Best data rooms for startups.

Seventeen virtual data rooms scored for the way startups raise money, go through diligence and sell. One list, five measures, published formulas.

Ellty leads with 9.2 out of 10, ahead of iDeals, Firmex, SecureDocs. Scores weigh setup speed, investor experience, access control, diligence tools and pricing for a startup budget. Checked Sep 30, 2026.

1

Ellty

Since 2020 · Australia

9.2/10First-rate

Investor Q&A, NDA e-signing, view-only files and AI help in one room, priced openly at $149 per month and testable on a 14-day free trial.
- $149 monthly
- 14-day free trial
- 8/12 feature checks
Visit Ellty Full review
Places best for Pre-seed round, SAFE round
- Investor Q&A
- NDA e-signing
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- SOC 2 (hosting)
2

iDeals

Since 2008 · United Kingdom

8.2/10Strong pick

A UK deal room priced by quote, with redaction, Okta-style single sign-on and an API, plus both ISO 27001 and SOC 2. A trial is offered.
- Quote only
- Free trial offered
- 9/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Selling your startup, Startup merger
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
- GDPR
3

Firmex

Since 2006 · Canada

8.1/10Strong pick

A Canadian room popular with law firms and mid-market advisers: quoted price, redaction, ISO 27001 and a trial.
- Quote only
- Free trial offered
- 7/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Acquihire, Founder secondary
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
4

SecureDocs

Since 2012 · United States

8.1/10Strong pick

A flat $250 per month room with questions, NDA signing and an API, easy for a small finance team to run; trial offered.
- $250 monthly
- Free trial offered
- 8/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Pre-seed round, SAFE round
- Investor Q&A
- NDA e-signing
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- SOC 2
5

Ansarada

Since 2005 · Australia

8.0/10Strong pick

An Australian quote-based room with AI tools and a readiness process for companies preparing to sell; ISO 27001, SOC 2 and a trial.
- Quote only
- Free trial offered
- 8/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Working with lawyers, Selling your startup
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
6

Datasite

Since 1999 · United States

8.0/10Strong pick

The platform many investment banks run sell-side processes on: AI tools, a phone app, SSO and redaction, bought through a quote.
- Quote only
- Demo, no trial
- 10/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Sell-side process, Private equity buyer
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
- GDPR
7

Citrix ShareFile

Since 2005 · United States

7.8/10Strong pick

A client file-sharing service accountants know well, at $55 per month, with e-signing, an app, SSO and HIPAA, but no question module.
- $55 monthly
- Free trial offered
- 9/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Pre-seed round, SAFE round
- NDA e-signing
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
- HIPAA
8

CapLinked

Since 2010 · United States

7.8/10Strong pick

A US room at $299 per month with a question module and an API, used for raises, smaller sales and asset deals; trial offered.
- $299 monthly
- Free trial offered
- 7/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Pre-seed round, SAFE round
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
9

Drooms

Since 2001 · Germany

7.6/10Good option

A German room with AI tools, redaction and the option to run on-premises, favoured in European real estate and M&A; quote only.
- Quote only
- Demo, no trial
- 8/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Pre-IPO round, IPO
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
- GDPR
10

Intralinks

Since 1996 · United States

7.5/10Good option

One of the first virtual data rooms (1996), built for large and regulated transactions and sold by quote, with SSO and redaction.
- Quote only
- Demo, no trial
- 8/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Healthtech, Fintech
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
11

DealRoom

Since 2012 · United States

7.5/10Good option

A US room that mixes the data room with request lists and task tracking, used heavily by corporate development teams; quote and trial.
- Quote only
- Free trial offered
- 6/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Strategic acquirer, Grants and SBIR
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
12

SmartRoom

Since 2004 · United States

7.4/10Good option

A US room known for fine-grained permission settings across many buyer groups; redaction, ISO 27001, quote only.
- Quote only
- Demo, no trial
- 7/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Strategic acquirer, Technical due diligence
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
13

Onehub

Since 2007 · United States

7.3/10Good option

A low-cost client portal at $15 per month with watermarks, an app and an API, but no question module or download locks.
- $15 monthly
- Free trial offered
- 6/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Pre-seed round, SAFE round
- Dynamic watermarks
- Viewer activity log
- Bulk folder upload
- Mobile app
- SOC 2
14

