Ellty vs iDeals

Ellty and iDeals compete in one tier of the VDR market. Each is designed around deals rather than everyday file sharing, and each handles the essentials of selling or acquiring a business: access settings at file level, a managed question-and-answer process, watermarks generated per viewer, rights restrictions on documents, 2FA, drag-and-drop mass uploads and activity logs capturing each time someone opens a file. Where they part ways is at the margins: certifications, integrations, how they charge and which add-on tools come included.

Side by side

Figures are estimates; check current pricing with each vendor.

How the pillar scores compare

Deal features come out tied. iDeals edges ahead for security and support, while Ellty pulls ahead for usability and value. Usability and value account for 40% of the total between them, so Ellty’s gains in those two pillars more than offset the narrower iDeals advantages, giving the 0.2 difference overall. See the methodology for how every pillar is weighted.

Security

Each room includes the safeguards a deal relies on: 2FA at sign-in, per-viewer watermarks, restrictions on what can be done with each file, and logs showing every open, download and print.

What separates them is certification. iDeals carries SOC 2 as well as ISO 27001, the ISO benchmark for running an information security management programme. Ellty is certified to SOC 2 Infrastructure and has no ISO 27001 certificate. In practice the everyday protection is similar, yet certain institutional buyers and procurement departments list ISO 27001 as a must on their supplier questionnaires. When that applies to you, iDeals is the safer choice.

SSO is the other gap: iDeals can hand sign-in over to a company’s identity platform, whereas Ellty uses 2FA alone. Organizations that insist on SSO for every outside tool should factor that in.

Deal features

For day-to-day deal work they are very close. Each lets you set access per group and per file, route buyer questions through a dedicated Q&A tool, load folders in bulk to build the index fast, and keep an activity record for after closing.

The differences:

• Ellty comes with AI assistance and its own e-signing, letting a team go from diligence straight to executed documents in one place.
• iDeals comes with a redaction tool, handy for hiding personal details or sensitive numbers before sharing, plus an API to link the room with in-house software.

You access both through a web browser; neither has a native mobile app.

Ease of use

Usability is where Ellty is furthest ahead in our scores, 9.8 versus 8.5. Its tidy layout and quick onboarding let an admin create a room, lay out folders and send invitations within one sitting, and bidders logging in for the first time usually locate files unaided. iDeals is logically arranged, though its many settings take occasional users a while to master.

Pricing

Ellty’s pricing is public, starting at $149 a month, and a 14-day free trial is available. You can therefore set a budget without a sales call.

iDeals sets prices case by case; you learn the cost only after requesting a proposal, and it varies with project scope. A free trial is available from iDeals too.

Treat both figures as estimates and check them with each vendor. The VDR pricing guide covers typical billing approaches and the questions worth raising when you request a proposal.

Support

For support iDeals earns 9.7, ahead of Ellty and near the top across every vendor we cover. Ellty earns 9.2, comfortably above average for the market. Because support counts for just 10% of the total, it is relevant yet seldom the deciding factor by itself.

Which one fits your process

Choose Ellty when you need a complete deal room with openly listed prices, a layout external users learn fast, and AI assistance plus e-signing under one roof. It works well for acquisitions, capital raises and diligence projects where a quick launch and a known budget are priorities.

Choose iDeals when ISO 27001 is demanded by your counterparties or procurement, company policy requires SSO, redaction must happen inside the room, or an API link to other software is on your list.

Still weighing up more options? The detailed Ellty and iDeals profiles break down pros and cons, and our M&A shortlist ranks both against other vendors.

Decision cards

Pick Ellty or iDeals: the deciding conditions

Pick Ellty if

1. 1You want the data room cost fixed from a published price of $149 a month
2. 2AI tools and e-signature should be part of the same room
3. 3Bidders and investors should start reviewing without training
4. 4The room has to be live quickly once the mandate is signed

Pick iDeals if

1. 1ISO 27001 is demanded by counterparties or procurement
2. 2Company policy routes every external tool through single sign-on
3. 3Redaction must happen inside the platform
4. 4The room needs an API link to in-house systems

Look elsewhere if reviewers need a native mobile app. Neither offers one in our records.

dataroomsproviders.com

Deal scenarios

Sell-side process for a profitable private company

An adviser runs a sale with five or six interested buyers. Ellty fits this shape well: the index goes up quickly through bulk upload, each buyer gets its own permission group and Q&A channel, the AI tools help the sell side prepare consistent answers, and the purchase agreement can be signed in the room. The seller knows the data room cost from the start.

Acquisition by a corporate buyer with strict IT policies

The buyer’s IT team requires SSO for every external application and asks for an ISO 27001 certificate in its supplier questionnaire. iDeals meets both requirements directly. This is the clearest case where certification and identity policy decide the choice before features are compared.

Diligence on a business with large volumes of personal data

When employee files or customer records must be disclosed with identifiers removed, iDeals’ in-room redaction saves a separate step. With Ellty, redaction is done before upload. For a small number of affected documents the difference is minor; for thousands, it adds up.

A Series B round with a lead and several follow-on investors

Separate folders for the lead and for follow-on funds, a steady flow of questions, and subscription documents to sign at the end. Ellty’s permissions, Q&A and e-signature cover the whole sequence in one place, and its ease-of-use score of 9.8 helps investors who use many different data rooms each year.

Security posture: questions for both vendors

The protections on documents are comparable, so the useful work is in the assurance paperwork. Ask Ellty for its SOC 2 Infrastructure report and read the scope section, which states the systems and controls the auditor examined; the AICPA’s SOC 2 overview explains the criteria. Ask iDeals for its ISO 27001 certificate and confirm the data room service is in scope. From both, request the available hosting locations, the process for revoking a bidder’s access, and how long activity logs are kept after the room is archived.

Onboarding and support

Ellty’s clean interface and fast setup mean the sell-side team can usually prepare a room and invite the first users without vendor-led training. iDeals offers more settings, so the person administering the room benefits from a short session with its team. Both offer a free trial, which is the most reliable test: build the same small index in each and invite a colleague to act as a bidder.

Support is where iDeals leads, 9.7 against 9.2. On a cross-border deal, confirm the hours each vendor staffs support in the time zones of your main bidders.

Moving between Ellty and iDeals

Because both support bulk upload, structured Q&A and per-group permissions, the concepts carry over in either direction. Switch between deals rather than during one. Archive the outgoing room in full, including Q&A and the activity log, keep the index numbering unchanged, and rebuild permission groups from a written access matrix. If you are moving to iDeals for its API, plan the integration before the first live room.