Best Virtual Data Room Providers Review

Check out the best virtual data room providers according to VDR global rankings. Compare prices and features of virtual data rooms and choose the data room software for your needs.

We provide insight and advice to help clients understand the VDR market trends, identify opportunities, and grow their businesses.

What is a virtual data room?

A virtual data room (VDR), or a virtual deal room, is a secure online repository for storing critical data and sharing sensitive documentation. Usually, it is used to facilitate the due diligence process during M&A deals and other complex financial transactions. Learn more about what is a data room

VDR software allows users to share confidential documents and critical business data with third parties, like investors or clients, in a controlled environment. Additionally, in a secure online space, they can interact with each other during a deal-making process from any device and location. This is possible thanks to such features as the Q&A and comment sections.

Compared to traditional data rooms (physical data rooms) an electronic data room eliminates physical paperwork, which reduces clutter and waste. Moreover, the digital data room offers advanced document management and security features that help to improve workflow and increase a team’s productivity — traditional data rooms can’t offer that.

VDR benefits

Let’s list the main benefits the best virtual data room providers bring to business owners:

• Cost-efficiency. Implementing a virtual data room for your project or deal is much more cost-efficient than doing so with the help of traditional physical data rooms, for example. This is because, with a physical data room, you’d also pay for the rent, employee’s compensation, and lots of paper.
• Smooth transaction flow. Thanks to the variety of services offered by modern virtual data rooms, such complex financial transactions as M&A, for example, are conducted much faster and smoother. All the parties involved can easily access the online data room from anywhere and at any time and all the data is securely stored and protected from unauthorized access. This can significantly accelerate the deal-making process and realize expected synergies faster.
• Secure sharing and storing of confidential documents and other sensitive data. The trademark of virtual data rooms is the security they provide. That’s exactly why they’re a better choice for handling complex business transactions compared to traditional cloud storage solutions.
• Effective collaboration on a project or deal. All the users of a virtual data room can effectively collaborate thanks to the Q&A and comments sections. This enhances the overall team’s productivity and accelerates decision-making.
• Multi-project management. The best virtual data room providers enable managing several projects at once: meaning you have a separate data room space for each project with different levels of access and documentation uploaded. This is especially helpful when a company undergoes a capital raising round, for example. You can have a separate data room space for every potential investor without having them overlapped.

Compare some of the benefits of the top-rated VDR providers:

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Starts from: Not provided

Advantages:

• Built-in redaction supporting 21 different file formats
• Auto-notifications about new activity in the data room plus screenshot prevention with Fence View

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Starts from: $499/month

Advantages:

• AI redaction allows the processing of up to 500 files at a time
• Due diligence checklists are built using 50 million data points in 25,000 deals

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Starts from: Not provided

Advantages:

• Users can create FAQ sections and bulk-import Q&A from Excel templates
• Due diligence checklists and dedicated buy-side workflows are available

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Starts from: Not Provided

Advantages:

• Quick toll-free phone support is available worldwide
• File previews save time for document searches

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Starts from: $1250/month

Advantages:

• Users report high connection speed during bulk uploads and downloads
• The ability to track individual requests helps users capture more details in project monitoring

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Starts from: $375/month

Advantages:

• The Google Docs integration allows users to edit files directly in the workspace
• The subscription plans are more affordable compared to other VDR

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Starts from: Not provided

Advantages:

• The split view feature allows users to compare files in the VDR index
• Administrators can create security profiles with custom security settings

Data room structure

Typical components of the virtual data room structure usually include the following: 

• Dashboard. Upon logging in, users typically land on a dashboard that provides an overview of recent activity, notifications, and important updates related to the data room.
• Folder structure. The data room is organized into a hierarchical folder structure, similar to a traditional file system, to categorize and organize documents logically. This structure often mimics the structure of physical data rooms used in the past.
• Search functionality. With the dedicated search bar, users can quickly jump to the required folder or file within the data room.
• Audit trails. There’s a dedicated section with an overview of the data room activity. Comprehensive logging and reporting functionalities track user activity within the data room, providing insights into who accessed which documents and when. Many virtual data room providers offer these essential features as part of their standard packages.

Creating a clear and logical structure for a virtual data room space ensures straightforward data management and effective collaboration over large volumes of data.

Who provides data room services?

In short, virtual deal room services are provided by virtual data room providers.

