The short answerBoth rooms carry a full sell-side process: granular permissions, a question workflow, watermarking, rights control and a complete activity record. The split is in how they get there. Ellty adds built-in AI and signing, opens quickly and shows its monthly rate on the website. iDeals counters with an ISO 27001 certificate, sign-in through your identity provider, a public API and in-platform redaction, plus the strongest support mark in our ranking, and prices each project by quote. If your counterparty's procurement list names those four items, iDeals clears it; otherwise Ellty gets you to the same diligence standard with less friction.
The totals sit close together, and the five checks show why. Deal features are level. iDeals edges security and wins support, which matters when a long auction needs a named contact at odd hours. Ellty's lead comes from ease of setup and pricing clarity, the two checks that decide how the first fortnight feels for the people running the room.
Ellty 95 vs iDeals 92: where the points come from
ElltyRanked #1
95/100
iDealsRanked #2
92/100
Check (weight)MarksPoints
Deal features 30%9.59.5Level
Security 25%9.49.6+0.5 iDeals
Ease of setup 20%9.88.5+2.6 Ellty
Pricing clarity 15%9.78.8+1.3 Ellty
Support 10%9.29.7+0.5 iDeals
ElltyiDeals
Ellty is 3 points ahead overall. Ellty leads on two checks, iDeals on two, one level. The widest swing is ease of setup, worth 2.6 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 of the twelve features we track are common ground, including the Q&A module, rights control and two-factor login. The gaps are few but specific: each one maps to a real requirement that either appears on your checklist or does not.
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 iDeals. 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 iDeals. Keep AI work in a separately approved tool, and check your confidentiality terms before any deal material goes into it.
Only iDeals
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 iDeals
Developer API
Why it matters. IT can script room creation, user provisioning and exports, which pays off for firms that open many similar rooms a year.
If you pick Ellty. Plan on manual setup per room. That is fine for one transaction and slower for a programme of them.
Only iDeals
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 (6 of 12):Bidder Q&AActivity logViewer-stamped watermarks2FA sign-inFolder bulk uploadDownload and print limits
Neither lists:Native app
Pricing and what a deal would cost
This is the starkest contrast in the pair. Ellty publishes a flat monthly rate, so the cost of a six-month sale is arithmetic you can do before any call. iDeals sends a project quote shaped by users, storage, term and service level. Neither model is wrong, but the quote takes longer to obtain and needs to be read line by line for storage caps and extension fees.
Pricing
Ellty
iDeals
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
8.8 / 10
Deal scenarios: which room we would open
Lean Ellty
Founder-led sale of a software company
One or two strategic buyers, a lawyer and an accountant on your side, and documents scattered across a shared drive. The room needs to be live this week, NDAs need signing, and the finance lead wants the bill known up front. Ellty fits that brief without a scoping call.
Lean iDeals
Bank-run auction with twenty bidders
Bidder groups in several countries, a heavy question load and a sell-side adviser who expects an account manager on call. The strongest support mark of the pair and mature permission tooling make iDeals the steadier choice when the process is large and long.
Lean iDeals
Corporate carve-out with HR data in scope
Employee files, salary bands and pension schedules all need personal data removed before buyers see them. Native redaction saves keeping a parallel set of edited files, and single sign-on keeps your internal reviewers under corporate access policy.
Lean Ellty
Private equity add-on with a tight exclusivity window
The sponsor has done this before and wants confirmatory diligence wrapped up inside the exclusivity period. A room that opens the same day, AI help to sort and summarise the upload, and a fixed monthly cost suit a process measured in weeks.
Security posture and what to verify
Each room has the protections a buyer's lawyers usually probe: two-factor login, dynamic watermarks, download and print restrictions and an audit trail. The paperwork differs. iDeals lists SOC 2 and ISO 27001; Ellty lists a SOC 2 report covering its infrastructure and no ISO 27001 certificate. If your information security team accepts SOC 2 alone, the controls are comparable for most deals.
Security
Ellty
iDeals
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
Request the latest SOC 2 report from both and check which systems and which period it covers.
Ask iDeals for its current ISO 27001 certificate and Statement of Applicability, and whether the scope includes the data room product.
Confirm where your room's files will be hosted and whether you can choose the region.
Ask how quickly access can be revoked for one user, and whether that also stops viewing of files already opened.
Check how long logs and the final archive are kept after the room closes, and in what format you receive them.
Who should pick which
Pick Ellty if
You want the monthly cost settled before anyone books a demo
AI help and e-signature should sit in the same workspace as the documents
Your team needs the room open, indexed and inviting buyers within a day
A clean, modern interface matters because bidders and advisers will use it daily
Pick iDeals if
Your counterparty's checklist names ISO 27001 explicitly
IT will only approve tools behind your identity provider or with an API
Personal data must be redacted inside the platform, not before upload
You expect a long, many-bidder process and want the higher support mark of the two
The longer answer
Most buyers who land on this comparison have already done the hard filtering. They know they need a real virtual data room rather than a file-sharing tool, and they have narrowed the field to two products that can both carry a contested sale. At that point, scores within a few points of each other matter less than the shape of your own process.
Start with your counterparty. If a large corporate or a regulated buyer will send a vendor security questionnaire, look at the certificate and identity questions first, because that is where iDeals has the paperwork ready. If the buyer is a sponsor or a strategic acquirer who mainly wants fast, well-organised access, Ellty’s speed and built-in AI become the more useful differences.
Then look at who runs the room on your side. A seasoned sell-side team will get value from iDeals’ service depth. A finance lead or general counsel who has to set up the room alongside a day job will feel Ellty’s lead on setup within the first afternoon. Neither choice limits the diligence you can run; it changes how much effort the room itself demands.
Ellty vs iDeals: questions buyers ask
Is Ellty or iDeals better for M&A due diligence?
Both are built for it and score the same on deal features. Ellty tends to suit processes that need to start quickly with a known budget and AI assistance; iDeals suits large auctions where ISO 27001, single sign-on and native redaction are requirements rather than nice-to-haves.
Does Ellty have a free trial?
Yes, Ellty offers a 14-day free trial, and its entry price is published on its website. iDeals also offers a trial, but pricing is by quote, so you will need a conversation with its sales team to get a figure.
Which one is more secure?
On controls they are close: both have two-factor login, watermarking, rights control and an audit trail. iDeals holds ISO 27001 as well as SOC 2 and scores slightly higher on our security check. Ellty lists a SOC 2 report covering its infrastructure. Ask both for the reports and read the scope.
Can I redact documents in Ellty?
Not inside the platform, according to our fact file. Teams that pick Ellty redact in a PDF editor before upload. iDeals includes redaction as a built-in tool.
Which is easier for bidders to use?
Ellty scores higher on our ease of setup check, which covers how quickly an admin can open a room and invite the other side. Bidders on either platform get a browser-based room; neither lists a native mobile app in our fact file.
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