The short answerThese are two AI-equipped deal rooms aimed at the same work, with very different buying experiences. Datasite is built for large sell-side mandates, with a mobile app, single sign-on, native redaction and bidder analytics, sold by quote and without a free trial. Ellty matches it on deal features in our scoring, adds built-in signing, and is far quicker to open and to price, with a 14-day free trial and a published monthly rate. The choice usually turns on whether your process needs Datasite's enterprise extras or values getting to a live room fastest.
Deal features score the same for both, and security and support are within a whisker. Almost the whole gap sits in two checks: ease of setup, where Ellty holds a wide lead, and pricing clarity, where a published rate beats a quote by design.
Ellty 95 vs Datasite 90: where the points come from
ElltyRanked #1
95/100
DatasiteRanked #3
90/100
Check (weight)MarksPoints
Deal features 30%9.59.5Level
Security 25%9.49.6+0.5 Datasite
Ease of setup 20%9.87.8+4.0 Ellty
Pricing clarity 15%9.78.3+2.1 Ellty
Support 10%9.29.3+0.1 Datasite
ElltyDatasite
Ellty is 5 points ahead overall. Ellty leads on two checks, Datasite on two, one level. The widest swing is ease of setup, worth 4.0 points.
bestdataroom.net
Marks out of 10 on our five weighted checks; the bar track starts at 6 so small gaps stay visible. Points = mark gap × weight × 10, so the column adds up to the gap in the total. Editorial scores, not user-review averages.
Feature gaps that decide it
Seven features are shared, AI tools among them, which makes this a closer match than the logo sizes suggest. Datasite's extras are enterprise conveniences; Ellty's one exclusive is signing inside the room.
Only Ellty
Built-in signing
Why it matters. NDAs, clean team letters and side agreements get signed where the documents already sit, so access can open as soon as the signature lands.
If you pick Datasite. Use the signing tool you already pay for and grant access by hand once the countersigned NDA comes back.
Only Datasite
In-room redaction
Why it matters. Personal data, salaries or customer names can be blacked out inside the platform, without keeping a second edited copy of every file.
If you pick Ellty. Redact in a PDF editor before upload and keep a short register of which version went into the room.
Only Datasite
Native app
Why it matters. A native app lets a deal lead approve a user or clear a question while travelling, although most rooms also work in a phone browser.
If you pick Ellty. Open the room in a phone browser during the trial or demo. For most teams that covers the occasional approval on the move.
Only Datasite
Single sign-on (SSO)
Why it matters. Staff sign in through the corporate identity provider, so joiners and leavers are handled centrally and your password policy applies.
If you pick Ellty. Enforce two-factor login for every internal user and add an access review to the deal checklist when people leave the team.
Both have (7 of 12):Bidder Q&AActivity logViewer-stamped watermarks2FA sign-inFolder bulk uploadDownload and print limitsAI assistance
Neither lists:Developer API
Pricing and what a deal would cost
Datasite prices per project, typically after a scoping call about users, page volume and term, and does not offer a free trial according to our fact file. Ellty's rate is on its website and the trial lets you build the index before you commit. For a mid-sized sale the calculator below shows Ellty's list cost against a rough market range for a quoted room of the same size.
Pricing
Ellty
Datasite
Billing model
Flat monthly plan
Custom quote per project
Published entry price
$149/mo
Quote only
Trial on offer
Yes, 14 days
No, sales demo
Pricing clarity mark
9.7 / 10
8.3 / 10
Deal scenarios: which room we would open
Lean Datasite
Global sell-side mandate run by an investment bank
Dozens of bidders, analysts tracking engagement daily and partners approving access from their phones. Datasite's mobile app, single sign-on and familiarity with advisers make it the conventional choice when the bank sets the tooling.
Lean Ellty
Mid-market company sale run by the CFO
The finance team owns the room, the budget is fixed and the first buyer wants access next week. A room you can open, index and price without waiting for a proposal is worth more here than a mobile app.
