Checkpoint vs Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager
Compliance Manager is part of Microsoft Purview and scores your tenant against regulation templates. Checkpoint runs the whole management system that a certification audit looks at. Many organisations use both. Here is how they differ.
| Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager | Checkpoint | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An assessment tool in the Microsoft Purview portal: regulation templates, a compliance score and improvement actions. | A compliance console that runs the management system: risk register, Statement of Applicability, clauses, internal audit, management review, policies and audit packs. |
| Licensing | Most regulation templates are premium and need a licence. Microsoft 365 E5 / A5 / G5 include three premium templates. Microsoft offers a 90-day premium trial. | Published: from $7,000 a year per framework (AUD, ex GST), SOC 2 from $8,999. Enterprise from $14,999. |
| ISO 27001 and Essential Eight | Premium templates are available for ISO/IEC 27001 and for Essential Eight at each maturity level. | All 93 ISO 27001 Annex A controls with Clauses 4–10, and Essential Eight assessed per strategy against your target maturity level. |
| Where records live | In your Microsoft Purview tenant. | SharePoint lists in your own Microsoft 365 tenant. Compliance365 has no database holding your registers. |
| Certification audit | Tracks improvement actions against a template. It does not keep the risk register, Statement of Applicability, internal audit or management review records an ISO auditor asks for. | Produces them, and gives your auditor time-boxed, read-only access. |
What we say about Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager comes from its own published information, checked October 2026: Microsoft Learn: Compliance Manager FAQ (licensing and premium templates); Microsoft Learn: Compliance Manager regulations list; Microsoft Learn: Free trial of premium assessments. Products change, so check the current details with Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager. Something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager may suit you better if
- You only need a technical score against a regulation, not a certifiable management system.
- You already have E5 and the template you need is one of your three included ones.
Checkpoint suits you if
- You are going for ISO 27001, ISO 42001 or ISO 27701 certification and need the full management system.
- You want risks, policies and audits in the same place as the technical evidence.
Questions
- Can we use both?
- Yes. Compliance Manager scores your tenant’s settings; Checkpoint runs the management system around them. Checkpoint reads its evidence straight from Microsoft Graph, so it does not depend on Compliance Manager.
- Does Checkpoint need Microsoft 365 E5?
- No. It checks which features your licences include, and a check that needs a licence you do not have shows as a manual check.
