Datasite vs Intralinks

Looking for a new virtual data room but not sure where to start?

Weighing out all of the options with all of the different features and pricing plans can be challenging. We have compiled a comprehensive comparison between two of the most popular virtual data rooms, Datasite and Intralinks. 

PS: To help you decide between the vast VDR providers available on the market, visit our comprehensive comparison of the most popular data room providers on the market.

What is Datasite?

Datasite is a virtual data room that provides organized and secure management of confidential information between parties. Datasite is used for a range of tasks, such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions, due diligence, financial reporting, and investor relations.

What is Intralinks?

Intralinks is a technology provider for information sharing in global banking, dealmaking, and capital markets. Intralinks is a secure collaboration software with an online document-sharing solution. Used by enterprise-sized corporations, Intralinks facilitates the secure exchange of information between organizations to manage due diligence documents. 

Datasite vs Intralinks: Comparing Key Features

User Interface, Upload Speed, and Ease of Use

Datasite’s dashboard is easy to learn with a straightforward and uncomplicated navigation system. Drag-and-drop document uploads allow Datasite users to get projects running efficiently.

Intralinks is known for its intricate platform with many features requiring a steep learning curve. One key feature that Datasite lacks, is full-text search within the data room. Both Intralinks and Datasite have web and mobile interfaces, allowing users to check in on projects from wherever they are, as long as they have internet access. 

Fast and efficient uploads are required for a virtual data room to be worth its price.

Intralinks has been reported to have major bugs for bulk uploads, slowing down the entire diligence process. Datasite supports bulk instant uploads for up to 10 GB or zipped files of 50 GB. 

If you’re looking for a sleek, user-friendly design, then Datasite may be a better fit for you, as Intralinks’ interface is known for its complexity and sluggish performance.

But if you want a VDR that combines blazing-fast speeds, and user-friendly UI at 10% of the cost, we’re here to help. 

Ease of Setup and Admin

Setting up a new virtual data room can be a hassle, and choosing a VDR with an easy onboarding process should be a priority. Support options for both Datasite and Intralinks include 24-hour email, phone, and live chat support and a dedicated customer success manager. Intralinks falls short in providing users with training videos, webinars, and educational tools. 

Intralinks does not disclose any information on its website regarding the number of users and admins included in a virtual data room plan.

Intralinks does distinguish its 16 different roles that can be assigned to users for differentiated access settings. These roles include manager, publisher, reviewer, and more, all with different tiers of access within them.

Intralinks interface is “feature-rich” with highly in-depth capabilities, requiring a complex and tedious adoption process. Compared to Datasite, the Intralinks adoption process is inefficient and often complicated. 

Datasite allows for unlimited users with any price plan, but there is a limited number of administrators permitted per room and plan. Datasite users found great difficulty in setting up their rooms and distributing roles, reporting that role distinction and permission settings were “messy” and “cumbersome.”

Both Intralinks and Datasite require a meeting with a sales representative to open the virtual data room. This task can oftentimes be cumbersome and unnecessary.

FirmRoom’s intuitive platform and easy onboarding process allow users an easy transition without redundant and unneeded meetings. 

Users can set up FirmRoom in less than 2 minutes without ever talking to a sales representative.

Document Management and Organization

Document management and organization can be very important factors in the efficiency of a VDR. Let’s look at the differences we do know between Intralinks and Datasite’s document management and organization. 

Datasite offers document watermarking and automatic categorization as well as multi-language search and translation capabilities in 16 languages. Optical Character Recognition on Datasite allows for handwritten content and other images to be recognized in searches. In addition to this, Datasite offers automated diligence redaction allowing users to redact and unredacted sensitive material within documents.

Like Datasite, Intralinks includes watermarking, automatic categorization, and includes a full text search feature. Intralinks also offers AI machine learning features that help conduct due diligence and organize diligence items. Intralinks has optimized document sharing features that allow users to share documents with approved parties inside or outside of their organization. The Intralinks VIA platform is dedicated to secure document sharing and collaboration. 

