OneTrustvsBlack KiteUpGuard

Compare the capabilities and features of OneTrust and Black Kite.
Also, see how they stack up against UpGuard.

Compare the capabilities and features of OneTrust and UpGuard. See which solution performs best across a range of categories.

Did you know UpGuard was voted #1 on G2 and has been for over two years?

OneTrust vs Black Kite
OneTrust vs UpGuard

See how they compare side-by-side.
General summary
5 stars
UpGuard is an end-to-end third-party risk management platform with best-in-class time-to-value and scalability from initial implementations to beyond. 
UpGuard delivers powerful, integrated tools for automated third-party monitoring, in-depth risk assessment and remediation, and one-click reporting. 
By combining actionable insights with built-in risk management workflows, UpGuard helps organizations maintain comprehensive oversight of their supply chain security posture and equips them with the necessary tools to shut down emerging risks rapidly.
OneTrust offers TPRM workflow capabilities within a more extensive compliance and privacy suite. OneTrust features include customizable questionnaire workflows and extensive regulatory coverage. OneTrust excels in flexible automation and strong integrations, though it relies on external security ratings partners for comprehensive continuous monitoring and can be complex to implement.
Black Kite is a third-party cyber risk management platform emphasizing external risk visibility, financial impact modeling, and compliance automation. Black Kite uses non-intrusive OSINT-based scans to discover assets and vulnerabilities, presenting findings as easy-to-read letter grades. However, by excluding critical TPRM workflows, Black Kite’s potential for effective third-party risk management is significantly limited.
Key strengths
UpGuard excels by completing full vendor scans every 24 hours, which provides near real-time visibility into vendor security postures while seamlessly integrating native end-to-end AI-powered vendor assessment workflows.
UpGuard's licensing model and efficient learning curve offer best-in-class time to value and program efficiency.
OneTrust provides a suite of solutions enabling integrated privacy management, data governance, and security assurance for supplier compliance and risk management. OneTrust provides a range of customization options for customers seeking a tailored approach to their risk and compliance processes.
Black Kite takes a diverse approach to cyber risk quantification with a methodology heavily based on the Open FAIR™ standard. This allows Black Kite to derive their varying cyber risk insights from a consistent quantification base.
Key weaknesses
UpGuard's focus on core frameworks like ISO 27001 and NIST offers robust coverage for most security and compliance needs, though organizations requiring highly specialized or region-specific regulations may choose to augment it with dedicated GRC modules. 
Its strengths in cybersecurity and continuous monitoring ensure strong TPCRM capabilities, but those seeking an all-encompassing governance solution (e.g., covering environmental or privacy regulations) might benefit from additional integrations.
OneTrust takes an integration and partnership-focused approach to enabling customers to have end-to-end vendor visibility. This approach requires additional licensing, adoption, and technical configuration of a separate vendor monitoring solution for customers desiring inside/out visibility into any given vendor's security posture. Additionally, teams with larger staff sizes should take advantage of OneTrust's modular approach and wide array of potential customizations.
Black Kite does not offer vendor questionnaires or risk assessments as part of their solution offerings. While Black Kite's quantification-forward approach may be sufficient for some, customers with requirements for vendor security reviews and assurance documents for compliance needs will likely require an additional solution for this capability.
Usability and learning curve
UpGuard offers best-in-class time to value for initial implementations. 
UpGuard's platform architecture is designed from the ground up to deliver a quick and shallow adoption curve. UpGuard's clean and intuitive interface ensures ease of ongoing operation and rapid pick-up from new staff members as needed.
OneTrust offers a range of customization options that can increase the learning curve and overall adoption for smaller teams or those with impacted staffing levels. OneTrust reportedly charges for implementation, typically as a professional services fee for initial setup and configuration. The need for implementation support could be indicative of the platform's complexity and steep learning curve
Black Kite's interface is designed around letter-grade dashboards and detailed risk findings for its range of quantification options offered. However, insights for each focused rating are not clearly segmented by audience and often bleed across the entire platform. This can make the relevance of platform insights less consistent for specialized users, even within teams.
Cyber risk data accuracy
UpGuard's real-time data refresh rate ensures up-to-date and accurate vendor security posture calculations while also allowing users to initiate scans on demand.
Cybersecurity experts manually review all internal and vendor data leaks to remove false positives. Data leak insights are also supported with comprehensive contextualization for targeted and timely remediation responses.
OneTrust relies on integration partners for external risk insights. As such, accuracy is fully dependent on the quality and accuracy of insights provided by whichever additional supplier customers choose to deploy for this purpose.
The platform gathers data from a large set of OSINT feeds and uses standards-based scoring (MITRE, NIST, Open FAIR™) to reduce false positives. However, some users note occasional duplication or outdated issues that require manual dispute or re-validation
Vendor risk management features
UpGuard offers a natively integrated end-to-end workflow addressing the complete Third-party Risk Management lifecycle—from onboarding to risk management and ongoing monitoring.
OneTrust covers vendor onboarding and offboarding with dedicated TPRM workflows. Continuous monitoring is possible only when combined with external security rating providers.
Although Black Kite offers document analysis features, the platform can be seen as primarily geared toward detecting and quantifying cyber risks rather than offering fully integrated VRM workflows.