VDR providers specialize in data storage and sharing with a focus on security. To ensure the security of business document flow, they comply with the necessary digital standards and offer a number of dedicated services and features.
The virtual data room market is growing: it was estimated at $2.23 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.6% and reach $5.76 by 2032. With it, the number of VDR vendors grows as well, so that the user always has a choice when looking for a top virtual data room.

Virtual data room vendors comparison — top 6

Now, let’s make a virtual data room comparison among different providers that are industry leaders to help you compare virtual data rooms and choose the best data room for your company’s needs.

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About Ideals

Ideals is a trusted virtual data room provider with about 14 years of experience.

It’s most acclaimed by its clients for its extreme user-friendliness and white labeling services. Among Ideals customers are Deloitte, American Airlines, and Toyota.

Thanks to the various document security features, the ability to customize a data room, and a superior customer support team, Ideals is chosen in many industries and suits the needs of small-, mid-, and large-sized companies

Competitive advantages

Customization

You can customize the overall look of your online data room. It includes watermarking, logo, header and footers, invitation email, language settings, and terms of access.

Ease of use

Ideals is cloud-based software, which means no extra plugins are needed. This data room also offers Android and iOS mobile applications and enables single sign-on and multilingual access.

Devoted customer support

There are three main ways to contact the support team: email, phone, and chat. The speed of answering is fast — 30 seconds in chat, and up to 30 minutes via email.

Flexible pricing

Ideals offers three pricing options depending on the client’s needs. Each plan comes with a list of features you unlock after subscribing. All the new subscribers also get a free 30-day trial.

Great usability and document management

You can easily upload files in 25+ formats thanks to the drag and drop and bulk upload. The search through the documentation will also be simplified thanks to the optical character recognition (OCR), full-text search, and auto-indexing.

About Datasite

Datasite provides an excellent data room service in about 170 countries around the world.

Clients choose Datasite for the industry leading features they offer: from the first-rate data security tools to the responsive customer support.

Datasite is mainly an M&A data room, as it especially specializes in M&A deals, making the entire deal process straightforward and secure.

Datasite is the best data room software for the needs of medium and large businesses.

Competitive advantages

Built-in communication

Datasite offers an integrated Q&A section that allows to set up the workflow, roles, and categories in a breeze.

Unlimited admins

You can assign as many admins as you need, with clients, banks, and unlimited bidders — all included in one price.

Analytics and reporting

To control the whole M&A process, opt for the analytics services the Datasite provides. It includes automated dashboards that you can export and filter for the information you need.

Ease of use and data upload

Uploading large volumes of data is easy on the Datasite VDR provider thanks to the drag-and-drop features, bulk move, and renaming options. You can also upload zip files up to 50 GB.

Smooth data management

Managing data is also painless because of the multilingual search, OCR, file preview, and smart AI categories.

About CapLinked

CapLinked is a secure electronic data room that’s mainly used for asset sales, real estate transactions, fundraising, and more. It’s also one of the best data rooms for M&A.

It’s a great VDR solution primarily for large enterprises and mid-sized organizations, but can be also used by small companies.

The set of data security and data management features the CapLinked VDR provider offers makes it an attractive solution among business professionals.

Competitive advantages

Outstanding customer service

CapLinked makes sure every customer gets professional on-time assistance whenever such a need occurs.

Several integration options

CapLinked VDR data room allows you to seamlessly integrate your cloud space into the applications you already work with. Some of the allowed integrations are Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Salesforce.

Activity dashboard

It enables you to monitor all the activity performed inside a VDR virtual data room and get prompt notifications about all the changes made.

Straightforward collaboration

The special tools introduced by CapLinked make the collaboration on the team and with multiple parties smoother. It includes instant messaging, a Q&A section, and FAQ notifications.

Easy setup

It takes only 10 minutes to set up the CapLinked secure data room.

About Citrix ShareFile

Citrix ShareFile is one of the top VDR providers for freelancers, startups, as well as small-, mid-, and large-sized businesses.

If you seek virtual data rooms for mergers and acquisitions, simple corporate development, or any other business deals, Citrix ShareFile might be a good data room solution.

Customers from more than 100 countries choose this data room virtual software because of flexible pricing, advanced security, and various data management features.

Competitive advantages

Customization

With Citrix ShareFile you can create your own branded space that reflects your business identity. This is exactly what makes the best virtual data room providers stand out among physical storage options.

Office 365 integration

This feature allows making the process of getting approvals and feedback automated. It also allows for document co-editing and versioning.

Transparent and flexible pricing

Citrix ShareFile offers four pricing plans that differ in cost and set of features provided. This way, every type of business can get what they want for a fair price. All the pricing details are also described on the main website, which speaks about extreme transparency.