Lean Ellty
Fundraise followed by a sale process
The same documents serve an investor round now and a buyer later. A flat monthly plan with signing built in handles NDAs and subscription paperwork without stitching in another tool, and the same room can carry on into the sale.
Lean Datasite
Divestiture with employee data in the room
Native redaction lets the deal team black out personal data inside the platform, and single sign-on keeps a large internal review group under the corporate access policy.
Security posture and what to verify
On the controls that protect documents, the two rooms line up: two-factor login, watermarking, rights control and a full audit trail on both. Datasite lists SOC 2 and ISO 27001 and adds single sign-on; Ellty lists a SOC 2 report covering its infrastructure. For a buyer that requires ISO 27001 or centralised login, Datasite meets the letter of the requirement today.
Security
Ellty
Datasite
Security score (out of 10)
9.4
9.6
SOC 2
Yes
Yes
ISO 27001
No
Yes
Certificates on file
SOC 2 Infrastructure
SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
2FA sign-in
Yes
Yes
SSO through your identity provider
No
Yes
Viewer-stamped watermarks
Yes
Yes
Download and print limits
Yes
Yes
Activity log
Yes
Yes
In-room redaction
No
Yes
Hosting
Cloud
Cloud
Ask both vendors before you sign
Ask Ellty for its SOC 2 report and confirm the scope covers the services your room will run on.
Ask Datasite for its ISO 27001 certificate and which products and sites it covers.
Check how each room's AI features handle your documents: where processing happens and whether content is used to train models.
Ask both how permissions are set for bidder groups and how a mistake is undone mid-process.
Confirm the export format of the final archive and how long it stays available after closing.
Who should pick which
Pick Ellty if
You want to try the room on your own documents during a 14-day free trial
The budget must be known before the process starts
Signing NDAs and side letters inside the room will save you a separate tool
The team running the room is not a dedicated deal desk and needs it to be quick to learn
Pick Datasite if
Your bank or adviser has standardised on Datasite and its reports
Partners need a native mobile app to approve access on the move
Single sign-on is mandatory for every internal user
Redaction must happen inside the platform
The longer answer
A lot of comparison advice treats Datasite as the safe default and everything else as a compromise. Our scoring does not support that framing for this pair. On the check that measures what a live deal leans on, Q&A, permissions, indexing and reporting, the two are level. Support is separated by a tenth of a point and security by two tenths. What separates them is the experience of buying and running the room.
Datasite’s model suits a world where a bank chooses the room, negotiates the contract and staffs it with people who use the platform every week. In that world, a scoping call and a quote are normal, and a mobile app and single sign-on are expected. If that describes your process, the extras are worth having and the quote is part of the routine.
If the company itself is running the room, the calculation changes. Ellty lets the person who owns the process open a room, load the folder tree and see the price in the same afternoon, with AI help and signing in the same place. The things you give up are specific and easy to check against your list: native redaction, single sign-on and a mobile app.
Ellty vs Datasite: questions buyers ask
Is Datasite better than Ellty for large M&A?
Not on deal features, where both score the same in our model. Datasite's advantages for very large mandates are its mobile app, single sign-on, redaction and its focus on sell-side advisers. Ellty's advantages are faster setup, published pricing and built-in signing.
Does Datasite offer a free trial?
Our fact file lists no free trial for Datasite; access usually starts with a demo and a quote. Ellty offers a 14-day free trial.
Do both have AI features?
Yes. Both list built-in AI tools. Before you rely on them, ask each vendor how documents are processed and whether any content leaves the room's environment.
Which one costs less?
Ellty publishes a flat monthly rate, so you can calculate the cost of your deal directly. Datasite quotes per project. Use the calculator on this page to see Ellty's list cost for your months and users next to a rough market range for a quoted room.
Can bidders use Datasite and Ellty on a phone?
Datasite has a native mobile app. Ellty does not list one in our fact file, so bidders use it in a browser. Test the mobile browser view during the trial if your buyers will review on the go.
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