Attack surface management features
UpGuard provides continuous attack surface monitoring, identifying exposed assets, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities. It maps internet-facing infrastructure, detects risks like expired certificates and open ports, and prioritizes threats for remediation. Clear, actionable insights help organizations reduce exposure and strengthen their external security posture.
OneTrust relies on external integrations for external security monitoring. As such, its native attack surface management features are limited, making it less suitable for organizations requiring robust ASM capabilities.
Black Kite uses OSINT data spanning domain records, subdomains, SSL certificates, and more to deliver visibility into a vendor's external footprint.
Security ratings
Uses a proprietary scoring model from 0–950, updated daily, emphasizing current, empirical data. 
UpGuard's objective and transparent approach helps CISOs, security teams, and stakeholders reliably gauge a vendor’s actual security posture in near-real time.
Does not maintain its own security rating system, instead relying on external rating partners or user-provided data. OneTrust integrates those ratings into broader risk reports and compliance workflows.
Uses an A–F letter-grade rating based on standardized models (e.g., MITRE CTSA). The score is supplemented by a separate financial risk metric that ties vulnerabilities to potential financial impact, a key differentiator for stakeholders concerned with breach damage costs.
Customer support
Known for world-class support across all tiers and customer-friendly guidance, UpGuard delivers proactive and prompt engagement to resolve customer issues quickly. Dedicated teams assist with both technical and strategic TPRM challenges.
OneTrust implementations can be complex for larger deployments, so dedicated success teams are commonplace. Response times vary based on subscription levels.
Black Kite's users report mixed support experiences: some find support teams responsive with weekly check-ins, while others cite slower resolution times and inconsistent follow-up on false positives and duplicate findings.
Workflow automation
UpGuard’s AI-powered Security Profile automatically identifies risks and control gaps, then generates contextualized, point-in-time assessment reports in minutes. It also provides a pre-configured (and adjustable) set of controls for two leading security frameworks: ISO 27001:2022 and NIST CSF 2.0.
Custom notifications simplify tracking of critical events and prompting of important follow-up actions.
The platform also facilitates automatic vendor tiering, labeling, and custom attributes based on questionnaire responses for faster vendor onboarding and improved TPRM scalability.
Strong automation throughout GRC workflows automates third-party onboarding, risk assessments, and due diligence. It can also automatically trigger follow-up actions or compliance checks, though it depends on external security data to automate technical risk discovery.
Black Kite's Bridge™ module lets users automate vendor outreach and gather risk data during major security events, such as global-scale data breaches.
Artificial intelligence features
UpGuard’s AI-powered platform streamlines the entire vendor assessment process.
AI evidence analysis combined with automated scanning immediately uncovers control gaps and risks. Each finding is accompanied by transparent, traceable citations so security teams can quickly verify sources and take action.
AI-generated risk assessment reports, which are typically produced in under a minute, help organizations rapidly communicate risks with stakeholders. This results in faster decision-making, more accurate and consistent reporting, and significantly reduced manual workloads.
OneTrust augments its data discovery and governance capabilities with AI-based classification of unstructured files, helping organizations pinpoint sensitive content and enforce retention or deletion policies. Additional capabilities include AI-guided questionnaires and a compliance mapping document scanner to accelerate vendor security reviews.
Black Kite offers an AI-based document scanner aimed at reducing manual questionnaire reviews and accelerating compliance mapping of vendor security postures. However, connectivity to workflows supporting other assessment operations (such as requesting further evidence via questionnaires or other documentation) is not supported without integrating with a separately deployed TPRM solution.
API and Integrations
4 stars
UpGuard provides a well-documented API enabling custom integrations, webhooks, and automation across common security and GRC tools. Its extensibility is straightforward, designed for rapid deployment and minimal setup friction. UpGuard also connects with over 4,000+ apps through a dedicated Zapier integration.
Streamlines remediation and monitoring by natively integrating with Jira, Service Now, and Slack.
OneTrust offers a range of out-of-the-box integrations with popular solutions, such as RSA Archer, ServiceNow, Adobe, and others. Also offers an open API, enabling custom workflows and data sharing with GRC suites, HR platforms, and security systems to centralize and automate compliance processes.
While no exhaustive list of native integrations is publicly available, Black Kite generally supports exporting scan results to external systems.
Purchasing & Licensing Transparency
UpGuard offers a freemium package for monitoring up to 5 vendors.
Also provides free access to an AI-powered vendor questionnaire management tool, Trust Exchange.
Pricing starts at USD 1,599 / month.
A 14-day free trial for paid plans is also available.
Public pricing is not available. Does not publically offer a free trial.
Public pricing details are limited. Costs typically rise based on the number of monitored vendors, which can become significant for large supply chains. Some organizations report that the step up in licensing for “critical” vendors can be expensive.
Customers
Major customers include The New York Stock Exchange (ICE), Morningstar, TDK, PagerDuty, Hopin, and IAG. 
To learn more, read UpGuard’s customer stories.
Major customers include Allianz, PUMA, and Samsun.
Major customers include Morgan Lewis, Healthfirst, Navy Federal, and Maersk.
G2 rating
Accurate as of March 2025
4.5, based on 383 reviews. Named a G2 Market Leader for Third Party & Supplier Risk Management Software.
4.5, based on 96 reviews
Currently not rated.
Security rating
X
950
/ 950
X
950
/ 950
X
950
/ 950

