21 use cases
Company rounds and offerings
- Deck, cap table and diligence folders for each round
- Reg D, Reg CF and Reg A offering files
Fundraising data rooms
The data room for every capital raise
16 virtual data rooms scored for company rounds, fund raises, real estate and debt raises, with prices, a checklist and calculators.
16 data rooms compared for 92 kinds of capital raise.
What a fundraising data room does
One secure place for the raise documents, with four layers working together: the index, the permissions, the questions and the record of who read what.
A folder index investors can follow
Numbered folders for the offering, terms, track record, DDQ, legal and subscription documents. Investors cite a file by its number, and every upload keeps its place.
See the raise checklistEach investor sees only their files
Groups for the anchor LP, the lead investor or a lender, with view-only, download and watermark settings per folder. Side letters stay with the LP they belong to.
Compare permission featuresDiligence questions with an answer trail
Questions arrive against a document, go to the right person on your team and come back with a reply you choose to release to one investor or to all.
How a DDQ runs in the roomKnow who is reading and who went quiet
Per-investor views by file and minute. A pension fund that spent forty minutes in the model is a different follow-up from a family office that never opened it.
Investor tracking scoresBy raise type
Every raise asks for different files.
A Series A lead wants customer contracts and the cap table. An LP wants the DDQ, the track record and the LPA. A lender wants the T-12 and the collateral. We rank the rooms for each of 92 raise types, so you can start from yours.
21 use cases
Fund raises
- PPM, LPA, DDQ and track record for LPs
- Side letter access for each investor
12 use cases
Real estate and projects
- Rent rolls, T-12s and property reports
- Syndication, development and project raises
9 use cases
Debt and structured capital
- Lender packages and collateral files
- Notes, credit facilities and refinancings
15 use cases
Raises by sector
- What biotech, fintech and SaaS investors ask for
- Franchise, film and capital campaign raises
14 use cases
Raise documents and process
- Teaser, PPM, DDQ, subscription documents and side letters
- Capital calls, LP reporting and the annual meeting
RankingFull ranking
The 16 data rooms, ranked for fundraising.
Scored on investor tracking, permission control, raise workflow, investor onboarding and the cost of a raise. The average of the 16 is 7.1 out of 10.
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Deal-grade controls (group permissions, reading-only files, watermarks, investor Q&A, NDA step, per-LP activity) plus AI features, at a public $149 a month. Investors open it from an email link with nothing to install, and the issuer can test everything first on a 14-day free trial.
Price $149 a month Trial 14-day free trial Features 8 of 12 listedListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- NDA e-sign step
- Dynamic watermarks
Certified- SOC 2 (hosting)
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A long-running deal room used on M&A and large raises, with layered permission levels, redaction, SSO and a well-rated support desk. Pricing is quoted per project, and a free trial is offered.
Price Priced on request Trial Free trial available Features 9 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
- GDPR
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Datasite runs some of the largest deal and capital markets processes, with AI-assisted indexing and redaction, a mobile app and full analytics. It is priced on request, usually at the top of the market.
Price Priced on request Trial Demo on request Features 10 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
- GDPR
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Ansarada pairs a full deal room with AI tools and a readiness checklist that scores how prepared the room is. It offers a free trial, with pricing quoted per project.
Price Priced on request Trial Free trial available Features 8 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
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SecureDocs lists a flat price from $250 a month, built-in signing, Q&A, watermarks and an API. A free trial is offered, and setup is quick.
Price $250 a month Trial Free trial available Features 8 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- NDA e-sign step
- Dynamic watermarks
Certified- SOC 2
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CapLinked lists a monthly price of $299, a free trial, Q&A, watermarks, view control and an API. It is used for M&A, asset sales and capital raises.
Price $299 a month Trial Free trial available Features 7 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
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Box is a content cloud, not a deal room, but it lists watermarks, an audit trail, signing, a mobile app, SSO and AI. It is priced per user, with a free trial.
Price $15 a user a month Trial Free trial available Features 9 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Investor activity log
- NDA e-sign step
- Dynamic watermarks
- AI features
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
- HIPAA
- GDPR
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Firmex is a mid-market favorite with an easy interface, redaction, Q&A and well-rated support. It offers a free trial; pricing is quoted, with flat project and subscription options.
