EthicsPortal vs. SpeakUp #
SpeakUp is an EU-based ethics and compliance platform serving over 2,000 organizations. Originally focused on whistleblower reporting, SpeakUp has expanded into a broader all-in-one compliance suite. They hold ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and ISAE 3000 Type II certifications — among the strongest in the market. Their pricing starts at €3,000/year for small businesses and moves to custom pricing for organizations with 1,000+ employees.
Quick comparison #
| Feature | EthicsPortal | SpeakUp |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | €41.67/mo billed annually | €3,000/year for <1,000 employees, custom for larger |
| Portal activation | Self-service, minutes | Partial |
| Encryption | Yes (non-deterministic ActiveRecord Encryption) | Yes |
| EU hosting | Yes (Hetzner, Germany) | Yes (EU) |
| File metadata stripping | Yes (EXIF, GPS, author info) | Not publicly documented |
| IP anonymization | Yes (one-way hash, no storage) | Not publicly documented |
| Audit trail | Yes, append-only | Yes |
| Deadline tracking | Yes (7-day and 3-month with notifications) | Yes |
| PDF export | Yes | Yes |
| Oral / voice reporting | Yes (in-portal voice recording, automatically voice-anonymized) | Yes (phone line) |
| Data export (GDPR Art. 20) | Yes (full-tenant ZIP, audit-logged) | Not publicly documented |
| Structured intake | Yes — 5 built-in Directive-aligned questions, all optional | Configurable custom questions (admin-built) |
| Languages | 12 EU official languages | Multiple (exact count not published) |
Where SpeakUp is strong #
- Certifications. ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and ISAE 3000 Type II is a strong combination. For organizations where vendor certifications are a procurement requirement, SpeakUp checks every box.
- Broad compliance platform. SpeakUp covers ethics, compliance, and whistleblowing in a single platform. If your compliance needs go beyond whistleblower reporting, their broader suite may be relevant.
- EU-based. As a European company serving 2,000+ organizations, SpeakUp understands EU regulatory requirements and data sovereignty expectations.
Where EthicsPortal is different #
- Predictable, flat pricing. EthicsPortal is €41.67/month billed annually — that is €500/year. SpeakUp starts at €3,000/year for companies under 1,000 employees and moves to custom pricing above that. With EthicsPortal, a flat published rate means you know your cost today and in two years.
- Privacy features as standard. EthicsPortal strips file metadata (EXIF, GPS coordinates, author information) before storage and anonymizes IP addresses using a one-way hash. Oral reports recorded in the portal are voice-anonymized automatically — the reporter’s true voice is pitch-shifted and the original audio purged. These protections run on every account; they are not premium features.
- Directive features in the single plan. Oral reporting (Art. 9(2)(b)), a read-only auditor/legal-counsel role, report categories mapped to Directive Art. 2(1), structured intake questions mapped to Art. 4 and Art. 19, and a full GDPR Art. 20 data export ship in the flat €41.67/month plan (billed annually) — there are no tiers to climb to reach them.
- Built-in structured intake. EthicsPortal ships five optional, Directive-aligned intake questions (relationship to the organization, source of knowledge, timing, prior reporting, retaliation concern) as a default guided step, with retaliation surfaced to handlers as an urgency badge. SpeakUp’s form is free-text by default and lets an organization add custom questions itself; the set is not a shipped Directive-aligned default.
- Operational in minutes. Configure your reporting channel, publish the reporting link, and start receiving reports without waiting for manual provisioning.
- Focused on whistleblowing. EthicsPortal does one thing well: EU Directive 2019/1937 compliant whistleblower reporting. SpeakUp is moving upmarket into broader compliance, which means more complexity and features you may never use.
Who should choose SpeakUp #
SpeakUp is a good choice for mid-size organizations that need a vendor with strong certifications (ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISAE 3000 Type II) to satisfy procurement requirements, or that want a single platform covering ethics and compliance beyond just whistleblowing. If your compliance team needs a broader toolset and is comfortable with scaling pricing, SpeakUp delivers.
Who should choose EthicsPortal #
EthicsPortal is for SMEs that need whistleblower compliance without buying an entire compliance suite. If you want EU Directive 2019/1937 compliance at a flat €41.67/month billed annually, with built-in privacy protections and a direct activation path, EthicsPortal is the narrower deployment. When you need ISO certifications from your vendor, EthicsPortal is not there yet; when the requirement is a focused Directive reporting channel, it fits.
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