ElltyTop rated
A full-featured virtual data room with built-in AI tools, a clean interface and published pricing from $149/mo.
Directory · October 2026
Data room providers
The complete list of VDR vendors we monitor, ordered by editorial score. Each profile breaks down cost, safeguards, tooling and the kind of team it serves best.
iDeals
A UK-headquartered deal room with deep access controls, redaction, SSO and an API, backed by strong support and quoted pricing.
Datasite
A long-established US deal platform with AI features, redaction, SSO and a mobile app, priced by quote for bank-led processes.
Ansarada
An Australian data room that pairs AI features with a readiness-first approach to preparing transactions and governance work.
Firmex
A Canadian data room known for straightforward administration, built-in redaction and reliable support in mid-market and legal work.
Intralinks
One of the longest-running virtual data rooms, built around security controls for banks, funds and regulated institutions.
Drooms
A German data room offering cloud or on-premise deployment, AI features and a strong record in real estate transactions.
SmartRoom
A US data room whose strength is detailed permission control and structured Q&A for transactions with many parties.
Box
A general-purpose content cloud with strong integrations and certifications, usable for some deal sharing but without a dedicated Q&A module.
DealRoom
A US platform that combines a data room with M&A project management, aimed at corporate development teams running acquisitions.
CapLinked
A US data room with published pricing, core deal features and an API, often used for asset sales and smaller transactions.
ShareVault
A US data room centered on document protection for intellectual property, licensing and life sciences transactions.
SecureDocs
A flat-rate US data room with easy setup, e-signature and an API, aimed at startups and smaller transactions.
Digify
A Singapore-based document security tool focused on rights control and tracking, with a published entry price and a free trial.
Venue by DFIN
A US data room from a financial compliance provider, oriented toward IPOs, capital markets transactions and regulated disclosure.
DocSend
A US document sharing tool known for engagement analytics on pitch decks, with e-signature and per-user pricing.
What this directory covers
A virtual data room provider sells more than storage. It hosts confidential files for a transaction or audit, controls who can see each document, records every view and download, and supports the people on both sides while the process runs. We list 16 providers that are regularly shortlisted for that job, from dedicated deal platforms to document sharing tools that some teams use as a lighter alternative for small raises.
Every provider is held to the same record: an entry price and billing model, free trial status, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 listings, deployment, headquarters and twelve tracked features. Those facts drive the scores, the charts and the calculators on this page and on each profile, so a number means the same thing wherever it appears. When a detail is not in our records, the profile says so and tells you to confirm it with the provider rather than guess.
Some features are universal: all 16 providers record an audit trail and support dynamic watermarking. Others are scarce: E-signature (4 of 16), Mobile app (2 of 16), API (4 of 16). Those scarce features are often what separates two otherwise similar rooms.
Summary
All 16 providers at a glance
Rating, entry price, billing model, trial and the two certifications buyers ask about most, with the use each profile is strongest for.
| Provider | Rating | Entry price | Billing | Free trial | SOC 2 | ISO 27001 | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ellty | 4.8 | $149/mo | Flat monthly plan | Yes | Yes | No | Deals that need a full room, fast |
 iDeals | 4.6 | On request | Quote per project | Yes | Yes | Yes | Advisers running many parallel diligence processes |
 Datasite | 4.5 | On request | Quote per project | No | Yes | Yes | Bank-led auctions with many bidders |
 Ansarada | 4.4 | On request | Quote per project | Yes | Yes | Yes | Sellers preparing a room well before launch |
 Firmex | 4.4 | On request | Quote per project | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mid-market deals and law firm matters |
 Intralinks | 4.4 | On request | Quote per project | No | Yes | Yes | Regulated institutions with strict security reviews |
 Drooms | 4.2 | On request | Quote per project | No | Yes | Yes | European real estate and residency-sensitive deals |
 SmartRoom | 4.2 | On request | Quote per project | No | Yes | Yes | Multi-party deals needing tight access control |
 Box | 4.1 | $15/user/mo | Per user, monthly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Companies already standardized on Box |
 DealRoom | 4.1 | On request | Quote per project | Yes | Yes | Yes | Corporate development teams managing acquisition pipelines |
 CapLinked | 4.0 | $299/mo | Flat monthly plan | Yes | Yes | No | Repeat asset sales and mid-sized transactions |
 ShareVault | 4.0 | On request | Quote per project | Yes | Yes | Yes | IP licensing and biotech partnering deals |
 SecureDocs | 3.9 | $250/mo | Flat monthly plan | Yes | Yes | No | Startup fundraising and smaller company sales |
 Digify | 3.7 | $120/mo | Flat monthly plan | Yes | Yes | No | Controlled sharing of a few sensitive documents |
 Venue by DFIN | 3.7 | On request | Quote per project | No | Yes | Yes | IPO and capital markets transactions |
 DocSend | 3.5 | $45/user/mo | Per user, monthly | Yes | Yes | No | Early-stage founders sharing pitch decks |
Scores reflect our own testing and research, not crowd-sourced star ratings. Listed prices are estimates; vendors set the final figure.
How the ratings fall
Ratings are built from five pillar scores, weighted toward security and deal features. Most providers cluster between good and excellent, which is why the pillar detail matters more than a tenth of a point in the overall figure. The spread chart groups the directory into the rating bands used across the site.
How the directory ratings are spread
Median rating4.15
Range3.5 to 4.8
Rated 4.0 or higher12 of 16
dataroomsproviders.com
Leaders change from pillar to pillar. Long-established enterprise rooms tend to top the security and support columns, while newer platforms and document sharing tools often score better on ease of use. If one pillar matters more to your process than our weights suggest, use the leaders chart as your starting shortlist.