Price Priced on request Trial Free trial available Features 7 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
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Intralinks has hosted deal and capital markets rooms since 1996, with strong security, SSO, redaction and audit tools. Pricing is quoted and usually sits in the institutional band.
Price Priced on request Trial Demo on request Features 8 of 12 listedListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
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Drooms is a German deal room with a long real estate record, AI document analysis and redaction. Pricing is quoted, and no free trial is listed.
Price Priced on request Trial Demo on request Features 8 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
- GDPR
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DealRoom combines a data room with request lists and project tracking, built for corporate development teams. A free trial is offered; pricing is quoted.
Price Priced on request Trial Free trial available Features 6 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
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SmartRoom is a US deal room known for detailed permissions, redaction and Q&A, used on M&A and capital raises. Pricing is quoted, with no free trial listed.
Price Priced on request Trial Demo on request Features 7 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
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ShareVault is a US deal room with a long record in life sciences licensing and fundraising, with view control, watermarks and SSO. Pricing is quoted; a free trial is offered.
Price Priced on request Trial Free trial available Features 6 of 12 listedListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
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Digify protects and tracks files with view control, watermarks and an activity log, at a listed $120 a month with a free trial. It does not list a Q&A module.
Price $120 a month Trial Free trial available Features 4 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
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Venue is DFIN's deal room, used for IPOs, capital markets work and M&A, with redaction and Q&A. It is priced on request, with no free trial listed.
Price Priced on request Trial Demo on request Features 6 of 12 listedListed- Q&A module
- Investor activity log
- Dynamic watermarks
- View-only files
Certified- SOC 2
- ISO 27001
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DocSend, part of Dropbox, shares decks and documents with page-level analytics and signing, priced per user. It suits the first investor meetings more than full diligence.
Price $45 a user a month Trial Free trial available Features 3 of 12 listedPlaces best forListed- Investor activity log
- NDA e-sign step
- Dynamic watermarks
Certified- SOC 2
- GDPR
Raise tools
Rooms that do the investor follow-up with you
The tools that matter in a raise are the ones that save a week of email: a confidentiality step before access, one thread for every diligence question and a live record of which investors are reading.
- GateTerms accepted before the first file opens
- AnswerQuestions answered once, released to the right investors
- Follow upCall the investors who are reading, not the whole list
NDA before the first file
Every investor accepts your terms before any document opens, and the acceptance is logged.
Investor questions in one thread
LPs and lead investors ask against a document; you assign, answer and release to one investor or to everyone.
Compare Q&A featuresWho read what, and for how long
Per-investor activity shows which LPs are in diligence and which went quiet after the first meeting.
Worked examplesAll use cases
What the room looks like in four kinds of raise.
Typical setups, with the timeline from our planner and the room cost on a flat monthly plan. Your raise will differ; the calculators take your numbers.
A $12 million Series A with one lead and six follow-on funds
The founders open the room after the lead signs the term sheet. The lead gets the full index, including customer contracts; follow-on funds see the deck, the model and the cap table. Questions run through the Q&A module so legal counsel answers once.
Rankings for company rounds14weeks from preparation to first close in our planner
$596room cost over 4 months on a $149 flat monthly plan
A $150 million first-time buyout fund raising from 80 LPs
The GP keeps one room from first meetings to final close. The anchor LP has its own folder for side letter drafts; every LP signs the confidentiality terms before the PPM opens. The IR lead reviews the activity report every Monday.
Rankings for fund raises30weeks from preparation to first close in our planner
$1,490room cost over 10 months on a $149 flat monthly plan
A $6 million multifamily syndication from 40 passive investors
The sponsor posts the PPM, operating agreement, rent roll, T-12 and inspection reports, with subscription documents in a folder that opens only after an investor confirms accredited status. Most investors read on a phone.
Rankings for real estates13weeks from preparation to first close in our planner
$447room cost over 3 months on a $149 flat monthly plan
A $40 million refinancing with three lenders
The borrower gives each lender a separate group so term sheets and credit questions stay private. Financial statements, the model, collateral schedules and the appraisal sit in shared folders; the activity log shows which credit teams are working.
