CQC audit software compared: six tools side by side
By Cura Compliance UK · Updated 10 November 2026
Six tools come up most for CQC audits in UK care. They fall into three groups: audit apps priced per user or per site (GoAudits, Care Audit Pro, Auditacare), audit modules inside wider platforms (QCS, Radar Healthcare), and CuraFlow Compliance, which adds mock inspections mapped to all 34 quality statements, from £29 a month.
Three kinds of audit tool
- Audit apps. You run checklists on a phone or tablet, attach photos and assign actions. GoAudits, Care Audit Pro and Auditacare sit here. They are the cheapest way in, and none supplies a policy library.
- Audit modules inside a wider platform. QCS includes its Audit Centre in its higher membership tiers, alongside its policy library. Radar Healthcare is a governance, risk and incident platform aimed at NHS bodies, hospitals and care groups.
- Audit plus inspection readiness. CuraFlow Compliance schedules audits and tracks actions like the apps do, then rolls the results up to a mock inspection with a predicted rating for each key question.
Side by side
| Tool | Price | CQC framework mapping | Mock inspections |
|---|---|---|---|
| CuraFlow Compliance | £39 a month for the first user, or £29 paid annually, then £9 per extra user. 14-day free trial | All 34 quality statements, with an evidence pack per statement | Yes, with a predicted rating per key question. Ofsted frameworks too |
| QCS Audit Centre | Part of the QCS membership: audits from the Assurance tier at £390 a month, mock inspections in Governance at £515 | Says it supports the quality statements and fundamental standards. No count shown | Yes, in the Governance tier, built on the five key questions |
| GoAudits | Starter £8 and Enterprise £24 per user a month billed annually (£10 and £30 monthly), plus VAT. 14-day trial | Templates aligned to the single assessment framework, grouped by the five key questions | Says its audits can be used as mock inspections |
| Care Audit Pro | £199 a year per site for audits, £166 for surveys. A framework audit is free | Free audit of 242 questions across the five key questions | Not mentioned |
| Auditacare | Monthly plans by number of registered services, shown on its pricing page. 14-day free evaluation | Says every question maps to a quality statement | Not mentioned |
| Radar Healthcare | Quote only | No quality statement mapping shown on its public pages | Not mentioned |
What to check before you buy
- Does it map to the 34 quality statements, or only the five key questions? Inspectors now gather evidence against the quality statements, so mapping at that level saves you doing it by hand.
- Is scheduling on the plan you are pricing? On GoAudits, scheduling and assigning audits is an Enterprise feature, not part of Starter.
- Do failed answers become actions with an owner and a due date, and can you see what is overdue?
- Can you export evidence by quality statement for an inspector, rather than a stack of separate audit reports?
- Does it run a mock inspection that tells you where you would land, before CQC does?
- Do you need to work offline? GoAudits and Radar Healthcare say they do. Check this if your staff audit in places with no signal.
- Is it priced per user or per site? That decides which is cheaper for you.
Per user or per site: a worked example
Take one care home where five managers and seniors complete audits. GoAudits Enterprise, which includes scheduling, is £24 per user a month billed annually, so £120 a month plus VAT. CuraFlow Compliance is £29 for the first user paid annually plus £9 for each of the other four, so £65 a month. Care Audit Pro charges per site, not per user, at £199 a year. A per-site price wins for a single location with many auditors. Per-user pricing gets cheaper the fewer people audit.
Where each one fits
- GoAudits suits a provider that wants a general audit app that works offline and is happy to build its own CQC structure from templates. It is used across many industries, not only care.
- Care Audit Pro suits a single site on a tight budget that wants a large ready-made question set at a low annual price per site.
- Auditacare suits a provider that wants audits linked to its own policies and a simple monthly price per service.
- QCS Audit Centre makes most sense if you already pay for, or want, the QCS policy library and the rest of its membership.
- Radar Healthcare suits large multi-site groups that need incident, risk and governance reporting as well as audits.
- CuraFlow Compliance suits a provider that wants audits, actions and an inspection-style rating in one place, mapped to the quality statements, at a published monthly price.
None of these tools replaces your policies. GoAudits, Care Audit Pro, Auditacare and Radar Healthcare do not supply a policy library. QCS bundles its library into the membership, and CuraFlow sells libraries separately, see CuraFlow vs QCS. For running a mock inspection with or without software, see CQC mock inspection: how to run one.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best CQC audit software for a small care home?
- It depends on how many people audit. For one site with many auditors, a per-site price such as Care Audit Pro's £199 a year is hard to beat. If you want mock inspections and quality statement mapping as well, CuraFlow Compliance starts at £29 a month paid annually.
- Is there free CQC audit software?
- Care Audit Pro offers a free framework audit of 242 questions. GoAudits and CuraFlow Compliance both offer 14-day free trials, and Auditacare a 14-day free evaluation. Full ongoing use of any of them is paid.
- Does CQC require audit software?
- No. Regulation 17 requires systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of your service, and paper audits can meet that. Software helps you show inspectors that audits happen on schedule and that actions are followed through.
- What is a CQC mock inspection tool?
- It runs an inspection-style review of your service against the CQC framework and shows where you would land before a real inspection. QCS includes one in its Governance tier, and CuraFlow Compliance rolls audit results up to a predicted rating for each key question.
- Do audit tools include policies and procedures?
- Mostly not. Audit apps such as GoAudits, Care Audit Pro and Auditacare check practice against your own policies. QCS includes its policy library in the membership. CuraFlow sells service-type policy libraries separately from Compliance.
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