In short: a Datasite data room is not bought on a website. A Datasite Diligence project starts with a sales contact and a quote "customized for every transaction". The self-service way in is Datasite Prepare, a free account with no contract where you build the index (with AI help), add your team and upload files. You then convert the project into an active Diligence room "in one action". From there you set permissions with the security grid (by user, group or document), add a disclaimer, stage content, run Q&A with AI-drafted answers, and archive the room at closing. This guide follows Datasite's public FAQ and product pages. Where Datasite documents a step only inside its customer help portal, we say so.
Datasite Prepare vs Datasite Diligence
| Datasite Prepare | Datasite Diligence | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Get documents ready before the process | The live data room for buyers or investors |
| How you start | "Create a free Datasite account", no contract | "Contact us to get started" – quoted per transaction |
| What you do | Build the index with Datasite AI, add your team, upload | Invite outside parties, permissions, Q&A, reports |
Sources: Prepare vs Diligence, starting Prepare, starting Diligence, cost FAQ. For reported prices see our Datasite pricing post.
How to set up a Datasite data room: 7 steps
- Open a Prepare project and invite your internal deal team.
- Build the index. Datasite's "Enhanced Index" creates a folder structure from a request list or a plain-language prompt (new features, May 2026); you can also start from our due diligence checklists.
- Upload. Drag and drop or send files to the project Inbox. Files up to 10 GB and zip files up to 50 GB are accepted (size limits). Project administrators – and limited site administrators – can add, rename and move files (who can upload).
- Stage content. Use publish/unpublish so documents stay hidden until you release them (content staging). Redaction AI covers 120+ data types.
- Convert to Diligence and set permissions. Datasite describes cascading permissions and multiple roles in a security grid that compares project, folder and file settings; permissions can be real-time or staged, by user, group or document (permissions FAQ, application security). Plan one group per bidder.
- Add a disclaimer and protections. A standard or custom disclaimer can be shown on first login or every time (project disclaimer). Datasite lists MFA, watermarking, organisation-level SSO and information rights management that can revoke access to downloaded Office and PDF files by role (IRM).
- Invite buyers and run the process – invitations go out from the Permissions tab; then Q&A, reporting and, at the end, the archive.
Q&A in Datasite
Datasite describes an integrated Q&A with routing, assignments, status tracking, notifications and audit history. Its AI drafts answers with links to the source documents, and the deal team must approve every answer before buyers see it; "Similar Questions" flags duplicates (AI and Q&A).
Analytics and reports
The Project Dashboard gives a real-time summary, and the Analytics tab a historical view of Diligence activity (dashboard vs analytics). Datasite's comparison page mentions document-level analytics and page-level audit trails. Report names, export formats and any heatmaps are not described publicly.
AI features
Datasite lists Blueflame AI search, Enhanced Review, Summarize, Explain This, Redaction AI, full-document translation (17+ languages) and Similar Questions; it says AI answers respect each user's permissions and cites ISO/IEC 42001 certification (AI capabilities).
Closing and archive
Closing a Diligence project creates a Datasite Archive automatically – a "secure, searchable, and legally defensible" record – or you can start the archive earlier (archive).
Practical tips
- Agree the index numbering and the bidder groups before converting from Prepare – changing permissions on a live room with many bidders is where mistakes happen.
- Test with a dummy user in each group to check what a buyer actually sees.
- Ask in the quote what drives the price for your deal (pages, users, storage or a flat fee) and what happens if the process runs longer.
Or in HelpRange
Datasite fits large, banker-run sell-side processes with structured Q&A and many bidders. For a smaller sale, a fundraise or a property deal, HelpRange is self-service with a public price:
- Create a room in minutes, one per party; guests verify by e-mail code, no account needed.
- Click-to-sign NDA before the room opens, with a PDF record of who signed.
- Watermarks with each viewer's e-mail, download/print blocking and screenshot protection per room.
- Time per page, heatmaps and visit replays; guest activity report as a page or CSV.
- AI answers for guests from the room's documents (no human Q&A routing or approval workflow).
- $199 once for a 90-day Deal Room Pass, or $174 a month with unlimited users.
HelpRange as a Datasite alternative · Open the demo data room
FAQ
How do I create a Datasite data room?
Either contact Datasite for a Diligence project, or create a free Datasite Prepare account, build the index and upload, then convert the project to an active Diligence room. Diligence is quoted per transaction.
How are permissions set in Datasite?
With the security grid, which cascades permissions and lets you set roles at project, folder and file level; permissions can be applied in real time or staged, by user, group or document.
Can Datasite require a disclaimer or NDA before access?
Datasite supports a standard or custom project disclaimer shown on first login or every login.
What is the file size limit in Datasite?
10 GB per file and 50 GB per zip file, according to Datasite's FAQ.
Does Datasite have a free trial?
Datasite Prepare is free with no contract; Datasite Diligence is quoted per transaction.
Related: Datasite pricing · Datasite vs Intralinks · iDeals vs Datasite · how to use iDeals VDR · data rooms with AI Q&A.