The short answerFirmex has long been the room many boutique advisers and law firms reach for on mid-market work: dependable, quick for clients to learn, certified to ISO 27001 and equipped with native redaction. Ellty covers the same diligence toolkit and goes further on deal features in our scoring, with AI assistance and e-signature built in, a published monthly rate and a 14-day free trial. Neither offers single sign-on. The practical question is whether ISO 27001 and in-platform redaction are requirements for you, or whether AI help and a known price matter more.
Support is level, and Firmex sits close on ease of setup, which is its reputation. Ellty pulls ahead on the heaviest check, deal features, and on pricing clarity. Security is close, with Ellty slightly ahead on our mark despite Firmex holding the extra certificate, because the controls inside the room are very similar.
Ellty 95 vs Firmex 87: where the points come from
ElltyRanked #1
95/100
FirmexRanked #6
87/100
Check (weight)MarksPoints
Deal features 30%9.58.3+3.6 Ellty
Security 25%9.49.0+1.0 Ellty
Ease of setup 20%9.89.0+1.6 Ellty
Pricing clarity 15%9.78.5+1.8 Ellty
Support 10%9.29.2Level
ElltyFirmex
Ellty is 8 points ahead overall. Ellty leads on four checks, Firmex on none, one level. The widest swing is deal features, worth 3.6 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
Six features are shared and three, single sign-on, an API and a mobile app, are missing from both, so the two rooms behave alike for everyday diligence. The differences are three tools you will either use every week or never touch.
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 Firmex. Use the signing tool you already pay for and grant access by hand once the countersigned NDA comes back.
Only Ellty
AI assistance
Why it matters. Built-in AI can help sort uploads, summarise long documents or draft answers, which cuts manual work in preparation and Q&A.
If you pick Firmex. Keep AI work in a separately approved tool, and check your confidentiality terms before any deal material goes into it.
Only Firmex
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.
Both have (6 of 12):Bidder Q&AActivity logViewer-stamped watermarks2FA sign-inFolder bulk uploadDownload and print limits
Firmex prices by quote and lists a trial. Ellty publishes a flat monthly rate. If you are an adviser opening rooms for several clients, ask Firmex whether it offers a multi-room price and compare it with Ellty's monthly rate multiplied across the rooms you expect to run.
Pricing
Ellty
Firmex
Billing model
Flat monthly plan
Custom quote per project
Published entry price
$149/mo
Quote only
Trial on offer
Yes, 14 days
Yes
Pricing clarity mark
9.7 / 10
8.5 / 10
Deal scenarios: which room we would open
Lean Firmex
Law firm hosting diligence for several clients a year
Partners want one vendor relationship, a familiar interface for clients and the ability to redact privileged or personal details in place. Asking Firmex for a multi-room arrangement fits how many firms already buy software.
Lean Ellty
Owner selling a services business to a trade buyer
The seller's adviser wants questions handled in the room, NDAs signed without a separate tool and AI help summarising contracts for the management team. A published monthly rate makes the cost easy to agree with the client at the outset.
Lean Ellty
Buy-side team reviewing a target's documents
When your team is on the receiving end of a large upload, AI tools that help sort and summarise documents shorten the first read. Ellty is the only one of the two that lists them.
Lean Firmex
Healthcare practice sale with patient-related records
Records need personal details removed before any buyer sees them. Native redaction keeps that work inside the room, and ISO 27001 gives the buyer's compliance team a recognised certificate to file.
Security posture and what to verify
Both rooms list two-factor login, dynamic watermarking, rights control over download and print, and an audit trail, and neither offers single sign-on. Firmex holds SOC 2 and ISO 27001; Ellty lists a SOC 2 report covering its infrastructure. For most private company deals the controls are equivalent; the certificate matters when a counterparty's policy names it.
Security
Ellty
Firmex
Security score (out of 10)
9.4
9.0
SOC 2
Yes
Yes
ISO 27001
No
Yes
Certificates on file
SOC 2 Infrastructure
SOC 2, ISO 27001
2FA sign-in
Yes
Yes
SSO through your identity provider
No
No
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 Firmex for its ISO 27001 certificate and SOC 2 report, and Ellty for its SOC 2 report, then compare the scope and dates.
If you hold health or financial data, ask each vendor what additional attestations or contractual terms it can offer.
Ask whether two-factor login can be enforced for every external user, not only for admins.
Ask Ellty how its AI features process documents and whether any content is retained.
Confirm how the final archive is delivered and how long each vendor keeps your data after closing.
Who should pick which
Pick Ellty if
AI tools for sorting, summarising and drafting answers should live inside the room
You want e-signature for NDAs and side letters in the same workspace
A published monthly rate and a 14-day free trial suit how you buy
Deal features carry the most weight in your choice
Pick Firmex if
Your counterparty requires an ISO 27001 certificate
You redact often and want to do it inside the platform
Your firm runs many rooms a year and wants to negotiate one contract for all of them
Clients already know the Firmex interface and you want no retraining
The longer answer
When two rooms agree on nine of the twelve features we track, six that both have and three that neither offers, the decision is less about capability and more about habit, paperwork and price. Firmex has earned a place in many advisory firms because it does the core job reliably and clients pick it up quickly. Switching away from that kind of routine needs a reason.
Ellty offers several. Its deal features score higher in our model, AI tools sit inside the room rather than in a separate approved tool, and signing happens where the documents are. The monthly rate is public, which removes a step for anyone who needs a client or a board to approve the spend.
What Firmex keeps is real and should be weighed honestly. ISO 27001 is a hard requirement for some buyers, and in-platform redaction saves time on deals full of personal data. If either applies to most of your work, Firmex stays a sensible default. If not, Ellty gives you the same diligence standard with a more modern toolkit.
Ellty vs Firmex: questions buyers ask
Is Firmex or Ellty better for mid-market M&A?
Both carry a mid-market sale comfortably. Ellty scores higher on deal features and pricing clarity and adds AI tools and e-signature. Firmex adds ISO 27001 and native redaction and is a long-standing choice among advisers who run many rooms.
Does Firmex have AI features?
Our fact file does not list built-in AI tools for Firmex. Ellty includes them in the room.
Do Ellty and Firmex support single sign-on?
Neither lists single sign-on in our fact file. If your IT policy requires it, look at rooms such as iDeals, Datasite or Ansarada instead.
Which has the clearer pricing?
Ellty publishes a flat monthly rate. Firmex prices by quote, which suits firms that negotiate terms for several rooms at once but makes a one-off comparison slower.
Can I try both before choosing?
Yes. Ellty offers a 14-day free trial and Firmex also lists a trial. Load the same folder tree into both and invite a colleague as a test bidder.
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