Founded in 1996, Intralinks is the oldest provider in our ranking. That age is both its selling point and its limitation.
Why banks keep choosing it
On a large, regulated transaction, the data room is partly a compliance artefact. The buyer’s counsel, the regulator and occasionally a court may later want to know exactly who saw what and when. Intralinks has been producing that record on major deals for about three decades, and its audit trail and permission model were shaped by that use.
Three capabilities stand out:
| Capability | Why it matters in a regulated deal |
|---|---|
| Information rights control after download | You can revoke access to a file a bidder already saved |
| Built-in redaction | Personal data can be removed inside the room, with a record |
| SSO plus two-factor login | Satisfies identity-provider policies at large institutions |
Add SOC 2 and ISO 27001 and you have a vendor that rarely triggers questions in a security review. That is why it earns 9.6 on Security, joint top of our ranking.
Post-download control in practice
Most rooms protect documents while they are being viewed. Once a bidder downloads a PDF, the file is in the wild apart from the watermark. Intralinks’ rights control keeps the file tied to the room, so when a bidder drops out you can cut off documents that left the platform. For deals with highly sensitive pricing, customer or technical data, that is a meaningful difference from watermark-only protection.
The onboarding problem
Intralinks scores 7.5 on Ease of setup. The admin interface is dense, permission configuration takes time to learn, and most teams rely on the vendor’s project managers in the first week. There is no free trial, so you only see the full product after you are close to committing.
If your timetable gives you two days from LOI to buyer access, that is a real risk. Book the scoping call as soon as the deal looks likely.
Pricing reality
There is no published price. Intralinks quotes per engagement, and the number depends on volume, users and duration. Treat anything you hear as indicative and confirm with the provider. Its Pricing clarity mark of 7.8 is among the lower ones in our top ten, mostly because you cannot estimate a budget without a call. Our pricing page shows typical market ranges for context.
Versus Datasite and SmartRoom
Datasite shares the enterprise heritage but pulls ahead on bidder analytics, AI tools and its mobile app. SmartRoom is a smaller US vendor with similarly strict permission control and redaction, often at a more approachable scale. If your main need is control and compliance pedigree, Intralinks; if it is reading bidder behaviour, Datasite.
What a review committee sees
One under-appreciated benefit of a veteran vendor is what happens after closing. Intralinks rooms can be archived with the full activity record, which gives the deal team a defensible file if a warranty claim or regulatory query arrives a year later. When you are choosing a room for a deal that may be examined by authorities, such as filings subject to SEC rules, that archive quality matters as much as the live features.
The trade-off is that you are paying for heritage you may not need. A mid-market private sale with friendly counterparties rarely tests any of this.
Look elsewhere if
- You are a founder raising capital. The startup fundraising list has rooms you can open in an hour.
- You want AI help organising your index. Intralinks lists no AI tools in our fact sheet.
- You need an API or e-signature in the room.
Frequently asked questions
Does Intralinks offer a free trial?
No. Evaluation is through a demo and a scoping call with the sales team.
Can Intralinks revoke access to downloaded files?
Yes. Its information rights control keeps downloaded documents tied to the room so access can be withdrawn later.
Is Intralinks good for small deals?
It works, but the setup effort and quote-based pricing are hard to justify on a small transaction. A self-serve room is usually a better fit.