Due diligence data room — live in 5 minutes.
Peony is a virtual data room (VDR) for buy-side and sell-side due diligence. AI-powered Q&A, granular permissions, and full audit trails. A typical 9-month process with 2 admins costs $720 on Peony — not $25,000 on legacy platforms.
24/7 dedicated support for enterprise deals
Due diligence demands precision
When millions are on the line, your data room has to be bulletproof.
Hundreds of documents, no structure
Financial statements, contracts, IP filings, employment agreements. Without proper organization, reviewers waste days finding what they need.
Sensitive information at risk
Customer lists, trade secrets, and financial projections cannot be shared loosely. One unauthorized download can derail a deal.
Compliance gaps
Regulators and legal teams require complete audit trails. If you cannot prove who accessed what and when, you have a liability.
Multiple parties, conflicting access
Buyers, sellers, legal counsel, and advisors each need different levels of access to different document sets.
Enterprise security meets modern design
Every feature you need to run a secure, efficient due diligence process.
Lock down every document, every viewer
Set folder-level and document-level permissions for each party. Gate access behind NDAs. Add watermarks, password protection, screenshot blocking, and link expiration. Full audit trails track every action.
See exactly what buyers are reviewing
Track which documents each party has opened, how long they spent on each page, and which sections they returned to. Understand buyer focus areas and anticipate questions before they ask.
Chat with your documents. Find answers instantly.
Ask questions across hundreds of files in natural language. AI auto-indexes your documents and surfaces relevant clauses, figures, and terms. Cut review time from weeks to days.
Close the deal without leaving the data room
Send NDAs, LOIs, and closing documents for legally binding signature directly from Peony. AI auto-detects signature fields. Full audit trails for compliance.
Full audit trails
Track every login, view, download, and action. Generate compliance-ready reports for legal teams and regulators.
Granular permissions
Control access at the folder and document level. Give buyers view-only access while advisors get download rights.
AI auto-indexing
Upload hundreds of documents and let AI organize them into a logical structure. No manual sorting required.
Q&A workflows
Manage buyer questions directly in the data room. AI suggests answers from your documents so you can respond faster.
“Peony is a standout for data rooms and gated file sharing — intuitive, secure, and beautifully designed. The AI actually adds value, not just a checkbox feature. Highly recommend.”
Michael Hui
Managing Director at Piton Partners
Mark Petrov
Head of Financials at Loop
Peony is by far the simplest and most intuitive way to populate and share data rooms/materials with investors and partners. All the key analytics and features integrated into a sleek interface!
Peony vs legacy VDR providers — feature-by-feature
Due diligence teams need speed, security, and AI — not $25,000 invoices and week-long setup times. See how Peony compares to legacy VDR providers on the features that matter most.
| Feature | Peony | Datasite | Intralinks | Ideals | Sterling | Firmex | Digify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free ($0) | $25,000+/deal | $25,000+/deal | $25,000+/project | $10,000+/deal | $5,000+/project | $500/mo |
| Per-page fees | None | Yes | Yes | None | — | None | None |
| Storage-based fees | None | — | Per-MB | Per-GB | — | — | None |
| Setup time | Under 5 minutes | Days | Days | 30+ minutes | Hours | 20+ minutes | 15+ minutes |
| AI document chat | Included (Business) | Add-on | Included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Structured Q&A workflows | Included (Business) | Basic | Basic | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Unlimited storage | Up to 1 TB | Limited | Per-MB fees | Per-GB fees | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| Unlimited users | Included | Per-user fees | Per-user fees | Add-on | — | Included | Per-user fees |
| Built-in e-signatures | Pro+ | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Screenshot protection | Business (Screenshield) | Add-on | Not included | Add-on | — | Not included | Included |
| AI file organization | Business | Add-on | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Automatic NDA | Business | Not included | Not included | Add-on | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Dynamic watermarks | Business | Add-on | Not included | Included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Custom domain & branding | Business | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | Not included | Add-on | Add-on |
| Ease of use (public rating) | 9.4/10 | 7.5/10 | 7.2/10 | 8.7/10 | 7.4/10 | 8.5/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Average user satisfaction | 9.7/10 | 7.5/10 | 7.2/10 | 8.9/10 | 7.3/10 | 8.8/10 | 7.5/10 |
Frequently asked questions
What is a due diligence data room and when should a sell-side team set one up?
A due diligence data room is a secure virtual environment where buyers, sellers, and advisors share and review confidential documents during M&A transactions, audits, or investment processes. Sell-side teams should set one up as soon as a mandate is signed — well before buyer outreach begins — so the CIM, financial models, and legal exhibits are organized and access-controlled from day one. Peony provides a modern due diligence data room with AI-powered document search, page-level analytics, and screenshot protection — set up in under 5 minutes instead of the weeks required by legacy VDRs like Ideals or Firmex.
