Data room pricing: guide and calculator
How data room software is priced, what a room typically costs for each kind of deal, the prices vendors publish, the costs outside the plan and how to negotiate. The calculator puts all 18 platforms on one scenario.
Pricing models
The model decides how the bill behaves when the deal changes. Compare models before comparing headline numbers.
| Model | How it bills | Fits | Watch for | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly plan | One price for the room or account each month, published on the vendor site. Larger plans raise storage, room or user limits. | Fundraising, small sales, restructuring and standing rooms where the scope is clear. | Storage and room caps, the price of the next tier, and whether the plan renews automatically. | 6 |
| Per user | Each named user pays a monthly fee. Guests may be free or counted, depending on the vendor. | Teams with a small, stable number of internal users. | Seat creep: advisers, lawyers and colleagues added mid-deal. Check whether guests count as users. | 2 |
| Quote per project | A price negotiated for the scope, length and service level, sometimes with page or storage caps. | Large or complex processes that need project management, onboarding and around-the-clock support. | Overage rates, extension months, archive fees and minimum terms. Compare quotes on an identical brief. | 10 |
| Per page or per gigabyte | The older model: a rate for each page uploaded or each unit of storage. | Rarely the best fit today; still found inside some project quotes as a cap. | Scanned documents and drawings inflate page counts. Ask for the unit price in writing. | In quotes |
Three ways data room software is priced
One price for the room, published on the vendor site. Easiest to budget.
Ellty, Citrix ShareFile, SecureDocs, CapLinked and more
Each named user pays. Cheap for one person, expensive for a full deal team.
Box, DocSend
Scope, length and service level are negotiated. Ask for overage and extension rates.
Datasite, iDeals, Ansarada, Drooms and more
Typical cost by deal type
Indicative totals for the whole project. Quote bands are our market estimates for each room size; published plans are the cheapest and dearest flat entry plans in our directory, scaled to the same room. Neither is a vendor quote.
| Deal type | Typical room | Months | Quote band, total | Published flat plans, total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed or Series A round | Focused roomOne counterparty, a few thousand pages, light Q&A | 3 | $2,100 to $6,600 | $45 to $897 |
| Restructuring or distressed sale | Focused roomOne counterparty, a few thousand pages, light Q&A | 3 | $2,100 to $6,600 | $45 to $897 |
| Mid-market company sale | Competitive processThree to ten bidders, structured Q&A, staged access | 6 | $10,800 to $33,000 | $144 to $2,870 |
| Real estate portfolio sale | Competitive processThree to ten bidders, structured Q&A, staged access | 8 | $14,400 to $44,000 | $192 to $3,827 |
| Large auction or cross-border sale | Large or cross-borderMany bidders, heavy Q&A, translation, long term | 8 | $36,000 to $104,000 | $312 to $6,219 |
| Board or investor reporting room | Focused roomOne counterparty, a few thousand pages, light Q&A | 12 | $8,400 to $26,400 | $180 to $3,588 |
Market bands a month: focused room $700 to $2,200; competitive process $1,800 to $5,500; large or cross-border $4,500 to $13,000. Flat plans scale x1, x1.6, x2.6 by room size.
Quote band midpoint by deal type, with a two-month overrun
Published prices
8 of 18 platforms publish an entry price. Entry tiers usually cap storage, rooms or users; a full transaction often needs a higher tier.
| Platform | Type | Model | Entry price | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Box | File-sharing platform | Per user | $15 per user a month | Free trial available |
 Onehub | File-sharing platform | Flat monthly | $15 a month | Free trial available |
 DocSend | Document tracking tool | Per user | $45 per user a month | Free trial available |
 Citrix ShareFile | File-sharing platform | Flat monthly | $55 a month | Free trial available |
 Digify | Document tracking tool | Flat monthly | $120 a month | Free trial available |
 Ellty | Virtual data room | Flat monthly | $149 a month | 14-day free trial |
 SecureDocs | Virtual data room | Flat monthly | $250 a month | Free trial available |
 CapLinked | Virtual data room | Flat monthly | $299 a month | Free trial available |
Listed starting prices, cheapest first
Flat monthly planPer user
Boxper user a month $15 Onehuba month $15 DocSendper user a month $45 Citrix ShareFilea month $55 Digifya month $120 Elltya month $149 SecureDocsa month $250 CapLinkeda month $299 Quote only
Datasite, iDeals, Ansarada, Drooms, Intralinks, Firmex, SmartRoom, ShareVault, DealRoom, Venue by DFIN. These vendors price per project. We never show an invented price for them; the calculator uses our labelled market band instead.
Cost calculator
Pick a room size, the months you expect to stay open and the seats you will pay for. The chart sorts all 18 platforms from lowest to highest estimated total.
USD estimates for planning; each vendor confirms its own figure. Flat plans grow with room size from the listed starting price. Platforms that quote per project show the middle of our market band for that size, labelled "estimate", and never an invented vendor price.
Three pricing models sit behind the chart. Flat plans start from the vendor's listed starting price; a competitive process multiplies it by 1.6 and the largest room size by 2.6, since larger rooms normally move up a tier. Per-user plans multiply the published seat price by the number of paid seats. Quote-only platforms get the midpoint of our market band for the room size, marked "estimate".
Negotiation steps
- Write one brief
State document volume, number of outside organisations, expected months, must-have features and the level of support you need, and send the same page to every vendor.
- Ask for the long case
Request the price at the expected length and at three extra months, plus the closing archive. Most overruns are priced at a higher monthly rate than the committed term.
- Separate the add-ons
Ask which features, AI tools, support hours and integrations are inside the quoted plan and which cost extra.
- Trade commitment for price
A longer committed term or several rooms a year usually lowers the monthly rate. Only commit to what the timetable supports.
- Fix the caps
Agree storage, page and user caps with a written overage rate, so growth mid-deal is not renegotiated under pressure.
- Agree the exit
Settle the archive format, delivery and cost, and the date guest access ends, before signing.
Quote brief checklist
Quotes only compare when they answer the same brief. Send every vendor the same page covering:
- Type of project and expected start date
- Number of documents or gigabytes, and how fast the room will grow
- Number of outside organisations and users per organisation
- Number of internal users who need admin or contributor rights
- Expected months open, plus a pessimistic case
- Must-have features (for example Q&A, redaction, single sign-on, AI)
- Security evidence your IT or compliance team requires
- Support level and time zones
- Archive format and retention period at the end
Frequently asked questions
How much does a virtual data room cost per month?
Published entry plans in our directory run from $15 to $299 a month for flat plans, and from $15 per user a month for per-user plans. Quote-based platforms commonly land between $700 and $13,000 a month depending on room size, by our market estimate. Indicative USD; confirm with each provider.
Why do some data room vendors not publish prices?
Enterprise platforms tailor price to scope, length, storage and service level, and often bundle onboarding and project support. That makes a list price hard to publish, and it means comparing them requires quotes on the same scope.
Is per-page pricing still common?
Less than it used to be. Most vendors now price by plan, by user or by project, but some quotes still cap pages or storage. Ask for the overage rate in writing.
What does a data room cost for a company sale?
For a competitive mid-market sale over six months, our market band is about $10,800 to $33,000 in total for quote-based platforms. Published flat plans scaled to the same room come to $144 to $2,870. Indicative only.
How accurate is the calculator?
It is a planning tool. Published prices are entry plans scaled by room size, per-user plans multiply by seats, and quote-only platforms use our labelled market band. Treat results as a budget range, not a quote.
Can I negotiate a data room price?
Usually, especially on quotes. Committed length, number of rooms a year, storage caps and support level all move the price. Get overage and extension rates written into the order form.