Pillar leaders across the directory
Providers differ most on ease of use (3.8 points between top and bottom) and least on security (2.8). The pillars with the widest spread are where your choice of provider changes the experience most.
dataroomsproviders.com
Pricing
What providers charge, and how
Billing model shapes the final bill as much as the headline price. A flat plan ignores team size, a per-user plan grows with it, and a project quote depends on scope.
How data room providers price, and what they offer up front
Flat monthly plan4
One monthly figure at entry level Entry $120 to $299 a month Quote per project10
Scoped and priced after a sales call Price on request Publish an entry price6 of 16
Offer a free trial11 of 16
List SOC 216 of 16
List ISO 2700111 of 16
63% of the directory quotes per project. For those providers, compare like for like by sending each one the same brief: term, users, page count and archive needs.
dataroomsproviders.com
Entry cost for your term and team
Move the sliders to rank every provider with a published entry price for the same scenario. Quote-only providers are grouped underneath with a market estimate, not a price from any of them.
Per-user plans scale with the user count; flat plans do not. Entry prices only, in USD.
- Box $15 per user a month x 5 $450
- Digify $120 a month, flat $720
- Ellty $149 a month, flat $894
- DocSend $45 per user a month x 5 $1,350
- SecureDocs $250 a month, flat $1,500
- CapLinked $299 a month, flat $1,794
10 providers quote per project
Market estimate, not any provider's price: $5,000 to $15,000 for a 10,000-page room over the same term.
Indicative only. Entry tiers differ in storage, users and features, so the cheapest total is not automatically the best fit. Confirm prices with each provider; bands follow our pricing guide.
Matrix
Feature comparison
Nine of the twelve features we track, chosen because they most often decide a shortlist. Audit trail and watermarking are left out because every provider records them.
| Provider | Q&A | Redaction | SSO | 2FA | Rights control | E-sign | API | Mobile app | AI | Tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellty | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | 8 of 12 |
| iDeals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | 9 of 12 |
| Datasite | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | 10 of 12 |
| Ansarada | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | 8 of 12 |
| Firmex | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | 7 of 12 |
| Intralinks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | 8 of 12 |
| Drooms | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | 8 of 12 |
| SmartRoom | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | 7 of 12 |
| Box | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 of 12 |
| DealRoom | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | 6 of 12 |
| CapLinked | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | 7 of 12 |
| ShareVault | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | 6 of 12 |
| SecureDocs | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | 8 of 12 |
| Digify | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | 4 of 12 |
| Venue by DFIN | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | 6 of 12 |
| DocSend | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | 3 of 12 |
| Providers with it | 13 of 16 | 7 of 16 | 6 of 16 | 12 of 16 | 14 of 16 | 4 of 16 | 4 of 16 | 2 of 16 | 5 of 16 |
Choosing
How to pick a data room provider
Six steps that work whichever provider you end up with. Each profile on this site has the scores, feature record and cost estimator to work through them.
- 01
Name the transaction
A sell-side auction, a funding round, a property portfolio and a board archive put different loads on a room. Write down the deal type, the number of outside parties and how long the room must stay open.
- 02
List the deal breakers
Pick the two or three requirements that would rule a provider out, such as ISO 27001, single sign-on, in-room redaction or an API. Check those columns in the tables on this page before you look at ratings.
- 03
Pick a billing model that fits the shape
Many users over a short term favor a flat plan; a small internal team over a long term may suit per-user billing; a very large, complex process usually ends up as a project quote.
- 04
Shortlist three, not ten
Take the highest-rated providers that pass your filters, then add the closest rival from each profile. Three serious candidates are enough to compare price and service properly.
- 05
Test with real documents
Use a free trial or a scripted demo to upload a sample folder, set group permissions, invite a colleague as an outside reviewer and push one question through Q&A.
- 06
Read the paperwork
Ask for the audit report or certificate, the data processing terms, the hosting regions and the exit terms: how files and logs are archived, handed over and deleted at close.
Prefer a starting point? The data room finder asks a few questions about your deal and suggests a shortlist, and the comparison pages put the most common pairings side by side on the 5 pillars.
Data room provider FAQ
How many data room providers are listed here?
The directory covers 16 virtual data room and secure document sharing providers. Each has a full profile with pillar scores, a feature record, a security snapshot and a cost estimator built from the same facts.
How are the ratings calculated?
Each provider is scored out of 10 on five pillars: security (25%), deal features (25%), ease of use (20%), value (20%) and support (10%). The weighted result is shown as a rating out of 5. The ratings are editorial and come from our own research, not from user review platforms.
Which providers publish their prices?
6 of 16 providers publish an entry price, either as a flat monthly plan or per user. The other 10 price each project after a scoping call, so their cost depends on term, users and data volume.
Do all data room providers offer a free trial?
No. 11 of 16 providers in our records offer a free trial; the rest offer a demonstration instead. Where a trial exists, use it to test permissions and Q&A with your own sample documents. Ellty's free trial runs for 14 days.
Is ISO 27001 or SOC 2 more important?
Neither is better in general. SOC 2 is common with US counterparties and ISO 27001 is more often requested in Europe and Asia-Pacific. 11 of 16 providers list ISO 27001. Check which one your counterparty asks for, then read the scope of the report or certificate.
How often is the directory updated?
Provider facts, prices and scores are reviewed on a rolling basis and whenever a provider announces a material change. Prices are indicative; always confirm the current figure with the provider.