The Definitive Guide to Data Room Pricing: What You Need to Know Before Investing in a Data Room

How would you feel if you paid more for a virtual data room but could buy the required services for less? It can happen when you are unaware of how data room pricing works.

Although operations in the VDR industry have become more transparent, VDR pricing still remains a tricky thing for consumers.

The following is a comprehensive guide on virtual data room pricing and the things you must know before investing in data room software technology.

Common virtual data room pricing strategies

The electronic data room market is growing at a rapid pace and has already crossed the billion-dollar mark. Data room vendors sell their services through various pricing models, which may not be suitable for all types of uses.

Following are the commonly used pricing strategies applied by data room services and how they can be useful for your business.

1. Per-page pricing

Although per-page pricing has almost become obsolete, few service providers still stick to it. Per-page pricing is a model in which the service providers charge the consumer for every page uploaded in the data room.

For example, if a document has 100 pages, the customer will have to pay for all the pages. So, if the per-page price is $1, 100 pages may cost the VDR user $100.

Per-page pricing models don’t really make sense, but it is useful for solopreneurs or small businesses who need minimum or negligible documentation.

It is also effective for minor transactions which require small-scale data sharing. Companies can choose this model if they want to protect crucial documents like patents, secret formulae, trademarks, and research developments.

Currently, per-page pricing cost varies between $0.40 to $085 per page, per month.

2. Fixed monthly plans

Fixed monthly pricing is arguably the most common pricing system offered by some of the best data rooms today. That’s because it covers everything a buyer needs.

In this pricing model, the vendor charges a fixed monthly amount for predetermined services. It may include a fixed number of administrative users, storage volume, and non-administrative users. Most of the vendors provide different plans for small, medium, and large businesses.

Fixed monthly plans may start from $400 a month to $2000 a month, and they are recommended for large-scale transactions like capital funding and M&As.

“Virtual data rooms are employed regularly and for longer terms now. Businesses look for a pricing plan that can accommodate everything. Thankfully, modern-day vendors have started offering fixed monthly plans for SMEs, professionals, and enterprises, allowing them to buy the best services at economical prices” — says Ronald Hernandez, Founder of data room-providers.org.

Fixed-monthly data room pricing is prevalent among the best virtual data room providers in the industry, and you can discover the reason here: https://dataroom-providers.org/data-room-pricing/.

3. Per-user pricing

The per-user pricing model is common in small businesses and corporate boards. There are multiple variations in per-user pricing. For example, some online data room software providers charge for administrative user licenses and allow an unlimited or specific number of non-administrative users.

On the other hand, service providers charge for every user added to the VDR. Remote teams, board members, investors, executives, etc., prefer this pricing model.

The price for an administrative user license ranges between $100 to $250 per user, per month and $15-$25 for non-administrative users.

4. Pricing based on storage volume

Some VDR vendors determine the cost of their services by the total storage space consumed by the users. Generally, there is a fixed price for fixed storage space, and users will have to pay extra for additional storage used. On the contrary, some vendors charge buyers for every GB of storage they consume.

The pricing option is suitable for all types of businesses and professionals if there are minimum or no video or audio files. Audio and videos consume more space, and the cost may be high.

Factors that affect virtual data room pricing

The price variation mainly depends on the quality of service and the features provided by the vendors. Following elements directly affect the prices of data room services.

1. Security

It goes without saying that security features in a VDR heavily impact pricing. A virtual data room with a large number of certifications and the latest security features like digital watermarks, fence-mode viewing, 256-bit data encryption, access control, audit logs, etc., will be pricier.

2. Comfort

There are tons of features that improve efficiency while working in a VDR. These features simplify different processes and reduce manual input. Thus, the more the comfort, the higher the prices.

Some of these features include bulk uploads, drag-and-drop, full-text search, auto-indexing, mobile access, data analytics, smart search, project management tools, communication tools, and great customer support service.

Parting thoughts

VDR pricing is a crucial segment when you compare virtual data rooms for your business. Choosing the right pricing model that suits your VDR usage will help you save money.

Fixed monthly pricing is the most common method used by the best data room providers. Other options include per-page pricing, per-user pricing, and pricing based on storage volume.