File sync feature

This service enables you to sync folders and files from your local device with those in a data room online space. This way, all the changes you make on your computer will also be displayed in a virtual data room.

Subsequent storage

Subscribers can enjoy the generous storage of about 50 GB.

Ease of use

Citrix ShareFile allows easy accessibility and file sharing in just a few clicks. What’s more, it offers a convenient email plugin and the ability to send large files without any bugs.

About ShareVault

ShareVault is one of those virtual data room solutions that fit the needs of all types of businesses: from small companies to enterprises.

This cloud-based software helps to significantly streamline such processes as M&A, licensing, bankruptcy, restructuring, capital raising, and other business transactions.

ShareVault services facilitate the due diligence process as well as enhance the quality of corporate collaboration.

Competitive advantages

Convenient data management

Files upload is easy thanks to the bulk upload. Data navigation and management are straightforward due to such features as the ability to favorite particular files, infinite scrolling, full-text search, hierarchical tags, and more.

Activity analytics

Track who is viewing your documents, for how long, and what files get attention the most. This is easy to do thanks to the features ShareVault provides: audit trail, IP address tracking, interactive reporting, and heat maps.

Document control

Data security is what matters the most when it comes to data rooms. ShareVault provides many features aimed to secure the information you share online: remote shredding, granular access controls, expiration date and time, dynamic watermarking, and more.

Smooth user experience

ShareVault is easy to navigate for all users despite their tech background. The VDR offers high-performance document viewers, a secure A/V player, inter-document hyperlinking, and a Q&A section.

Knowledgeable customer support

The support team is responsive and is ready to assist you 24/7 via phone, chat, or email.

About DealRoom

DealRoom is one of the leading and the best data rooms, and the majority of existing virtual data room reviews are proof of that.

DealRoom ensures a smooth M&A experience for all the parties involved. However, this VDR data room can be used for different reasons: from simple corporate data storage to confidential document sharing during business deals.

Customers choose DealRoom for its user-friendly interface and enhanced security features.

Competitive advantages

Collaboration tools

DealRoom enables you to send messages and assign tasks to both internal and external VDR users.

Activity dashboard

You can track the deal’s progress, get full reports on the users’ activity inside the deal room, and investigate their engagement.

Easy data management

Uploading files is straightforward thanks to the drag-n-drop feature. You can also set up 4-level viewing permissions and apply watermarking to enhance your data security.

Third-party integrations

DealRooms provide integration options with modern tools such as Slack, Salesforce, Google Apps, Microsoft Teams, Idaptive, and Okta.

Pre-built templates

Setting up a deal room is even faster with the help of pre-built templates DealRoom offers.

You can check more providers available on the dedicated page

Best virtual data rooms for M&A

M&A online data rooms are basically data rooms used for M&A deals. 

The sell-side uploads all the required documents about the business to the online data room so that the buy-side could review all the details before making a final decision. 

Naturally, the security and confidentiality M&A VDR providers offer matters the most here, as an M&A deal presupposes sharing sensitive information with other parties.

Basically, every VDR provider is suitable for M&A transactions. So when making a data room software comparison to choose the most suitable one, consider the needs of your business. 

The general requirements for an M&A VDR provider are security standards and features. The rest of the feature set depends on the size of your business and the length of the M&A deal.

Large companies require a very wide range of document management features because they work with large volumes of data. Also, the more people use VDR technology, the higher the need for the technical support of a personal manager.

While for small businesses, online training on working with VDR and a basic list of document management functions are enough. For small business owners, the price is more important than for large corporations. Therefore, the starting price for some electronic data room providers can start from $900 per month, and this will be expensive for small businesses and quite acceptable for large businesses.

Learn more about the best m&a data rooms.

How to choose data room software in 6 steps: Selection guide 

Searching for the right virtual data room is much more straightforward when having a VDR solutions selection guide. Follow these recommendations to find a VDR provider that fits your business needs the best:

1. Outline your requirements
2. Consider the necessary features
3. Compare the options
4. Consider the data room provider’s experience in your industry
5. Read the reviews
6. Request a complimentary trial

1. Outline your requirements

Every company and every project is unique. Based on your purpose, the company’s size, the industry specifics, and many other factors, you’ll need to navigate between pre-established VDR plans and tailored flexible virtual data room solutions.

