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PROVIDER FIT REVIEWProject Management & Team Collaboration Software

monday.com Review: Project Management in Regulated Industries

monday.com Enterprise with Guardian offers SOC 2 Type II, ISO certifications, SAML SSO, SCIM, and HIPAA BAA. Learn its data residency limits and GRC gaps.

STUDY SNAPSHOTRecorded recommendations · not product testing
Research date
October 2, 2026
Usable AI responses
7
Consensus position
#6
Source URLs in evidence
62

RECOMMENDATION COVERAGE

monday.com

Recommended by 3 of 7 AI platforms in this study.

42.9%Consensus coverage · not a customer rating

The research in brief

monday.com is a good fit for regulated-industry security and compliance project management, subject to procurement validation. Three of seven platforms named monday.com during the ranking stage, at an average listed rank of 4.0 and a best rank of 3. The strongest reason to consider it is monday Enterprise with the Guardian add-on: published SOC 2 Type II and ISO certifications, SAML SSO, SCIM, audit-log export, AES-256 encryption, and HIPAA BAA availability on Enterprise [12]. The main limitation is that strict regional data residency is documented only for EU Enterprise accounts, Enterprise and Guardian pricing is custom, and no HITRUST or FedRAMP authorization was confirmed [39].

Research Snapshot

FieldValue
Platform mentions in ranking stage3 of 7 platforms (Claude, Gemini, Perplexity)
Share of included platform responses42.9%
Average listed rank4.0
Best listed rank3
Software offeringmonday Enterprise with Guardian add-on
Overall use-case fitGood, subject to procurement validation
Research date2026-10-02

Why monday.com Qualified for This Study

Questions explored

  • Is monday.com a good choice for regulated industry security and compliance pm?
  • Why did only three of seven AI platforms name monday.com in the ranking stage?

monday.com qualified because it was named by three of the seven platforms whose responses were included in this study - Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity - which is 42.9% of included platform responses. Its average listed rank was 4.0, with a best rank of 3 (Claude and Perplexity) and a weaker rank of 6 (Gemini). The remaining four platforms (ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Grok, Kimi) evaluated monday.com's fit but did not name it during ranking discovery, so their fit findings still count toward the consensus below.

The qualification threshold for this study was at least two platform mentions. monday.com cleared that threshold with three. Every platform that evaluated it recommended the same product tier: monday Enterprise, with the Guardian add-on named by six of seven platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Kimi, Perplexity). DeepSeek described the same Enterprise-plus-Guardian configuration without naming Guardian in its ranking-stage product string.

This is a fit review, not a broad company review. It evaluates monday.com only against the criteria for regulated-industry security and compliance project management: SOC 2 and compliance certifications, data residency and encryption controls, audit logging and access governance, single sign-on and identity management, and vendor security track record.

The software offering in focus

Questions explored

  • Which monday.com plan should a buyer choose if they need audit logs, SCIM, and HIPAA BAA coverage?
  • Is the Guardian add-on required for monday.com to meet regulated-industry security requirements?

The relevant configuration is monday Enterprise with the Guardian add-on. All seven platforms converged on Enterprise as the minimum tier for this use case, and six named Guardian as part of the recommended configuration (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Kimi, Perplexity).

The reason is gating. SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning are Enterprise features, and multiple SSO vendors require Guardian [23]. Audit logging and the Audit Log API are restricted to Enterprise accounts and to account administrators [27]. HIPAA configuration and BAA eligibility are Enterprise-only, and the BAA is voided if the account is downgraded [48]. Item-level permissions and IP restrictions are also Enterprise-tier capabilities that Standard and Pro plans lack [44].

Guardian adds Tenant-Level Encryption (TLE), Bring Your Own Key (BYOK), Data Leak Prevention (DLP), and Multi-SSO [20]. One independent review states BYOK keys can be stored in the customer's AWS KMS or Azure Key Vault [51]. Guardian is Enterprise-only and priced separately; no public price was found in any platform response.

What the AI Platforms Agreed About

Questions explored

  • What security certifications does monday.com hold for regulated-industry compliance?
  • Does monday.com support SSO, SCIM, and audit-log export on the Enterprise plan?

Agreement was strong, though not unanimous, on five points.

