SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) is one of the best-known inspection platforms in the world, and for mobile checklists it deserves its reputation. But an inspections platform and a health and safety compliance system are not the same thing. This comparison sets out — with sources — where each platform fits, so you can choose on facts rather than familiarity.
Disclosure & methodology: This comparison is published by Safety Mate®. All competitor facts were checked against public sources on 9 August 2026 — pricing pages, official help centres and independent review platforms — and every claim is linked in the sources section so you can verify it yourself. Where something could not be verified from a public source, we say so rather than guess. Pricing and features change; if you spot something out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
At a glance
Choose SafetyCulture if you mainly need mobile inspections and checklists at scale: its template library, offline mobile app and free tier (up to 10 seats) are genuinely market-leading, and it holds strong review scores (4.6/5 on Capterra from 355 reviews; 4.6/5 on G2, as of August 2026).
Choose Safety Mate® if you are a UK duty holder producing RAMS, COSHH assessments and audit evidence: RAMS, COSHH, permits and competency are purpose-built modules rather than checklist templates, pricing is published in GBP, and data stays in the UK.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Safety Mate® | SafetyCulture |
|---|---|---|
| RAMS documents | ✓ Purpose-built RAMS authoring with AI drafting, version control and sign-off | ◑ RAMS checklist templates completed as inspections — not issued RAMS documents |
| COSHH management | ✓ Dedicated COSHH module with assessments and controls | ◑ Free COSHH checklist templates only; no dedicated chemical module marketed |
| Audits & inspections | ✓ Yes | ✓ Excellent — its core strength, with a very large template library |
| Incident / safety event reporting | ✓ With investigations and corrective actions | ✓ Issues + Investigations |
| Permits to work | ✓ Dedicated permit workflows | ◑ Form templates with approvals — template-based rather than a permit engine |
| Training & competency | ✓ Competency tracking; e-learning platform on Enterprise | ✓ SC Training microlearning LMS |
| Asset management | ✓ Yes | ✓ On paid plans |
| AI assistance | ✓ AI risk assessments, toolbox talks, policies and SOPs — with human oversight | ✓ AI template builder and report summaries, metered by per-seat AI credits |
| Analytics | ✓ Dashboards; Power BI on Enterprise | ✓ Custom dashboards and Power BI connector on paid plans |
| Data residency (UK) | ✓ UK data residency — ISO 27001-certified data centres in the United Kingdom | ✗ US, Ireland or Australia only — no UK region |
| Workforce translation | ✓ 20+ languages for briefings and toolbox talks | ◑ Template content translation; UI in ~10 languages |
| Pricing transparency | ✓ Pro from £49.99 +VAT/month, published openly; Enterprise custom | ◑ USD per-seat pricing; billed in USD/AUD — no published GBP pricing |
Feature descriptions for SafetyCulture reflect its public pricing page, help centre and template library as of 9 August 2026 — see sources below.
Pricing
As of August 2026, SafetyCulture lists a free plan (up to 10 seats, 5 active templates), Premium at $24 per seat/month billed annually ($29 monthly), and a custom-priced Enterprise tier. Pricing is displayed in USD and billed in USD or AUD; no GBP price list is published. Per-seat costs scale linearly, which reviewers note "adds up" for large frontline deployments.
Safety Mate publishes its UK pricing openly: Pro from £49.99 +VAT per month (annual billing saves up to 17%), Enterprise with SSO, Power BI, SharePoint and Google Drive integrations, e-learning and a dedicated account manager at custom pricing — and every plan starts with a free 14-day trial. See full pricing.
Built around UK compliance, not generic checklists
UK health and safety work has specific shapes: RAMS packs that principal contractors demand under CDM 2015, COSHH assessments under the COSHH Regulations 2002, RIDDOR submissions with statutory deadlines. Safety Mate® treats these as first-class document types — a RAMS produced in Safety Mate is a version-controlled, issuable document with sign-off, not a completed checklist export.
SafetyCulture approaches the same needs through its (genuinely excellent) template library: you complete a RAMS checklist or a COSHH checklist as a mobile inspection. For inspection-led teams that works well; for duty holders who must issue, revise and evidence compliance documents, it usually means maintaining a parallel document process elsewhere. If you are weighing this up, our RIDDOR guide and risk assessment guide show how Safety Mate structures the underlying documents.
Where SafetyCulture is strong — honestly
A comparison you can trust has to concede real strengths. SafetyCulture's mobile inspection experience is arguably the best in the category; its public template library is enormous; the free plan is genuinely useful for small teams; SC Training is a capable microlearning LMS; and its integrations marketplace (Power BI, SharePoint, Google Drive, Procore, SAP and more) is broad. It is investing heavily in AI, and reviewers consistently rate it highly for ease of use.
Its commonly cited limitations — from its own review pages — are per-seat costs at scale, preset report formatting, limited approval-chain depth, and the checklist-first model this page describes. None of these make it a bad product; they make it a different product.
Frequently asked questions
Is SafetyCulture the same as iAuditor?
Yes — iAuditor was renamed as part of the SafetyCulture platform, and its training product EdApp is now SC Training.
Does SafetyCulture publish UK pricing?
No. As of August 2026 its pricing is listed in USD ($24/seat/month billed annually for Premium) and billed in USD or AUD. Safety Mate publishes UK pricing openly — Pro from £49.99 +VAT per month with a 14-day free trial.
Where is my data hosted with each platform?
Safety Mate stores UK customer data in ISO 27001-certified UK data centres. SafetyCulture hosts data at rest in the US, Ireland or Australia only, with no UK region.
When is SafetyCulture the better choice?
When your primary need is high-volume mobile inspections across a large frontline team — its mobile app, template library and free tier are excellent.
Sources
All competitor information on this page was checked on 9 August 2026 against the following public sources:
- https://safetyculture.com/pricing/
- https://help.safetyculture.com/000867
- https://help.safetyculture.com/en-US/003569/
- https://help.safetyculture.com/en-US/001214/
- https://safetyculture.com/library/construction/risk-assessment-and-method-statement-rams-v1-0-i7bjhbj0j2phirqf
- https://safetyculture.com/safety-and-compliance/permit-to-work
- https://www.capterra.com/p/141080/iAuditor/reviews/
- https://www.g2.com/products/safetyculturehq/reviews