OneTrust vs Black Kite product overview

OneTrust vs UpGuard product overview

Learn more about the products and how they compare.

We assess three TPRM solutions, OneTrust, Black Kite, and UpGuard, to help you make an informed decision before investing in the right solution for your needs..

OneTrust Overview

OneTrust is a US incorporated company with primary operating offices based in Atlanta and London. The OneTrust platform helps users assess and manage cyber risk from third-party vendors in their digital supply chain.

The OneTrust solution leverages security questionnaires and remediation workflows through both an exchange and ad-hoc model to help customers reduce risk and improve due diligence efficiency across vendor relationships.

OneTrust Vendorpedia UI
OneTrust Vendorpedia UI. Source: onetrust.com

Black Kite Overview

Black Kite is a cyber risk rating platform that leverages open-source threat intelligence and non-intrusive cyber reconnaissance to provide information about your vendor risk at scale.

It collects a wide range of information without touching the target customer. It leverages advances in data science and machine learning to provide higher frequency and precise real-time risk assessments.

Black Kite UI
The Black Kite UI. Source: www.blackkitetech.com

UpGuard Overview

UpGuard is a third-party risk and attack surface management platform that helps global organizations prevent data breaches, monitor third-party vendors, and improve their security posture. 

UpGuard’s platform uses proprietary security ratings, data leak detection capabilities, and remediation workflows to proactively identify security exposures.

UpGuard’s all-in-one third-party risk and attack surface management software intelligently groups risks into six categories: website risks, email security, network security, phishing & malware, reputation risk, and brand protection. 

Usability & Learning Curve

Minimizing the amount of time and effort in learning to use a new solution is a critical aspect of delivering on any value proposition.

  • OneTrust: A fully cloud-based service with minimal installation criteria required. The OneTrust platform also features an easy-to-use navigation interface, workflow customization, and dashboard reporting functionality.
  • Black Kite - Unintuitive user workflow, steep learning curve for first-time users.
  • UpGuard: High-level summation of risk with the ability to drill down into precise technical details. Each risk is prioritized based on extensive research conducted by the in-house security team, and where possible remediation and protection suggestions are provided.

Capabilities

OneTrust, Black Kite, and UpGuard help organizations stay informed about their vendors’ information security risks as part of third-party risk management (TPRM) and vendor due diligence programs.

Predictive capabilities

The main reason organizations invest in security tools is to prevent incidents from happening in the first place.

A solution's ability to prevent data breaches and other cyber attacks before they happen should be front of mind when choosing a security platform.

OneTrust: Offers an AI engine via their Athena product enabling risk insights across privacy, security, & governance risks. For their third-party risk offerings, this will include insights about a vendor’s internally managed security controls, policies, and practices.

Black Kite: Performs non-intrusive checks, including passive DNS, attack surface detection, passive vulnerability scanning, DNS health, SSL/TLS strength, and email security, as well as asset reputation, credential compromises, hacktivist shares, social media monitoring, dark web search, cloud delivery network security, fraudulent apps, and DDoS detection. They do not, however, provide absolute transparency into the efficacy of these checks.