Digify

Since 2011 · Singapore

7.0/10Good option

A Singapore document protection tool at $120 per month: stop downloads, stamp watermarks and track opens; no question module.
- $120 monthly
- Free trial offered
- 4/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Pre-seed round, SAFE round
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- Bulk folder upload
- SOC 2
15

ShareVault

Since 2003 · United States

7.0/10Good option

The room many biotech and medtech companies use for partnering and licensing as well as fundraising; quote and trial, ISO 27001.
- Quote only
- Free trial offered
- 6/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Biotech, Deep tech
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
16

DocSend

Since 2013 · United States

6.6/10Narrow fit

The deck-sharing tool most founders meet first, at $45 per seat each month: page-level reading stats, watermarks and NDA signing.
- $45 per seat monthly
- Free trial offered
- 3/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for SAFE round, Angel round
- NDA e-signing
- Dynamic watermarks
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- GDPR
17

Venue by DFIN

Since 2016 · United States

6.5/10Narrow fit

DFIN's room for IPOs and capital markets work, with redaction and a question module; ISO 27001, quote only.
- Quote only
- Demo, no trial
- 6/12 feature checks
Full review
Places best for Pre-IPO round, IPO
- Investor Q&A
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only and download control
- Viewer activity log
- SOC 2
- ISO 27001

How to read this list.

Each room gets a score out of 10 on five measures, and the weighted total decides the order. The weights favour what a founder feels most: how fast the room is ready (22%), how tightly access can be controlled (22%), what it costs a company that pays its own bills (20%), how investors experience it (18%) and how well it carries a long diligence list (18%).

The average score across all 17 rooms is 7.6. 13 of them list a question-and-answer module, which is the single feature most likely to save a founder time during a Series A or a sale.

Published price or quote

7 providers put a price on their website and 10 quote per project. Quote-based rooms are often the choice of banks and late-stage acquirers; published-price rooms are easier for a founder running the round alone. Our pricing guide sets them side by side.

Deck tools versus data rooms

Tools built for sending a pitch deck as a tracked link sit lower here because they lack Q&A, folder permissions or two-step login. They are useful before diligence; the room matters once a fund starts reading contracts.

Shortlist in four steps

Pick your use case below and read its top three.
Check the price basis and trial in the facts table.
Load your real folder index into a trial room.
Invite one friendly investor and ask how it reads.

Key facts.

Price basis, trial, attestations and age for every room, in ranking order.

Provider	Score	Price	Trial	Attestations	Founded, base
Ellty	9.2	$149 monthly	14-day free trial	SOC 2 (hosting)	2020, Australia
iDeals	8.2	Quote only	Free trial offered	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR	2008, United Kingdom
Firmex	8.1	Quote only	Free trial offered	SOC 2, ISO 27001	2006, Canada
SecureDocs	8.1	$250 monthly	Free trial offered	SOC 2	2012, United States
Ansarada	8.0	Quote only	Free trial offered	SOC 2, ISO 27001	2005, Australia
Datasite	8.0	Quote only	Demo, no trial	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR	1999, United States
Citrix ShareFile	7.8	$55 monthly	Free trial offered	SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA	2005, United States
CapLinked	7.8	$299 monthly	Free trial offered	SOC 2	2010, United States
Drooms	7.6	Quote only	Demo, no trial	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR	2001, Germany
Intralinks	7.5	Quote only	Demo, no trial	SOC 2, ISO 27001	1996, United States
DealRoom	7.5	Quote only	Free trial offered	SOC 2, ISO 27001	2012, United States
SmartRoom	7.4	Quote only	Demo, no trial	SOC 2, ISO 27001	2004, United States
Onehub	7.3	$15 monthly	Free trial offered	SOC 2	2007, United States
Digify	7.0	$120 monthly	Free trial offered	SOC 2	2011, Singapore
ShareVault	7.0	Quote only	Free trial offered	SOC 2, ISO 27001	2003, United States
DocSend	6.6	$45 per seat monthly	Free trial offered	SOC 2, GDPR	2013, United States
Venue by DFIN	6.5	Quote only	Demo, no trial	SOC 2, ISO 27001	2016, United States

Rankings by use case.

Each use case re-weights the five measures for its job, so the order changes from job to job. Open one for its own top 10.