Compliancy Group's "The Guard" is a full, coach-led program — but pricing is opaque and sales-led, often landing in the $2k–$8k+/yr range, with the risk assessment and breach response sometimes sold as add-ons. Ward publishes its prices and starts free.
| Compliancy Group | Ward | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | Not public, sales-led | Published, self-serve |
| Typical annual cost | ~$2k–$8k+/yr (blended) | $0 / $348/yr Solo / $948/yr Practice |
| Risk assessment | Often a paid add-on | Core & free in local tier |
| Start without a sales call | No (demo-gated) | Yes — launch instantly |
| Local-first (PHI on your machine) | No — cloud-only | Yes — default |
| 2026 Security Rule readiness meter | Varies / coach-led | Yes — live, severity-weighted, per-mandate, built in |
| Per-mandate POA&M (owner/target/overdue) | Coach-led | Yes — self-serve, gaps and 2026 mandates tracked |
| Asset inventory · cadence tracking | Add-on / coach-led | Yes — asset/data map + scan/pen-test/IR due dates |
| Full program (policies, BAA, training, IR) | Yes (add-on tiers) | Yes — versioned policies w/ attestation, BAA, training, cadence |
| MSP multi-client console | Enterprise/sales-led | Yes — $99/client/mo, self-serve |
The honest take: Compliancy Group offers hands-on coaching and a complete program, which some organizations value. Ward's wedge is transparency and self-serve: a complete SRA for $0 with PHI kept local, the 2026 report included, and the whole program for a fraction of a typical Guard contract — no demo gate, no add-on math.
A complete, local-first HIPAA Security Risk Assessment with a 2026 readiness report — free, self-serve, transparent.
Start your free SRA