Best CSRD reporting software in 2026: how to shortlist the right tool
How to pick the best CSRD and ESRS reporting software for your company, what to compare, and a live shortlist of providers ordered by verified reviews, never by payment.
There is no single best CSRD reporting software, because the right tool depends on your size, your data and your auditor. What you can do is shortlist fairly: compare tools on the same few points, check what real customers say, and test the two or three that fit. This page shows you how, and lists providers from the directory ordered by verified reviews and relevance. Payment never changes the order.
The shortlist
Code Gaia
AI-assisted ESG data collection and carbon accounting, with links to accounting systems.
EFRAG
Brussels-based body that advises the European Commission on accounting standards and drafts the European Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Carbon Maps
Sustainability platform for food-sector companies covering carbon footprints, life cycle assessments and supplier engagement.
SmartTrackers
Dutch ESG software for setting sustainability goals, tracking footprint data and KPIs, and producing reports and audits.
Carbon Trail
Sustainability software for fashion and retail covering carbon accounting, product LCA and digital product passports.
Tanso
Sustainability software for industrial companies combining carbon accounting with ESG compliance reporting.
Greenomy
EU Taxonomy, SFDR and CSRD reporting software. Acquired by Position Green in 2025.
Coolset
Sustainability software for CSRD and VSME reporting, carbon accounting, CBAM and EU Taxonomy.
Ordered by verified reviews and relevance. Listings are never ranked by payment. See all 33 providers
Six things to compare
- ESRS coverage. Does the tool include the full ESRS data model, or only some topics? Ask how it handles the revisions to the standards and whether updates are in your licence.
- Double materiality. Look for a built-in assessment that records scoring, stakeholder input and reasons. It is one of the first things an assurer reviews. See what a double materiality assessment is.
- Audit trail. Every number should link to an owner, a date, evidence and an approval step. Ask to see what an assurer would see.
- Data collection. Check how people outside the sustainability team supply data: requests, reminders, imports from finance and HR systems.
- Digital tagging. CSRD reports must be filed in a digital, tagged format. Find out whether the tool produces it or hands off to a filing provider. See what iXBRL tagging is.
- Total cost. Licence, implementation, extra users, extra entities and support. See what ESG software costs.
Match the tool to your situation
- A first-time reporter with a small team usually needs guidance and templates more than advanced features. Favour a tool with a clear workflow and implementation help.
- A group with many subsidiaries needs consolidation, entity-level permissions and role-based approvals.
- A company with heavy Scope 3 may want carbon accounting alongside the reporting tool. See how to choose carbon accounting software.
- A company close to the threshold should first confirm it is in scope. After the 2026 Omnibus changes, CSRD applies to EU groups with more than 1,000 employees and over €450 million turnover. See who has to report, and when.
How to run a fair trial
Give every vendor the same short brief: three of your real data points, one materiality topic and one report section. Ask each to demo it with your inputs, not a sample company. Score them on the six points above, then ask your assurance provider which one they would be comfortable testing. A tool the assurer can work with saves you the most time.
What changed with the Omnibus, and why it matters for your purchase
The scope of the CSRD was narrowed in 2026. Mandatory reporting now applies to EU groups with more than 1,000 employees and over €450 million turnover, and to certain non-EU groups with large EU turnover. Listed small and mid-sized companies are no longer in scope. Three things follow for software buyers.
First, fewer companies need a full ESRS platform, so vendors are repositioning. Some are adding lighter packages built around the voluntary standard for smaller companies. See the VSME explained. Second, the ESRS themselves are being simplified, with fewer data points. A vendor’s update process matters more than its current data point count. Third, in-scope companies still need an auditable process by the time their first report is due. The first reporting year for EU groups in scope starts on 1 January 2027, with the report published in 2028. That timeline gives you room to run a proper selection, but not to start late.
A realistic implementation timeline
Most first-time implementations run in four stages. Treat the durations as a guide only; they depend heavily on the number of entities and the quality of your data.
- Selection (weeks). Agree requirements, shortlist three vendors, run trials with your own data, and check references.
- Set-up (weeks to a few months). Configure entities, users and permissions, import last year’s data, and map your chart of accounts and HR categories to ESRS data points.
- Materiality and gap analysis (months). Run the double materiality assessment and decide which data points you must collect. See what a double materiality assessment is.
- A dry run (a quarter or more). Collect a full period of data, review it as an assurer would, and fix process weaknesses before the real reporting year.
Companies that skip the dry run usually find data gaps during the real cycle, when there is no time to fix them.
Who owns what
Software does not remove the need for owners. Before you sign, agree who in your company will do each job.
- Sustainability lead: owns the report, the materiality decisions and the vendor relationship.
- Finance: owns the link to financial statements, the consolidation boundary and any tagging.
- HR: supplies workforce data.
- Operations and procurement: supply energy, waste, water and supplier data.
- Internal audit or risk: reviews controls over the process.
- The board or audit committee: oversees the process and approves the outcome.
A simple demo scorecard
Score each vendor from 1 to 5 on the same points, using your own sample data.
| Area | What to look for |
|---|---|
| ESRS coverage | Full data model, clear update process |
| Materiality | Your scales, stakeholder input, a full record |
| Data collection | Owners, reminders, approvals, imports |
| Audit trail | Evidence, history, locked periods |
| Assurance | Outputs your assurer can test |
| Tagging | Digital report output or a clear partner |
| Support | Named contact, response times, training |
| Cost | Three-year total, including extras |
Common mistakes when buying
- Buying for the demo. A polished demo with sample data tells you little. Insist on your own data.
- Ignoring your assurer. If your assurance provider cannot work with the outputs, you will redo the work in spreadsheets.
- Underestimating internal time. The software is the smaller part of the cost. Collecting and checking data takes your people’s hours.
- Locking in too long. The standards are still changing. Prefer terms that let you review after the first reporting cycle.
- Skipping exit terms. Make sure you can export all your data and evidence in a usable format.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need software for our first CSRD report?
Not always. For a single entity with simple data, a controlled spreadsheet process can work for the first year. Once you have many entities, supplier data or an assurer asking for traceability, software usually pays for itself in time saved and risk reduced.
Should the tool also do carbon accounting?
It can, but it does not have to. Many companies use a specialist carbon platform and feed the results into the reporting tool. Check that the numbers flow across without re-keying. See the best carbon accounting software shortlist.
Can we change vendors later?
Yes, but it is costly. The more you rely on a vendor’s data structure, the harder the exit. Agree export formats and a data return clause now.
Where do consultants fit in?
Consultants help most with the first materiality assessment and gap analysis. See CSRD readiness consultants and how to choose an ESG consultant.
Related guides
- How to choose CSRD reporting software: a buyer’s guide
- ESRS, ISSB and GRI compared
- Which ESG reporting rules apply to you?
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules change; check the official sources and talk to an adviser before you rely on it.
Related guides
What assurance providers ask for in a sustainability report
The evidence, documentation and controls an assurance provider typically expects to see when reviewing a sustainability report, and how to prepare before they arrive.
How-to guideHow to prepare your first VSME sustainability report
A practical walkthrough for small and mid-sized companies answering customer and bank requests with a VSME-style report: which module, what data, who owns what, and how to avoid over-reporting.
How-to guideDouble materiality assessment: a step-by-step process
A working process for running a double materiality assessment, from scoping and stakeholder input to scoring, sign-off and documentation, with the evidence an auditor will want to see.