The best free audit and compliance material is published by the standard-setters themselves, not by software vendors: NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, the GAO Yellow Book, the PCAOB’s auditing standards and IFAC’s SME audit guide are all free to read or download. The vendor “free checklists” from Vanta, Drata and Smartsheet could not be verified this month, and Process Street and Smartsheet have no free plan to run one in. Prices are USD and were checked on 22 October 2026. How we score · All Kurums Free lists
TL;DR — the free audit resource that fits
- Security controls baseline for SOC 2 or ISO prep: NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 — free PDF, quick-start guides, Excel core and an online tool.
- Government or grant-funded audit: GAO Yellow Book 2024 — view the full standard online free; printed copies are sold.
- Public-company audit reference: PCAOB auditing standards — all AS standards as free PDFs.
- Small-entity audit under ISAs: IFAC’s two-volume guide — free, registration may be required.
- Somewhere to run the checklist: Notion Free — solo workspace with 7-day history and 10 guests.
Which audit & compliance checklists tools have a free plan in 2026?
This list is different from the rest of Kurums Free: the items are standards and guides rather than software, because in this category the authoritative material is what is free and the software to manage it is what costs money. Four of the five rows are publications from standard-setters (NIST, GAO, PCAOB, IFAC); the fifth is a free workspace to run a checklist in.
We looked for vendor-published free checklists — Vanta’s SOC 2 checklist, Drata’s, ISMS.online’s, Smartsheet’s template library — and could not verify any of them this month: pages errored or the free plan they require does not exist (Smartsheet starts at $9 a member; Process Street offers a 14-day trial only). We would rather list five verified sources than fifteen we could not open.
The table shows each resource’s binding condition and Free Score; the Score here weights Core job on authority and currency. Open a row for access terms, what is excluded and the page we checked.
| Company | Free as | Key limit | Card | Free Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N |
Free forever | No limits · US government publication | No | 92 | Scorecard ↓ |
| P |
Free forever | No limits · public regulator | No | 86 | Scorecard ↓ |
| G |
Free forever | View online · print is sold | No | 82 | Scorecard ↓ |
| I |
Free forever | Registration may be required · 2018 ed. | No | 70 | Scorecard ↓ |
| N |
Free forever | Solo · 7-day history · 10 guests | No | 58 | Scorecard ↓ |
Free tiers verified 22 October 2026 on each vendor’s pricing page (third-party sources named in the Scorecard where the vendor page was silent). Order is by Free Score only; sponsorship never changes it.
What do the free audit resource plans actually include?
Open any row for the eight-field Scorecard. The “Why it ranks here” note under each row explains the score in plain terms.
1N
NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0US · the CSF 2.0 PDF, quick-start guides, profiles, informative references, an Excel core and an online CSF tool, all freeFree foreverNo limits · US government publicationNo card92⌄
- What’s free
- CSF 2.0 (NIST CSWP 29), Quick Start Guides, Community Profiles, Informative References, the CSF 2.0 Reference Tool and the core in Excel
- Hard limits
- None
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. US government publication.
- Upgrade trigger
- None
- Cheapest paid step
- None
- Best free for
- Any company building a security-control baseline before a SOC 2, ISO 27001 or customer audit
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · nist.gov/cyberframework
2P
PCAOB Auditing StandardsUS · downloadable PDF booklets of all AS standards, individual standards and an ASB/IAASB reference toolFree foreverNo limits · public regulatorNo card86⌄
- What’s free
- All PCAOB auditing standards as PDFs plus a cross-reference tool to ASB and IAASB standards
- Hard limits
- None · scope is US public-company audits
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. Public regulator site.
- Upgrade trigger
- None
- Cheapest paid step
- None
- Best free for
- A finance team preparing for or responding to a public-company audit
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · pcaobus.org
Why it ranks here. Authoritative and complete, but relevant only to issuers and their auditors. Core job is docked for scope, not quality.
3G
GAO Yellow Book 2024US · the 2024 Government Auditing Standards, viewable online in full and as a digital editionFree foreverView online · print is soldNo card82⌄
- What’s free
- View-only access to the 2024 Yellow Book and the 2024 Digital Yellow Book
- Hard limits
- Printed copies are sold through GPO · the page does not use the word ‘free’
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. Online view; no cost stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Wanting a printed copy
- Cheapest paid step
- GPO print price not stated
- Best free for
- Any organisation audited under GAGAS — federal grants, state and local government
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · gao.gov/yellowbook (effective for periods beginning on or after 15 Dec 2025)
Why it ranks here. The current edition, in force for periods from December 2025, free to read. Capacity is docked for view-only access rather than a downloadable file.
4I
IFAC Guide to Using ISAs in SME AuditsInternational · the two-volume fourth edition (concepts, then practical guidance and case studies) for small-entity auditsFree foreverRegistration may be required · 2018 ed.No card70⌄
- What’s free
- Fourth edition, July 2018: Volume 1 core concepts, Volume 2 practical guidance with case studies
- Hard limits
- Download links route through a login — a free IFAC account may be required · the edition is from 2018
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated; registration may be required.