Certifications. Six of seven platforms reported that monday.com publishes SOC 2 Type II and multiple ISO certifications (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Kimi, Perplexity). The commonly cited set is SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 27032, ISO 27701, CSA STAR, TX-RAMP, GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA-related materials [12]. One independent directory reported SOC 2 Type II current as of 2026-02-20 and ISO 27001 current as of 2025-08-01 [39]. These are company-published claims and directory summaries, not independently verified audit artifacts.

Encryption. Platforms agreed on TLS 1.3 in transit (minimum TLS 1.2) and AES-256 or better at rest [13].

Identity. SAML SSO on Enterprise with Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, OneLogin, and custom providers was reported consistently [23]. SCIM provisioning was reported by ChatGPT and Kimi [23]; Claude explicitly flagged SCIM as not confirmed in current documentation, so this is a conflict rather than consensus.

Audit logging. Enterprise audit logging with API export to a SIEM was reported by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity [27]. The documented API rate limit is up to 50 requests per minute, and access is restricted to account administrators [27].

Fit rating. Six of seven platforms rated monday.com a "good" fit for this use case (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Kimi, Perplexity). DeepSeek rated it "mixed." No platform rated it a poor fit.

Where the AI Platforms Disagreed or Were Uncertain

Questions explored

  • Does monday.com guarantee US data residency for all customer data and subprocessors?
  • Does monday.com hold HITRUST or FedRAMP authorization for regulated buyers?

Data residency. This is the sharpest limitation and the most consistent one. monday.com documents US, EU, and APAC data regions, but monday-controlled data such as credentials, profiles, usage analytics, automation metadata, and monday Apps remains in the default US region [25]. Only Enterprise accounts in the EU region are described as having customer data, including subprocessor-hosted data, solely within the EU [16]. Data regions cannot be changed after account creation [16]. Google's response adds that strict subprocessor residency is uniquely limited to EU Enterprise customers [50]. Buyers requiring US-only subprocessor containment should treat this as unresolved.

HITRUST and FedRAMP. Anthropic reported no HITRUST certification as of August 2026, calling it a material gap for healthcare systems and insurers [39]. Google reported that monday.com is not listed as authorized or in-process on the official FedRAMP Marketplace, despite some marketing references to FedRAMP compliance [40]. Grok noted FedRAMP appears in some independent summaries but not in official support pages [21]. No platform produced a primary-source FedRAMP authorization record.

Guardian scope and price. No platform found a complete public Guardian feature matrix or price. Openai, Claude, DeepSeek, and Perplexity all flagged this as a procurement blocker [26].

SCIM. As noted above, ChatGPT and Kimi report SCIM on Enterprise; Claude could not confirm it in current documentation. Verify directly.

Audit-log retention. Kimi reported 90 days standard with extended retention via API; Claude noted one source describing indefinite retention without automatic deletion but said it is not officially confirmed. This is unresolved.

Pricing figures. Anthropic cited third-party estimates of roughly $30,000/year for 100+ seats [61]; Gemini cited minimums of 25 or 50 seats depending on source [43]. These are independent estimates, not monday.com quotes.

Vendor track record. Anthropic cited SEC filings showing monday.com has been the target of cyberattacks with no material breaches disclosed as of FY2024, plus a 2020 improper-access-control vulnerability on about.monday.com patched by December 2022 [60]. No platform found independent third-party evidence rating monday.com's security performance beyond company filings and certifications.

Features for this workload

Questions explored

  • Which monday.com Enterprise features matter most for SOC 2 and HIPAA audit evidence?
  • Can monday.com replace a dedicated GRC platform for control mapping and evidence collection?

Certifications and compliance posture. monday.com's Trust Center lists SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 27032, ISO 27701, CSA STAR, TX-RAMP, GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA-related materials [12]. An older support page lists only a subset, so current certificate versions, periods, and scopes must be obtained directly [15].

Encryption. TLS 1.3 in transit with TLS 1.2 minimum, AES-256 or better at rest, annual penetration testing, annual external audits, and a private bug-bounty program [13]. Guardian adds TLE, BYOK, DLP, and Multi-SSO [22].

Audit logging and SIEM. The Enterprise Audit Log API retrieves account events and transfers them to a SIEM, restricted to account administrators with a documented rate limit [27]. Audit event catalogue queries are Enterprise-only and track login attempts, board exports, and security-related activity [5]. The administration area shows last login, IP address, browser, and operating system [19].

Access governance. Enterprise administration includes user management, password policies, audit reporting, HIPAA configuration, session controls, and Panic Mode [19]. Multi-level permissions operate across workspace, column, account, board, and item levels [56]. IP restrictions are Enterprise-only [44].