UpGuard: UpGuard scans the digital footprints of organizations and their vendors to ensure all breach vectors are covered and secured. Threats such as phishing, ransomware, MitM attacks, vulnerabilities, email spoofing, typosquatted domains, network security, DNS issues, and more are part of 70+ attack vectors that are monitored consistently. In addition, UpGuard scans millions of pages daily to quickly detect data leaks so organizations can secure their data exposures.

Community Support

Keeping informed on product updates and the latest cyber security developments is paramount, with new vulnerabilities and cyber threats emerging daily.

Customers need up-to-date resources and relevant insights to stay ahead of the curve and protect their organizations from emerging cyber risks.

The frequency of publication and presence of community engagement is a key indicator of a company’s mission, focus, and investment in its users.

OneTrust, Black Kite, and UpGuard offer comprehensive online resources to educate and inform customers.

OneTrust: Engages their user community with regular blog posts on topics covering relevant security incidents, global privacy regulations, new feature updates, and industry developments.

Black Kite: Company and product blog.

UpGuard: UpGuard Summit brings together a community of security leaders from leading companies, explores the future of security, and helps businesses stay secure.

The UpGuard cybersecurity and risk management blog is updated four times a week and the breach research blog has uncovered and secured some of the largest data breaches

Keeping customers and the cybersecurity community informed on the latest cyber security developments is paramount, with new vulnerabilities and threats emerging daily. 

Release rate

Technology is always changing. New vulnerabilities are added to CVE on a daily basis, and attackers are constantly finding new zero-day exploits.

The speed at which a security platform can incorporate changes determines how well it can respond to new threats and customer requests.

Additionally, they should continue to update, adjust, and improve their threat detection methodology to reflect changes to the threat landscape.

  • OneTrust: States that they make at least monthly updates to their suite of product offerings. OneTrust clearly documents product release notes and guides for customers looking to better understand and use changes in the platform.
  • Black Kite: The release model for Black Kite is unknown.
  • UpGuard: UpGuard has adopted DevOps principles internally to develop, test, and release software continuously, ensuring fast, consistent, and safe releases. UpGuard has a regular release rate every two weeks, with all features, changes, and improvements listed under UpGuard Release Notes.

Pricing & Support

Cyber risk platforms can be expensive and the common use of opaque pricing policies often takes power away from the purchaser. With most services offering tiered licensing options and add-ons, finding a solution that fits your needs and budget can prove more difficult without transparent pricing.

  • OneTrust: Offers largely transparent pricing for their multiple offerings via their website. Additionally, OneTrust offers flexible pricing & billing options for small & growing businesses. View estimates of OneTrust's pricing information.
  • Black Kite: Public pricing information is not available. View estimates of Black Kite's cost details.
  • UpGuard: UpGuard has a fully transparent and publicly accessible pricing model which you can view here. If you have any questions, please email sales@upguard.com.

API & Extensibility

APIs are useful for technical staff, but not all information security teams have access to developers. In this situation, standard third-party integrations are an essential part of decision-making.  

OneTrust, Black Kite, and UpGuard offer APIs.

  • OneTrust: Offers REST API and SDK for data feed connectivity and workflow management options with external applications.
  • Black Kite: Offers a standard API to pull data.
  • UpGuard: Offers a standard API to pull data from UpGuard’s platform into other enterprise applications.

Third-party integrations

Accessing the information in a cyber risk product outside of its graphical interface is important for integrated business strategies and consolidating data to a preferred system.

OneTrust, Black Kite, and UpGuard offer integrations into other platforms.

Customers

  • OneTrust: Calculates and assigns risk tier categorizations of Critical, High, Medium, and Low based on the security questionnaire information collected from vendors in the platform.
  • Black Kite: Customers include Polk & Wardwell, LLP, a Fortune 500 retailer, and an OTC financial institution.
  • UpGuard: Major customers include Accenture, New York Stock Exchange, Tech Mahindra, IAG, Hopin, NSW Government, and Morningstar.

Security rating

  • OneTrust: Calculates and assigns risk tier categorizations of Critical, High, Medium, and Low based on the security questionnaire information collected from vendors in the platform.
  • Black Kite: Provides a risk rating from A to F, like a report card.
  • UpGuard: Security rating scale of 0-950, ranked as A: 801-950, B: 601-800, C: 401-600, D: 201-400, F: 0-200. You can request your free security rating by clicking here.

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