iDeals review for startups.
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.
Facts checked Sep 30, 2026. Editorial score, no paid placement.
Overview.
iDeals has been around since 2008 and has its head office in the United Kingdom. Advisers know it from company sales and large financings, and its support team scores near the top of our facts file.
For a founder the draw is the paperwork a strict buyer wants to see: ISO 27001, SOC 2 and GDPR alignment, plus redaction inside the platform. The trade-off is buying through a quote rather than a price list.
Why a founder would pick it
Pick it when an acquirer or late-stage fund sends a vendor security checklist. For a seed round the quote cycle can be slower than the raise.
| Key fact | iDeals |
|---|---|
| What you pay | Quote only |
| Before paying | Free trial offered |
| Security reports | SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR |
| Year started | 2008 |
| Home base | United Kingdom |
| Hosting model | Cloud |
Score breakdown.
Startup score 8.2 of 10, place 2 of 17 on our startup ranking; the 17-room mean is 7.6.
Strengths
- Holds both ISO 27001 and SOC 2, which some buyers ask for by name.
- Redaction and single sign-on inside the product.
- Support ratings among the highest we record.
- A trial is available before signing.
Gaps
- Price only by quote.
- No e-signing, phone app or AI tools in the facts we hold.
Features.
iDeals lists 9 of the 12 features we track; nda e-signing, mobile app, ai assistance are not listed.
| Feature | Listed | What it does for a founder |
|---|---|---|
| Investor Q&A | Funds and buyers ask questions against a file; you assign, answer and publish replies, and the thread stays on record. | |
| Viewer activity log | Shows which investor opened which file, for how long and when, and exports the record. | |
| Dynamic watermarks | Stamps the viewer email and the time across every page, so a forwarded screenshot points back to its source. | |
| In-app redaction | Blacks out salaries, customer names or personal data inside the platform without keeping a second copy. | |
| NDA e-signing | Investors sign the NDA or click-through terms before the room opens. | |
| Mobile app | An installable phone and tablet app on top of the mobile website. | |
| Open API | Lets your engineers create rooms, add users or pull activity into your own tools. | |
| Single sign-on | Your team signs in with Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID or Okta instead of another password. | |
| Two-step login | Every login needs a one-time code or an app approval as well as the password. | |
| Bulk folder upload | Drag a whole folder tree in at once and keep its numbering. | |
| View-only and download control | Set each file to view only, print or download, and change it later without resending anything. | |
| AI assistance | Vendor-listed help such as auto-filing, document summaries, search across files or drafted answers. |
Pricing.
iDeals does not publish a price and quotes per project. The figures below are our market band for rooms of its kind, not a vendor price.
| Scenario | Months | Seats | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed or angel round | 2 | 1 | $900 to $3,000 |
| Seed round | 3 | 2 | $1,800 to $6,100 |
| Series A | 4 | 3 | $2,450 to $8,100 |
| Sale of the company | 6 | 4 | $5,150 to $17,100 |
What iDeals costs against the field
Totals in US dollars for the life of the room, indicative only. Listed prices are each vendor's entry plan; vendors who only quote get our own market band. Get the real figure from the vendor before you sign.
| Provider | How it is priced | Total for the project | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellty | $149 monthly | $596 | Visit Ellty |
| iDeals | Quote (our band) | $2,450 to $8,100 | Pricing details |
| Firmex | Quote (our band) | $2,450 to $8,100 | Pricing details |
| SecureDocs | $250 monthly | $1,000 | Pricing details |
| Ansarada | Quote (our band) | $2,450 to $8,100 | Pricing details |
| Datasite | Quote (our band) | $6,500 to $18,900 | Pricing details |
| Citrix ShareFile | $55 monthly | $220 | Pricing details |
| CapLinked | $299 monthly | $1,196 | Pricing details |
| Drooms | Quote (our band) | $2,450 to $8,100 | Pricing details |
| Intralinks | Quote (our band) | $6,500 to $18,900 | Pricing details |
| DealRoom | Quote (our band) | $2,450 to $8,100 | Pricing details |
| SmartRoom | Quote (our band) | $2,450 to $8,100 | Pricing details |
| Onehub | $15 monthly | $60 | Pricing details |
| Digify | $120 monthly | $480 | Pricing details |
| ShareVault | Quote (our band) | $2,450 to $8,100 | Pricing details |
| DocSend | $45 per seat monthly | $360 | Pricing details |
| Venue by DFIN | Quote (our band) | $6,500 to $18,900 | Pricing details |
More on prices and models in our startup data room pricing guide.
Where it fits.
Security and setup.
Security and compliance
Certified to ISO 27001 with a SOC 2 report; sign-in through SSO or a second step; redaction, watermarks and file-level locks.
Getting started
Bulk upload plus a project manager on larger contracts. Ask what volume and months the quote assumes.
Check during the trial or demo
- Upload your real folder index and confirm the numbering holds.
- Invite a test investor and open a file as that person on a phone.
- Set one folder to view only and one to hidden, then check the activity log.
- Ask for the current security report and where data is hosted.
Alternatives.
8.0/10 · Quote only
The platform many investment banks run sell-side processes on: AI tools, a phone app, SSO and redaction, bought through a quote.
See the review
7.5/10 · Quote only
One of the first virtual data rooms (1996), built for large and regulated transactions and sold by quote, with SSO and redaction.
See the review
9.2/10 · $149 monthly
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.
See the reviewHead to head: Ellty vs iDeals, iDeals vs Datasite, iDeals vs Ansarada.