedded inside a broader service portfolio. PICMS is a pure compliance platform sold as software. The distinction matters:
Best fit: UK SMEs wanting bundled HR + H&S + ISO certification support with 24/7 consultant phone access, comfortable with sales-led pricing and a multi-line service relationship rather than software-first.
"Greenstone is Now Part of The Cority Family" (cority.com)
"Chemicals, Construction, Manufacturing, Mining & Metals, Oil & Gas, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy & Utilities, Hospital & Medical Centers, Pharma & Biotech, Food & Beverage, Retail."
Greenstone was historically a UK-led EHS reporting platform with strong ESG / sustainability heritage. Following Cority's acquisition, the product line sits inside Cority's enterprise EHSQ stack (CorityOne, Cortex AI) which targets large industrial operators (Chemicals, Mining, O&G, Aerospace) rather than SMEs. ISO clause coverage isn't explicit on the public landing page — the marketing is sector + capability led rather than standard-clause led.
Best fit: Enterprise operators (typically 500+ headcount, multi-site, regulated industries) needing federated EHSQ + sustainability reporting alongside ISO. Not the natural fit for UK SMEs pursuing first-time ISO certification on a published-pricing budget.
"Trust is everything. Earn and prove it with Vanta. The #1 Agentic Trust Platform." (vanta.com)
SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, GDPR, HIPAA, HITRUST, NIST AI Risk Management Framework, FedRAMP, CMMC, NIS2, DORA, Cyber Essentials, Essential Eight, EU AI Act, CRI, custom frameworks.
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 are not listed on Vanta's frameworks page. Vanta is positioned as security/trust/privacy compliance — not as a Quality, Environmental, or H&S management system. Buyers needing the integrated EHSQ ladder will need a separate platform alongside Vanta.
Vanta and PICMS overlap on ISO 27001 + Cyber Essentials + GDPR. They diverge sharply elsewhere: Vanta excels at automated security-control evidence collection (SaaS integrations, cloud posture, vendor risk), built for cloud-native tech companies pursuing SOC 2 alongside ISO 27001. PICMS covers ISO 27001 in the same integrated platform as ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 / 42001 — useful for organisations whose compliance estate spans security AND quality AND H&S AND environmental, not security alone.
Best fit: US-facing cloud-native SaaS / tech companies whose primary compliance need is SOC 2 + ISO 27001 for enterprise sales. Not the right tool for traditional UK SMEs needing ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 + sector accreditations.
Each row sourced from the vendor's own published marketing site. "Not stated" means the vendor doesn't make the fact publicly available; you'll need a sales call to confirm.
| Criterion | PICMS | Mango | Citation | Cority | Vanta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK-built / UK-hosted | Yes (London) | UK operating region | Yes (Cheshire) | US-headquartered | US-headquartered |
| ISO 9001 (Quality) | Yes | Yes | Yes (cert. support) | Not stated on landing | Not listed |
| ISO 14001 (Environment) | Yes | Yes | Yes (cert. support) | Not stated on landing | Not listed |
| ISO 45001 (H&S) | Yes | Yes | Yes (cert. support) | Not stated on landing | Not listed |
| ISO 27001 (InfoSec) | Yes | Yes | Yes (cert. support) | Not stated on landing | Yes (core) |
| ISO 42001 (AI) | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |
| SOC 2 | Not the focus | Not listed | Not listed | Not stated | Yes (core) |
| UK construction packs (CHAS / Constructionline / SafeContractor) | Yes (dedicated pack) | Not listed | Smas SSIP only | Not listed | Not listed |
| UK healthcare (CQC / DSPT) | Yes (dedicated pack) | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Cyber Essentials | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |
| Commercial diving (DWR 1997, IMCA D018 reference areas) | Yes (dedicated pack) | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Public pricing | £89-£699/mo published | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Free trial (no card) | 14 days | Demo only | Not stated | Demo only | Demo only |
| Consultant white-label | Yes (£350/mo add-on) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
"Not listed" means the vendor doesn't surface the framework on their public marketing pages as of May 2026 — it does not necessarily mean they can't support it via custom work or a sales call. If a competitor below has shipped new framework coverage since this page was published, the comparison may be out of date — please raise via our contact page and we'll update.
PICMS or Mango. PICMS wins on published SME pricing, UK sector packs, and 14-day no-card trial; Mango wins on global customer base and tenure if you're operating across UK + AU + NZ. Both cover the EHSQ triad properly.
PICMS Construction Starter (£89/mo) for SSIP coverage; Citation if you also want bundled H&S consultancy and tribunal-protection insurance. Mango covers ISO 9001 + 45001 well but doesn't have a dedicated UK construction pack on its marketing site.
PICMS Healthcare Starter is the only entry in this comparison set with a dedicated CQC + DSPT module. Others may support it via custom work — verify with a sales call.
Vanta is purpose-built for this. PICMS covers ISO 27001 well but doesn't have the deep SaaS-integration + cloud-posture automation Vanta does for SOC 2. If 27001 is one of multiple standards (9001/14001/45001 etc.), PICMS again; if 27001 + SOC 2 are the only goal, Vanta.
Cority sits in this band; PICMS Enterprise covers single-org multi-site but isn't optimised for federated holding-company reporting. Larger GRC platforms (deliberately not in this comparison) cover that surface.
PICMS Consultant Starter (£599/mo) with white-label is the only entry in this comparison set with explicit consultant multi-client / white-label tooling. See PICMS Partners.
PICMS Diving Professional (£449/mo) is the only entry in this comparison set with dedicated diving compliance coverage (workflows aligned with IMCA D018/D023/D040 reference areas + DWR 1997 + HSE L103/L104). Niche segment with limited dedicated competition — see /imca-d018-compliance-software for detail.
14 days free, full feature access, no credit card surprise. Built by an IRCA® Registered Principal Auditor — the only entry in the comparison set with public SME pricing.