Project & Portfolio Management

10 Best Diligent Alternatives For GRC In 2026 [Reviewed]

Nate Montgomery

Updated

Oct 7, 2026

12 mins

read

10 Best Diligent Alternatives For GRC In 2026 [Reviewed]

Table of Contents

What are the best policy management platforms on the market ?

#1: What policy lifecycle scope do you need to manage ?

SmartSuite Solutions

SmartSuite provides work platform for standardizing workflows in the following areas:

Governance, Risk & Compliance
IT & Service Ops
Project / Portfolio Management
Business Operations

Explore solutions

This is some text inside of a div block.

Are you looking for Diligent alternatives to better manage your governance, risk, and compliance workflows?

Diligent One Platform’s GRC management solution helps you get a consolidated view of risk across your entire organization.

However, some customers of the platform are not satisfied with its price tag, steep learning curve with a long onboarding process, and outdated UI.

In this buyer guide, I’ll cover the 10 best Diligent alternatives in 2026 that can help you manage policies, track compliance efforts, and ensure regulatory alignment.

Key takeaways

SmartSuite offers the best alternative to Diligent with the tool’s modern UI, no-code automation, short implementation time, and ready-to-use GRC templates that can be further customized.
Enterprise-grade platforms like MetricStream and IBM OpenPages are ideal for companies looking for AI-powered insights and global regulatory tracking.
On the other hand, software like LogicGate and AuditBoard can help you automate workflows, unify audit and compliance, and improve collaboration without the high initial costs of Diligent.

Before we begin, I want to go over some of the main reasons why some users from both SMEs and corporations have been looking to switch from Diligent: ⤵️

Why are some compliance leaders looking for Diligent alternatives?

The main reasons why some customers have been looking to make the switch from Diligent include its expensive pricing, the learning curve that comes with a long onboarding process, and an outdated user interface.

But don’t get us wrong here, we’re not trying to say that Diligent is a bad platform that needs to be switched from.

There are hundreds of satisfied users who appreciate the platform’s unified solution that’s been designed to centralize and unify all your board management and GRC activities.

However, some customers have been dissatisfied with the risk management platform for several reasons:

#1: Expensive for SMEs

The #1 issue for some users has been Diligent’s pricing structure, which a verified user of the platform claims it to be too expensive for SMEs.

The customer recommends the tool for its advanced capabilities, but mentions that the cost will be too high if you’re not looking for a tool with all the bells and whistles.

‘’The issue Diligent One Platform brings to the table is price, which can pose as a barrier if your business is small. The platform’s features are powerful, but if a company doesn’t need all those advanced features, the cost will probably be too high.’’ – G2 Review.

#2: Steep learning curve with a long onboarding process

Next up, some users of the platform are feeling overwhelmed with the tool’s sea of features, especially when starting out with the solution.

This has resulted in some users having a longer onboarding process.

Steep learning curve with a long onboarding process

‘’Diligent One Platform’s steep learning curve is one of its downsides for the uninitiated. Though the platform is packed with power, like risk assessment tools and custom reporting, it's not great for beginners to get started with. Users, most in particular the new ones, find the onboarding process too long.’’ – G2 Review.

#3: Outdated user interface

Last but not least, users of the tool are not entirely happy with the tool’s user interface.

One verified enterprise user of the platform mentions that they’re overall happy with the solution, but find the tool’s UI to be outdated and needing a modern refresh.

‘’The UI is a bit outdated and could use a more modern refresh.’’ – G2 Review.

What are the best alternatives to Diligent on the market in 2026?

Here are the 10 best Diligent alternatives for GRC that I shortlisted after reviewing 30+ solutions:

#1: SmartSuite: Best for teams looking to launch GRC workflows in days. Our platform lets you manage policies, audits, risks, and compliance in a unified, customizable platform.

#2: Workiva: Best for organizations looking for a unified, AI‑powered solution that integrates GRC processes with financial reporting and sustainability management.

#3: AuditBoard: Best for companies looking to find GRC insights, track trends, and support data-driven decisions.

#4: LogicGate: Best for enterprises looking for integrated GRC management with real-time risk insights.

#5: ServiceNow GRC: Best for companies looking for integrated risk management and compliance automation.

#6: SAI360: Best for enterprises looking to unify risk, compliance, and ethics management into one customizable platform.

#7: OneTrust: Best for organizations looking to automate compliance and gain enterprise-wide visibility into risk associated with technology.

#8: MetricStream: Best for enterprises looking for an all-in-one platform to manage risk across the world.

