Free risk register options compared
There are several ways to keep a risk register, and the right one depends on your constraints. Here's an honest comparison — including where the alternatives beat us.
| Option | Price | Setup | Curated risk library + suggested fixes | Team workspace & history |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UrnaThis tool. | Free | Sign up, start | Yes — libraries + a suggested remediation per risk | Yes — shared workspaces, change history, export |
| SpreadsheetExcel / Google Sheets / a template download. | Free | Instant | No — a blank grid | No — version chaos, no audit trail |
| Open Risk RegisterBrowser-only NIST SP 800-30 walkthrough. | Free | None | No | No — single-user, data lives only in your browser |
| CISO AssistantOpen-source GRC (intuitem). | Free (self-host) | Run a server / Docker | Strong framework mapping; control-centric, not scenario-seeded | Yes, once hosted |
| SimpleRiskOpen-source risk platform. | Free core; paid extras | Run a server | Risk-first; light on curated content | Yes, once hosted |
| Vanta / DrataCompliance-automation platforms. | ~$7.5k–35k+/yr | Sales call, contract | Yes — 100–200+ risks with treatments (paywalled) | Yes — plus audit evidence collection |
Which to choose
- A spreadsheet is fine to start, and unbeatable for zero friction — until version control, scoring by hand, and no audit trail start to hurt.
- Open-source GRC (CISO Assistant, SimpleRisk) is powerful and private if you're happy to run a server and do the setup — a great fit for security engineers.
- Compliance platforms (Vanta, Drata) are the right call when a SOC 2 or ISO 27001 audit is forcing the purchase and the register is one part of a wider evidence-collection job.
- Urna fits when you want a credible, library-seeded register today — hosted, shared with colleagues, with suggested remediations and a clean export — without a server to run, a sales call, or a budget.