SOC 3: Public Trust Services Report Guide
SOC 3 is the publicly distributable counterpart to SOC 2. It uses the same Trust Services Criteria and undergoes the same rigorous audit, but the resulting report is a high-level summary suitable for general use — meaning it can be shared freely on your website, in marketing materials, and with anyone who asks.
What SOC 3 Covers
SOC 3 evaluates the same five Trust Services Criteria as SOC 2: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. The audit procedures and testing are identical. The difference is purely in the report format — SOC 3 provides an auditor's opinion without the detailed system description, control listings, and test results that make SOC 2 reports restricted-use documents.
Who Needs SOC 3
SOC 3 is valuable for organizations that want to publicly demonstrate their compliance posture. While SOC 2 reports are shared under NDA with specific customers, SOC 3 can be posted on your website and referenced in sales materials.
Common use cases include marketing differentiation for SaaS companies, public trust signals for consumer-facing services, and situations where prospects want compliance assurance before entering an NDA relationship.
SOC 3 vs. SOC 2
| Aspect | SOC 2 | SOC 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Distribution | Restricted use (under NDA) | General use (public) |
| Detail level | Comprehensive — includes system description, controls, and test results | Summary — auditor's opinion only |
| Customer acceptance | Widely accepted for due diligence | Useful for marketing, but customers typically still request SOC 2 |
| Incremental cost | Base engagement | Minimal additional cost when paired with SOC 2 |
Practical Considerations
Most organizations produce a SOC 3 report as a byproduct of their SOC 2 engagement. The incremental cost is minimal — typically $2,000 to $5,000 on top of the SOC 2 audit fee. Very few organizations pursue SOC 3 without also completing SOC 2, since enterprise customers almost universally want the detailed SOC 2 report.
The primary value of SOC 3 is as a marketing tool and public trust signal. It allows you to say "we are SOC 2 audited" with proof that anyone can verify, without exposing the detailed control information in your SOC 2 report.