#9: IBM OpenPages: Best for companies looking for an AI-powered GRC platform that integrates various risk and compliance functions.

#10: StandardFusion: Best for organizations looking for proactive risk oversight and strategic alignment across all GRC activities.

#1: SmartSuite

SmartSuite offers the best Diligent alternative for banks and credit unions with our modern, no-code project management platform that helps you simplify complex regulatory requirements.

Our GRC software helps you streamline and automate policy creation, approval, and control assessments, all in one place.

Screenshot: Enterprise Risk Overview dashboard with risk status counts, a risk trend line chart and a heat map

SmartSuite helps you move faster, manage policies smarter, and adapt easily, without having to sign up for multiple training sessions on how to use the platform.

💡 We have recently partnered with the Cyber Risk Institute to deliver a CRI profile for U.S. Banks' compliance needs.

Let’s go over the functionality that makes SmartSuite the best choice for teams looking to make the switch from Diligent: 👇

All-In-One Governance, Risk & Compliance

Tools like Diligent make it so that the best GRC software can be accessible only to the biggest of organizations with its expensive pricing structure.

However, I believe that compliance should be simple, automated, and accessible to all financial institutions, regardless of their size.

Our no-code, easy-to-use platform empowers compliance managers and CISOs to automate all GRC processes with ease.

Screenshot: Risk Owner dashboard with risk count tiles and bar charts of inherent versus residual risk scores

SmartSuite helps you achieve and maintain compliance without the expense and complexity of adapting legacy GRC solutions like Diligent to accommodate new compliance requirements.

Here are the use cases that you’ll get with SmartSuite:

Create reports and dynamic dashboards: Monitor executive views into your organization's overall risk profile with charting and metrics widgets.

Risk dashboard with risk totals, loss bar chart, risks by impact donut chart, world clock and analyst workload

Collaborate and respond to risks in real-time: Engage key stakeholders in a real-time discussion of potential threats or vulnerabilities.

Our software will also let you get instant updates when critical information is available.

Record form for a third-party data security audit with an open comments panel showing a short review exchange

Automate policy creation, real-time approval, and control assessments: Streamline risk management by building an integrated program on a single platform.
Keep risk and compliance data secure: Define your teams and manage access to information across all GRC practice areas.

Risk assessments table with status groups and a Solution Permissions panel for setting team access

Integrate with your existing systems: Our GRC software lets you integrate with existing systems and data to consolidate and centralize your data.

Automate for accuracy and efficiency: Remove inefficiencies and the chance for human error by automating repeatable workflows.

SmartSuite's no-code automation builder provides you with a visual interface that makes it easy to respond to events and take action.

That means your compliance team can customize your GRC workflows without technical resources.

Automation rule: when a Final Risk Level field changes to High or Medium High, send an email to the analyst

Monitor, measure and score: Create risk calculations and metrics to evaluate every aspect of risk.

Risk score formula combining threat level, criticality and gap score multiplied by confidence, with a man beside it

Policy management: It’s possible to establish a strong foundation from the get-go with streamlined and flexible policy management.

You’ll be able to assign ownership, manage revisions, and ensure your policies consistently align with key business initiatives and regulatory requirements.

Policies card view and policy statements table grouped by topic with owner, date and status

PSTOS Compliance Tracker: Designed for regulatory compliance and built on SmartSuite.

This solution focuses on data security as the core of compliance frameworks with services such as compliance readiness, virtual CISO, and IT security implementation.

Learn more about it from this webinar that we did on the topic:

Prioritize & Mitigate Risks

With SmartSuite, you can create a centralized risk register to effectively identify potential risks to your organization.

You will be able to properly assess threats and establish risk mitigation strategies inside SmartSuite.

Screenshot: Enterprise Risk Management risk register grouped by domain with loss, category and risk ratings

Your team can ensure that the appropriate controls are in place and measure their effectiveness by evaluating risk indicators and displaying results in SmartSuite’s rollup reports and dashboards.

💡 Pro Tip: Teams that use our platform use automation to move tasks through defined workflow stages that comply with their policies and procedures.

Risk dashboard with a risk assessments table in front, showing status groups, analysts and assessment types

We understand how crucial threat management is and the need to respond quickly to incidents.

SmartSuite lets you centralize incident response and threat mitigation by linking incidents to assets and organizational data to offer context during your investigations.

Your compliance team can also set up automation with our no-code automation builder to escalate critical events to make sure that your team is aware of active risks to your organization.