Collaboration and Communication Tools

Intralinks does not have many collaboration or communication tools. Users reported, “all it did was store files,” with no collaboration or managing access. 

Some features listed on Intralinks page include custom branding, Intralinks integration adapter, two-factor authentication, single sign-on, compliance link, access monitoring system, access gatekeeper, and archiving. 

Datasite has an in-depth Q&A process that is highly popular among users. The ability to leave questions and directly tag other deal members expedites the diligence process. It is super convenient to have direct access to solutions with all information being easily accessible.

In addition to the Q&A abilities, Datasite has commenting capabilities for users to talk within the data room on different documents. Datasite also has flexible permissions, translation in 14 languages, and optical character recognition. Datasite has much more extensive collaboration features in comparison to Intralinks.

Datasite and Intralinks both have automatic categorization with AI tools and watermarking capabilities as well as extensive analytics.

Both sites could offer more collaboration and communication tools, but overall, Datasite seems to offer more than Intralinks. 

Customization and Integrations

Both Datasite and Intralinks prove to be very limited when it comes to customization and integrations. Datasite integrates with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and DealCloud while Intralinks only mentions an integration with Microsoft Sharepoint. 

In addition to Microsoft Sharepoint, Intralinks also offers RESTful Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) as a means of control and integration for third-party applications. To find additional information for Intralinks, you must speak to a representative. Both sites have low transparency regarding customization and integrations, leading us to believe they may be questionable or limited.  

FirmRoom always offers complete transparency, showing all of its integrations online. FirmRoom’s integrations include Salesforce, Slack, and Office 365 permitting a smooth transition from your previous virtual data room provider. 

Security and Compliance

Datasite and Intralinks both have built-in security, access control options, and compliance certifications but there are differences between the two. Let’s compare the sites in further detail.

Datasite

Some compliance certifications include SOC 2 Type II attestation, ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 certified, GDPR, CCPA, and APP compliant. Datasite has two-factor authentication, single sign-on, and data encryption. Encryption of data is both at rest and in transit. The purging of files happens 30 days after the project closes. User information, app data, and logs are all stored separately. Perimeter defenses include reverse proxy and a proactive multi-layer network.

Intralinks

Intralinks has ISO 27701 certification, ISO 27001, and TISAX certification. They have advanced encryption according to FIPS 197 standard with multi-tier, AES-256 key management protection. Configurable control of file, folder, and workspace access by group, user, and device. Risk-based multifactor rules engine, data-driven authentication rules, channel-driven single sign-on (SSO), and APIs. 

FirmRoom

Minimize risk, protect sensitive data, and follow compliance standards with FirmRoom. FirmRoom has equal data protection levels as Datasite and Intralinks but at a fraction of the price. FirmRoom has the same data security standards for its product including the following certifications: SOC2, HIPAA, SEC, ISO 27001, FINRA and much more. Learn about our FirmRoom's security here.

Datasite vs Intralinks: Pricing Plans

Per-page pricing is outdated and can become unnecessarily expensive rather quickly. Twenty years ago, diligence documents would be physically scanned into a data room individually, hence charging per page. Now, our world is completely digital, and with bulk uploads, there is no reason to continue on a per-page pricing plan.

Because FirmRoom’s pricing is based on how much storage is needed, users can pick a plan that suits their needs. Want more information comparing FirmRoom’s pricing to the competition?

Both Datasite and Intralinks use similar pricing of $0.60 per page. However, Datasite becomes slightly cheaper after 10k pages, and even cheaper after 30k.

Let’s compare the costs for 2 different use cases:

50GB of storage for one year would cost around $300,000, and slightly less for Datasite

50 GB of storage for one year would cost around $11,940 with FirmRoom 

10GB of storage quarterly would cost around $60,000 for both Datasite and Intralinks

10 GB of storage quarterly would cost around $7,140 with Firm Room. 

FirmRoom stands out amongst its competitors due to its pricing. Never worry about hidden fees or counting pages with FirmRoom’s flat-rate pricing that is 95% less expensive than other data rooms.