What documents should be in a buy-side due diligence data room for an M&A transaction?
A buy-side due diligence data room for an M&A transaction typically includes audited financial statements, tax returns, material contracts, customer and supplier agreements, IP filings, employment agreements, corporate governance documents, environmental reports, and litigation records. The exact scope depends on the deal — a carve-out will need standalone financials and transition service agreements, while an asset deal focuses on title and lien documentation. Peony's AI auto-indexing organizes hundreds of documents into a logical structure automatically — with OCR for scanned files and full-text search across every uploaded document. Peony also generates AI-powered due diligence checklists tailored to your deal type, tracking uploaded versus missing documents with completeness scoring so nothing falls through the cracks.
How does Peony protect confidential documents during due diligence?
Every Peony plan includes two-factor authentication, granular folder-level permissions, link expiration, and AES-256 encryption at rest with TLS 1.3 in transit on SOC 2-ready infrastructure. The Business plan ($40/admin/month) adds screenshot protection, dynamic watermarks, and NDA gating for maximum confidentiality. Peony is GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA compliant. Peony also supports controlled redaction to permanently black out sensitive financial figures or PII before sharing with counterparties. Full audit trails log every view, download, and action with timestamps and device details — exportable for compliance teams and regulators. Unlike legacy providers that charge extra for security features, Peony keeps advanced protection at a fraction of what Ideals or Datasite charge.
How long does it take to set up a due diligence data room for a live M&A deal?
When a deal is live and buyers are waiting, speed matters. Peony takes under 5 minutes to set up — upload your documents, set folder-level permissions per bidder, and share secure links. There is no IT department to involve, no onboarding calls, and no multi-week implementation. Legacy VDRs like Ideals and Datasite can take weeks to deploy and require dedicated project managers. Peony offers a free plan ($0) with 2 GB, scaling to Pro ($20/admin/month) and Business ($40/admin/month).
Can sell-side advisors track what prospective buyers are reviewing during M&A due diligence?
Yes. Peony provides page-level analytics showing which documents each prospective buyer opened, how long they spent on each page, and which sections they returned to. Sell-side advisors can use this to gauge bidder seriousness — a buyer spending hours in the financial model and customer contracts is more engaged than one skimming the CIM. This lets the deal team anticipate buyer questions, prioritize follow-ups with serious bidders, and manage the diligence timeline proactively — a level of insight that basic VDRs do not offer.
How does AI help M&A deal teams accelerate due diligence document review?
M&A deal teams often face hundreds of documents across financial, legal, and operational workstreams. Peony includes AI-powered document chat that lets deal teams ask questions across hundreds of files in natural language and get instant, sourced answers — so counsel can check a specific contract clause or a buyer can verify a revenue figure without waiting for the sell-side to respond. AI auto-indexing classifies and organizes uploaded documents automatically. The structured Q&A workflow lets buyers submit questions, AI drafts responses from your documents, and your team reviews before sending — cutting review time from weeks to days.
Can buy-side and sell-side counsel have different access levels during M&A due diligence?
Yes. Peony supports granular permissions at the folder and document level, which is critical when buy-side counsel, sell-side counsel, and multiple bidders all need different views of the same data room. Give buyers view-only access to financial summaries while sell-side legal counsel can download and edit contracts, and restrict sensitive IP documents to specific advisors under a clean-team arrangement. Each party gets a personalized link with independent access controls, and you can revoke access for any party with one click.
What support does Peony offer deal teams during active M&A due diligence?
Peony provides 24/7 dedicated support for enterprise clients running active transactions — because a bidder locked out of the data room at midnight before a management presentation cannot wait until morning. Enterprise support is available to teams who book a demo with our deal infrastructure team. Every plan includes in-app help, documentation, and email support. For M&A due diligence where buyer and seller experience directly affects deal velocity, Peony ensures no party hits a dead end.
How much does a due diligence data room cost for a mid-market M&A transaction?
For a mid-market M&A transaction running 6 to 9 months with 2 admins, Peony's Business plan costs $720 total. Peony offers a free plan ($0) with 2 GB of storage, Pro at $20/admin/month with 200 GB and e-signatures, and Business at $40/admin/month with 1 TB, screenshot protection, AI-powered Q&A, and dynamic watermarks — with no per-viewer, per-page, or per-link limits, so costs stay predictable regardless of how many bidders or counsel access the room. Legacy VDRs like Datasite and Ideals often charge $25K-$50K+ per data room with per-page fees on top — making Peony a 97% cost reduction for the same mid-market mandate.