Incident management board with incidents in New, In Progress, Under Review and Closed, above a response procedures table

Pre-Built GRC Templates

We have prepared a few GRC templates for compliance teams looking to get started right away, instead of building everything from scratch.

Our general risk management template includes a:

Risk register, where you can break down the risks, the risk owner, the annual loss expectancy, risk event category, risk type, volatility, and status.

Screenshot: SmartSuite Risk Management register grouping risks by assessment type, with loss expectancy and status

Issue assessments, where you’ll be able to see a comprehensive breakdown of each risk.

Screenshot: SmartSuite Risk Management issue assessments grouped by status, with analyst, type and due date

Action plans, where you can describe the actions (best practices) to mitigate the risks.

Screenshot: SmartSuite Risk Management action plans grouped by owner, with status and linked risk register items

A separate tab for control standards, your findings, exception requests, risk assessment by type, and risk assessment issues.

Screenshot: SmartSuite Risk Management exception requests grouped by status, with risk rating and review toggles

You can customize our risk management template here.

Alternatively, check out and customize our 14 other risk management templates for various use cases, such as contract management, policy management, and incident management.

Governance, Risk and Compliance template gallery with Contract, Policy and Incident Management cards

How is SmartSuite different from Diligent?

Unlike Diligent, SmartSuite offers a solution for compliance leaders with:

A modern software with an intuitive interface that does not confuse your team or require training.
An affordable and transparent pricing model with a generous free plan to help you get started.
Automated workflows that can help your team build multi-step automations to trigger actions at the right time.
Dedicated customer support and account management will help your team with setting up the automation inside the platform.

➡️ SmartSuite is better for agile, mid-market companies or cross-functional teams as it offers flexible templates, no-code automation, and quick deployment, making it ideal for teams that need visibility across risk, compliance, and operations, without heavy IT involvement.

➡️ Diligent is better for enterprises, government agencies, and large organizations that need secure board portals, audit tools, ESG tracking, and regulatory compliance.

💡 Case Study: Find out how MediaLab transformed operations, minimized risk, and saved $40,000+ per year by cutting software costs.

Pricing

Unlike Diligent, SmartSuite offers a free plan with access to 250+ automation actions, team collaboration, multi-dashboard views, and more.

There are four paid plans with a 14-day free trial (no CC required):

Team: Starts at $12/user per month, including Gantt charts, timeline views, 5000 automation runs, and native time tracking.
Professional: Starts at $30/user per month and adds two-factor authentication, Gmail & Outlook integrations, and unlimited editors.
Enterprise: Starts at $45/user/month and includes access to audit logs, data loss prevention, and 50,000 monthly API calls.
Signature: A customized plan tailored to your organization’s needs and team size with no predefined limits.

SmartSuite pricing page with Free, Team, Professional and Enterprise plan cards and a Signature Plan option

Pros & Cons

✅ A generous free plan that includes access to advanced features of the tool for up to 5 solutions.

✅ 15 out-of-the-box GRC templates for various use cases.

✅ Dynamic dashboards and reports that are easy to build and navigate, unlike some alternatives that require you to hire consultants to do it.

✅ All-in-one document and file management.

✅ You’ll be able to automate risk scoring, compliance tracking, audits, and vendor reviews.

✅ A modern solution with an intuitive user interface.

❌ Fewer native integrations when compared to other platforms in this list.

#2: Workiva

Best for: Organizations looking for a unified, AI‑powered solution that integrates GRC processes with financial reporting and sustainability management.

Similar to: AuditBoard, LogicGate.

Workiva: 10 Best Diligent Alternatives For GRC In 2026 [Reviewed]

The Workiva GRC platform combines governance, risk, and compliance workflows with up‑to‑the‑minute financial and sustainability data in a single secure environment.

The platform is a good alternative to Diligent for audit and risk teams looking for AI‑powered automation capabilities that drive efficiency across testing, evidence collection, reporting, and risk assessments.

Features

Connect your financial and non‑financial data to a single control environment for real‑time assurance.
Leverage built‑in AI workflows to automate repetitive tasks like testing, evidence requests, reporting, and risk assessments.
Access up‑to‑the‑second dashboards and charts for controls, risks, and audit status to drive smarter business decisions.
Map risks, controls, and policies to major standards (e.g., COSO, NIST, CMMC) directly in the platform for coverage tracking.

Standout Feature: Native AI Companion

What stood out to me about Workiva is its AI companion that helps you uncover hidden risks, rationalise overlapping controls, and provide actionable insights in real time.

The secure, fit‑for‑purpose assistant lets audit and risk teams query their own data conversationally and elevate risk management from reactive to proactive.