To narrow down the search, ask yourself the following questions in terms of two main categories — people and data:

2. Consider the necessary features

If this is your first time dealing with VDR, you might not know what is generally available out there. At this point, it is important to comprehend the distinction between rudimentary data storage and VDR. While typical storage solutions offer different approaches to data safekeeping, such as uploading, viewing, downloading, and sometimes minor editing, virtual data rooms go beyond that scope, especially when compared to a physical data room.

In the table below, we’ve listed the most common features a reliable online data room provider should offer.

3. Compare the options

There are many virtual deal room services providers on the market and choosing one can be a daunting task. That’s why it’s recommended to make a thorough comparison of several vendors to ensure you select the best fit for your business.

When comparing virtual data room solutions, consider the following factors.

Security

The variety of data and access security features offered is often a crucial factor when choosing the top VDR provider. Keep an eye out for things like two-factor authentication, timed access expiration, multiple permission levels, and IP address-based access limitations. Additionally, consider the provider’s compliance certificates. Look for virtual data room solutions that exhibit certifications such as SOC 1 & SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS.

Deployment

Each VDR offers a certain level of adaptability when it comes to operating systems and devices. The ideal cloud storage solution will be equally functional across all majorly utilized platforms, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, or macOS, with no extra plugins needed. Also, look at the suggested data hosting locations. The majority of vendors use public clouds and multiple international data centers, but the select ones might be able to offer physical storage and data centers preferable to the user as well.

Support

You can judge the effectiveness of any given provider by their customer support’s availability, contact channels, and response time. Opt for providers where customer support can communicate in multiple languages and is accessible 24/7 via live chat, phone, or email. 

User management

The VDR provider you’d want to go with will give you the option to restrict accessibility by location or by role, establish multiple accessibility levels, and monitor the activity of all users within the data room platform. To ensure an effective experience for all, look for features such as bulk invitations, adjustable Excel viewing permissions, user notifications, and streamlined group setup. 

Interface

A VDR’s interface should have a clear, intuitive configuration and be equally apparent to the CFO and the entry-level accountant. A VDR with a well-thought-out interface should offer extensive deployment options, a single sign-on for all projects, and a convenient scroll-through for navigation between thousands of files. Apart from a simple and comprehensive UI, you might also want to take advantage of VDR customization. Look for vendors that allow customizing the logo, terms and conditions, and general data room look.

Pricing

There are several pricing models that modern VDR providers offer: 

• Per-storage. You pay for the amount of storage you need.
• Per-page. You pay for each page of data you upload to the data room.
• Per-user. You pay for each user you invite to the data room.
• Flat monthly fee. You pay a fixed price monthly or yearly depending on the services provided. 

Typically, VDR vendors either offer a flat monthly fee or combine several pricing approaches.

4. Consider the data room provider’s experience in your industry

Most virtual data rooms provide a dedicated section on their websites where they share testimonials or clients’ stories. This is where you can check what industries a particular VDR vendor has worked with and how it helped to solve their clients’ queries. 

Naturally, to get the best VDR solution, you should look for a provider that has experience in your industry. For example, if you need a virtual data room to use during due diligence, opt for those that specialize in M&A or finance.

5. Read the reviews

Look for third-party sites for deeper insights into VDR providers. Check out the customer reviews on platforms like Trustpilot or Software Advice, as well as the employees’ view of the company on Glassdoor, for example. Taking both internal and external virtual data room reviews into consideration will give you a good idea of the VDR’s effectiveness and ethics.

6. Request a complimentary trial

Just before you make the final choice among the considered vendors, take advantage of using their services for free for at least a month. Unlike physical data rooms, most modern virtual deal rooms offer free trials. 

During the data room free trial, you should get a feel of how well your requirements match with the chosen VDR. Additionally, you can use the charge-free time to prepare for future procedures, upload and organize all the documents, and set the appropriate access limitations. 

Top 14 uses of data room software

Virtual data rooms are utilized in almost any situation where you need to give third parties confidential access to certain sensitive corporate data. 

When it comes to the areas of business, the most common data room use cases include the following:

1. Mergers and acquisitions
2. Corporate repository
3. Manufacturing
4. Intellectual property
5. Loan syndication
6. Litigation processes
7. Accounting
8. Real estate management
9. Initial public offering (IPO)
10. Capital raising
11. Private equity
12. Bankruptcy and restructuring
13. Life sciences
14. Banking

1. Mergers and acquisitions

M&A virtual data room is mostly used during the due diligence process of a financial transaction when potential buyers review large volumes of documentation. 

