Data room pricing guide: what a room really costs
A virtual data room costs anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a short raise to tens of thousands for a large auction. 8 of the 18 providers we review publish an entry price; the rest quote per project. This guide shows both, explains the three pricing models and lets you estimate your own budget.
Source: published prices on provider websites at our last monthly check.
Estimate your budget
Set the deal size, how long the room stays open and how many people need a paid seat, then tick your must-haves. Providers with a published price are totalled exactly at entry level; quote-based rooms get a market range, clearly labelled as an estimate.
Published prices that fit
Quote-based rooms that fit:
Market estimate, not a vendor price: for this term.
USD, entry-level prices; tax, higher tiers and overage are extra. Indicative only, confirm with the provider.
Published entry prices
Only some providers put a number on their website. Those that do fall into two camps: a flat monthly fee for the room, or a price per user per month. The chart below sets them side by side.
Published entry prices across the providers we review
Price on the website (8)
- Box$15/user/mo
- Onehub$15/mo
- DocSend$45/user/mo
- Citrix ShareFile$55/mo
- Digify$120/mo
- Ellty$149/mo
- SecureDocs$250/mo
- CapLinked$299/mo
Quote on request (10)
56%of the rooms we review do not publish a price. Most of them are enterprise transaction platforms that scope each project.
- iDeals
- Datasite
- Ansarada
- Intralinks
- Firmex
- Drooms
- SmartRoom
- DealRoom
- ShareVault
- Venue by DFIN
The three pricing models
Most confusion about data room cost comes from comparing different models as if they were the same. A flat fee stays put as the deal grows, a per-user price grows with every adviser you add, and a project quote bundles volume, users and term into one number that is hard to compare until you ask for its parts.
How data room providers charge, and how many use each model
One price for the room. Predictable over a long deal; check user and storage limits per plan.
Ellty, Citrix ShareFile, CapLinked, SecureDocs, Onehub and more
Cheap for one or two people, expensive once bankers, lawyers and accountants each need a seat.
Box, DocSend
Built on pages or storage, users, term and service. Negotiable, but needs a written scope to compare.
iDeals, Datasite, Ansarada, Intralinks, Firmex and more
Three worked budgets
To make the models concrete, here is what three common deals would cost at entry level with a flat-fee room (Ellty at $149/mo) and a per-user product (Box at $15/user/mo), next to the market range for a quoted transaction room.
| Scenario | Term and seats | Ellty, flat fee | Box, per user | Quoted room (market estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed or Series A raise Two founders and a finance lead share the room with a handful of investors. | 3 months, 3 users | $447 | $135 | $1,800 to $6,000 |
| Mid-market company sale A seller team and two advisers run Q&A with several bidders. | 6 months, 6 users | $894 | $540 | $9,000 to $30,000 |
| Long cross-border process Multiple workstreams, regulators and a long signing-to-close period. | 12 months, 10 users | $1,788 | $1,800 | $48,000 to $144,000 |
Entry-level prices only. Box is a general content platform without a Q&A module, so the per-user column shows the pricing model rather than a like-for-like deal room. Indicative, confirm with the provider.
Every provider's price, model and trial
| Provider | Score | Starting price | Model | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ellty | 9.2/10 | $149/mo | Flat monthly | 14-day free trial |
 iDeals | 9.1/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Free trial |
 Datasite | 8.9/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Demo only |
 Ansarada | 8.6/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Free trial |
 Intralinks | 8.6/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Demo only |
 Firmex | 8.5/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Free trial |
 Drooms | 8.3/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Demo only |
 SmartRoom | 8.2/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Demo only |
 Box | 8.1/10 | $15/user/mo | Per user | Free trial |
 Citrix ShareFile | 8.0/10 | $55/mo | Flat monthly | Free trial |
 DealRoom | 8.0/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Free trial |
 CapLinked | 7.7/10 | $299/mo | Flat monthly | Free trial |
 SecureDocs | 7.7/10 | $250/mo | Flat monthly | Free trial |
 ShareVault | 7.7/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Free trial |
 Onehub | 7.5/10 | $15/mo | Flat monthly | Free trial |
 Venue by DFIN | 7.2/10 | Quote on request | Quote | Demo only |
 Digify | 6.9/10 | $120/mo | Flat monthly | Free trial |
 DocSend | 6.6/10 | $45/user/mo | Per user | Free trial |
How to get a fair price
Whichever model you end up with, the same five moves keep the bill close to the budget.
- 1
Write down the scope before the first call
Estimated page count or gigabytes, number of outside parties, expected term and the features you cannot do without. Vendors quote faster and more consistently against a written scope.
- 2
Ask for the same quote shape from everyone
Request a monthly price for the committed term, the price per extension month and the overage rule. Without that, quotes built on pages, users and storage cannot be compared.
- 3
Test the room on a free trial before you sign
Load a real folder set, invite one outside reviewer and run a question through Q&A. A trial exposes friction that a demo hides.
- 4
Negotiate the tail, not only the headline
Deals slip. A modest discount on extension months and a capped overage rate usually saves more than a few points off the first month.
- 5
Agree the archive and exit terms in writing
Confirm how you receive a full copy of the room at close, in what format and at what cost, before the deal starts.
Once you have a shortlist, our ranking and head-to-head comparisons show what each price buys, and the quiz narrows the field to three.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a virtual data room cost?
Published entry prices in our reviews range from $15 to $299 a month, with some charged per user. Quote-based transaction rooms commonly come to $5,000 to $50,000 or more per project depending on size, term and service. All figures are indicative; confirm with the provider.
Why do so many data rooms not publish prices?
Enterprise providers scope each project around page volume, users, storage, the length of the deal and the service level, so they quote after a call. That gives room to negotiate but makes early budgeting harder.
Is per-page pricing still used?
Some quoted plans are still built around page or storage volumes. Ask whether the quote has a cap and what each extra block costs, because large diligence sets often grow during the deal.
Which data rooms show a price upfront?
Ellty, Box, Citrix ShareFile, CapLinked, SecureDocs, Onehub, Digify, DocSend publish an entry price. Ellty lists $149/mo with a 14-day free trial.
What costs are easy to miss?
Extension months after the committed term, overage on pages or storage, extra admin seats, archive media at close, premium onboarding and local tax.