Rankings for debt raises13weeks from preparation to first close in our planner
$447room cost over 3 months on a $149 flat monthly plan
What the 16 rooms are certified for
- 16of 16 list SOC 2
- 11of 16 list ISO 27001
- 5of 16 list GDPR
- 1of 16 list HIPAA
Feature comparison
Eight features that come up in almost every raise, plus the price model. Listed or not listed in each vendor's documentation.
| Data room | Q&A module | Investor activity log | Dynamic watermarks | View-only files | NDA e-sign step | AI features | Built-in redaction | SSO for your team | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellty | $149 a month | ||||||||
| iDeals | Priced on request | ||||||||
| Datasite | Priced on request | ||||||||
| Ansarada | Priced on request | ||||||||
| SecureDocs | $250 a month | ||||||||
| CapLinked | $299 a month | ||||||||
| Box | $15 a user a month | ||||||||
| Firmex | Priced on request | ||||||||
| Intralinks | Priced on request | ||||||||
| Drooms | Priced on request | ||||||||
| DealRoom | Priced on request | ||||||||
| SmartRoom | Priced on request | ||||||||
| ShareVault | Priced on request | ||||||||
| Digify | $120 a month | ||||||||
| Venue by DFIN | Priced on request | ||||||||
| DocSend | $45 a user a month |
What a virtual data room is
A virtual data room is a secure website for sharing confidential documents with people outside your company. In a raise, those people are investors, lenders and their advisers. The room controls who can open each folder, marks every page with the reader's name, collects questions in one log and records who read which file.
File storage tools were built for working on documents with colleagues. A raise needs the opposite: many outside readers, tight control, and a record you can show later if an investor says they never received a risk factor.
| Need in a raise | Data room | Drive or Dropbox | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Different folders per investor | Built in | Per-folder sharing, by hand | One send at a time |
| View-only model and PPM | Per file | Limited | No |
| Reader name on every page | Dynamic watermark | No | No |
| Question and answer log | Q&A module | Comments | Threads |
| Who read what, for how long | Per investor | Basic views | No |
| NDA before access | Often built in | No | Separate step |
Who opens a data room for a raise
Founders and CFOs
Seed to late-stage rounds, venture debt and strategic investments, with a lead investor in diligence.
GPs and IR teams
LP fund raises from first close to final close, then capital calls and quarterly reporting.
Real estate sponsors
Syndications, development raises and funds, with passive investors reading the deal package.
Independent sponsors
Deal-by-deal capital from family offices and co-investors on a tight timetable.
Placement agents
A shared room where the agent tracks the investors it introduced and the issuer sees the same picture.
Fund and securities counsel
Final PPMs, subscription booklets and side letters, with a record of who received which version.
Six features that matter in a raise
01
Folder and file permissions
Set access by investor group and by folder, so a lender never sees another lender's terms.
02
View-only and download control
Let investors read the model without saving it; switch a file to download later if needed.
03
Dynamic watermarks
Every page shows the reader's name and the time, which discourages screenshots and forwards.
04
Q&A module
One place for diligence and DDQ follow-ups, with assignment, answers and release controls.
05
Activity log
A per-investor record of opens and time spent, exported to the IR file or CRM.
06
NDA and click-through signing
Confidentiality terms accepted inside the room before the first document opens.
How to choose: eight questions for a vendor
- Is the price published, and what does a ten-month raise cost in total?
- Do investors count as paid users?
- Can each investor group see different folders, and can I change that mid-raise?
- Is there a Q&A module, and can answers go to one investor or to all?
- Can I set view-only on the model and the legal documents?
- Which SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report covers the platform, and how recent is it?
- How long does an investor take to get from the invite email to the first file?
- What happens to the room and its activity log after the final close?
Security basics
- SOC 2 Type II report on the platform, recent, and what it covers (some cover hosting only).
- ISO 27001 certificate for the vendor's information security management.
- Encryption in transit and at rest, and who holds the keys.
- Two-step login required for every investor, not optional.