Identity. SAML SSO and SCIM on Enterprise; Okta, Entra ID, OneLogin, and custom providers supported; multiple SSO vendors require Guardian [23].

HIPAA. BAA available on Enterprise only, must be signed before submitting PHI, and is voided on downgrade [48]. Third-party integrations and marketplace apps are excluded from BAA coverage [48]. On HIPAA-configured accounts, the broadcast feature is disabled to prevent accidental PHI disclosure [30].

GRC gap. Kimi, DeepSeek, and ChatGPT all noted that monday.com is a work-management platform, not a GRC platform. It lacks continuous controls monitoring, automated evidence collection, pre-built framework mappings for SOX, HIPAA, PCI DSS, NIST CSF, or CMMC, and auditor portals with chain-of-custody provenance [2]. It is suitable for tracking control owners, remediation actions, evidence requests, milestones, risks, and executive dashboards.

Pricing, renewal terms, and ongoing costs

Questions explored

  • How much does monday.com Enterprise with Guardian cost per year, and is pricing published?
  • What contract term and cancellation terms apply to monday.com Enterprise?

Enterprise pricing is custom and quote-based. No platform found published list pricing for Enterprise or Guardian [26]. Enterprise accounts have a minimum 12-month term, and annual subscriptions receive an 18% discount versus monthly billing on published tiers [26]. That discount does not establish the negotiated Enterprise price.

Independent estimates, not vendor quotes: roughly $30,000/year for 100+ seats [61]; minimum seat thresholds of 25 or 50 depending on source [43]; Enterprise quoted by sales based on organization size, security requirements, and usage volume [62]. Guardian is an additional paid layer with undisclosed pricing [20].

Additional cost categories reported: AI credit usage and overages, automation and integration overages, premium support, professional services, implementation, migration, and training [58]. The Enterprise SLA states 99.9% availability subject to its terms; service credits and exclusions require contract review [61]. Payment timing, renewal, cancellation notice, seat true-up, overage, refund, data-export, deletion, and post-termination access terms all require contract review [26].

Pricing confidence across platforms was low to moderate. Buyers cannot pre-compute total cost of ownership for the compliance-relevant configuration from public sources.

Best Suited For

Questions explored

  • Who gets the most value from monday.com Enterprise with Guardian for compliance program management?

  • US-headquartered regulated enterprises needing configurable project, portfolio, workflow, and compliance-program management with SOC 2 Type II and ISO certifications (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity).

  • Healthcare organizations that can operate under a signed HIPAA BAA on Enterprise, accepting that third-party integrations are excluded from BAA coverage [48].

  • Organizations requiring SAML SSO, SCIM, audit-log export to a SIEM, IP restrictions, and multi-level permissions [27].

  • Buyers needing customer-managed encryption keys via Guardian BYOK, with keys stored in their own AWS KMS or Azure Key Vault [51].

  • Teams already using monday.com across work management, CRM, or dev modules that want unified governance (Claude).

  • Organizations with existing GRC tooling that need project-management integration rather than a GRC replacement (Kimi).

Probably Not Best Suited For

Questions explored

  • Who should not choose monday.com for regulated industry security and compliance pm?

  • Buyers requiring on-premises or customer-controlled hosting; monday.com's infrastructure is cloud-based (ChatGPT).

  • Organizations requiring verified FedRAMP authorization or another government-specific authorization [40].

  • Defense contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information or subject to ITAR [45].

  • Healthcare systems, insurers, or covered entities with a mandatory HITRUST requirement [39].

  • Organizations with mandatory domestic data residency outside the EU, including Canada, the UK, or US-only subprocessor containment [16].

  • Buyers requiring fully public, downloadable certification packs before any vendor conversation (DeepSeek).

  • Mid-market teams (roughly 50–100 seats) that cannot justify custom Enterprise pricing for audit logging and multi-level permissions (Claude).

  • Organizations needing native GRC control mapping, continuous controls monitoring, or auditor portals [2].

When Another Option May Be Better

Questions explored

  • What is a better alternative to monday.com for a buyer who needs FedRAMP authorization or HITRUST certification?
  • When should a regulated buyer choose a dedicated GRC platform instead of monday.com?

