Cloud Security
AWS Security Hub vs Audit Manager is a question about two different jobs: Security Hub finds security problems in your accounts, while Audit Manager collects evidence for auditors. In 2026 there is also a catch, because AWS has changed the availability of Audit Manager. This guide explains what each does and what to use today.
Facts about AWS services below come from AWS documentation and blogs as we read them on 11 October 2026. AWS changes these services, so check the linked pages before you decide.
What is the difference between AWS Security Hub and Audit Manager?
AWS Security Hub continuously checks your accounts against security standards and gathers findings from other AWS security services. AWS Audit Manager automates the collection of evidence that your controls work, mapped to frameworks such as SOC 2. One is for security teams finding problems, the other for compliance teams proving controls.
| AWS Security Hub | AWS Audit Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Detect misconfigurations and prioritise findings | Collect and organise audit evidence |
| Used by | Security and DevOps engineers | Compliance and audit teams |
| Output | Findings and security scores against standards | Assessments with evidence attached to controls |
| Frameworks | Standards such as AWS Foundational Security Best Practices, CIS and PCI DSS | Prebuilt frameworks such as SOC 2 |
| Availability in 2026 | Available | Closed to new customers (see below) |
What does AWS Security Hub do in the AWS Security Hub vs Audit Manager comparison?
Security Hub runs automated checks against security standards, aggregates findings from services such as GuardDuty, Inspector and Macie, and gives you one place to prioritise and route them. The original service is now called AWS Security Hub CSPM, and a newer unified Security Hub builds on it.
AWS’s own blog states that the earlier version is now known as AWS Security Hub CSPM and continues as a service focused on cloud security posture management and finding aggregation, while the new Security Hub correlates signals from Inspector, GuardDuty, Macie and CSPM. See AWS’s announcement of the new Security Hub. If you automated against the old finding format, AWS notes the newer product uses a different schema, so existing automation rules need migrating.
In practice the CSPM checks are what an AWS security audit leans on: public buckets, unrestricted security groups, root accounts without MFA, missing encryption. It is a detection tool, though. It produces findings, often hundreds, and does not decide which three matter this week.
What does Audit Manager do in the AWS Security Hub vs Audit Manager comparison?
Audit Manager automatically runs resource assessments in the accounts you put in scope and turns the data into audit-ready evidence attached to controls. Evidence comes from CloudTrail, Security Hub, AWS Config and API calls, and collection continues for as long as the assessment is active.
It ships with prebuilt frameworks, including SOC 2. AWS is clear about the limits: the controls in a framework are not intended to verify that you are compliant, they cannot guarantee that you will pass an audit, and Audit Manager does not automatically check procedural controls that need manual evidence, such as a written incident response plan. Pricing is per resource assessment, per account, per region.
Does AWS Security Hub vs Audit Manager still make sense in 2026?
For new customers, not really. AWS’s documentation says Audit Manager stopped accepting new customers from 30 April 2026 and is moving to maintenance mode, with AWS investing in AWS Config for compliance management instead. Existing customers can keep using it within the limits AWS describes.
Read AWS’s own page, AWS Audit Manager availability change, for the exact terms, including what existing customers can still do. If you already use Audit Manager, nothing forces you to stop. If you do not, you cannot start, so the practical comparison for a new setup is different.
How do Security Hub, Config, GuardDuty and CloudTrail fit together?
Each answers a different question. CloudTrail records who did what through the API, AWS Config records how resources are configured and how that changed, GuardDuty looks for suspicious behaviour, Inspector scans for software vulnerabilities, and Security Hub gathers their findings into one prioritised view.
- CloudTrail: the audit log. Without it you cannot investigate, and auditors will ask for it first.
- AWS Config: configuration history and rules, so you can show a setting was compliant on a given date.
- GuardDuty: threat detection, for example unusual API calls or credentials used from unexpected places.
- Inspector: vulnerability findings for compute workloads and container images.
- Security Hub: the place where findings from the tools above meet your chosen standards.
Whichever route you take, these services are the technical foundation. Audit Manager itself depended on Security Hub and Config being enabled to collect evidence, which tells you where the real work sits.
What should you check before relying on any of them for an audit?
Check that the services are enabled in every region and every account in scope, that findings go to a monitored place, and that you can show people acted on them. Auditors test whether controls operated, so a tool that is switched on but ignored can hurt you.
- Enabled in all accounts and regions you use, or deliberately blocked in those you do not.
- Findings routed to a ticket queue or chat channel with a named owner.
- A record of how long findings stay open and who closed them.
- Logs retained for at least your audit period.
- Manual controls, such as policies and access reviews, documented outside AWS.
AWS Security Hub vs Audit Manager: which do you need?
If you are new to AWS compliance, start with Security Hub, AWS Config and CloudTrail for detection and configuration history, and collect audit evidence with your own process or a compliance automation platform. If you already run Audit Manager, keep it while it meets your needs and plan how you would replace it.
- You need to find and fix problems: Security Hub. Turn on the standard that matches your target, such as the CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, and route findings to someone who will act on them.
- You need configuration history and rules: AWS Config, which also feeds evidence to auditors.
- You need evidence for SOC 2 or similar and you already use Audit Manager: keep using it, and fill the gaps it does not cover, such as policies and manual controls.
- You need evidence and are starting fresh: use Security Hub and Config for the technical controls, then assemble the evidence in a structured folder or a compliance platform. See our SOC 2 AWS checklist.
Does the AWS Security Hub vs Audit Manager choice make you audit-ready?
No. Neither side of the AWS Security Hub vs Audit Manager decision does that on its own. Security Hub tells you where your accounts deviate from a standard. It does not write your policies, run your access reviews or prove that controls operated over time. It is a strong source of technical evidence, and it needs people and process around it before an auditor will be satisfied.
An independent review fills that gap. Our AWS security audit reads the Security Hub findings in context, drops the ones that do not apply, and gives you a ranked fix list. For the underlying checks, see our AWS security audit checklist.
The bottom line
On AWS Security Hub vs Audit Manager, the answer is simple: Security Hub detects, Audit Manager documents, and in 2026 only one of them is open to new customers. Pick the detection tools first, fix what they find, and gather evidence in a way that does not depend on a service in maintenance mode. If you would like a second opinion on your setup, book a free 20-minute assessment.
Last updated: 11 October 2026 · Written by AegisElligent.