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Polestead vs BitSight

BitSight quantifies vendor cyber posture from external telemetry — respected, benchmarkable, outside-in. Polestead answers a question no telemetry can: how much of you does each vendor hold?

BitSight
Polestead
The model
Security ratings from externally observable telemetry, benchmarked across companies.
Internal Risk Classification — your exposure decides the tier, the tier decides assessment depth.
Blind spot
A vendor with no meaningful internet surface — but full custody of your designs, facilities, or people — rates quietly.
That vendor is exactly who the six access vectors are built to surface.
Coverage
Monitored portfolios of nominated vendors.
The whole register, classified by default.
Deployment
US-headquartered multi-tenant SaaS.
On-premises, air-gapped, single-tenant EU cloud, or managed single-tenant SaaS.
Choose BitSight if…

You need externally benchmarked cyber ratings for insurers, boards, or M&A diligence — comparisons across companies are the product.

Choose Polestead if…

You need to manage third-party risk operationally — classify, assess, and respond — grounded in your exposure, on infrastructure you control. Ratings can still plug in as evidence.

See your register classified.

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FAQ

Common questions.

How is Polestead different from BitSight?+

BitSight quantifies external cyber posture; Polestead answers how much of you each vendor holds, classifying the whole register by exposure.

Is Polestead a ratings benchmark?+

No. It is an operational classification and assessment platform; ratings can plug in as evidence, not as the verdict.

Can it run in my own environment?+

Yes — on-premises, air-gapped, single-tenant EU cloud, or managed SaaS.