Choose a dedicated GRC platform when the primary requirement is formal regulatory mapping, control testing, evidence collection, audit workflows, and continuous compliance monitoring rather than project coordination [2]. Kimi named cSquare GRC, Drata, Vanta, and Secureframe for native GRC automation, and Scorifya Controls for self-hosted compliance automation at lower cost [2].

Choose a platform with verified FedRAMP authorization when that authorization is mandatory; Gemini named Smartsheet Gov and Asana Gov as FedRAMP-authorized alternatives on the FedRAMP Marketplace [47].

Choose a self-hosted or customer-controlled deployment when data sovereignty, network isolation, or restricted-environment requirements prohibit standard SaaS (ChatGPT).

Choose a vendor with clearer US-only residency and metadata-boundary commitments when the buyer cannot accept monday-controlled data or subprocessor processing outside the selected region (ChatGPT, Claude).

Choose a vendor with published, transparent enterprise pricing when budget planning requires it before sales engagement (DeepSeek, Perplexity).

Questions to ask before choosing a provider

  • Provide the current SOC 2 Type II report, bridge letter, ISO certificates, certificate scopes, audit periods, exceptions, and remediation status [39].
  • Is the proposed US Enterprise tenant covered by every certification and compliance program being relied upon (ChatGPT, Perplexity)?
  • What exact features are included in Guardian, what is its price, and is it required for SCIM, multiple identity providers, or advanced role governance [20]?
  • Which customer data, metadata, credentials, logs, backups, support records, AI-processing data, and subprocessor data may leave the US region [16]?
  • Can monday.com contractually commit to US-only processing and support for the buyer's required data classes (ChatGPT)?
  • What are the audit-log event types, retention period, export format, delivery latency, API quotas, and SIEM integration options [27]?
  • How are privileged administrators governed, monitored, reviewed, and restricted, and can the buyer obtain relevant evidence (ChatGPT)?
  • Are marketplace applications, integrations, monday AI, and third-party subprocessors covered by the same contractual and certification scope [48]?
  • Is a HIPAA BAA available for the exact product and configuration, and what technical or feature exclusions apply [24]?
  • What are the renewal, cancellation, seat true-up, data-export, deletion, breach-notification, SLA-credit, and price-increase terms [26]?
  • What incident-notification timelines, customer forensic-support obligations, and post-incident reporting rights are included [60]?
  • Does monday.com support SCIM 2.0 provisioning, or is SAML 2.0 SSO the primary identity integration method [23]?
  • Does monday.com plan to pursue HITRUST certification, and on what timeline [39]?
  • Can monday.com provide official documentation or an active Package ID validating FedRAMP authorization status [47]?
  • Does the platform support the buyer's required retention, legal hold, records-management, segregation-of-duties, and evidence-integrity controls (ChatGPT)?

The consensus assessment

Good fit, subject to procurement validation. Six of seven platforms rated monday.com a good fit for regulated-industry security and compliance project management; one rated it mixed. monday Enterprise with Guardian offers a credible baseline: published SOC 2 Type II and ISO certifications, SAML SSO, SCIM, audit-log export to a SIEM, AES-256 encryption, HIPAA BAA availability, and configurable workflows for compliance program tracking.

It should not be approved on public claims alone. Strict regional data residency is documented only for EU Enterprise accounts. Guardian scope and pricing are not public. No HITRUST certification or FedRAMP authorization was confirmed. SCIM support and audit-log retention are disputed across platforms. US residency boundaries, Guardian scope, certification applicability, contractual protections, audit evidence, and any required government authorization must be verified before signing.

How This Review Was Produced

This review aggregates responses from seven AI platforms - ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Kimi, DeepSeek, and Perplexity - each asked which providers they would recommend for a compliance officer at a regulated-industry company evaluating project management software against strict encryption, audit logging, access control, and certification requirements. The research date is 2026-10-02. Three of seven platforms named monday.com during ranking discovery; all seven evaluated its fit. Fit ratings, strengths, limitations, pricing findings, and verification questions were extracted from each platform's response. Citations are platform-reported evidence, not independently verified facts. Company-owned citations materially outnumber independent citations in this evidence set, so company claims should not be read as independently verified.