A data room for M&A allows for the secure sharing of your confidential information without any possible leaks. 

With a virtual data room software implementation, you facilitate the due diligence process and boost the chances of closing the deal faster and more efficiently. And even if the deal fails, your corporate data stays protected and unrevealed.

2. Corporate repository 

VDR software is the best solution for storing huge amounts of corporate information. It provides lifecycle management of your business documentation and allows you to take full control of that. You can store files of almost all formats: from videos to presentations and more.

Moreover, most data room vendors offer the ability to get reports on the overall data room activity inside the online deal room — this is what traditional physical data rooms can’t offer. This lets you monitor all the processes in the company and timely improve them when there’s such a need.

3. Manufacturing

Manufacturing industry is always about billion-dollar contracts and projects. Obviously, such high-stakes deals need efficient management and confidentiality, often requiring the use of a secure data room to protect sensitive information.

Data rooms not only enable the easy collaboration and distribution of sensitive documents during manufacturing deals but also provide a high level of security for all confidential documents shared.

4. Intellectual property

Multiple lawyers of security data rooms ensure that all the patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and trademarks are kept from undesired views.

This is especially relevant when companies have to disclose confidential data during partnerships or M&A transactions, often facilitated by a virtual data room.

5. Loan syndication

When managing a loan syndication process, for a borrower, it’s important to keep all the sensitive information confidential. On the other hand, a lender will want to have easy access to all the documentation to analyze a borrower’s credit history, assess the facility, and comment on the proposed terms and conditions. Secure file sharing and effective collaboration are exactly what VDR solutions offer.

6. Litigation processes

During the litigation process, a high level of security is extremely important since lots of confidential documents are usually involved. Most modern VDR providers offer a range of security services aimed at protecting customers’ data, that’s why VDRs are often used for litigation processes.

7. Accounting

Accounting presupposes working with lots of sensitive financial data. That’s why the security of that data is of the foremost importance. This is what data rooms can offer.

Via VDRs you can exchange documents without worrying that some third parties will see them.

8. Real estate management 

The immovable property industry requires sharing lots of documentation with potential buyers. 

This is why real estate agents take advantage of the secure VDR technology. You can upload all the necessary files to the virtual data room for prospective customers to review before the deal. Besides, the e-signature feature most VDR providers offer eliminates the need to arrange numerous offline meetings and speeds up real estate transactions.

Learn more about what a virtual data room can do in a hot real estate market.

9. Initial public offering (IPO)

By deciding to go public, you have to gather and disclose huge amounts of company-related documentation.

Provided that not only potential investors but also other third-party experts such as underwriters will have access to your data, security measures are significant. 

Virtual data room services are the solution to that.

Learn more about the benefits of using a virtual data room for an IPO.

10. Capital raising

Fundraising is also a complicated and effort-consuming process. To attract investors and get funds, you need to provide all the necessary information about your venture. 

With the best VDR, it’s easy to do thanks to the smooth upload and straightforward data management. 

What’s more, the due diligence processes are simplified and improved, as all prospective investors and other interested parties can access your files from anywhere via one secure link in a virtual data room. In addition, most vendors offer a Q&A section where users can ask any arising questions and get prompt answers.

Learn more about the benefits of using a virtual data room for fundraising.

11. Private equity

Private equity firms need VDR solutions to successfully and securely store all the M&A contracts as well as other sensitive documentation. 

Oftentimes, such companies have a few potential deals in the process. That’s why reliable VDR software is hugely helpful when managing multiple projects simultaneously.

12. Bankruptcy and restructuring

When a company is undergoing bankruptcy and is in the process of restructuring, every detail matters. 

The best virtual data rooms allow for storing huge amounts of information in one place. What’s more, given that the whole process involves interested parties from different locations or departments, a high level of security and effective collaboration is desired. This is what virtual deal rooms also provide.

13. Life sciences

The main concern of modern healthcare and biotech companies is the complete safety of their confidential data, such as various research results and information about patients. 

That’s also the reason why they opt for VDR services. Virtual data rooms simplify the whole scientific process thanks to the numerous security features, collaboration tools, and round-the-clock access. 

14. Banking 

Banking, especially investment banking, is the most common use case of VDR solutions. 

Banks and other financial institutions always have piles of sensitive information to store: from financial transactions’ data to business contracts. Electronic data rooms offer secure cloud storage for all that data.

Top data room providers also enable straightforward collaboration between the parties involved, easy access at any time of the day, and a dedicated support team that is ready to assist when in need.