Intralinks Pricing

To find out the pricing for Intralinks, one must speak to a sales representative. Intralinks' average price amounts to $0.60 per every page uploaded onto the platform. The costs for uploading larger files (videos/images) are thus astronomically high. Ie. uploading 500MB of video costs around $3000. (500MB = 5000 pages).

Datasite Pricing

To find out the pricing for Datasite, one must speak to a sales representative. Datasite users report being charged up to $0.60 per page uploaded and receiving invoices of $40,000 per month.

For Comparison, FirmRoom Pricing

While Intralinks and Datasite both require speaking to a representative to get a quote, FirmRoom offers a transparent pricing plan right on the website.

The lack of transparency brings up questions and concerns about fair prices.

Also, we know for Intralinks and Datasite 50GB of storage for one year would cost around $300,000, but FirmRoom’s price for the same amount of storage and time would be $995.10GB of storage quarterly is around $60,000 for the other two, but only $595 for FirmRoom.

Don’t believe what you’re hearing? Check out FirmRoom’s VDR pricing comparison calculator.‍

FirmRoom’s Pricing Plan Options:

• Standard: Ideal for small teams and startups with 10 GB storage, unlimited admins, unlimited users, next-generation VDR features, data security, and data and theft loss protection.
• Professional: The most popular choice for most projects with 50 GB of storage, unlimited admins, unlimited users, next-generation VDR features, data security, and data & theft loss protection.
• Enterprise: Enough space for the largest scoped projects with 200 GB of storage, unlimited admins, unlimited users, next-generation VDR features, data security, and data & theft loss protection.

Datasite vs Intralinks: Quality and Availability of Customer Support

Intralinks Support

Intralinks has mixed reviews about its customer support. Some clients are rather content, and others display questionable satisfaction. Intralink’s support time is reported to be “a bit slow” by customers. They offer support live, over the phone, and through email. They have full-team 24/7 capability and service support in every region. There doesn’t appear to be official onboarding training. 

Datasite Support

Datasite has multiple support options including live support as well as email and phone support available 24/7/365. Training is available for onboarding. Customers report quick response times and high satisfaction on review sites. 

For comparison, FirmRoom support:

At FirmRoom, we treat customer support with the utmost priority. FirmRoom has experts in the industry right at your fingertips 24/7/365. We offer support via live chat, phone, or email. Onboarding training is also available, and customer reviews show strong satisfaction rates. 

Datasite vs Intralinks: Customer Reviews

On any review site, every product has positive and negative reviews. In this case, Intralinks tends to have more negative reviews than Datasite.

Datasite Reviews

Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

G2 Reviews: 5/5 (5 reviews)

Capterra Reviews: 4.5/5 (23 reviews)

Intralinks Reviews

G2 Reviews: 3.6/5 (22 reviews)

Capterra Reviews: 4.1/5 (18 reviews)

The Question Isn’t Datasite vs Intralinks — It’s Why Not FirmRoom?

FirmRoom is made by M&A practitioners, for M&A practitioners. We believe in simplicity, creating an easy-to-use platform with the highest level of security, all at the lowest price.

With the introduction of bulk uploads and cloud storage, there is no reason to continue per-page pricing. At FirmRoom, we are aware of common data overages and it is our mission to provide modern dealmakers with the world’s most intuitive data room, at a fraction of the cost. 

With FirmRoom, you’ll experience an intuitive user interface, faster upload speeds, and ease of use with a simplified setup and admin experience. The cost of data is at an all-time low, and there is no reason you should pay for every KB of data uploaded. FirmRoom is aware of common data overages and it is our mission to provide modern dealmakers with the world's most intuitive data room, at a fraction of the cost.