Research limitations

  • Platform-reported research dates differ from the authoritative run date. DeepSeek reported 2026-01-15; all other platforms reported 2026-10-02. Platform-reported dates are provenance metadata and do not independently prove freshness.
  • DeepSeek ran without search enabled, so its findings rely on model knowledge rather than retrieved sources.
  • The supplied URLs were collected from platform responses and were not independently validated by the writer stage.
  • Company-owned citations materially outnumber independent citations. Do not describe company claims as independently verified.
  • No platform produced independent third-party evidence rating monday.com's vendor security track record beyond company filings, certifications, and public security documentation.
  • Conflicting product names, pricing, and capabilities were not resolved by guessing; conflicts are described and buyers are directed to verify.
  • AI-platform agreement does not prove product quality. Consensus reflects what platforms reported, not verified performance.
  • No personal testing, customer experience, or guaranteed performance is claimed.

See the broader Regulated Industries consensus index for comparisons across qualified options.

Explore more project management and team collaboration software guidance in the category directory.

Sources

Company-Owned Sources

  1. SOC 2 Compliance Software: Audit Preparation Tool: https://complies.ai/frameworks/soc-2
  2. The AI GRC platform for regulated enterprises: https://csquaregrc.com/en-US/regulated-enterprises
  3. Audit event catalogue - monday.com API Reference: https://developer.monday.com/api-reference/reference/audit-event-catalogue
  4. monday.com Enterprise and Guardian: https://monday.com/enterprise
  5. monday.com Pricing: https://monday.com/pricing
  6. monday.com Enterprise Plan: https://monday.com/pricing/enterprise
  7. monday.com Security: https://monday.com/security
  8. Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Report: https://monday.com/terms/soc2/
  9. monday.com Work Platform Trust Center: https://monday.com/trustcenter
  10. FAQs - Security and Privacy: https://monday.com/trustcenter/faqs
  11. Privacy and data regions overview: https://monday.com/trustcenter/privacy/overview
  12. Work Management Pricing - Paid Plans Per User: https://monday.com/vibe/pricing
  13. monday.com security compliance hub: https://trust.monday.com/
  14. Self-Hosted SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS & ISO 27001 Compliance | Scorifya Controls: https://www.scorifya.com/controls
  15. Official pricing and terms source: https://monday.com

Independent Sources

  1. monday.com Security & Compliance - aifoxx.com: https://aifoxx.com/trust/monday-com
  2. monday.com Security & Compliance Profile - VTI: https://vendortrustindex.com/vendors/monday
  3. Sind meine Daten bei monday.com sicher?: https://www.blinno.ch/blog/monday-com-datenschutz
  4. Is My Data Safe with monday.com? GDPR & Security Explained - Blinno Blog: https://www.blinno.ch/en/blog/monday-com-datenschutz
  5. Is monday.com HIPAA Compliant? Enterprise BAA & SOC 2: https://www.complysaas.com/compliance/monday-com
  6. Granular Permissions in monday.com Enterprise - fruitionservices.io: https://www.fruitionservices.io/post/mondaycom-enterprise-permissions
  7. All Vulnerabilities for about.monday.com Patched - Open Bug Bounty: https://www.openbugbounty.org/reports/1513772/
  8. Monday.com Pricing 2026: Plans, Seat Minimums and Real Costs: https://www.rock.so/blog/monday-pricing
  9. monday.com Pricing 2026: Complete Guide - TaskRhino: https://www.taskrhino.ca/blog/monday-com-pricing-complete-guide-2026/
  10. Monday.com Pricing Explained (2026) - visioneerit.com: https://www.visioneerit.com/blog/monday-com-pricing-2026-plans-cost

TRANSPARENCY BY DESIGN

The evidence behind this study

Research is a dated snapshot of AI recommendations and their supporting sources. Use the original evidence and methodology to understand what these findings can and cannot tell you.

Independent source records
26
Provider-owned source records
36
Direct support records
50

AI platforms in the study

ChatGPTClaudeDeepSeekGrokPerplexityKimiGemini

Study limitations

  • The study date identifies this research snapshot; dates reported by AI platforms do not independently establish source freshness.
  • Recommendation counts measure mentions during the ranking stage. Later fit assessments do not increase those counts.
  • Product names, costs, and features can differ across sources. Confirm conflicting details directly with the provider.
  • Source URLs came from AI platform responses and were not independently validated during report preparation.
  • Company-owned citations materially outnumber independent citations; do not describe company claims as independently verified.
  • Some dates reported by AI platforms differ from the study date. Those dates do not independently establish that the information is current.

Affiliate & commercial disclosure

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Read the full Affiliate Disclosure for compensation, tracking, partner availability, and research independence details, or contact us with a disclosure question.

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