- Upgrade trigger
- None
- Cheapest paid step
- None
- Best free for
- A small practice or finance team working to ISAs outside the US
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · ifac.org
Why it ranks here. The only non-US entry and the one aimed at small entities. Docked for the login gate and for an edition that predates recent ISA revisions.
5N
Notion FreeUS · a free workspace to turn any of the standards above into a living checklistFree foreverSolo · 7-day history · 10 guestsNo card58⌄
- What’s free
- Free plan: pages, databases and templates for a solo workspace
- Hard limits
- 5 MB uploads · 7-day page history · 10 guests · block limit for workspaces with two or more members · template availability not verified
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Team collaboration beyond the block limit, or longer history
- Cheapest paid step
- Plus $10/member/month (up to 20% off yearly)
- Best free for
- One person tracking audit evidence and tasks
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · notion.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Not a checklist, a place to keep one. Included because every standard above is a PDF and someone has to turn it into tasks; scored low on core job because it supplies no content of its own.
Which free audit resource has no credit-card requirement?
NIST, PCAOB and GAO are public bodies whose material is free with no account. IFAC’s downloads route through a login, which appears to be a free registration. Notion does not state a card requirement for its free plan. Nothing here converts to a paid product.
The card requests in this category come from the compliance-automation vendors — Vanta, Drata, Secureframe — whose “free SOC 2 checklist” is a lead form for a platform that starts in the thousands a year. We could not verify those checklists this month and have not listed them.
When does the free plan stop being enough?
Kurums Match: which free audit resource fits your situation?
Startup preparing for its first SOC 2
NIST CSF 2.0 Quick Start Guides, then the Excel core as the control list.
Nonprofit with federal grants
GAO Yellow Book 2024.
Finance team at a public company
PCAOB auditing standards.
Small practice auditing SMEs under ISAs
IFAC’s two-volume guide.
Solo controller tracking audit requests
Notion Free with the NIST or Yellow Book items as a database.
Which paid compliance management software can you move to?
When the free tier stops being enough, these are the providers in the Kurums Solutions Directory. Every company there is listed free and A–Z by our editors, with a buyer’s guide for the category — no one pays for a position.
How we score free tiers
Duration (30): free forever scores 30, a 30-day-plus trial 15, a trial of 14 days or less 8, credit-based tiers 12. Capacity (30): whether the limits carry a team of three for twelve months. Core job (25): whether the free tier does the category’s main work — here, giving a finance team an authoritative, current standard or checklist to audit against. Friction (15): no card 15; card but no auto-charge 8; auto-charge 0; self-hosting deducts for setup and maintenance.
Each free tier was checked on the vendor’s pricing page on 22 October 2026; where the vendor page was silent, the Scorecard names the third-party source used. Free tiers change, so this list is re-verified every quarter and a discontinued free plan stays listed for one month with a notice. Order is by Free Score only. Kurums Free sells no placement; sponsorship, affiliate links and vendor requests never change a score, a rank or a label. Vendors can submit corrections to the Kurums editorial team.
How did we verify these free tiers?
We opened each publisher’s page and recorded what is downloadable or viewable, any registration or purchase condition and the edition date. GAO’s page does not explicitly say “free” but offers the full text online without a fee; IFAC’s download links route through a login we did not create an account to test. We attempted to verify Vanta’s SOC 2 checklist (page error), AICPA’s standards page (no statement on free access), Smartsheet’s templates (no free plan) and Process Street (trial only); ISACA, Drata, ISMS.online, COSO, Checklist.gg and Google Docs templates were not fetched. None is listed.
No prices apply except Notion’s paid plan (USD). This list is re-verified quarterly like every Kurums Free list; standards change edition less often than software changes pricing, but the GAO and NIST pages are the ones to watch.
Audit, Decoded: the 90-second version
Plain English, one pop-culture comparison, and the sentence to say in the meeting. Part of Kurums Decoded.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get a free SOC 2 checklist?
Start from NIST CSF 2.0 — free, current and the basis most SOC 2 control sets map to. Vendor checklists from Vanta, Drata and others are lead forms we could not verify this month.
Is the GAO Yellow Book free?
The full 2024 edition is viewable online at gao.gov at no charge. Printed copies are sold through the Government Publishing Office.
Are PCAOB auditing standards free to download?
Yes. All AS standards are available as PDF booklets and individual files on pcaobus.org, with a cross-reference tool to ASB and IAASB standards.
Is there a free audit checklist for small businesses under ISAs?
IFAC’s Guide to Using ISAs in SME Audits (fourth edition, 2018) is free in two volumes; a free IFAC account may be required to download.
Does Smartsheet have free audit templates?
Smartsheet has no free plan on its pricing page (Pro from $9 a member a month), so its templates require a paid or trial account. We did not list them.
What free tool can I run a compliance checklist in?
Notion Free for one person (7-day history, 10 guests), or the NIST Excel core in any spreadsheet for a team.
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