- Data location and GDPR terms when European LPs or lenders take part.
- Audit trail export you keep after the room closes.
16 of the 16 rooms list SOC 2 and 11 list ISO 27001.
What a raise room costs
6 rooms publish a price: flat monthly plans from $120 and per-user plans. The other 10 quote each project; our planning bands run from $500 to $3,900 a month at small data volumes.
The cards show each raise type on a $149 flat monthly plan (Ellty's list price). Quote-only rooms usually cost more.
Price your raiseCompany round, 4 months
$596
3 users, flat monthly plan
Fund raise, 10 months
$1,490
4 users, flat monthly plan
Real estate raise, 3 months
$447
2 users, flat monthly plan
Debt raise, 3 months
$447
3 users, flat monthly plan
How a raise runs in the room
- 1Build the index
Create numbered folders from the raise checklist and upload final versions only.
- 2Set groups and rules
One group per investor tier, view-only on sensitive files, watermarks on.
- 3Turn on the NDA step
Investors accept confidentiality terms before the first document opens.
- 4Invite after real interest
Open the room to investors who asked for diligence, not to every first meeting.
- 5Run questions in the room
Answer through the Q&A module and release answers to the right investors.
- 6Watch the activity
Follow up with readers each week; chase the ones who stopped reading.
- 7Close and archive
Export the index, Q&A log and activity record, then close or downgrade the room.
Common mistakes
- Uploading drafts, then answering the same question twice when the final version lands.
- One permission group for everyone, so side letters or lender terms leak across investors.
- Leaving download on for the model and the PPM.
- Answering diligence questions by email, with no record in the room.
- Paying for an annual plan on a four-month round.
Raise checklist
76 documents in 10 folders, filtered for your raise type and saved in your browser.
Open the checklistLatest guides
- Real Estate Syndication Waterfall Explained, With Worked NumbersReal estate and debt
- Subscription Booklet Checklist: Questionnaires, KYC and SignaturesRaise documents and process
- Fund Data Room Index: A Folder Template for LP Due DiligenceFund raises
Glossary
- Rule 506(c)
- A Regulation D exemption that allows general solicitation, such as public posts about the raise, if every purchaser is accredited and the issuer takes reasonable steps to verify it..
- Private placement memorandum (PPM)
- The offering document that describes the fund or offering, strategy, terms, team, risks and conflicts.
- Due diligence questionnaire (DDQ)
- A standard set of questions LPs ask a manager about the firm, strategy, team, operations, compliance and ESG.
- Side letter
- An agreement between the GP and one LP that changes or adds terms for that LP, such as fee discounts, reporting, co-investment rights or regulatory carve-outs..
- Capital call
- A notice from the GP asking LPs to pay in part of their commitment, usually within about ten business days..
- DSCR
- Debt service coverage ratio: net operating income or cash flow divided by yearly debt service (interest and principal).
How we score
- Investor tracking22%
- Permission control20%
- Raise workflow20%
- Investor onboarding18%
- Cost of a raise20%
Inputs from vendor documentation, listed prices and attestations. 12 calculators show their formulas too.
Scoring approachQuestions and answers
What is a fundraising data room?
A secure online space where the issuer shares the documents of a raise with investors: the deck, the PPM or offering summary, financials, legal and subscription documents. Unlike a shared drive it controls who sees each folder, watermarks pages, runs investor questions and records who read what.
When should I open the data room?
Have it ready before the first meeting, then invite investors once they show real interest. For a fund, many GPs open it to LPs after the first meeting and keep it running through final close.
Can I use Google Drive or Dropbox instead?
For a deck and a handful of angels, perhaps. Once several investors or lenders are in diligence, you need per-group permissions, view-only control, watermarks, a Q&A log and a per-investor activity record, which file storage tools do not provide in one place.
What does a data room cost for a raise?
From $120 a month for the lowest flat listed plan on this site; Ellty lists $149 a month with a 14-day free trial. See the pricing guide for quoted rooms.
Does the data room decide whether my offering is legal?
No. Securities law decides who you may offer to and how. A room helps you control and record who saw the offering documents; ask counsel about the exemption you rely on.